AS WE ENTER HEAVEN, WE WILL BE GREETED BY THE GRATEFUL SOULS WE PRAYED FOR IN PURGATORY

“As we enter Heaven, we will see them, so many of them, coming toward us and thanking us. We will ask who

they are and they will say: ‘A poor soul you prayed for in purgatory.'” -Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

It is the time of year to think of the deceased. All Souls’ Day is nearing, and the entire month of

November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Are we ready? Are we preparing ourselves for the

afterlife? Have we prayed enough for those who have gone before us?

St. John of the Cross was saying, “Divine Providence always provides in every life the purification

that is needed to allow us to go straight to Heaven.”

Are we headed there? And what have we done for our loved ones?

“Every trace of attachment to evil must be

eliminated, every imperfection of the soul

corrected,” the great John Paul II once said,

“Purification must be complete, and indeed this is

precisely what is meant by the Church’s teaching

on purgatory.”

“One day I asked the Lord, ‘Lord, who else

should I pray for?’” said St. Sister Faustina.

“Jesus said that on the following night He would

let me know for whom I should always pray for.

The following night, I saw my Guardian Angel

who asked me to follow him. In a moment I was

in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently,

but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid.”

One day, we will not only see the effect of our prayers but the entire interaction between natural and

supernatural, living and dead.

OUR LADY OF LOURDES & St SWITHUN’s CHURCH

in SOUTHSEA

29TH October 2017

XXX Sunday of the

Ordinary Time

My Dearest Brother and Sister in Christ, my Friend

“In many messages, emails, phone calls I was asked do

not write anything about an abortion, because I should not

be involved as a person, who is not from this country, and I

was told I do understand nothing from being Christian

here. So, I do apologies that God has chosen me, a silly

man to become His priest and proclaim His Gospel of Life

here. To respect these opinions, please let me to use the

words of the article written by an English man, very

educated English man, because as a man, and Christian I

do agree with each word he has written. Here it is:

"11.04am on Friday October 27 some of us will gather

in Parliament Square to mark 50 years since Royal Assent

was given to the 1967 Abortion Act. A law which was

intended to allow abortion in certain circumstances became

an elastic law, a law with catastrophic consequences. At

the time only a handful of MPs recognised it as a

dangerous and slippery slope.

Those 29 MPs who voted against its Second Reading

did so because they contested the repeated claims that the

law would only be used in extreme and tragic

circumstances. They were right.

In the half century that has elapsed since its passage

a staggering 8,894,355 unborn babies have lost their lives

– one death every three minutes; 20 lives ended every hour.

With routine and repeat abortions, what was once a

crime has become a lucrative industry.

The sums are staggering. Over the past decade, an

eye-watering £757,832,800 of taxpayers’ money has been

paid to the private sector abortionists. The Times reported

that the boss of Marie Stopes International (MSI) – which

we pay millions of pounds to carry out abortions in Britain

and overseas – received a phenomenal £420,000 in one

recent year alone (four times the Prime Minister’s salary).

Twenty-two of their employees were paid more than

£100,000.

As these operatives oversee the tragic, industrialised

destruction of human life and fuel the conveyor belt that

abortion has become, what are the implications for the

unborn child, their mothers and society?

Last year the Care Quality Commission criticised

MSI after finding dead unborn babies in open bins. Think,

too, of the 32-year-old Irish mother Aisha Chathira, who,

in 2012, died from a heart attack in a taxi caused by

extensive internal blood loss after she had an abortion in

an MSI facility in London.

But beyond the death toll, much else has flowed from

this law.

The medical profession has been subverted, with the

Hippocratic Oath quietly dropped from medical courses

because of its explicit condemnation of abortion.

Preferment in gynaecology and obstetrics has become

virtually impossible for those who refuse to comply.

Conscience has been subverted, as evidenced by the

dismissal of two Catholic midwives in Scotland who refused

to become complicit in ending the lives of unborn children.

