Sacred Heart Of Jesus Church, Southend on Sea

05/06/2026

O most holy heart of Jesus,
fountain of every blessing, I adore you,
I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins
I offer you this poor heart of mine.
Make me humble, patient, pure and
wholly obedient to your will. Grant,
Good Jesus, that I may live in you
and for you. Protect me in the midst
of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions.
Give me health of body, assistance in
my temporal needs, your blessing on all
that I do, and the grace of a holy death.

05/06/2026

“At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y48L-yEOPlY Please pray especially for all who are close to death.

At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if...

30/05/2026

Dear Friends in Christ,
This week we return to the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. This Sunday and next, however, are designated as solemnities—special days that call our attention to central mysteries of our faith. Today on Trinity Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity, one God in three persons.

Today’s Gospel is from the beginning of John’s Gospel. The passage we read follows Jesus’ conversation with a Pharisee, Nicodemus, about what it means to be born of both water and the spirit. Nicodemus approaches Jesus at night and acknowledges Jesus as a teacher from God. Jesus tells him that only those who are born from above will see the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus misunderstands and questions how a person can be born more than once. Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. Jesus is essentially explaining Baptism, which we celebrate as a sacrament today. Yet Nicodemus, we are told, still does not understand what Jesus is saying. Jesus continues by testifying to the need to be born from above so that one might have eternal life.

After the dialogue with Nicodemus, the author of the Gospel offers his own explanation of Jesus’ words. This is what we read in today’s Gospel, John 3:16-18.

In the context of today’s focus on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the reading calls our attention to the action of God, who reveals himself in three persons: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God the Father, out of love for the world, sent his Son into the world in order to save it. Through the death and resurrection of the Son, we have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. As three persons, God acts always as a God of love; he does not condemn the world but acts to save it.

The Gospel also calls attention to the response that is required of us. God’s love for us calls us to respond in faith by professing our belief in God’s son, Jesus, and the salvation that he has won for us. This profession of faith is a sign of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Graham

29/05/2026

Sacred Heart of Jesus, Eternal High Priest,
let Thy love flow into the hearts of
Thy priests and transform them into
living images of Thee. By Thy grace,
make them true apostles of Thy Sacred Heart.
I pray for the fulfilment of the promise Thou made to St. Margaret Mary: I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened
hearts on earth, and their everlasting crown hereafter. May Thy Kingdom come to the hearts of all through the ministry of holy priests!
Amen

28/05/2026

“Pope Leo XIV recalls that the proclamation of the Gospel is not effective if we water down its truths or reduce its demands, but only works through joyful people and Christian communities.

He met on Thursday with participants in the Plenary Session of the Dicastery for Evanglization – Section for Fundamental Questions of Evangelization in the World, thanking them for helping welcome over 33 million people to Rome during the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.”

24/05/2026

"The Church is and always must be in a state of Pentecost... we are watching, we are praying, we are asking that our hearts be ignited anew with the Holy Spirit" - Archbishop John Wilson

Last year, we celebrated the Year of Jubilee at Aylesford and Archbishop John's words carry the same urgency today.

So join us in praying that we are "alive in the Holy Spirit so that together we can announce the Good News of God's love and mercy revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ" 🙏

23/05/2026

Dear Friends in Christ,
The Season of Easter concludes with today’s celebration, the Feast of Pentecost. On Pentecost we celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem; this event marks the beginning of the Church. The story of Pentecost is found in the Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading. The account in today’s Gospel, John 20:19-23, also recounts how Jesus gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples. Yet the event in John’s Gospel takes place on Easter Sunday. There is no need to try to reconcile these two accounts. It is enough that we know that after his death, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send to his disciples a helper, an advocate, who would enable them to be his witnesses throughout the world.

In the context of the Feast of Pentecost, John reminds us about the integral connection between the gifts of peace and forgiveness and the action of the Holy Spirit. Jesus greets his disciples with the gift of peace. Jesus then commissions his disciples to continue the work that he has begun, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” He breathes the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and sends them to continue his work of reconciliation through the forgiveness of sins. Jesus’ act of breathing the Holy Spirit mirrors God’s act of breathing life into Adam at the time of Creation. In fact, both the Greek and Hebrew words for “spirit” can also be translated as “breath.”

This Gospel reminds us that the Church is called to be a reconciling presence in the world. The reconciling presence of Christ is celebrated in the Church’s sacramental life. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we are cleansed of sin and become a new creation in Christ. In the Sacrament of Penance, the Church celebrates the mercy of God through the forgiving of sins. This reconciling presence is also to be a way of life for Christians. In situations of conflict, we are to be agents of peace and harmony among people.
Yours in Christ,
Fr Graham

22/05/2026

“At three o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment, immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of agony. This is the hour of great mercy.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y48L-yEOPlY Please pray especially for all who are close to death.

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