The homily preached at St Alphonse on Sunday 25 January 2015 may be found here.

We are pleased to have begun the process of preparing for our Confirmations this year, and the programme for candidates and parents will start shortly. The Confirmations will be celebrated by Archbishop Hollerich at St Alphonse on 31 May, during the 11:15 Mass.

Classes for candidates will be each Wednesday evening from 19:00 until 20:30 in the parish meeting room (accessed via the garden/parking at St Alphonse – parking will be available). There will be no class during school holidays; the full schedule (draft) is published below. This will be confirmed, as it were, shortly. We hope to have two of the classes in the home of candidates: details to be announced.

The first class is due to take place on 25th February. Thereafter:
25 February  (Candidates to be presented at the 11:15 Mass on 28th February)
4 March
11 March
18 March
25 March
15 April
22 April Candidates’ letters to Archbishop
29 April
06 May
13 May
20 May
27 May  (date subject to revision) — Rehearsal in St Alphonse church 19:00

Confirmation Mass Sunday 31 May

Catechists Our team of catechists is led by Marthese Lufi.  Additionally, involvement of parents in classes and other aspects of preparing the celebration will be very welcome. More about this at the parents’ session on February 6th at 19:00 in the meeting room (garden/parking St Alphonse)

Meeting of Parents of Candidates 6 February 19:00 parish meeting room; refreshments will be provided.

Application forms and further information can be downloaded here and will also be distributed through the European School. Completed forms must be handed in to Fr Ed or Marthese Lufi. ALL CANDIDATES MUST BE 15 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, BY 31 MAY 2015. The archdiocese is raising the age for Confirmation to 16, so our next celebrations, following the bi-yearly pattern, will be in 2017, and Candidates for that programme must have reached the age of 16 by the date of the Confirmation Mass of that year.

Thank you,

Fr Ed

In line with our (draft) parish music strategy Towards a strategy for music published in Autumn last year, we are continuing to introduce new Mass settings, shaping a wider repertoire of parts of the Mass with which we can become familiar, and which we can incorporate into our liturgical planning. The Belmont Mass has now become a familiar part of our Sunday worship, and so this Sunday the Music Group, with singers from the choir, introduce A Mass for a Joyful Heart, which will further enrich our worship. The leaflet for Mass this Sunday, with notation (in miniature!) can be found here: Mass of a Joyful Heart 25 Jan 2015. If you can sight-read, it would be great if you could familiarise yourself with the parts of the Mass.

In the longer term, we are planning to introduce the Heritage Mass. More details will be announced.

As always, new singers and musicians are welcome. Last Sunday (18 January) the Music Group numbered 22, and gave a joyful lift to our celebration.

Thank you to all who give of their time and talent each week during our celebration of Mass.

Fr Ed

The following message has been received concerning the Ilula Orphan Program which members of our community have been supporting, and for which our parish has helped raise funds:

‘Dear Friends, sponsors and supporters of IOP,
Please find attached the information letter (which many of you should have already received) and also an invitation for the meeting next Wednesday 28th Jan,  7pm at Sunflower Montessori in Moutfort. On this evening we would like to share photos and letters from our 2014 Ilula trip and also plan for the continued support for  IOP here in Luxembourg.
Please send the invitation to any colleagues or friends who may be interested in attending and please confirm by email as soon as possible the number that will attend.
Thank you for your continued support.’

Attached: The letter, addressed to sponsors of IOP, can be found here.

Fr Ed

‘Gentle and lowly of heart’ is the title of a concert of Latvian folk songs which will take place in the church of St Alphonse at 12:20 on Sunday 1st February. The concert, organised by a member of our music group, focuses on the image of God which permeates Latvian folk songs. The musicians playing at the concert will also be playing alongside our own Music Group at the 11:15 Mass on the same day — something that promises to be a musical feast, and something which further enhances our Sunday worship. Entry is free, and there will be a freewill collection towards expenses, and to help fund an art and music project in the European School called Identity — exploring cultural identity amongst Latvian students.

Fr Ed

A flyer for the concert can be found here:

Further information on Latvian folk music, the ‘kokle’ instrument, and the musicians, can be found here.