Blessings of the Hail Mary & the Rosary  This heavenly Salutation can give us the blessings of Jesus and Mary bountifully, because it is a certain truth that those who glorify Jesus and Mary will be rewarded generously. "I love those who love me...that I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries." (Proverbs 8:17,21) Thus Jesus and Mary also say to us: "The one who sow blessings will also reap blessings." (2 Corinthians 9:6) So if we say the Hail Mary with devotion, we are loving, blessing and glorifying Jesus and Mary. Since in each Hail Mary we say "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.". Therefore, Mary, our Queen of Heaven, would never let us honour her without repaying us a hundred times more. Yes, the Rosary can bestow upon us uncountable blessings: sinners received forgiveness, thirst are refreshed, fettered set free, weep find delight, tempted find tranquility, needy received help, pains of the departed relieved by suffrages...Our Heavenly Mother told Blessed Alan that She wants those who are devoted to Her Rosary to have Her Son's grace and blessing during their lifetime, at their death and after death. She also wants them to be liberated from all kinds of slavery so that they will be like kings with crowns on heads and scepters in hands, in eternal glory. (Reference: ‘The secret of the rosary’, by St Louis Marie de Montfort)

This is an important opportunity for us all to direct our thoughts and prayers to the needs of prisoners and their families, and those who work to support our brothers and sisters affected by the criminal justice system. The number of people in prison in England and Wales is increasing and our prisons are in crisis. In our communities there are more children and families who have a loved one in prison and who may be struggling with stigma, isolation and perhaps hardship, as a result. Pact is the national Catholic charity working to support prisoners, people with convictions, and children and families. Its work is deeply rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, and continues to restore hope and dignity to thousands of people affected by imprisonment. Staff and volunteers work in 68 prisons across England and Wales. Their care and practical support help people in prison stay connected with their families. For more information, please visit: www.prisonadvice.org.uk/faith/events/ prisoners-sunday/

‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’  (Mark 10:21)

Holy Rosary will be held in Our Lady’s Garden at St Peter’s every Sunday in October at 10:45am All are welcome!

The Origin of the Holy Rosary  When St Dominic saw the gravity of people's sins are hindering the Albigensians' conversion, he retreated himself into a forest. For three days and nights he prayed, weep and flogged himself so much that eventually he fell unconsciousness. Then Our Lady came with three Angels and appeared to St Dominic, asking him whether he knows which weapon the Blessed Trinity has used to reform the world. Our Lady then told him the principal weapon has been the Angelic Psalter and he needs to preach her Psalter in order to win those hardened souls over to God. So the comforted Saint got up and went straight to the Cathedral full of burning zeal for those people's conversion. Unseen Angels immediately rang the bells to gather the people to the Church and the Saint started preaching. Initially, a horrible storm broke out, people were terrified because not only the sun darkened but the earth also got shaken. They were even more frightened when they saw a picture of Our Lady raised Her arms three times to heaven to call down God's retribution if they would not convert and seek Her protection. After St Dominic's prayers, the storm stopped and the Saint continued with his preaching so fervently and successfully explain the Holy Rosary's value that almost all the people in that city accepted it and give up their wrong beliefs. A great improvement was seen within a very short period and not only people broke their previous bad habits but they also began to live truly Christian lives. One thing worth noting is that only until 1214 that the Church received the Holy Rosary in the form and method that we use today. (Reference: ‘The secret of the rosary’, by St Louis Marie de Montfort)

The 7th of October will the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the IsraelHamas war. “In this dramatic hour of our history,” the Pope said, “while the winds of war and the fires of violence continue to devastate entire peoples and nations,” the Christian community is reminded of its call to “put itself at the service of humanity”. “Let us walk together,” the Pope urged. “Let us listen to the Lord. And let us be led by the breeze of the Spirit.” Cardinal Vincent Nichols also wrote to the priests of his diocese. “I ask everyone to participate in a day of prayer and fasting for peace in the world.” “Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has also invited us to mark 7 October, as a day of prayer, penance and fasting for peace in the Holy Land. He speaks of the ‘need to pray, to bring our pain and our desire for peace to God. We need to convert, to do penance, and to implore forgiveness.'” “Let us keep in our prayers all who are affected by the violence in the Middle East.”  (CBCEW)

“...from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body… So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ (Mark 10:6-9)

Daniel, a young man in Democratic Republic of the Congo, is carving a better future for his family with carpentry skills he learned in a CAFOD-funded training centre. Give to CAFOD today and you’ll fund training, tools, equipment and safe spaces so more people like Daniel can learn new skills and fulfil their God-given potential. Use the envelope, give online at cafod.org.uk/envelope or scan the QR code. There is a Second Collection this weekend (5th/6th October) for this Appeal

Your invisible Friend & Guardian (3) Do you know? The duties of our Guardian Angels do not end when our earthly lives end. They will still be with us and accompany us before God's Judgement Seat and entrance into Heaven. And if the soul is sent to Purgatory, its Guardian Angel will offer at the throne of God the charities performed on the earth for the good of that Holy Soul, and visit the Holy Soul from time to time and console it until its release. St Margaret Mary Alacoque has witnessed this close relationship: "...an immense space filled with flames and glowing coals and, amid these, a great number of poor souls in human form, raising their hands to Heaven and imploring mercy. But all the while their Guardian Angels were at their side, inspiring them with courage and comforting them in the most tender manner." According to early Church Fathers, the Guardian Angel also helps the soul by inspiring friends and relatives left on earth to pray and offer Masses for their departed loved one. So our Angels will not deserted us until our souls are return back into the Heavenly Home. As soon as the hour of release has struck for one of the suffering souls, the Guardian Angel of that happy soul is commissioned by God to descend into Purgatory, to open the doors of its prison and to lead the delivered soul without delay into the eternal habitations of Paradise. The good Angel descends with the rapidity of lightning into the dismal prison of pain to carry out the work of release because his love for his cherished ward urges him to liberate the Poor Soul and to lead it to the sight and possession of God. The Guardian Angel is often accompanied by other Angels or by a whole multitude of Angels, and then the entrance of the released soul is truly a triumphant one. How grateful we should be to our Guardian Angels for all their devotion to us and all our indebtedness to them! St Bernard taught us that one should show to his Guardian Angel, reverence for his presence, devotion and affection for his benevolence, and unbounded confidence in his protection. " O angel of God, to whose holy care I am committed by the divine clemency, enlighten, guard, guide, and govern me. Amen! " (100 days Ind.) References: Rev Richard O'Kennedy, "The Holy Angels", New York: Catholic Publication Society Co, 1887 https://angelsandsaintsandus.blogspot.com/2011/11/angelsand-holy-souls.html