Sunday 5th January 2025
The Epiphany of the Lord
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2025!!! AND A BIG THANKS!!!
I think the huge numbers of people who felt welcome to come to our church over Christmas, especially at the Christmas Eve Mass, shows that Our Lord is still calling people to know Him, adore Him and love Him. Thank you to every parishioner who has actively helped make this season such a prayerful and joyous occasion. From musicians and singers, readers to cleaners, church garden angels and altar servers, from Christmas tree and crib decorators to saintly stewards and raffle prize donaters, from parishioners in the pew and to all of you – A Big THANK YOU! God Bless. Ho Ho Ho I can't forget – Thank you Father Christmas for making a detour to Ossy on your most busy night. A lot of parishioners, young and old, were very happy!
Masses & Liturgies for the next week...
Friday 3rd January
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Mass, The Most Holy Name of Jesus (Memoria)
The greatest promoters of this devotion were St Bernardine of Siena and St. John Capistrano, who used the monogram of the Holy Name in their preaching. Because the manner in which St. Bernardine preached this devotion was new, he was accused before Pope Martin V, but was successfully defended by John. This feast reminds us that the word "Jesus" means "God saves", and our salvation comes through Christ alone.
Saturday 4th January
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Sacrament of Confession
10am Votive Christmas Mass of Our Lady (Celebrated in Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass of The Epiphany of the Lord
& Blessing of Epiphany Chalk
Sunday 5th January
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass of the Epiphany of the Lord
& Blessing of Epiphany Chalk
Tuesday 7th January
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass
Wednesday 8th January 2025
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Weekday Mass
10:30am – 10:40am Devotions to Saint Joseph
(At the foot of the parish statue of St. Joseph, see below for more details)
Thursday 9th January
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Weekday
Friday 10th January
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass
Saturday 11th January
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Sacrament of Confession
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (Celebrated in Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass of The Baptism of the Lord
Sunday 12th January
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass of The Baptism of the Lord
4pm Thanksgiving 'Jacobs Join' for all those who volunteer and give of their time to serve the Lord and our parish of St. Mary's. (See below for more details)
Sanctuary Lamps
This week (4th January – 11th January), the Sanctuary Lamp is for Joe & Agnes Duggan.
Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle's Lamp is for The Kornecki Family.
Christmas Collection:
£1385.14. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Last Week's Offertory Collection 28th/29th December:
£563.03. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Devotions to Saint Joseph
On Wednesday 8th January there will be the first Wednesday devotions to St. Joseph after the 10am Mass (at the foot of his statue at the back of church). The devotions will include praying the Litany of St. Joseph, the Memorare of St. Joseph and the Prayer of the Holy Cloak Novena. In these devotions our prayer is to ask St. Joseph to pray for our parish family and for those who have wandered away from the Church, that they may return and find a warm welcome.
Blessing of Epiphany Chalk
In various parts of the world, the Epiphany is marked with the time-honoured tradition of "chalking the doors." The formula for the ritual is simple: take chalk of any colour (ideally blessed by a priest on the Feast of the Epiphany) and write above the entrance of your home: 20 + C + M + B + 24
The letters have two meanings. First, they represent the initials of the Magi - Caspar, Malchior and Balthazar - who came to visit Jesus in the place where he was born. They also abbreviate the Latin phrase, Christus mansionem benedicat, which translates as "May Christ bless the house." The "+" signs represents the cross, and the "20" at the beginning and the "24" at the end mark the year. This inscription is a request for Christ to stay with those who dwell or work therein throughout the entire year. At the weekend Masses of the Epiphany I will bless any chalk that people would like to bring so that they can carry out this wonderful tradition.
The Epiphany Proclamation of Easter and other Feasts for 2025
The proclamation of the date of Easter and the other moveable feasts on Epiphany Sunday dates from a time when calendars were not readily available. It was necessary to make known the date of Easter in advance, since many celebrations of the liturgical year depend on its date. The number of Sundays that follow Epiphany, the date of Ash Wednesday, and the number of Sundays that follow Pentecost are all computed in relation to Easter. Although calendars now give the date of Easter and the other feasts in the liturgical year for many years in advance, the Epiphany proclamation still has value. It is a reminder of the centrality of the resurrection of the Lord in the liturgical year and the importance of the great mysteries of faith which are celebrated each year.
