Blog Post
Lenten Reading
A suggested book for Lent
Fr Simon writes: As we head towards the Lenten season, I would like to recommend a book - Healing Wounds - for those who are seeking some Lenten reading. A contemplative book, Healing Wounds provides a structure to guide readers through a journey of reflection, beginning with the raw reality of suffering and moving toward the possibility of redemption and renewal. The author, Bishop Erik Varden, is a Trappist monk. Formerly the Abbott of Mount St Bernard's Abbey in Leicestershire, he is now the Bishop of Trondheim in Norway, the country of his birth. Bishop Varden is the author of a number of books and articles in the field of Christian spirituality and monasticism. He is likewise a musician and studied Gregorian chant, co-founding the Chant Forum with Margaret Truran of Stanbrook Abbey. I have three copies the book available, priced at £11.95, for those who wish to buy one. Otherwise, it is available as a book or an e-book on Amazon or from other good bookshops and online retailers. We have arranged for two sessions in Lent for discussion of the book in the parish centre over tea and coffee - one for those who cannot come during the day at 7pm on Monday 31st March and one on Wednesday 2nd April from 10.45am to 12 noon.
Jack Clarke is the Chair of our Parish Pastoral Council and is also on a journey to being ordained as a Deacon for our parish on 29th November 2025. This Tuesday, 18th March, you are invited to a Mass in church at 7pm when Bishop Marcus will institute Jack and a fellow candidate for the Diaconate, Dominic Williams from the parish of St Peter & Paul in Wakefield, as Acolytes - a ministry which appoints them to distribute the Eucharist to the assembly. Please do join us for a very important milestone for both Jack and Dominic in their preparation for the Diaconate. There will be a reception afterwards in the parish centre. Click the button below for an insight into Jack's story.
Throughout Lent, on Tuesday evenings, there is a series of House Masses in the parish. A sign up sheet is available in the narthex for the next mass to be held at 7pm on Tuesday 25th March. Thank you to the Walker family for hosting the first Lenten House Mass. Details of where the Mass is being held will be sent to you after sign up - just drop an email to Caroline in the office once you're on the list. Those hosting will provide a room for the Mass and tea/coffee afterwards.
Fr Simon writes: I'm sure that, in the last few weeks, many of us have been disturbed by events on the world scene as lines of division between nations have deepened and hopes for peace seems to have taken a downturn. Often, at times like this, we can only turn to prayer as 'nothing is impossible for God' (Luke 1:37). Together, as a parish, we are invited to come together to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, in Mass, the sacrament of Reconciliation and in the Stations of the Cross during a period of 24 hours from 6pm on Friday 28th March to 6pm on Saturday 29th March. The event will open with Station of the Cross at 6pm followed by Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and confessions will be available in the sacristy immediately following the Stations. The Blessed Sacrament will remain on the altar for adoration until 5pm on Saturday when Mass will complete the 24 hour period of prayer. Confessions will be available between 11am and noon on Saturday and at the usual time between 4pm and 4.45pm, giving pa
Stations of the Cross for Lent will start this Friday at 6pm in Church and each Friday evening after including Good Friday. Please do join us for this journey with Christ in His Passion.
Many thanks to the children and staff of St John Fisher's and St Robert's Schools who joined us for Mass on Friday 7th March to mark the Jubilee logo arriving in Harrogate on its journey around every school and college as part of the Jubilee year. We celebrated together as 'pilgrims of hope' and reflected upon the importance of the Jubilee for our schools and our parish community. Over recent days the logo has also visited schools in Ripon, Knaresborough and St Joseph's Harrogate. We continue to pray for each other, fellow pilgrims of hope in this Jubilee Year.
Father John Butters of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, formerly professor of Moral Theology at Ushaw College, will lead us in a day of recollection on Wednesday 9th April with the theme of looking towards the liturgies of Holy Week. Do join us for what should be an enjoyable and stimulating day of prayer and reflection towards the end of the Lenten season. Timings for the day will be published in due course but it is likely to start sometime after 10am with coffee, a talk, exposition, Mass, lunch and a final talk. Fr Butters will also be available for confessions.
Bishop Marcus will confer the Ministry of Acolyte on our candidate for the Diaconate, Jack Clarke, at a Mass in St Robert’s at 7pm on Tuesday 18th March. Dominic Williams, from the parish of St Peter and St Paul in Wakefield, will also receive the same ministry at that Mass. Do make a note in your diary and come along, if you can, to support Jack and Dominic in this important step on their road to the Diaconal ministry.
A number of parishioners have expressed concerns about the scrutiny of Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide Bill. Here is a link to the Right to Life webpage which can assist you in letting your local MP know your concerns about this bill and the manner in which it is being progressed.
Please pray for our children preparing to make their first Reconciliation in April. The sacrament will take place at 3pm on Saturday 5th April and preparation sessions will take place on Sunday mornings after the 9am mass on 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th March. Attendance is expected at all sessions. A parent’s session will be held on Wednesday 12th February 7-8pm in the parish centre.
Please hand the completed form, with a copy of baptism certificate to Fr Simon after Mass. The final date for submission of forms for this year’s programme is 9th February - any names submitted after that date will be placed onto the programme beginning late 2026 in preparation to receive the Sacrament in 2026.
Parents of children in school year 4 and above who regularly attend mass are invited to make an application for the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We are delighted that you have decided to continue your child's journey of faith following baptism and the sacrament of reconciliation, underlining your fidelity to regular Sunday Mass. The First Holy Communion Programme will begin with a parents evening at 7pm on Tuesday 22 nd April 2025 in the parish centre. This will be an opportunity for all parents to attend a presentation on what the programme involves and on the work that they are expected to do with their children at home between the sessions. The catechesis will take place after the 9am Mass from 10-11.30am on Sundays 27 th April, 11 th May and 18 th May with your child receiving First Holy Communion at your usual mass time throughout June. Please arrange with Fr Simon the mass date and time you would like your child to receive the sacrament for the first time. A plenary mass, when all the children come together to be presented to the parish and receive their certificates, will take place at 9am on Sunday 6 th July. If you are content to commit to bringing your child up in the practise of the faith and are prepared to be part of the worshipping community of St Roberts, and would like to enrol your child for preparation for First Holy Communion, please complete the form in the narthex and hand to Fr Simon after Mass by 30 th March 2025. Please note if your child completed their First Reconciliation in 2025, your child will complete their First Holy Communion in 2026.