Holiday Newsletter: No publication for the next two weeks
Sunday 27th August 2023
Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Masses & Liturgies for the Coming Week…
Saturday 26thAugust
9am – 10am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday 27thAugust
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tuesday 29th August
11am Requiem Mass for Marjorie Finn RIP
5pm – 6pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
Wednesday 30thAugust
9:15 am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Mass, Ss Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line and Margaret Ward, Martyrs (Memoria)
St. Margaret Clitherow was born in York in 1556, and died there on the 25th March 1586. At 15, she married a butcher, John Clitherow, and three years later became a Catholic. She hid priests in their house. In 1586, the secret hiding places were discovered. She refused to plead at her trial, for which she was crushed to death.
Thursday 31stAugust
9:15 am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Mass, Saint Aidan and Saints of Lindisfarne (Memoria)
St. Aidan, born in Ireland and died at Bamburgh (Northumberland) in 651A.D. A monk of Iona, he was sent to Northumbria when King Oswald asked for help in converting his kingdom, and established his monastery on the island of Lindisfarne. With him are remembered the holy abbots, bishops, teachers and missionaries who made Lindisfarne a cradle of English Christianity.
Friday 1st September
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Mass Saint Edmund Arrowsmith, Priest & Martyr (Feast)
St. Edmund Arrowsmith, born in 1585 at Haydock, was ordanied at Douai and began his work in Lancashire, including Salmesbury and Walton-le-Dale; he was amazingly zealous in his work, despite one arrest; finally arrested in 1628, he was imprisoned and martyred at Lancaster.
Saturday 2nd September
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (In the Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday 3rd September
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
MONDAY 4th September
10am Mass, Saint Cuthbert, Bishop (Memoria)
St. Cuthbert was born 643A.D, died on Farne 20th March 687 A.D. A shepherd boy, he became a monk at Melrose. After the Synod of Whitby in 664 A.D, he became prior of Lindisfarne and won over the community to Roman customs. In 676 A.D. he left the monastery to live in solitude on the island of Farne. For the last two years of his life he served as bishop of Lindisfarne but returned to his island to die.
Wednesday 6th September
10am Mass ( Feria)
Friday 8thSeptember
9:10am St. Oswald's School 'New School Year' Liturgy – Everyone is welcome
2:45pm St. Mary's School, 'New School Year' Liturgy – Everyone is welcome
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Parish Patronal Mass – The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Solemnity)
followed by the Altar Servers Pizza Night
Saturday 9th September
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (In the Lady Chapel)
'Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did.' - St. Maximilian Kolbe
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time followed by Torchlight procession to the Grotto (Weather permitting)
Sunday 10thSeptember
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time and Procession of the Statue of Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle (Weather permitting)
2pm St. Mary's Celebratory Afternoon Tea (Tickets All Sold Out)
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (26th August - 2nd September), the sanctuary lamp is for the McGowan Family
Next week (2nd September - 9th September), the Sanctuary Lamp is for the Fussell & Beveridge Families
Last Week's Offertory Collection
£523.50. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Welcome & Thank You
On behalf of us all here at St. Mary's I would like to thank all the priests who have kindly offered their help while I take a good long holiday over the next few weeks. Thank you to Frs. Ethelbert Arua, Peter Ezekpeazu, Stephen Adedji from the religious congregation of the Oblates of St. Joseph, based at St. Wulstan's, Great Harwood. Thank you to Fr. Gambella working in the Aberdeen diocese, originally from Blackburn, and Fr. Stamp, who everyone at St. Mary's knows, from the parish of Holy Apostles in Rossendale.
I'll temporarily return (7th Sept - 13th Sept) for our parish feast before heading off for the second part of my break. Fr. Stamp has generously offered to be the emergency contact priest and will undertake any funerals while I'm away. He's based at St. Peter's, Newchurch, Chapel Street, Rossendale, BB4 9EE; Tel: 01706 614 532.
I know the priests will be warmly welcomed and that parishioners appreciate the Holy Mass being offered both at weekends and during the week. It's been many years since I've been able to take a good long break in one go so thank you again to all those who have made it possible.
God Bless Fr. O
Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle
On the 8th September (which is the feast of Our Lady's Birthday), in 1948 St. Mary's was formally consecrated because the parish was finally debt free for the first time since 1897! By the side entrance to the church (Hawthorn Ave), there is a memorial stone to commemorate this event. This is our parish feast and so from Friday 8th September – Sunday 10th September this year there will be different opportunities for both prayer and celebration. Please feel free to invite family, friends and neighbours to any of the Masses and Liturgies and let them know they'll be warmly welcomed. It's a great time to witness that St. Mary's is a Catholic community of prayer who are proud of our faith in Jesus Christ and want others to know about the blessings that Our Lady gives.
Friday 8th September
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Parish Feast Day Mass, The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
7pm Altar Servers Pizza Night
Saturday 9th September
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Votive Mass (In the Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary
6:30pm Vigil Mass followed by Torchlight Procession to the Grotto of Our Lady (weather permitting)
Sunday 10th September
9:30am The Holy Rosary
10am Mass beginning with the procession of the statue of Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle
2pm St. Mary's Celebratory Afternoon Tea (All Tickets Sold Out)
Parish Summer Raffle
Tickets for the Parish Summer Raffle are available – £1 at ticket. The Raffle will be drawn after Sunday 10th September and the winning numbers will be placed on the noticeboard in the church narthex (by the stewards desk). Thanks as always for your help and generosity towards church.
