EPIPHANY MASS
and the blessing of Holy Water
6th of January
On the 6th of January the Friars at St. Joseph's Church in Portsmouth will be celebrating a Mass at 11am preceded by the blessing of Holy Water at 10.30am. We welcome you all to bring containers so that you can take blessed Epiphany water back to your homes this new year.
END OF YEAR
PRAYER VIGIL
On the 31st of December the Friars will be holding a prayer vigil beginning at 10.30pm at St. Joseph's Church in Portsmouth to welcome the New Year in the company of Our Lord. There will be Adoration and the singing of the Te Deum. You are all welcome to join us!
CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERT
On Sunday 2nd January, the Friars and Sisters will be performing a selection of traditional English, Latin and Italian Christmas carols in St Mary's Church, Gosport, at 5pm.
On the 4th December 2021, the first Saturday of the month, the Marian Franciscans are holding three conferences on St. Joseph at 11.30 following Holy Mass and first Saturday devotions. You are all welcome to join us at St. Mary's in Gosport as we draw to the end of this year of St. Joseph and give thanks for the powerful intercession of this magnificent Saint.
MARIAN RETREAT DAY
On Saturday the 11th of December the friars will hold a Marian day of retreat from 9am to 5pm at St. Joseph's Church and Hall in Portsmouth (PO3 6JH). Join us for Holy Mass, Marian Conferences, Adoration, Benediction, Holy Rosary and more. Everyone is welcome. Ave Maria!
This retreat will also be livestreamed, if you would like to participate in this stream please let us know at stjosephsmarianhouse@gmail.com .
FIRST SATURDAY DEVOTIONS
IN LONDON
Join the Marian Franciscans at the Oratory of St. Mary Magdalene in London on the first Saturday of every month for a day of Marian Devotions in reparation for the offenses committed against Mary's Immaculate Heart.
In accordance with Our Lady's Fatima message concerning First Saturdays, the day involves the Holy Rosary, Sung Mass, Adoration, Benediction, a Marian Talk and a social gathering with some tea and refreshments.
We hope to see you there soon. Ave Maria!
ROSARY CRUSADE 2021
9TH OCTOBER IN LONDON
The 36th Annual Rosary Crusade of Reparation will be held on the 9th of October 2021. Please join the Friars at 13.45pm outside Westminster Cathedral who will be praying and offering reparation for all of the horrendous sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Our Blessed Mother. More information can be found on the flyer below.
On the 4th September 2021 the Marian Franciscans participated in the March for Life in Central London. A huge number of people attended, including many Catholics, who carried a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham and prayed the Rosary, asking for the intercession of the Mother of Life Itself to put an end to the killing of the unborn.
What was once the safest place to be (the mother's womb) has now become one of the most dangerous, with over 25% of pregnancies ending in abortion in the UK. We continue to pray for the souls involved in the perpetration of this barbaric crime, that they may be converted and brought back to the light.
MARCH FOR LIFE 2021
CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION
On Sunday the 6th of June, Our Lord Jesus Christ was accompanied through the streets and into the local park by the friars and faithful at St. Joseph’s Church, Portsmouth. This Corpus Christi procession was a public profession of our faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. The reverence which the faithful (the young children especially) paid Our Lord throughout the procession was a beautiful witness and a clear sign to passers by that the Blessed Sacrament is not a mere piece of bread: He is the Way, the Truth and the Life: the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. In this procession we prayed to Our Lord especially for those living in Portsmouth (and England as a whole), that they may be given the grace to understand and embrace our magnificent Catholic Faith.
Our Lady's cooperation with the Holy Spirit to form Christ in our souls is one of the many beautiful fruits of Marian Consecration. Read Fr Serafino's article to find out more!
St. Joseph is the model workman. His example teaches us the true dignity of work and the importance of using work as a means to glorify God by honouring the gifts and talents He has bestowed upon us. Read this article to find out more!
UPCOMING COMIC ON SAINT VERONICA GIULIANI
St. Veronica Giuliani was an Italian Capuchin Poor Clare nun and mystic who was born in 1660 and died in 1727.
Like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina she received the stigmata. She had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and is a model for those who want to belong totally to the Blessed Virgin. Our Lady called St. Veronica 'Heart of my Heart' and her Marian devotion would arrive at a mystical union with Our Lady.
The Marian Franciscans are embarking on a comic project (a picture book), to make this Saint better known as there is little knowledge of her in the English speaking world.
Please keep this project in your prayers and the friars' outreach apostolate through art and design.
Check out the images below to see how this project is coming along!
NEW TEA WITH MARY SERIES ON LECTIO DIVINA
The Diocese of Portsmouth has extended the 'Year of God's Word' into 2021 to encourage us to "get to love and know the Bible better as a library which brings us into union with Jesus our Lord and Saviour and inspires us by the Holy Spirit to conversion of mind, will and heart." - Bishop Philip Egan.
In commemoration of this Year of the Word, the Marian Franciscans have decided to dedicate a new Tea with Mary series to Lectio Divina (divine reading) which is a life-changing form of prayer which uses the Sacred Scripture to meditate upon God's Word.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that "All Scripture is but one book and this one book is Jesus Christ, because all Scripture speaks of Christ and is fulfilled in Him." (CCC 134). Praying with the Scripture, then, is to pray together with Christ, enabling us to enter into a more intimate union with Him.
Without a good understanding of the Bible, it is hard for us to have a good understanding of Jesus Himself. In fact, Saint Jerome writes that "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ". It is key, therefore, that we spend time reading the Scriptures so that we can know our Lord in a more personal way. All of this can be achieved through the practice of Lectio Divina.
In this new Tea with Mary series, the friars will guide you through the various steps needed to make Lectio Divina fruitful, and you will then have the opportunity to practice Lectio Divina with us live on the show. The friars will also be happy to answer any questions from the viewers. We advise you to have your Bibles and cups of tea ready for the first episode of this series at 5.00pm on Saturday the 16th January!
