Sunday 9th June 2024
The Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Masses & Liturgies for the Coming Week…
Friday 7th June
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Mass, The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Solemnity)
"O Jesus, a soldier opened your side with his lance, so that, through the gaping wound, we might know the charity of your Heart, which loved us unto death, and that we might enter into your unutterable love through the same channel by which it came to us.
Approach, then, O my soul, the Heart of Christ, that magnanimous Heart, that hidden Heart, that Heart which thinks of all things and knows all things; that loving Heart, all on fire with love.
Make me understand, O Lord, that the door of your Heart was forced open by the vehemence of your love. Allow me to enter into the secret of that love which was hidden from all eternity, but is now revealed by the wound in your Heart." - St Bernadine of Siena
Saturday 8th June
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Mass, The Immaculate Heart of Mary (Memoria) - (celebrated in the Lady Chapel)
"Mary, give me your Heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your Heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as you love Him and serve Him in the distressing guise of the poor." – St. Teresa of Calcutta
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sunday 9th June
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Tuesday 11th June
7pm Confirmation Liturgy With Bishop John Arnold at St. Joseph's, Accrington
Wednesday 12th June
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Mass
7pm – 8pm Parish Bible Study Group (see below for details)
Thursday 13th June
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Mass, Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest & Doctor of the Church (Memoria)
St. Anthony of Padua was born in Lisbon in 1195. He first joined the canons regular of St. Augustine but after being inspired by the stories of Franciscan martyrdoms in Morocco he joined the Friars Minor, though he desired to preach in Africa, he ended up in Italy, where he established a reputation as a great preacher and theologian. He died in Padua in 1231, aged 36.
Friday 14th June
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Mass, Dedication of the Cathedral (Feast)
St. John's Church, Salford, was built between 1844 and 1848, it was the first cruciform Catholic church to be built in England since the Reformation and was closely modeled on a number of noted medieval churches. It was opened on 9th August 1848, by Bishop George Brown, who sang the Solemn High Mass, and Bishop Nicholas Wiseman, who gave a ninety-minute sermon (not something many Bishops have tried since!). In 1852, after the Restoration of the Catholic Hierarchy, it was raised to the dignity of a cathedral. St John's Cathedral is the mother church of the diocese of Salford and the seat of our Bishop.
Saturday 15th June
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady - (celebrated in the Lady Chapel)
"We never give more honour to Jesus than when we honour his Mother, and we honour her simply and solely to honour him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek — Jesus, her Son." - St . Louis de Montfort
1pm Wedding of Ms Keillie Taylor & Mr Matthew Horrocks
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sunday 16th June
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (8th June - 16th June), the Sanctuary Lamp is for Alan Owen and Family.
Last Week's Easter Offertory Collection
£614.91. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Day for Life
The weekend of the 15th/16th June, there will be a special Collection for the Day for Life.
The Church teaches that life is to be nurtured from conception to natural death. In England and Wales, Day for Life is celebrated on the third Sunday of June each year. This year it falls on the 16th June. Each year a message is released, usually by the Church's Lead Bishop for Life Issues, offering a reflection on the year's theme. The theme for 2024 is The Lord is my Shepherd – Compassion and Hope at the End of Life. A debate on end-of-life issues has been in the headlines in recent months with calls for assisted suicide being expressed, especially by celebrities, a view that opposes the Catholic view that life is a gift and that we are called to care for others at the end of their lives. Day for Life is marked on the same day by the three Bishops' Conferences of England and Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. We hope that parishes will be able to prepare to promote the Catholic view of life as a gift and the importance of care at the end of life using the resources that will be issued by the Conferences in due course. As always, there will be a labeled basket under the large Crucifix at the back of church, to put your donations in. Thank you.
The Sacrament of Confirmation
On Tuesday (11th June), at St. Joseph's, Accrington, the Bishop will celebrate the Rite of Confirmation. Let's pray for the young people from our own parish of St. Mary's – David, Jakub, Jerzy, Kevin, Natalie & Nicole – who over the last few months have been preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation through prayer and regular catechism classes. My thanks to Aimee Thomas, our parish catechist, who has been so encouraging and committed to walking with our teenage parishioners in this time of preparation.
Parish Bible Study – St. John's Gospel
The next session is Wednesday 12th June from 7pm – 8pm. All are welcome. All you need is a Bible and an openness to come to know Our Lord better.
