3rd July 2022 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Masses & Liturgies for the Coming Week…
Saturday 2nd July
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (Celebrated in Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday 3rd July
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday 4th July
1:30pm – 2pm Procession of the Blessed Sacrament with Adoration & Benediction
with St. Mary's School. All are welcome.
Tuesday 5th July
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass (Feria)
Wednesday 6th July
10am Mass, Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin & Martyr (Memoria)
followed by the veneration of a relic of St. Maria Goretti
St. Maria Goretti was born into a poor family in Ancona, Italy in 1890. She spent her childhood at Nettuno, helping her mother in the domestic chores. She was a religious girl, much given to prayer. In 1902, while defending her chastity against a neighbour trying to rape her, she preferred to die rather than give way, and was fatally stabbed. She forgave her attacker before she died, the following day.
10:30am St. Mary's Coffee Morning - All Welcome
(Further details below)
Thursday 7th July
10am Votive Mass of the Holy Eucharist
'If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament, I am sure that the thought of Christ's love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude.' - St. Angela of Foligno
Friday 8th July
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Votive Mass of the Most Precious Blood
'This Blood that but one drop of has the power to win all the world forgiveness of its world of sin.' - St. Thomas Aquinas.
Saturday 9th July
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (Celebrated in Lady Chapel)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday 10th July
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (2nd July - 9th July) the Sanctuary Lamp is burning in prayer before the Tabernacle for the Boyle & Duggan Families.
Last Weeks Loose Offertory Collection
£499.13 Thank you for your kind generosity.
Relic of Saint Maria Goretti
On Wednesday (6th July) after the final blessing at the 10am Mass there will be opportunity for people to come and venerate a relic of St. Maria Goretti, whose feast day it will be. Sadly, there has been much misunderstanding about relics and so I would like to share with you the following article I came across by Michael Heinlein. It simply and clearly reminds us of the importance of relics in our Catholic tradition and how the intercession of the saints draws us closer to God.
Why Do Catholics Venerate Relics?
MICHAEL R. HEINLEIN
Although more than a common part of Catholic culture and practice, the veneration of relics has been practiced less during the last 50 years or so. But that seems to be changing in recent years, as a number of saintly relics have been traversing the United States, attracting large numbers of the faithful. Relics seem to be making a comeback, and in a big way.
And yet the veneration of relics in the Catholic tradition can be misunderstood easily. At first glance it can appear to be displaced praise. Critics would falsely claim that praise or worship is accorded to the relic or saint rather than God himself, who, of course, is rightly the only subject of all worship.
A proper understanding of relic veneration, however, is best achieved with an appropriate approach. It would simply be incoherent to think that a Catholic or Christian would offer praise and worship to anyone other than God. And yet, honouring the saints — and their relics — is also an important part of what we do.
In order to develop a proper understanding of the place of relics in the Christian tradition, it might be helpful to consider them within a different context — that of family. It's not uncommon for many people to honour the memory of their loved ones by keeping pictures of family around the house. Nor is it uncommon to keep cherished belongings of our deceased loved ones, like grandma's jewellery or grandad's Bible. These belongings likely are treasured, and treated with honour and reverence. They're kept in safe and honourable places. They're well-packaged when we move. They're often handed on from one generation to the next. These secular "relics" assist us in recalling the person and his or her life, and the memories that remind us of who they were and what they were about.
It is not rare to honour remnants of relatives' bodies, or those of notable people. Often parents will keep first teeth that are lost or save clippings of their child's first haircut. We build monuments to great men and women, and set up grave markers to memorialize them. And so it seems almost second nature for us to honour members of our family and those dear to us as well as the objects that belonged to them.
And so why wouldn't a similar reverence translate into our family of the Church? The saints are those men and women from our family who are deserving of our honour for their life of spiritual greatness. Moreover, they have put on Christ in baptism and become members of his body.
Catholics see the members of the Church as members of a family. Of course, as human beings — composites of body and soul — the Church honours their bodies after death. We, of course, do this as well in our families when we visit and decorate graves on birthdays, death dates or holidays. Made in God's image and likeness, we recognize the dignity of the human person by honouring their earthly remains — that is why the Church demands of proper disposal of a person's remains (burial of body or burial of ashes).