Free speech has been subverted, with speakers like

Tim Stanley refused a platform at Oxford University

because of his pro-life views. Non-compliant journalists,

pharmacists, environmental scientists, blue collar and

social workers have been forced from their jobs, while

Jacob Rees-Mogg was recently told he should resign from

Parliament for daring to defend the right to life. Political

parties have made it a question of ideology. All of which

smacks of a coercive liberalism worthy of a totalitarian

state.

Once the sanctity of human life has been thrown into

open trash bins it leads to one enormity after another: the

creation and destruction of more than three million human

embryos, with only four per cent seeing the light of day; the

grotesque manufacture of animal-human hybrid embryos;

and attempts to legalise euthanasia.

The sloganeering culture of death endlessly demands

rights but ignores duties towards the weak and vulnerable.

It elevates “choice” above all other considerations,

debasing language and brooking no opposition.

This culture claims to be on the side of equality and

non-discrimination. Yet it takes no action when little girls

are aborted merely because of their gender or when a

disabled person can be aborted up to and even during birth

(as 90 per cent of all babies with Down’s syndrome are).

This culture builds on the eugenics promoted by the

campaigner Marie Stopes, who railed against the

“diseased and feeble minded” and “the very lowest

members of the community”. It also builds on the remarks

of peers, in the 1967 House of Lords debate, who described

children with disabilities as “Mongols”, “spastics”,

“monstrosities”, “abnormal”, “subnormal”, “retarded”

and “defective”.

This culture refuses to break the financial link

between the abortion industry and independent

counselling, and to provide help for women caught in

crisis. It prefers to bribe Northern Irish woman with offers

of £1,400 for every baby they abort in England rather than

give them equivalent funding or help to save the child or to

promote adoption.

It extends its tentacles into other societies by denying

charities – like Samaritan’s Purse – funding for their

humanitarian work in West Africa unless they agree to

undertake abortions, and by funding programmes like the

brutal one-child policy of forced abortions in China.

This culture ignores the inconvenient findings of

scientists like Professor KJS Anand, one of the world’s

leading experts on foetal pain, that in the light of

“incontrovertible” evidence “it seems prudent to avoid

pain during gestation”. It refuses to look at the

accumulating evidence of the physical and psychological

effects of abortion on women.

It creates its own untruthful narrative, illustrated by

the recent remarks of the president of the Royal College of

Obstetricians and Gynaecologists that abortion is just like

having a bunion removed. When George Orwell wrote

in 1984 that “The party told you to reject the evidence of

your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential

command,” he had people like her in mind.

This, then, is where the 1967 Abortion Act has taken

us and these are the arguments that will be ignored as

media cheerleaders celebrate these 50 years with distorted

and one-sided programmes that caricature opponents as

misogynist, unthinking, unfeeling bigots.

But as the scales are falling from people’s eyes, the

tide of history is turning; and, looking to the future, these

heart and head arguments are slowly changing minds.

As we contest the belief that the ending of a life is

just another choice, the anti-slavery movement’s patient

and dedicated reformers and abolitionists can teach and

inspire us.

It took decades to shift opinion, and for Parliament

to accept that it wasn’t simply a “choice” to own another

human being as a slave. Martin Luther King’s niece, Dr

Alveda King, who had two abortions that she now bitterly

regrets, tells us that in our generation “the right to life is

the greatest human rights cause of our times”.

Opinion polls repeatedly show that the public want

the law made more restrictive – and not decriminalised.

Hundreds of MPs – not 29 – now want the Abortion Act

reformed and many are pro-life. They simply need to be

more PC: politically courageous.

Yes, I wish that more people believed in the

transcendent nature of the sanctity of human life, but I

admit that this is dependent on a belief in God. However,

the good news for the unborn is that science has caught up

with faith and is the game-changer. In an

editorial, Nature magazine spelt it out clearly: “Your world

was shaped in the first 24 hours after conception. Where

your head and feet would sprout, and which side would

form your back and which your belly, were being defined in

the minutes and hours after sperm and egg united.”