Information and Guidance on Upcoming Elections
In light of the upcoming general elections on July 4, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has shared very useful resources that offer information and guidance on key topics of interest to Catholic voters. The resources can be viewed online at https://www.cbcew.org.uk/election24/
Caritas: Register to Vote
Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) are encouraging all Catholics to #RegisterToVote before 23:59 on the 18 June 2024 in preparation for the General Election. CSAN have launched a number of resources to help Catholics inform their conscience and navigate the political landscape at this time, find more at www.csan.org.uk/general-election-2024
St. Mary's School
On Wednesday, the children from school joined us for the 10am Parish Mass. We celebrated the memoria of Saint Boniface. He was one of our Anglo-Saxon saints from England who went out into Europe as a missionary. We were reminded that it was through Saint Boniface the tradition of the Christmas tree was first established as a witness to God's ever present and life giving love.
"This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness." - St. Boniface
D Day and Salford Clergy by Mgr John Allen
"It's reckoned that 55 priests of the Salford Diocese served as chaplains in the Forces during the 2nd World War. As far as I know, the only one present on the Normandy Beaches on 6th June 1944 was Fr John Corbett, chaplain to the Commandos.
John Corbett was born in the United States. His parents had gone there from Bolton seeking work and a new life. His father died when John was only a baby and his mother brought him back to Bolton. After studies at St Bede's College in Manchester and then Upholland College, Wigan, John was ordained priest and went as curate to the English Martyrs parish in Whalley.
The parish priest there was deaf and his housekeeper, who was his sister, was also hard of hearing. Conversation was carried on by shouting at each other. The young curate used to turn his radio up to full blast to drown the cacophony and to let off steam he would ride his motorbike pell-mell up the nearby Trough of Bowland. Volunteering for service as an army chaplain, even in war-time, seemed an easier option.
John Corbett was a natural sportsman. While at St Bede's, Arsenal tried to sign him onto their books as a footballer and Lancashire County tried to sign him up as a cricketer. Priesthood prevailed, but his fitness took the youthful Fr Corbett into service with the Commandos. He trained with them, carrying for example full kit whilst running up Ben Nevis in winter time.
6th June 1944 saw him landing with a Commando unit in Normandy. He was to be on the beach for only one hour and a half. A mortar bomb exploded near him, shattering his right shoulder. Fortunately, the rest of his body was shielded by his army kit. He woke up in hospital in Southampton where surgeons attempted to put his injuries right. Twenty-six operations later they admitted defeat. His right arm and right hand were useless. Fr Corbett had to learn to do everything, including writing, with his left hand.
Fr George Richardson, Parish Priest of St Margaret Mary's, New Moston, took him into the presbytery there and Fr Corbett was nursed back to health. His sporting prowess flowered again, this time in bowls. Even left-handed he became something of a champion. With health restored he was appointed Parish Priest of Sacred Heart, Gorton. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Fr Corbett. I was appointed curate at the Sacred Heart and was there for three years, 1963-66. Straight out of seminary and wet behind the ears I had so much to learn. No-one could have had a better mentor than Fr John Corbett. Practical, down-to-earth, prayerful, with a love of the Church and humour with it he taught me so much. When a letter came from Bishop Thomas Holland I was loathe to leave.
That letter from the bishop appointed me as his secretary at Wardley Hall. It was a move from one priest who had been on the Normandy Beaches on 6th June 1944 to another who had been there too. Thomas Holland, a priest of the Liverpool archdiocese, had taught in the English Colleges in Valladolid and in Lisbon, but in 1943 he volunteered as a naval chaplain.
D-Day saw him as chaplain to a Royal Marine commando unit sailing into Juno Beach along with the Canadian army and navy.
In his Memoirs, 'For Better and For Worse', published in 1989 Bishop Holland recalled some of the events on that day. His ship was the Ascanius, fittingly enough registered in Liverpool with a mainly Liverpudlian crew. Bishop Holland recalled how he had a neat but tidy cabin, but then, 'as we hit the Normandy Beaches, I surrendered my cabin to our first casualty. I'd little choice in fact. Even so, I vividly remember being overwhelmed by the ecstasy of possessing nothing – a totally unmerited Franciscan thrill of joy.'
