Newsletter

Solemnity of All Saints

November 2nd 2025

 

My dear parishioners,

I hope this finds you and your families well as we move into November. This weekend the Church celebrates the glory of all the Saints in heaven. I thought you might like to read and reflect on these words by Pope Benedict XVI:

 

“The Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate today, invites us to raise our gaze to Heaven and to meditate on the fullness of divine life which awaits us. ‘We are already the children of God; what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed’ (1Jn 3:2); with these words the apostle John assures us of the reality of our profound relation to God, and the certainty of our final destiny. Like beloved children, therefore, we also receive the grace to endure the trials of this earthly existence – the hunger and thirst for justice, the misunderstandings, the persecutions (cf., Mt 5:3-11) – and at the same time, we inherit what is promised in the Gospel Beatitudes. The holiness, imprinted in us by Christ himself, is the goal of Christian life. And we have a foretaste of the gift and beauty of sanctity every time we participate in the Eucharistic Liturgy, the communion with the great multitude of holy souls, which in Heaven eternally acclaim the salvation of God and the Lamb (Rev 7:9-10).” Pope Benedict

 

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed: we usually celebrate this special moment of prayer the day after the feast of All Saints. However, due to the Requiem on Monday, we will commemorate the Faithful Departed on Tuesday, at our morning Mass at 10am. It is a beautiful day of remembrance and prayer for our relatives and friends who have died. Please join us if you are free.

 

Xavarian Missionary Fathers will visit our parish next weekend, November 8-9, to make an appeal for support. Every year a missionary order is given permission by the bishop to visit the parishes of the diocese so that they can share something of their mission with us. /Thank you for making Fr. Montesi welcome next weekend. A little donation from us all goes a long way.

 

Please consult the Diocesan Website www.rcdom.org.uk.

for information on events in and around the diocese.

 

 

Schedule for the Daily Liturgy:

 

Monday November 3rd: Requiem for Henry O’Neill at 10am; Confessions at 6.30pm; Novena on Monday at 7pm

 

Tuesday November 4th: Mass at 10am

 Rosary at 1oam

 

Wednesday November 5th: Mass at 10am

Rosary at 9.40am; Adoration until 2.30pm

 

Thursday November 6th: Requiem Mass For Ian McAvinchey at 10am

Reception on Wednesday at 6.15pm

 

You would be most welcome to join us for the daily liturgy at any time. It’s a beautiful way to begin the day. The Rosary provides a prayerful opportunity to intercede for our world and for those we feel special concern. The daily eucharist invites us to listen deeply to the word of God and to receive Jesus as Bread of Life, food for our journey through life. Come as you are!

 

Sincere Thanks: the parish has received a bequest of £7,002.36 from the estate of Mr. James Fletcher, who died on November 14th 2023; we offer sincere thanks for this generous gift, and especially to the members of the Fletcher family. James will be remembered among the benefactors of St. Mary’s and St. Paul’s Parish, Hamilton, requiescat in pace.

 

RCIA is now underway and will meet this Thursday evening at 7pm in the parish meeting room. We have six people making this journey and please remember them in your prayers.

 

Coffee Morning and Christmas Card Sale: the parish stall and Fairtrade are holding a joint coffee morning on 16th November after both morning Masses. Christmas cards, Nativity sets, Advent Calendars including Fairtrade Chocolate Calendars, Christmas ornaments will be on sale. A small selection of Fairtrade food and crafts will also be available. Toast and home baking will be served. Proceeds to the Hamilton Foodbank. Please join us in the hall.

 

During November the members of the church pray for those who have gone before us into eternal life, especially members of our families, friends and neighbours, and all who have been good to us in life. Traditionally we write their names on a November List, which are available at the back of the church. Many people include a little donation and for many years we have donated these offerings to charity. I suggest that this year we donate these offerings to Friends of the Holy Land, a small Catholic charity supporting people living through the most difficult circumstances.

You may like to consult www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk

 

Recently Deceased: Henry (Sonny) O’Neill, Ian McAvinchey, Isabella (Ailsa) Cosgrove, Joseph Kane, Agnes O’Donnell, Charles McGuigan, Patricia Reavey (Ireland), Kathleen Casey, Jess Jack, Margaret Maguire, James Milligan, Willie Donnelly (Ireland).

                                                                                                                         

Special Remembrance: Michael McCafferty, Bertie and Maureen Dawson, Gavin Clark, Sadie Burns, Kathleen Zambonini, Brian Bonnar, Mark Hughes, Thomas, Elizabeth and John Kane. Anna Bogan, Sarah Henderson, Alex and Kathleen Lind, Thomas and Mary Linden, William, Agnes, Mary, Michael and Tom Bridges, Brian Carolan Snr. And Jnr., Mark Owen McGuire, and all our own deceased relatives and friends, and all the benefactors of our parish.