Within this context, then, we should understand that relics are meant to be honoured and venerated, not worshipped. In fact, the saints lead us to fuller worship of God in spirit and truth. By honouring their memories, bodies and belongings, we give thanks to God for the saint's holy witness. Relics are physical, tangible, concrete reminders that heaven is obtainable for us — so long as we recognize what made the saints holy and work to apply those qualities to our lives. When venerating relics we express gratitude to God for those members of our spiritual family. In the presence of the relics we recall their holy lives and we pray for the grace to achieve what they've achieved — eternity with God in Heaven.
Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael.
St. Mary's Coffee Morning: 10:30am Wednesday 6th July
The next parish coffee morning will be after the 10am Mass on Wednesday 6th July. It's a great time just to meet up for a brew and chat. At the June Coffee morning a parishioner shared some photos of past faces and events from the parish. It was great to listen to the stories about past parishioners, parish priests, curates and the Sisters of Mercy from Paddock House. Somebody even spotted their dad as a little boy on one photo! Please feel free to bring any photos you may have from St. Mary's past to share with others. If you would like to help out or get more information please contact Ciara Kelly at cjk2988@gmail.com
The Friendship Club
The next meeting will be on Wednesday 6th July in St. Joseph's Hall, Accrington. We will be entertained by Trouble at t'Mill. Anyone interested in joining this happy band please call Margaret on (01254) 233 070. Please speak slowly when leaving your name or number. All are most welcome.
Ukraine Crisis
We are all shocked and appalled at the devastating scenes of the invasion of the Ukraine. Catholic agencies are at the centre of the response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis and supporting those whom have been displaced. We stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and all those against war. There are regular updates on the Caritas website on the various ways parishes and schools can support the aid effort. Please go to: https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/ukraine-crisis/
St. Oswald's School
On the Solemnity of Ss Peter and Paul I was invited to school to talk about these great Apostles of Rome. However… I was redundant! Mrs Harrison's class (Yr 3&4) gave me more details about our first Pope and the great missionary than I had prepared for. Miss Barlow's class (yr 4&5) made me think about Peter and Paul's courage and commitment despite the great adversity they faced. Miss Collinge's class (Yr 5 & 6), after showing off their knowledge about the apostles, educated me on which singers I should be listening to and what programmes I should be watching on Netflix! The class that made me smile was Reception who had learnt a great song about Ss Peter and Paul which I'm sure they would approve of – even the actions!
St. Mary's School
Prayers
On Friday afternoon Mrs Wolstenholme (Headteacher) said goodbye to the pupils and staff at school as she started her maternity leave. She was presented with flowers and cards from the children and after prayers I gave a blessing of thanksgiving and safe delivery for mum and little one. Let's continue to keep Mrs Wolstenholme in our prayers and Mrs Duckworth, who will be the acting headteacher of St. Mary's.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
On Monday 4th July at 1:30pm the children will gather in church for a Blessed Sacrament procession followed by a 15minute led meditation and ending with Benediction. All parishioners are warmly welcomed to come to this time of prayer and adoration before Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.
Sponsor a Sanctuary Lamp
Prayer is so important and it works! One of the traditions at St. Mary's is to sponsor the sanctuary lamp, that burns for seven days continuously, before the Real Presence of the Lord in the Tabernacle. The prayers behind each lamp are varied and different. Sometimes it burns in memory of a loved one, other times its for somebody who is sick or waiting for results and at other times its a prayer of thanksgiving or help for a particular situation or person. If you would like to sponsor a lamp to burn in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament then please see one of the stewards at the back of church. They will have a list of dates from the beginning of July until the end of November where you can choose to sponsor a £5 lamp for the week. I will bless each lamp and light it before the Vigil Mass on a Saturday and it will burn for the whole week. Please give your £5 to the stewards on duty when you choose your week.
