I received the following link from my Redemptorist colleagues, concerning the devastating typhoon last week in the Philippines. Our Redemptorist church in Tacloban, one of the worst-affected regions, is currently home to over 2,000 people whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed. The need is desperate.  At the end of the BBC news clip, you can see the picture of Our Lady of Perpetual Help over the door of the church — a real family connection for us… See the video

Our parish council has decided to give the proceeds of our collection this weekend to this cause — and we will match the amount raised from our parish account. We will send the amount raised directly to Fr Aidan McMahon CSsR (from the Dublin Province of the Redemptorists) who is the bursar of the community in Tacloban. And of course, we keep the whole awful situation in our prayers. See photos which dramatically illustrate the emergency…

And a BBC report on the devastated city of Tacloban: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-24953433

Fr Ed

Congratulations to all who were so generous in the shoe-box appeal. We collected over 100 boxes

 which are now on their way, with the rest of the consignment, to Romania and Moldova. You can see the scale of the project on the Shoe box results’ flyer and imagine the joy the boxes will bring to so many children and young people!

This coming Friday, 1 November, is All Saints Day, where we celebrate the memory of all those who have gone before us in faith and who now share God’s glory. Mass Times are: Thursday 19:00 Vigil Mass; Friday 11:15

Saturday 2 November is All Souls Day where we remember in prayer all those we have loved and lost. Mass will be celebrated in St Alphonse (EN, FR & SP) at 10:00. If you would like to write down the names of your deceased loved ones, these may be placed in a basket at the back of church before Mass, and will be brought up in the Offertory Procession to the altar.

There will be no 07:30 Mass on Saturday. The 19:00 Mass will be the usual Vigil Mass of Sunday.

Tonight (Saturday) the clocks go back one hour, giving an extra hour in bed. If you forget to make the adjustment, you’ll be turning up at 10:15 for the 11:15 Mass!

Brian Friel’s celebrated play Translations is coming to Luxembourg, 9-16 November at the Check Inn, Findel.

Luxembourg’s English-language amateur dramatics production company, the New World Theatre, is putting on a run of Brian Friel’s “Translations” at the Check Inn, Findel, from Saturday 9 to Saturday 16 November with performances at 20h:00.

What happens when a foreign military arrives in a small village and cannot speak the language of the residents? The soldiers’ task is to map and translate the placenames of the district but do the residents like or want their land to be renamed and be forced to speak the language of a larger neighbouring land?

Full details here.