COLLECTING SEEDS
Always collect seeds in a paper bag or envelope and store them in the fridge. They need to be dry and cool so they don't go mouldy or try to grow, so paper works better than plastic and the seeds will keep for longer in the fridge.
If you don't want to collect and store the seed but just want more flowers in your own garden, cut the whole stem off when the seed pods look ready and walk around the garden waving it at your flower beds. You'll see and hear the seeds flying out.
They'll start to grow either immediately or next year - be careful not to weed them out .
POPPIES
These might be pink-red-purple opium poppies, yellow Welsh poppies or red field poppies. Let the flowers die and when the petals fall off, you will be left with a round or oval shaped pod with what looks like a little crown on the top.
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Leave them alone until they dry and go brown. The little crown part will lift a bit and you will be able to see holes appear. You can shake the pod like a pepper pot and the seeds will fall out.
COLUMBINE (AQUILEGIA)
These come in all sorts of colours. When the flowers die and the petals drop, you will be left with a seed head that looks a little bit like a claw - little pods stuck together. They will dry on the plant and go brown. Keep and eye on them as the little pods will twist and start popping open. Then you can bend the stalks over and shake out the seeds (black and shiny)
HONESTY
After the flowers, you will see flat round seed pods appearing. As they dry out they turn from green to pale brown and are nearly transparent. You will see the seeds inside. When they look really dry, pick one off and tear open the covering - it should just flake off. If the seed is dry and brown, they're ready to be collected.
FOXGLOVES
The flowers are on a tall spike and the seed pods that appear afterwards run all the way up the stem. They start going brown from the bottom, so you might have to visit the same plant a few times if you want to collect all the seeds. When it's ready the little pod starts to split, just knock it gently, aiming at your paper bag - or pick it off and shake it out. You will get a lot from even a few pods, they look like fine brown dust.
Click on the image above to access St Mary's page |
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Mass and Service Schedule from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday
Click on the date you are interested in below to be taken to the events for that date.
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Mass Schedule as normal (Vigil Saturday at 5.30, Sunday at 11.00am):
Palms will be blessed and distributed at all Masses.
Service of Tenebrae at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Sunday, 13th April from 7.30pm
No services at St Mary's
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Mass at noon
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No services at St Mary's
Mass of Chrism at the Cathedral 7.30pm For full details click here
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EASTER TRIDUUM
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MAUNDY THURSDAY
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Morning Prayer |
10.15am |
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Mass of the Lord’s Supper (followed by watching) |
7.30pm |
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Night Prayer following Mass and watching |
9.15pm |
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HOLY THURSDAY AT THE CATHEDRAL
Maundy Thursday Office of Readings 10.00am-11.00am
Mass of the Lord's Supper 7.30pm
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GOOD FRIDAY
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Morning Prayer |
10:15 am |
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Stations of the Cross |
11.00am (church) |
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Children’s Stations. |
11.00am - St Mary's Hall |
| Christian Witness in Woolton Village | 12 noon Woolton village |
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Celebration of the Passion of the Lord |
3.00pm |
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Prayers at the foot of the Cross |
7.30pm |
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GOOD FRIDAY AT THE CATHEDRAL
Good Friday Office of Readings 10.00am - 11.00am
Stations of the Cross 11.30am - 12.30pm
Celebration of the Lord's Passion 3.00pm
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Morning Prayer |
9.00am |
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No Confessions |
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Easter Vigil |
8.00pm |
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HOLY SATURDAY AT THE CATHEDRAL
Holy Saturday Office of Readings10.00am - 11.00am
Easter Vigil and First Mass of Easter 8.00pm
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EASTER SUNDAY
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Masses |
11.00am |
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EASTER SUNDAY AT THE CATHEDRAL
9am Mass (Cathedral)
Family Mass 10.00am (Crypt)
Solemn Mass 11.00am (Cathedral)
Sunday Evening Mass 7.00pm. (Crypt)
CHRISTMAS MASSES 2025
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Christmas Eve
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Family Mass 5:30pm Carols 8.30pm Mass 9.00pm |
Carols 6.00pm Mass 6.30pm |
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Christmas Day |
Mass 11.00am |
Mass 9.15am | Mass 11.00am |
RECORDED MESSAGE FOR THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2023 - TRANSCRIPT
For those of you who regularly tune into my weekly message, you know that it is unusual for me to speak from a prepared text, but this week I feel it is the appropriate response to a situation which is involving a number of families in Bishop Eton Primary School, and which I fear is spiralling out of control and affecting the life of the school and indeed the parish as a whole. When we feel aggrieved, we instinctively seek people who will listen to us and support us: it is natural, and I know from my own personal experience how painful it is when we have been hurt or feel let down. I have also learnt that before I have been able to move on in life I have had to let go and allow our Lord to speak to me and heal the hurt. We have a good number of people who are now aggrieved, and the strain is telling on everyone, including the staff in the school and all of us who have been seeking a way forward.