The new list is now available
Summer courses at The Christian Heritage Centre, Stonyhurst
Catholicism & Contemporary Culture, 4th – 7th August 2022
Explore the themes of truth, sacramentality and the symbolic in Catholicism and the challenges from contemporary culture. The second in our Faith & Reason series, this course offers a practical approach to fundamental themes of the Catholic faith. Of particular interest to senior leaders, teachers and catechist seeking a deeper knowledge of the Catholic vision in today's world. https://christianheritagecentre.com/events/faith-and-reason-2/
The Search for Happiness, 26th – 29th August 2022
Explore the four pillars of the good life – the Cardinal virtues – and how they structure our search for happiness, through the philosophy and theology of St Thomas Aquinas. In partnership with CEPHAS, this course offers a fascinating engagement with this foundational theme for the Christian life through the thought of the Church's greatest theologian. https://christianheritagecentre.com/events/the-search-for-happiness/
Join us for World Youth Day 2023
Registrations are now being taken for young people to join us as our diocesan Youth Ministry Team travels to Lisbon for World Youth Day 2023. Taking place between 31st July - 7th August 2023, World Youth Day will see young people from across the globe meeting in Lisbon to celebrate Mass with the Holy Father. Our own Youth Ministry Team will once again be travelling to World Youth Day with young adults between the ages of 18 and 35. Applications to join our diocesan trip are now open. You can find out more and apply by visiting https://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/youth/how-to-get-involved/
Formation Series: Gary Stephens – The Good News of Jesus Christ
Cathedral Centre, Salford and via Zoom, Wednesday 6th July 2022, 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Throughout Stage Four of our Hope in the Future journey, we will have a number of opportunities for you to explore our faith and role as missionary disciples through our formation series. We welcome Gary Stephens on Wednesday 6th July 2022, who will deliver a session entitled 'The Good News of Jesus Christ'. Tea and Coffee will be available from 7:00pm. Following the talk there will be chance to ask questions. For anyone unable to attend in person, the talk will also be streamed on Zoom.
To register, please visit www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/the-good-news-of-jesus-christ/
Universal Synod Responses
Our first word is a heartfelt 'Thank You' to all who engaged in the process of gathering diocesan responses to help Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops in reflecting on the Church as Communion, Participation and Mission. Over 1500 individuals took part, and group submissions were received from families, organisations and parishes. Not all of these were Catholics who attend church regularly. The responses from our diocese will join those from the other dioceses in England and Wales, Europe, and the rest of the world. These will be discerned by the Synod of Bishops who will gather in Rome in 2023. You can read the full response and a summary at www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk/faith/synod.
Mass for LGBTQ+ Catholics
Saturday 30th July, 3pm, St Augustine's RC Church, Grosvenor Street, Manchester, M15 6BW
The Formation Department for the Diocese of Salford has announced a series of regular Masses for LGBTQ+ Catholics, and their friends and families.
Madonna del Rosario Procession
The popular Madonna del Rosario Procession will be returning to Manchester this weekend, after a hiatus of two years. A number of parishes and communities across the diocese are set to take part in the procession organised by the Manchester Italian Association, which will leave from St Michael's Church, George Leigh Street, at 1.15pm. .
Caritas Job Vacancy
Advocacy, Policy & Research Coordinator
Appointment Type: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, with the opportunity to work flexibly.
Location: Caritas House, M4
Salary: £33,241-36,863
Closing Date: 10am on Thursday 7th July 2022
To find out more and apply, please visit www.caritassalford.org.uk
Lay Chaplain for Aquinas College
Appointment Type: Part-time or full-time, term time plus 2 weeks
Location: Aquinas College, Nangreave Road, Stockport, SK2 6TH
Salary: £25-894-£28,499
Closing Date: 12 noon, Friday 1 July 2022
To find out more and apply, please visit www.aquinas.ac.uk/about-aquinas-college/vacancies/
Diocese of Salford - Human Resources Advisor (replacement role)
Appointment Type: Full time, permanent
Working hours: 35 hours per week worked Mon-Fri. Some flexible working required
Location: Cathedral Centre, 3 Ford Street, Salford, M3 6DP
Salary, pension, and benefits: £26,780 – £32,919 depending on skills & experience, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays and 5 Diocesan closure days, employers pension scheme if applicable.
For more information and to apply, please visit https://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