And every time the scan allows us to gaze through a

window into the womb we know that this is no bunion but a

new member of the human race.

Prove to me that life does not begin at conception

and I will change my mind about protecting that new life.

Until then, I will continue to insist on Article 3 of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights – that everyone

“has the right to life” – and hope that before another 50

years have passed, our laws and attitudes will reflect these

truths.” Lord Alton of Liverpool is a crossbench peer. This article first appeared in the October 27 2017 issue of the Catholic Herald. With love, friendship and prayers – Fr Marcin

“For those who have had an abortion, this anniversary year is a reminder that 50 years on ‘there is no sin that

God’s mercy cannot reach and wipe away when it finds a repentant heart seeking to be reconciled with the Father’”

the bishops’ conference states.

Parishes are encouraged to hold vigils on 27 October, 50 years to the day that the Abortion Act received Royal

Assent. The vigils, writes the Bishops’ Conference, are an opportunity for Catholics to “pray for and remember all

lives lost before birth” as well as to offer practical and emotional support to women concerned about an unexpected

pregnancy.

Pope Francis points out that Catholics have not done enough to support and accompany pregnant women in

desperate circumstances, write the bishops adding that they hope the vigils will encourage a renewed “sense of

wonder toward the gift of human life.”…. YOU CAN COLLECT THIS LETTER FROM THE BACK OF THE

CHURCH, or YOU CAN FIND IN OUR WEBSITE: http://www.stswithuns.org.uk

DE-MYSTIFYING NATURAL FAMILY

PLANNING (NFP): Sat 11 Nov from 0945-1600 at St

Michael’s Church Leigh Park. A Day for married

couples and anyone interested in making an informed

decision. There will be presentations on a theological

perspective, scientific knowledge, the menopause, news

from experts in the field. Please respond by 10 Oct

mandfl@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk Join us this Friday

(13 Oct) from 1030-1530 at Holy Family Church, in

Southampton to celebrate the development of Caritas.

We will share some of our key projects (incl the

Cathedral parish’s Insight group). For more information

please go to: caritasdioceseofportsmouth@org.uk

ST SWITHUN’S CHURCH - (105 Waverley Road, Southsea PO5 2PL) DAY OF THE

WEEK TIME INTENTION OF

THE HOLY MASS FEASTS & MEMORIALS

of the Holy Liturgy Readings of

a day XXX SUNDAY

IN ORDINARY TIME 29-10-2017

8.30 am 10.15am 5.30pm 6.00 pm

+ Gemma Litchfield RIP For all Parishioners We pray the Rosary in Polish

Mass in Polish: No intention

Exodus 22: 20-26; Psalm 17;

1Thessalonians 1:5c-10;

Matthew 22: 34-40;

MONDAY 30-10-2017

9.30am 10.00am 10.30am

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament

No intention We pray the Rosary

Blessed Winchester Martyrs

Romans 8: 12-17; Psalm 67;

Luke 13: 10-17;

HOMILY: 'Gospel's banquets' - ‘Eschatological Feast: Drama of the locked doors ’ TUESDAY 31-10-2017

VIGIL of ALL SAINTS DAY

9.30 am 10.00am 10.30am 7.00 pm 8.00 pm

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament

Mandy Pereira for special intention

We pray the Rosary

No intention Mass in Polish: No intention

Romans 8: 18-25;

Psalm 125; Luke 13: 18-21;

HOMILY: 'Gospel's banquets' - ‘Eschatological Feast: Christ serve at the table ’ WEDNESDAY ALL SAINTS

01-11-2017

9.30am 10.00am 11.00am

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament

No intention

We pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls

Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14 Psalm 23;

1 John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12a;

THURSDAY 02-11-2017

9.30am 10.00am 10.30am

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament Alan, Patricia and Louise Patricia Noakes RIP We pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls

Wisdom 4: 7-15; Psalm 22;

