8 Ogle Street, London, W1W 6HS Tel.: 020 7636 2883

Saturday Vigil Mass: 6pm & 8:30pm with the Neocatechumenal communities.

Sunday Mass: 9am, 11am, 6pm.

Weekday Mass: 12:30pm & 6pm.

Saturdays & Bank Holidays: 10am.

Confessions: every day after Mass, On Call, Sat. 10:30-11am & 5:30-6pm.

Morning Prayer: Monday to Friday, 6:30am in the Crypt

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: every Wednesday, 6:30 to 8:30pm

The Way of the Cross: every Friday, 6:30pm

Lenten Alms & Saint Anthony's Bread: at the safe in the Porch

Today is the Sunday of THE FIRST BAPTISM SCRUTINY. Today the Church dialogues with all those asking to be baptised at Easter, to see if their motives are clear, and that they are well catechised and prepared.

The Scrutiny Gospel tells of the meeting of Jesus with the Samaritan woman, at Jacob's well.

This is an "icon" of the meeting that each one of us must have with Our Lord Jesus Christ, as we prepare to renew our Baptism at the great Easter Vigil.

Christ is the only one who can reveal to you and me, the full story of our life. He alone can explain the often hidden meaning of the family history that has formed us, and of the events that are now shaping our lives.

Only Christ can reveal the true purpose of all our sufferings and joys, our failures and successes, and of all that has been tragic or magnificent in our lives; and of all our human relationships.

The grace of this scrutiny is to be reconciled, to be at peace, with our history, and never to deny or reject it.

Where can this meeting take place? Where can we dialogue with Christ? Where? At Jacob's Well. That is the place where, tired and thirsty on our Lenten journey, we can find some rest and refreshment., Where is Jacob's Well?

It is the Sunday Mass, our weekly Eucharist, our Lenten Liturgy. Do not let this grace, this gift, pass you by.....

"HE TOLD ME EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER DONE"

There are 40 days of Lent + 3 DAYS OF PASSOVER + and 50 days of Rejoicing!

All these make up one "joyful season" called "Paschaltide" and the heart of this season is the PASCHAL TRIDUUM.

The Triduum is the three days, counted sunset to sunset from Maundy Thursday evening to Easter Sunday evening,

During these three days we keep ONE feast, the feast of Passover, or as we say in English, EASTER.

These three days are ONE celebration. They are not three different feasts!
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday are not the preparation for Easter. They ARE Easter!

During these three days we lay aside all normal activities in order to keep our "PASCHA". During these three days we do no shopping; no sport; no visiting; no entertaining and no going to entertainment.

Not because any of these things are bad. They are not. But because the TRIDUUM is more important. These three days of the holiest days of the year. They are holier than any holyday of obligation. Now is the time to plan for the Triduum. This year the Triduum begins when the season of Lent ends on the evening of Maundy Thursday 1st April 2010.

On Wednesday we set out in a great caravan of pilgrims to cross the Lenten desert, to the "Feat of Feasts", to the "Night of Nights", to the Easter Vigil, to Passover!

No one survives in the desert alone. We must stay with the caravan, keep close to the community, and stay with the word of God.

Resist the temptation to turn Lent into a time for pursuing your own individual, personal holiness.

God wants to make Passover with a people, not just a person. So think in terms of US, not simply in terms of ME.

Come! Be part of the community, the caravan, and take your place among God's people as Lent begins this week.

Ash Wednesday Liturgy of the Word & Imposition of the Ashes

8am 12:30pm 6pm 8pm