I was deeply troubled in 1989 when I went to Creighton University in Nebraska, for a summer school in Christian Spirituality, but it transformed my life. The Scripture Course, given by a Jesuit, Fr Marty Palmer, opened my eyes to the heart of the gospel message in a way I had never seen it so clearly before. The salvation of the world, the redemption that Christ offers is the peace that comes from reconciliation. As we explored the letters of St Paul, it became clear that the one thing that deeply troubled him was division and disunity. Now, when I read his letters, it leaps out from the page at me all the time. For example, when he is writing to the early Christian community in Corinth about the Mass, he does not mince his words. He writes:
Now in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you.
He goes on, as he always does when confronting problems, to plead with them to be united, to be reconciled and to live in peace.
At the heart of Jesus’s prayer at the Last Supper, the night before he died, were these words:
Father, may they all be one, as I am in you and you are in me, so that the world may believe that it was you who sent me.
Last summer the children in year 5 made their First Holy Communion and I began the school year with a Mass on my birthday in the School Hall. Like the Corinthians 2,000 years ago, we are a Christian family, believing that our Lord will keep his promise and be with us and live in us. Therefore, I hear St Paul pleading with you and me to stop and think about what is going on. I implore everyone to stop the insults, the accusations, the threats and the vitriol that is tearing the community apart in verbal encounters outside the school, emails and WhatsApp exchanges and so on. I am certain that the staff at Bishop Eton have the well-being of all the 400 plus children as their prime concern. I know that they have sought sound advice every step of the way. We can always look back and think that we might have handled certain situations better and we will continue to look for just and peaceful ways forward, but as long as the divisions remain and we face the stand-off that we are experiencing, the healing cannot take place.
Personally, I promise to be available to anyone who wishes to see me if you think I can help to heal the wounds that have opened up, but be assured that we can only meet purposefully if we are prepared to meet one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord, opening our minds to his Spirit and trusting that his Spirit will lead us to the truth.
Finally, may I ask everyone who has only learnt about our troubles as a result of this message, to join us in prayer as we seek a way forward. Prayer is the ultimate powerful weapon. It is the only way to disarm the evil one, whose purpose is to divide and conquer. Just look at the world all around you.
May the Lord watch us all the bless us:
VISIT WE PRAY YOU LORD OUR SCHOOLS, OUR HOMES AND OUR FAMILIES. DRIVE FAR FROM THEM ALL THE SNARES OF THE ENEMY. MAY YOUR HOLY ANGELS DWELL AMONG US TO KEEP US IN PEACE AND YOUR BLESSING BE ALWAYS UPON US, THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD.
WHAT NOW?
Further to my suggestions on my recorded message yesterday, I want to offer some pointers as to how we should proceed after the 19th of this month.
You may have to play with the volume (decrease when Fr Tim is speaking) and increase when Fr Richard (who wasn't wearing a microphone) is speaking.
Obviously, this may be influenced by any further Government directives or advice from the Archdiocese. For now, I propose for your consideration the following:
1. We continue for the time being to record a Mass each weekend.
2. We continue with the present timetable, which is flexible enough to allow for weekly adjustments according to other demands.
3. We continue to require those attending our churches to wear face coverings.
4. We continue to have teams of stewards to supervise and ensure that we remain as safe as possible.
5. We relax the distance requirements in church, using more benches, and asking you always to cooperate with the stewards, who will try and ensure that everyone feels protected.
Reporting Abuse