Ash Wednesday 5th March
Easter Sunday 20th April
The Ascension of the Lord Thursday 29th May
Pentecost Sunday 8th June
Corpus Christi Sunday 22nd June
First Sunday of Advent 30th November
Thanksgiving Jacob's Join for All Parish Volunteers
At 4pm on Sunday 12th January there will be an opportunity for all parish volunteers to come together for a Thanksgiving Prayer followed by a Jacobs Join. This event gives me a chance to formally thank everyone who throughout the past year has and continues to, give up their time and share their skills for our parish family. From readers, gritters & gardeners, stewards, cleaners, singers & musicians, sacristans & flower arrangers, counters and servers, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and catechists to name but a few of the many, many, many roles that parishioners undertake at St. Mary's. Without all these generous volunteers we would be lost. So again, I warmly invite anyone that volunteers their time and energy to helping our parish family to bring along some food for the Jacob's Join and celebrate in Thanksgiving the extraordinary works of Faith that take place at our church daily. For any volunteer roles that I've not named apologies as there are so many and for those volunteers who can't make it –
THANK YOU & GOD BLESS.
Parish Christmas Raffle
The Christmas Raffle was drawn last weekend. All winning ticket numbers have been placed on the noticeboard, in the narthex, by the stewards desk. Thanks to all who supported the raffle.
New Year Saints!
On New Years Day we had our annual 'saints in a basket' tradition at the end of the New Year Mass where people come forward to the sanctuary and, after making the sign of the cross, allow a saint to choose them from the basket. Over 2025 these saints will become our patrons, our companions, our brothers and sisters. Their prayers will support and encourage us through the ups and downs of the forth coming year and their lives will teach and inspire us how to be faithful disciples and come closer to Our Lord. Don't let your saint just be a name on a piece of paper, a new year novelty. Find/print a picture of them, look them up and read about their lives, pray to them regularly because they will and want to help and intercede for you. By giving honour to them, you give glory to God their Father and Creator.
Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee
His Holiness, Pope Francis has declared that the year 2025 will be a Holy Year of Jubilee for the Catholic Church – an event that takes place once every 25 years. The theme for the 2025 Jubilee is "Pilgrims of Hope", an invitation to showcase the hope of our Christian faith to people right across the world at a time when there is so much suffering from the impact of war, poverty, climate change, and the lasting effects of the COVID pandemic. The Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee presents each one of us with an opportunity to reignite the flame of our faith in our own hearts and to share the light of that faith with those in darkness.
What is a Jubilee?
The concept of Jubilee is one rooted in the earliest days of Judeo-Christian tradition. In the Book of Leviticus, we read that the people of Israel celebrated this tradition every 50 years. Its purpose was to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. It involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields. Today, the Catholic Church celebrates this tradition once every 25 years as a year of grace, offering the faithful the opportunity to renew faith through prayer, pilgrimage, acts of charity, and by asking for a plenary indulgence – a special grace that strengthens our wounded souls in the fight against sin.
Over the next few weeks there will be various resources available at church to help us engage with this Jubilee Year. Watch this Space!
Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven,
May the faith you have given us in
Your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
And the flame of charity enkindled
In our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
Reawaken in us the blessed hope
For the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into
Tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within
Both humanity and the whole cosmos
In the sure expectation of a
New heaven and a new earth,
When, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
Your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
Reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
A yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
The joy and peace of our Redeemer
Throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
Be glory and praise for ever. Amen
Monsignor John Allen has harnessed his love of the geography and history of our diocese, penning a very special book which is being sold in aid of Caritas Salford. The book, Pilgrims of Hope, has been published in time for the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year which is also focussed on the theme of Pilgrims of Hope, and is available to purchase by visiting the Caritas website: www.caritassalford.org.uk/pilgrimbook
Parish Administrator - St Mary and St John Fisher
Appointment Type: Part-time, permanent
Working Hours: 9 hours per week, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 9.30am-12.30pm
Location: St Mary's Presbytery, Duke Street, Denton, M34 2AN
Salary: £12.60 per hour.
Find out more and apply at https://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