Our Pilgrimage to Clacton on Saturday 28th June proved to be a very special day much enjoyed by our pilgrims despite the hot weather. Our day began with refreshments in the church hall before joining parishioners from Our Lady of Light and St Osyth for a morning of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Sacrament of Reconciliation fulfilling most of the requirement necessary for jubilee indulgences to be granted. We also enjoyed an hour of personal reflection most of us choosing to enjoy the sea view and fresh air of the promenade returning then to the church hall to enjoy a delicious fish & chips lunch followed by a walk to St Michael's care home to pray the Rosary with the sisters and some of the residents before heading back to Our Lady of Light for our pilgrims mass. A full and very rewarding day!
We would like to thank Fr Patrick and John Twyford for their wonderful hospitality in the hall and church and Sr Philomena of St Michael's care home for welcoming us into their chapel and gardens.
We enjoyed so much the intimacy of this pilgrimage as a parish that we are already thinking ahead to next year and looking for a suitable venue.
If you have any suggestions please contact he spirituality team:
Helena McInally, Irene Marshall, Angie Hart and Fr Gordon.
DECREE ON THE GRANTING OF THE INDULGENCE
Pope Francis in his Papal Bull ‘Spes Non Confundit’ (Hope is not disappointed) has called all Christians to become pilgrims of hope. The Holy Father has declared that the gift of the Indulgence ‘is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy. Pope Francis wishing to encourage the souls of the faithful and nourish the pious desire to obtain the Indulgence seen as a gift specific to each Holy Year, establishes the following indications, so that the faithful may take advantage of the ‘norms’ for obtaining and rendering spiritually fruitful the practice of the Jubilee indulgence.
The Jubilee Indulgence is a gift of grace granted by the Church. It involves the remission of all temporal punishment due to sin for those who are truly repentant and free from attachment to sin, purified through the Sacrament of Penance, nourished by Holy Communion and have prayed for the Pope’s intention.
The Holy Father in his ‘Decree on the Granting of the Indulgence’ has stated that the faithful, pilgrim of hope, will be able to obtain the Jubilee indulgence granted by the Holy Father if they undertake a pious pilgrimage. The pilgrimage can be any sacred Jubilee site in Rome, in the Holy Land, or a Cathedral or other church or sacred place designated by the local Ordinary. Bishop Alan Williams, Bishop of Brentwood, has designed the National Shrine of Our Lady of Light in Clacton on Sea as a sacred place for pilgrimage in the Jubilee Year 2025. To qualify for the Indulgence by visiting the National Shrine of Our Lady of Light, you need to do one of the following:
- Participate in the Holy Mass or other liturgical celebrations (e.g the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, or the Way of the Cross).
- Spend time in Eucharistic adoration and private prayer including The Our Father, The Profession of Faith (Apostles’ Creed or Nicene Creed), Prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary (e g Hail Mary).
In addition you must complete the following within 20 days of the visit:
- Go to Confession to be purified of your sins.
- Received Holy Communion with reverence.
- Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (these prayers may include one Our Father, on Hail Mary, and a Glory Be, but any prayer for the Pope’s intentions suffices).
The indulgence can also be applied to yourself or to the souls in Purgatory.