Romans 5: 5-11 Matthew 11: 25-30;

FRIDAY 03-11-2017

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

9.30 am 10.00am 10.30am 7.00 pm

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament

Those who do not believe or know God

We pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls

No intention, following with Exposition of The

Blessed Sacrament & Divine Mercy Chaplet

St Martin de Porres, Religious

Romans 9: 1-5; Psalm 147;

Luke 14: 21-6;

HOMILY: 'Gospel's banquets' - ‘Eschatological Feast: Three tables ’ SATURDAY 04-11-2017

I SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

9.30am 10.00am 10.30am

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament

Tony and Dorothy Grigg RIP

We pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls

St Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Rom 11:1-2,11-12,25-29 Psalm 93;

Luke 14: 1, 7-11;

HOMILY: 'Gospel's banquets' - ‘Eschatological Feast: Coming from the table of the Heavenly Father ’ XXXI SUNDAY

IN ORDINARY TIME 05-11-2017

8.30 am 10.15am

5.30pm 6.00 pm

+ John Beaumont Owles RIP For all Parishioners We pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls

Mass in Polish: No intention

Malachi 1:14-2:2,8-10; Psalm 130;

1Thessalonians 2:7-9,13;

Matthew 23: 1-12;

OUR LADY OF LOURDES CHURCH (Bransbury Road, Portsmouth PO4 9JY)

WEDNESDAY 01-11-2017

7.00pm

No intention

Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14 Psalm 23;

1 John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12a;

THURSDAY 02-11-2017

12.00noon

No intention

Wisdom 4: 7-15; Psalm 22;

Romans 5: 5-11 Matthew 11: 25-30;

SATURDAY 04-11-2017

VIGIL of SUNDAY

5.30pm

6.00 pm

We pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls

No intention

Malachi 1:14-2:2,8-10; Psalm 130;

1Thessalonians 2:7-9,13;

Matthew 23: 1-12;

OFFERTORY: Thank you for last Sunday’s Collection. The total amount

was: £1306.52 (56% Gift Aid). As always, your generosity is much appreciated. Your donations make the life and work of the Parish possible.

Next weekend is the first weekend of the month,

so as You remember we used to gather the food and donations for life house or bank-food. But, now together with some people of our Parish we would like to help directly those, who are in a very difficult situation of their life, living on the streets. After last few weeks of recognition, I have met 14 homeless people to talk with them, not as a priest, by as a man. I had a very good (and one bad) experience. They shared with me their memories, stories of the lives

and also I could recognize some particular needs which they have for this time. Definitely they need some kind of Travel Mugs, which we would like to provide for them, together with some soups, quick to make, to prepare. Also, they have asked for warm socks. All these things or the donations to buy them and to share with them will be collected next weekend 4th/5th November.

Please, let us be your merciful hand towards those people. Also, we would like to inform You, that our Parish will participate in the special project organized by other Christian Churches to give a place for night sleep for those in need. More information will be shared with You very soon.

RED BOXES: Please return the Missio Boxes to the sacristy, so they can be emptied.

HEAR GOD’S VOICE’ - SCRIPTURE MEETING - following Tuesday on 7TH November. ALL are very welcome - no register, no checking the list from 7.40pm to 9.00pm in the church hall ____________________________________________________________________________

The Parish Pastoral Council have suggested that the Parish might like to have a get together on New Year’s Eve in St. Swithun’s hall; it is proposed to be an American Supper style event where we all bring our own food and drink. It is proposed as a family night so that everyone can bring their children and also friends. We will have our own music (cd’s etc) and there will be games for the children to make the New Year a special event in the Parish. At this stage we are just asking if you would like us to stage this event and would be grateful if you would just put a tick in the column below so that we can assess if there is enough interest.

The parish barn dance/ Ceilidh with the Blarney Band on Sat 13th January 7-10pm in the newsletter? £5 per individual / £10 per family. There will

also be a raffle with great prizes. Donations can be left in the Sacristy.

