LITURGY OF THE WORD PARISH MASS BOOKS [SM] Readings for Sunday Easter Week 5 of (Year A) : Page 265

In compliance with the current guidance from the diocesan insurers PLEASE DO NOT Light candles and place them on the windows or by the statues. Votive Candles should be lit and placed on the votive candle stands ONLY. Thank You

NEWSLETTER BY EMAIL. Please contact the parish office at St Mary’s to be added to our mailing list.

STRUCTURAL WORK ON THE CHURCH [OLG]

Work on the drains and the Coping Stones on the site at St Mary’s is due to be carried out over the next few months. This includes work on the drains and the crumbling coping stones, at a cost in the region of 45K. Scaffold will be erected on or around the 5th of May, and the work will start two weeks later.

Discover the Rosary

Clifton Diocese in partnership with ‘Light of Truth’ are offering ‘Discover the Rosary’. An online session to discover the prayer of the Rosary and how to pray it. The session will take place on Friday 15 May 2026, 7pm-8pm. To sign up for the session, click on the Zoom link here.

More information on other courses & sessions run by the Dominican Sisters Of St Joseph can be found on the link: https://www.lightoftruth.uk/join

On Sunday 17th May Bishop Bosco is preaching at Evensong at 3pm at Wells Cathedral.

Downside choir are joining with the Cathedral Choir. The Church communities of St Michael’s and St Mary’s are invited to the service.

PLEASE NOTE: NO Holy Hour in Glastonbury that day.

WELCOME TO OUR PARISH

We would like to extend a warm welcome to all our parishioners and visitors attending Mass. Whether you are just passing through or looking for a spiritual home, we pray you find our church inviting and spiritually uplifting. If you are attending Mass on a regular basis, we encourage you to register with the parish. Please call our parish office and start the conversation!  Both our church is always open to you, your family, and friends.  

Pax et Bonum [Peace and All Good]

Please note in the newsletter

[OLG] represents events at The Shrine of Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury and [SM] represent events at St Michael’s, Shepton Mallet

Local elections are coming up shortly.

This is an opportunity for Catholics to have respectful, thoughtful conversations with candidates for election, in order to highlight the need to address environmental challenges alongside economic and social priorities. Your voice matters, especially when it is rooted in care, dignity, and hope. For help with engaging politicians, click on the resources prepared by the Catholic Diocesan Environmental Leads Network.

SAVE THE DATE:  Dr Scott Hahn

We are delighted to announce that Dr Scott Hahn, Catholic writer, author, broadcaster and teacher is coming to this country in May and will be speaking at St John the Evangelist, Bath, on Tuesday, 26 May at 7.00pm. It will be a ticketed event only. In addition, Dr. Scott will be signing his books which CTS will bring with them. This is a truly great opportunity for our diocese to welcome Dr Hahn; you will not want to miss this great speaker.

There will be 350 tickets at £20 per person. The timetable for the evening will be:

• 6:00 pm – Doors Open / Check-in / Book Sales & Refreshments, 7:00 pm – Welcome & Introductions, 7:10 pm – First Presentation by Dr. Hahn, “The Lamb’s Supper; The Mass as Heaven and Earth”, 8:10 pm – Intermission (Restrooms / Book Sales / Refreshments) , 8:30 pm – Second Presentation by Dr. Hahn, “Lord, Have Mercy; The Healing Power of Confession”, 9:30 pm – Closing Announcements / Book Signing / Book Sales & Refreshments.

• The CTS will also be here making available Dr Hahn’s books, and, as you can see from the schedule, there is time for signing. To book your ticket please click on the following link: Click here to book tickets.

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Glastonbury will take place on Sunday 6th September.

REQUEST FOR HOLY COMMUNION AT HOME

Please contact the parish office, if you are sick and unable to attend church and require Holy Communion at home. You can do this either by Email or by Telephone, if you are sick and unable to attend church and require Holy Communion at home.

Please do not make the request through friends or parishioners.

MARRIAGE

If you are thinking of getting married, in England or Abroad, you need to be in contact with your parish priest at least 6 months prior to the wedding. This is to allow time for the paperwork, enquiries and necessary permissions from the Marriage Tribunal to have been obtained and paperwork to be sent to the parish where the marriage ceremony is taking place.

PRAYERS PLEASE.

For those who have made petitions requests and all who are ill at home or in hospital, and for the repose of the soul of those whose anniversary occurs at this time, including, Christopher Rimmer, Peggy Vickers, Francis Mc Master, Cynthis Dammann, Robert Wicks, David Domoney.

• Paul Hill requiem mass will be at St Mary’s. on Thursday 7th May at 12 noon. Please keep Paul and his family in your prayers.