Parish Coach Trip to St. Mary's College (Seminary), Oscott
Adam Bamber, our seminarian, has invited us to spend an afternoon at his seminary, Oscott Birmingham, as part of the college initiative called "Parish Sunday". The day will comprise of afternoon tea on arrival at Oscott, a tour of the seminary led by Adam and other seminarians and culminates in joining the Community for Solemn Vespers in the College chapel. This will take place on Sunday 15th October. A coach has been booked leaving church at
12.00 noon prompt. We hope to be back in Oswaldtwistle by 9pm. I've asked the coach company to make a stop on the return journey to Oswaldtwistle via Knutsford Services. It will give people an opportunity to get something warm to to eat and drink as there is an M&S, Costa, Burger King and KFC there. Places are limited so please book early to ensure you get a seat. The cost of the whole experience is £20 per person. There is a sign up sheet with the stewards at the back of church if you are interested.
Parish Envelopes
Over the next few weeks would parishioners, who kindly donate to the parish via their weekly envelopes, just clarify the number on their envelope and their address with the list the stewards have the back of church. The dust is still settling after the Covid pandemic and because it's such a huge boost to the parish finances we want to make sure we have everything perfect and confirm peoples details with our records. Thank you again for all you do to support St. Mary's.
Parish Donations
Many people have asked can they donate monies towards the parish via Direct Debit and if so what is the name of the parish account: SRCDTR ST MARY OSWALDTWISTLE.
Thank you for your continued support.
St. Mary's Warm Welcome
Back by popular demand... The next warm welcome is on Tuesday 19th September from 1pm – 3pm. Everyone and anyone is welcome! We have some talented parishioners who will dispel the coming autumn blues with live upbeat music that everyone can sing along to. Plus there's unlimited brews and fantastic homemade cake in a warm space. Why not come along and experience something different. Dates for the Warm Welcome: 19th Sept, 3rd Oct, 17th Oct, 31st Oct, 14th Nov, 28th Nov, 12th Dec
Parish Bible Study – St. John's Gospel
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!" - St. Jerome
A strong statement from St. Jerome yet true. One of the simplest ways to come close to Our Lord, to know him better, is to pick up our bible yet this can be a daunting thing. Where do we start? How are we meant to read this or understand that? This autumn/winter there will be the opportunity for scripture study in the parish – open to everyone. No prior knowledge is expected, no biblical or theological training is needed. Simply bring yourself, your bible, and the desire to know God more. I thought we could begin journeying through St. John's Gospel. I'll be using a CTS (Catholic Truth Society) Bible. You can order these from Amazon or ask me.
The Parish Bible Study group will meet every two weeks on a Wednesday from 7pm – 8pm. Even if you can only make one session it's worth doing:
4th Oct, 18th Oct, 1st Nov, 15th Nov, 29th Nov, 13th Dec – Everyone is welcome.
Parish Social: Franco's
We are blessed to have a group of parishioners who are busy organising a parish social at Franco's for 22nd October. Watch this space with more details to follow.
Sacramental Preparation for Young People
If there are any young people, ages 7+. who are baptised Roman Catholics, live in the parish boundaries and would like to begin preparing to receive God's mercy in the Sacrament of Confession and His love in First Holy Communion, then please see Fr. O'Brien at the end of the Mass you usually come to.
Confirmation Preparation
If there are any young parishioners, ages 12 +, who are baptised Roman Catholics, live in the parish boundaries and would like to know more about the Sacrament of Confirmation please see Fr. O'Brien.
Mass for Vocations to the Priesthood
Each month, our diocesan vocations team travels to a different deanery to hold a special Mass for the future of the priesthood in our diocese. Our next Mass for Vocations to the Priesthood is set to take place on Thursday 14th September at St Monica's in Flixton. All are welcome to attend! Missed this? Last week, we were delighted to share the vocation story of one of our diocesan priests. Watch online now at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SftOl2vVMXk
Our Faith, Our Planet, Our Commitments
Thursday 14th September 2023, 6.30pm – 9.30pm Manchester Museum
An annual conference on climate change is set to take place next month to discuss ways people can work together to reduce our carbon footprint. Our Faith, Our Planet, Our Commitment takes place on Thursday 14th September and will include a series of workshops and networking opportunities to help communities work together for the good of our common home. Find out more and register at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/our-faith-our-planet-our-commitments-tickets-676670799577?aff=oddtdtcreator
Celebration of Human Dignity Event and Mass - Caritas Diocese of Salford
Saturday 16th September, 10.30am start, Sacred Heart RC Church and Parish Centre, Gorton, M18 7JW. Caritas Diocese of Salford is inviting people across the diocese to join them in a celebration of human life and dignity next month. The day will involve hearing from people who have experienced barriers to inclusion, sharing practical examples of how parishes and communities can support people facing such barriers, and will end with a Mass for the intention of "The Preservation of Human Dignity", celebrated by Bishop John.
Find out more and register at https://tinyurl.com/caritassalford
Job Vacancies
Diocese of Salford - Senior Finance Officer (replacement role)
Appointment Type: Full-time, permanent
Working hours: 35 hours per week, Mon - Fri
Location: Cathedral Centre, 3 Ford Street, Salford, M3 6DP
Salary: £28,119 - £31,176 per annum, depending on skills and experience
Find out more and apply at www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/news/vacancies/
God Bless and keep praying.
Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Fr. O'Brien