Holy Day of Obligation: a reminder that 1st November is a day when all

Catholics are obliged to attend Mass in honour of all the Saints. Mass times:

- on 31st October (Tuesday)in St Swithun’s - Vigil Mass at 7.00 PM; and at 8.00 PM (in Polish);

- on 1st November (Wednesday) at 10.00 AM at St Swithun’s (with the whole St Swithun’s Catholic Primary School);

- and on 1st November at 7.00 PM at Our Lady of Lourdes’;

THIS WEEK we’ll enter the month November, the month in which the Church prays for all who

are in the purifying fires of Purgatory, waiting for the day when they will join the company of the saints in heaven.

The celebration of Mass is the highest means the Church can provide for charity for the dead, but we can also

relieve their sufferings through our prayers, sufferings and penances. We can also help the Poor Souls by doing

acts and prayers that have indulgences attached to

them. There are many indulgences, applicable

only to the Souls in Purgatory, which can be

obtained during the month of November. Please,

write (BLOCK CAPITALS) the names of your

deceased members of your family, friends and put

into the box, which is at Sacred Heart’s Chapel or

at Our Lady’s Chapel in our church (the same

one for the offerings for votive candles). For all

those deceased will be celebrated Holy Mass

every Tuesday at 7.00 pm during November. Also

their names will be mentioned in our daily

prayers of the Holy Rosary.

At Our Lady of Lourdes’ Church, please

write (BLOCK CAPITALS) the names of your deceased members of your family, friends in the especially

prepared book. For all those deceased will be celebrated Holy Mass every Thursday at 12.00 noon during

November. Also their names will be mentioned in our Rosary prayers at 5.30 pm on Saturdays of the November.

PLEASE, use the form below:

NOVEMBER 2017: Christians in Asia -

That Christians in Asia, bearing witness to the

Gospel in word and deed, may promote dialogue,

peace, and mutual understanding, especially with those

of other religions.

ALL SOULS HOLY ROSARY REMEMBRENCE

IN THE HOLY ROSARY PRAYER, PLEASE REMEMBER THE SOULS OF:

Catholic Legacy Week 5-11th November. Gifts in your Will are a very valuable and lasting way

you can continue to support the Church’s ministry and mission and help meet the needs of future generations.

Do please consider gifts to the Church and Catholic charities next time you update your Will. For more

information pick up a leaflet; contact Your Catholic Legacy on 020 7095 5370; go to

www.yourcatholiclegacy.org.uk or contact our office.

Refugee Response Day: Friday, 10 November 1-4pm, Venue: St Edward the Confessor RC Church,

191 Winchester Road, Chandler’s Ford, Hampshire SO53 2DU.

Please join us for the afternoon to find out more about and maybe become involved in the local response

to refugees.

Speakers: Jesuit Refugee Service and Rural Refugee NetworkThere will also be time to find out about the

Diocesan Refugee Response Working Group and other local initiatives. If you would like at attend, please

email maidenhead@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk for catering purposes. To find out more about the Diocesan

Refugee Response Working Group, please see www.portsmouthdiocese.org.uk/rrwg

ASSISTED SUICIDE: WILL IT BECOME PART OF THE CURRICULUM? A talk and discussion led by Dr Ed

Neville FRCP Consultant Physician at QA Hospital. If this issue touches you or is your concern you are invited to

set time apart in your diary on Thu 16 Nov at 1930 in CDC. Sponsored by Portsmouth Catholic Medical Association.

There will be light refreshments available.

OUR Parish Cinema’ invites all of us for a show of the

next film: “DOONBY – Every Nobody is somebody”

on Friday 27TH October 8.10pm in St Swithun’s church hall - 91 MIN:

Pro-Life Movie ‘Doonby’ Presents Heartfelt Message on Abortion

Someone once told me, talking about acting and comedy, “People love a magic trick.” In other words,

they love to be shown what they have just missed. Doonby pulls off the magic trick admirably, and

with an emotional effect that is as genuine as it is unexpected.