THE POPE’S MONTHLY INTENTIONS – MAY

That everyone might have food
Let us pray that everyone, from large producers to small consumers, be committed to avoid wasting food, and to ensure that everyone has access to quality food.

Westminster assisted suicide Bill has fallen:

The assisted suicide Bill has failed to pass all stages in the House of Lords. This means that Kim Leadbeater’s assisted suicide Bill has fallen and will not become law! This is a major milestone, but the battle is not over. Assisted suicide campaigners have said they are going to try to bring the Bill back in the next parliamentary session and use the Parliament Acts to bypass the Lords.

To find out more about this significant milestone and what comes next, visit: https://righttolife.org.uk/LeadbeaterBillFalls

[SM] Family Games & Cake:

All families in the parish are warmly invited to join us at St Michael’s for coffee and cake after Mass on Sunday 7th June. We’ll be gathering in the garden for a relaxed and friendly get-together, with games and activities for the children to enjoy. It’s a wonderful opportunity to spend time together as a community - do come along!

Please note the Mass Time Changes for Sunday 7th June [ONLY]

9:00am mass Glastonbury 11:00am mass Shepton Mallet [No confessions]

Churches Together in Glastonbury

Pentecost Praise Service, Sunday 24th May:  This years' service will once again be held in Glastonbury Abbey, and all the churches in the town are warmly invited to attend. The service begins at 3:00pm and will be followed by a bring and share picnic. All welcome!

Prayer to Our Lady of Good Counsel

O, Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel we beseech thee to come to our assistance, when along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray.

Do Thou, O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, Enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good, render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin.

O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from Thy Divine Son a great love of Virtue and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If Thy hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested along the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the sun of truth and justice under Thy Maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with Thee in the Haven of Salvation. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SOULS.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

Diocesan Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes 2026

This Pilgrimage will be led by Bishop Bosco MacDonald with the Catholic Association of Lourdes UK.

Friday 21st ~ Friday 28th August 2026.

Including Airport transfers from Bristol to Birmingham Airport, Flights to Tarbes–Lourdes–Pyrénées Airport, hotel transfers.

Full pilgrimage programme, including visits to the Grotto of the Apparitions, Mass each day, Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, Sacrament of Reconciliation, visits to sites related to St Bernadette, Open air Mass in the Cite-San– Pierre, Water Gesture, Station of the Cross. Diocesan Day Trip to Bartres (extra charge).

Please email Clifton Diocese Lourdes Pilgrimage to declare an interest.

NOW IS THE TIME

A Symposium to explore the teachings of Pope Leo in his Apostolic Exhortation ‘Dilexi Te' (Love for the Poor) at St Brendan’s College, Brislington, on Saturday 30 May. Keynote speakers - Bishop Bosco MacDonald, Sir John Battle KC*SG & Raymond Friel (CSAN).

The day starts at 10am (refreshments from 9.30am) and finishes at 4pm. Please bring a packed lunch. Click this link to register on Eventbrite.

ALABARÉ is set to pay its own poignant tribute to the military to mark Armed Forces Day 2026, by hosting our latest flagship BIG Sleep at St Paul’s Cathedral.

On Friday, 26 June, 200 participants will attend a memorial event under the dome before sleeping out in the iconic cathedral’s courtyard, waking up on the morning of Armed Forces Day. It’s an important moment to recognise the contribution that military personnel, past and present, have made to British society and in protecting King and country. The BIG Sleep at St Paul’s will be the first ever public sleep out to take place at the world-famous building and is raising awareness and funds for ALABARÉ’s efforts to break the cycle of veterans’ homelessness.

SAFEGUARDING

Our parish operates in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance, and both National and Diocesan policies & procedures at all times. SAFEGUARDING WEBPAGE:

Contact: Email for St. Michael’s or Email for Our Lady St Mary of Glastonbury

CREATING A SAFER ENVIRONMENT - SAFEGUARDING

In line with the CSSA ‘Creating a Safer Environment’, entry to the Sacristy from the Church, when there are servers present, must be recorded.

[OLG] ANYBODY ENTERING DIOCESAN PROPERTY

In compliance with Creating a Safer Environment, nobody has permission to access any of the key boxes unless the parish office has been notified prior to your visit. This week the Key Codes have been changed, going forward you will need to request the code from the parish office so that your details and the reason that you have the code can be recorded. Please do not pass on the codes to anybody, without checking with the parish office. Thank you for your co-operation.

EMERGENCY EXITS

Please take a moment to familiarise yourself with the nearest exit, in case of an emergency. In the unlikely event of having to vacate the church unexpectedly, during a service, please follow the instructions of the priest and our stewards. They will direct you to the nearest exit. Please vacate promptly and leave all belongings. Thank you for helping us keep you safe.