He recalled the boom of the guns as their ship neared the shore and the splash of the shells all round them from German fire. Arriving on the coast, he moved from ship to ship and between Juno and Sword and Gold Beaches. There were many casualties from high fragmentation shells and he had a lot to do. One vessel he boarded was a Landing Craft Guns. A shell had pierced the ratings' messroom. 'The only living creature to emerge unscathed was the ship's dog.' That night he had a tent ashore. 'I remember bedding down … too tired to bother about whether I'd be there in the morning.'
As the days passed, he spent many a night on the last ship he visited. He was the only Catholic chaplain in the area and consequently his services were much in demand. He would celebrate Mass each day for whatever crew members were able to attend and he encouraged the men to avail themselves of confession. Very many did. On one ship he baptised more than two dozen Congolese sailors, giving them minimum instruction in the faith, christening them all with the name Peter and giving them a certificate to show to the priest in the Congo when they got home, 'if ever they did'.
Polish vessels also took part in the landings. One such was the Dragon, hit by a human torpedo. Once on board, Fr Holland worked his way through the ship. 'The magazine flooded with oil. Nothing one could do for the victims engulfed there … Was it the engine-room? Or the magazine? I there saw sights that killed for ever the "glamour of war", if that ever existed.'
Bishop Holland seldom spoke about his D-Day experiences but I did hear him elaborate on that last sentence several times. He was obviously deeply affected by the slaughter he had seen. Nor did he mention the fact that he was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross. The citation said it was awarded for 'gallantry, skill, determination and undaunted devotion to duty during the landing of the Allied Forces on the coast of Normandy'. He wore his DSC on Armistice Days.
It is fitting that Salford Diocese should remember with pride these two great priests and heroes as we commemorate the anniversary of the D-Day Landings. I am so grateful that I had the wonderful experience of working with them both".
(Written by Mgr John Allen, retired priest of Salford Diocese, originally for the 75th Anniversary of the D Day Landings in 2019)
Still time to join our centenary pilgrimage to Lourdes!
There are still a few places left for any pilgrims wishing to join the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes in the centenary year. The pilgrimage, led by Bishop John, will take place between 26th July and 1st August. To find out more and to book your place, please visit salfordlourdes.co.uk
Four Key Themes Announced from Diocesan Synod
The Diocese of Salford has recently shared the four key themes to have emerged from the Big Listen stage of our diocesan synod, which drew to a close in January. The four themes are:
- Nurturing Faith in Tomorrow's World
- Building Connections
- Enabling Access
- Fostering Christ-like Care.
To find out more about the latest updates, what's next for our diocesan synod, or how you can get involved, please visit https://dioceseofsalford.org.uk/synod-gathering-1/
Diocesan Message: Irish Community Care
The diocese has been been contacted by Irish Community Care and associated charity, Frea, with the request to share the following notice:
Support for people who were in Ireland's Mother and Baby and County Homes
The Irish Government Mother and Baby and County Home payment scheme is open for applications to people who spent time in one of 44 institutions that existed across the Republic of Ireland from 1922 to 1998. If you were in one of these homes and would like free and confidential support to apply for a payment or to access counselling, obtain Early Life Records, try to trace a family member, or even for just a chat please contact Patrick Rodgers at Fréa – Renewing Roots on 07432138682.
Get Social
Are you aged 18-35? Are you looking to celebrate your faith with other young Catholic adults across the diocese? Give the Diocese of Salford Young Adults Ministry a follow on Instagram! For the latest on upcoming events, opportunities to connect and get involved, as well as regular content and resources to nurture your faith life on the go, simply search @salfordyouth on Instagram.
Caritas Salford Appeal for Volunteers
Caritas Salford, our diocesan charity, is appealing for volunteers to support its work across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. Even a few hours can have a huge impact on the lives of others locally. To find out more about the huge range of opportunities available - from gardening to van driving, supporting their services to becoming a Caritas parish rep or accessibility advocate - visit their website now: www.caritassalford.org.uk/volunteer
Caritas Parish Representatives
Caritas Salford is inviting parishes who do not currently have a Caritas Parish Rep as part of their social action/justice provision to get in touch to find out more about how they can help their community put love and faith into action. For more information, please email m.yates@caritassalford.org.uk
Job Vacancies
Grant and Bid Writer - Diocese of Salford (replacement role)
Appointment Type: Full-time, permanent
Working Hours: 35 hours per week to be worked Monday to Friday
Location: Cathedral Centre, 3 Ford Street, Salford, M3 6DP
Salary: £36,338 – £40,289 per annum
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