This film is proof that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The message and the way it is

executed transcend the flaws in the production and leave you thinking about what you just saw well into

the next day Unfortunately, though, these types of films are

hard to get made. In fact, writer/director Peter Mackenzie worked fifteen years to

make Doonby happen. It took one generous investor to foot the entire bill, an investor who is willing to write off the loss if it happens. “It doesn’t matter as long as I

save one life,” he told Mackenzie.

Beacon Project - the next meeting will be held on

Monday 30th October St Swithun's Church Hall (rather than

the Church) from 7.30-9.00pm. ALL are very welcome.

This Pastoral Year 2017-2018 our Baptismal Preparation Course will include 3 meetings: The next preparation meetings will be held on Thursdays: 9th & 30th November and on Thursday 14th December at 7.00pm in the church hall – for BAPTISMS on Sunday 17th December.

Please, take the application form from the sacristy, or from the office, or upload from our website. Please, do your best to practice your faith before You will apply – attend the Holy Mass on lord’s Day – which is Sunday. Thank you for your understanding. Please pray for those who are ill, especially: Dominic, Carol Langsford, Julie Duffy, Patricia Ward, Pat Groom, Stan

Whitnell, Mary Mckana, Eileen Inkpen, Rory McCreesh, Eddie Coppani, Peter Softly, Tony Denny, Betty Foster, Bobby, Eileen

Stewart, Joan Smith, John Williams, Margaret Bager, Monika Madigan, Fred Vuksani, Tom & Lily, Greta Kemp, Magda K, Mary

Wallis, Micheline Thompson, Pat Needham, Margaret Badger, Rosemary Ashton, Anne Sullivan, Catherine Morgan, Arthur Tobin, Jo

Wheeler and Josephine Butler. And all whose anniversaries occur at this time: 29th October: Marion Barcock, Beatrice Boorah, Bishop

William Timothy Cotter, Borus Kesi, Mary Casey, Lily Fuller, Mary Spary, Mary Prior, Reginald Edward George Gilbert, Joseph Andrews, Jane

Jones, Germain Naie Scadden, Mary Margaret Holt, Eileen Huddleston, Canon Patrick McSwiney (PP), Henry McAllister, Minnie Griffin, Margaret

Downing, Anthony Micallef, Dorothy Ginn, John Williams, Joan Brown, Shaun McAuliffe, Thomas Stockbridge, Patrick Davison, Winifred "Una"

Hughes, Ena Egerton, Percy Tiller, Kate Mutton, Beatrice Wilkins, Marjorie Sullivan, Jane Young, Mildred Watkins, Dorothy Marjorie Herd, Janet

Archer Graham Crane, Phyllis Mary Minskell, Freda Dulcie Hudson, William Atkin, Ellen Moran, Kathleen Tanter, Alfred Henry Bioletti Harman,

Derek Vernon Thomas Norris, James Bradley, Roland Madden, Jack Bailey, Margaret Farr, Carmen Hainey, Ethel Frances Softly, Peter Hubert

Gray, Lilian Ralph, Patrick Crawley, Christina Boullin, Marian Johnson, Albert Cook, Christina Dinner, Giovanna Vella, Alfred Ernest Hutchings

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PARISH PRIEST: Father Marcin Drabik, tel: 02392 828305; e-mail: mdrabik@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk; 105 Waverley Road, Southsea, PO5 2PL; Pastoral Assistant: Sr Marie Elise Tel: 07747 728734; Safeguarding Representative: Mo Griffiths - 023 9273 7559 or Anne Worden - 02392 817586

Parish Secretary: Mrs Kathleen Jones (Parish Office: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8.00am –12.30pm) Tel: 02392828305 e-mail: southseaparish@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk Parish website: http://www.stswithuns.org.uk FACEBOOK PROFILE: @Stswithuns.org.uk