Welcome

Welcome:

Welcome to the web site for the Roman Catholic parish of St. Mary Magdalen Ipswich.  We welcome all visitors and newcomers to the Church, and hope that you find everything you are looking for on this site. Our aim is to keep this web space up to date with current parish news, information and events, aiming to be accessible for the people of the parish and the community in which we are situated.

Under the guidance and leadership of our parish priest, Fr Luke Goymour and his assistant priest Fr Paul Chanh, we are looking to expand and enrich our community in youth projects, music in worship, children's liturgy and other areas. If you want to be active in our future please speak with Fr Paul at the church, or use the contact page. 

If you have any comments about this site, its content or suggestions for additional content, particularly if you could not find the information you were looking for, please use the contact form to send a message to the webmaster.

On-Line Giving

During the times when our ability to attend church in person was impacted by Coronavirus restrictions, on-line donations to our offertory collection were a lifeline for the parish.  Even if you are now attending again in person, please consider donating on-line to our offertory by setting up a regular payment by standing order from your bank account, or alternatively you can make a one-off payment. This is easy to do - you can find details here. 

A Prayer for Ukraine

Mary, Our Lady of Kiev, Mother of God,
we ask you to intercede for the people of Ukraine,
for their government
and all who suffer as a result of war.

Be with them as you stood beside your son,
suffering on the cross at Calvary.
Give them strength and courage 
through faith, hope and justice.

May we, in our turn,
support them through prayer and generosity
that human lives may be saved,
that the injured may be healed,
that the dead rest in peace,
that there will be peace after the war.
Amen

Prayers for the Sick

Almighty and Eternal God, You are the everlasting health of those who believe in You. We ask you to remember those in our parish who are unwell, afflicted or distressed. Grant them comfort, relief and consolation of your Holy Spirit and through the aid of Your tender mercy, restore  them to bodily health. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Find our Facebook Page

Use the QR Code below to find the St Mary Magdalen Facebook group which you can join.

St Mary Magdalen's Parish Newsletter
The latest issue of the parish newsletter is available on-line: you can find it here.
Back copies of the parish newsletter from 2018 to date are also available on-line in the newsletter archive- select Newsletters from the menu bar, and then select the year required.

The Diocesan Newspaper
You can read the latest edition of Catholic East Anglia, the Diocesan newspaper on-line: you can find it here.

Fr Luke's Homilies
Each week, Fr Luke Goymour records and publishes his homily. You can listen to these recordings by clicking here.

The Divine Mercy
Each Friday, after the 10:00 am Mass, there will be Exposition, a Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Benediction

The Sacred Triduum

Holy Week is the most solemn and glorious week in Christianity, the pinnacle of the liturgical year. It's more sacred than Christmas because Holy Week commemorates the final week of Our Lord's life, the very purpose for which Christmas happened. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when Jesus made his final triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, and culminates with Easter Sunday.

Sundown on Holy Thursday to sundown on Easter Sunday is considered the most solemn part of the liturgical year. This three-day period is referred to as the Easter Triduum, also known as the Sacred Triduum, or Paschal Triduum. The word "triduum" comes from the Latin from tris (“three”) and dies (“day”). The Sacred Triduum is one great festival recounting the last three days of Jesus' life on earth and the events of his Passion and Resurrection, when the Lamb of God laid down his life in atonement for our sins.

Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday) - 17^th April 8:00 pm

The evening Mass on Holy Thursday is referred to as The Mass of the Lord's Supper, when the Church re-lives the institution of the Eucharist and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at the Last Supper, as well as the institution of the priesthood, which took place the evening before Jesus was crucified. On Holy Thursday, Jesus gave an example of how we should serve one another by washing the feet of his disciples. This act of service and humility is commemorated at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper when the priest washes the feet of 12 persons of the congregation. At the end of Mass, the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the Tabernacle and transferred to an Altar of Repose, leaving the altar stripped bare ready for the solemn celebration of the Passion of the Lord the next day. We then have watching in front of the Altar of Repose until 10:00 pm, remembering Jesus' request in the Garden of Gethsemane for someone to "watch and pray" with Him.

Good Friday - 19^th April 3:00 pm

Good Friday is a mandatory day of fasting and abstinence. This is the day of the crucifixion, the day Jesus died for the sins of the world. The church altar looks very different on Good Friday - it is stripped bare. There is no Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle - it was transferred on Holy Thursday night to the "altar of repose" to signify Jesus' death. The sanctuary lamp is extinguished, and the tabernacle doors are left open to show that it is empty. Jesus is gone. This is quite dramatic, reminding us that Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and prayer. The ceremony on Good Friday is not a Mass - it is a service of solemn liturgy of prayer and readings commemorating the Passion of Our Lord. During the ceremony, the Crucifix, a reminder of that on which Christ died, is venerated and Holy Communion is distributed. Good Friday is the only day of the year on which no Masses are celebrated. The Good Friday service takes place at 3 p.m., the hour that Jesus breathed his last on the cross.

Later on Good Friday, at 6:00 pm, we have Stations of the Cross - this is one of the most simple, yet powerful, ways to prayerfully walk alongside Jesus on his way to Calvary and encounter him like never before.

The Easter Vigil in the Holy Night - 20^th April 8:00 pm

A vigil Mass is held after nightfall on Holy Saturday, or before dawn on Easter Sunday, in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. The vigil is divided into four parts - the service of light when the Paschal Candle representing the risen Christ is lit from the Easter fire, the liturgy of the Word, where we listen to old testament readings telling the history of our creation and salvation, the liturgy of Baptism where water for the Font is blessed and we renew the promises that we made, or were made for us, at our Baptism, and the liturgy of the Eucharist the first Mass of Easter where we greet the Risen Christ and gratefully receive Him in Holy Communion.

Parish Missional Prayer

God our Father, we give you thanks and praise for calling us to share in the fullness of life and love that Jesus won for us. Pour out your Holy Spirit upon our parish community. Changed by your Spirit, may we become a community of disciples, attentive to the needs of all who come through our doors, and even those who don’t. We pray for your blessing upon every person in our parish community, and on all who live in and around our parish. May they know your love, your presence, and your power in their lives. For all who are struggling at this moment, we ask that you enter their lives and lift them. May our parish become a place of adoration, where the hungry are fed, the sick are healed, the bereaved are comforted, and all are made whole. Soften our hearts to your will. Make us open to what you desire to do in and through our parish, and give us the courage and strength to follow your call.

We make this prayer in Jesus' name. Amen

The Divine Mercy