Sunday 14th July 2024
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Masses & Liturgies for the Coming Week…
Friday 12th July
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass (Feria)
Saturday 13thJuly
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (in the Lady Chapel)
"Let us live as the Blessed Virgin lived: loving God only, desiring God only, trying to please God only in all that we do." - St John Vianney
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sunday 14th July
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Tuesday 16th July
10am Mass, St. Mary's School Year 6 Leavers
5pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Mass, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Patronal Feast of the Diocese of Salford
While Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patron saint of the Carmelite Order, the basis for the universal Church honouring Mary under this title dates to her appearance to an English Carmelite St. Simon Stock in the 13th century. She gave him the Brown Scapular, a garment worn by religious over the neck and shoulders as an apron, to be worn by Carmelites "as a sign of her protection." It is a Marian devotional practice which, over the centuries, has spread to Catholics around the world.
Wednesday 17th July
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Weekday Mass (Feria)
Thursday 18th July
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Weekday Mass (Feria)
Friday 19th July
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass (Feria)
Saturday 20th July
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady (in the Lady Chapel)
"No matter how sinful one may have been, if he has devotion to Mary, it is impossible that he be lost." - St. Hilary of Poitiers
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sunday 21st July
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (13th July - 20th July), the Sanctuary Lamp is for John & Gladys Boyle.
Editorial Correction – Last week's Sanctuary Lamp was for Cathleen Haworth & Peter Pickles.
Last Week's Easter Offertory Collection
£596.07. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Stay in the know
Want the latest news from parishes and schools across the diocese? Would you like to keep up to speed with upcoming events and key projects and resources from the Diocese of Salford? Head to the Diocese of Salford's website at https://www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk or find us on Facebook, Instagram, and X!
Salford Diocesan Big Listen: Upddate
On the 18 May, Sharon and Mike represented St Mary's at the latest Salford Diocese "Big Listen" meeting which took place at Bolton Wanderers Football Club. Over 200 parish representatives, alongside Bishop Arnold, heard the feedback and findings from the first Big Listen exercise which started in November 2023 and finished in January 2024. Over 30,000 comments were reviewed by academics and senior priests, and after a thorough analysis we were presented with the four key themes which will form the basis of the next wave of activity. The themes are:
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Nurturing Faith for Tomorrow's World.
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Building Connections
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Enabling Access
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Fostering Christ-like Care
The next request from the Diocese is for the parishes to dig deeper into the four themes and create proposals for action. To do this at St Mary's, Sharon and Mike would like to invite you to 4 meetings where each of the topics will be considered in turn. We hope to hold all of the sessions in the Church, but we will confirm the details of the location and session theme nearer the time. This is a wonderful opportunity to continue to play an important part in the future of our Diocese, and we hope to see as many of you as possible at the sessions.
Mike and Sharon will let us know the new dates for our parish meetings as soon as they receive further details from the diocesan synod department.
Date for you Diaries…
St. Mary's Parish Feast & Celebration, Friday 6th September – Sunday 8th September 2024.
Last year's parish feast was a great success thanks to parishioners who freely volunteered their time to mark Our Lady's birthday and the anniversary of the consecration of our church. Again thanks to people freely coming forward to volunteer their time and putting their ideas into action we have the following events…
Friday 6th September
10am 'Happy Birthday Our Lady!' - All are welcome as the children from our three parish primary schools (Sacred Heart, St. Mary's and St. Oswald's) celebrate a prayer service thanking God for the gift of His Mother Mary.
5pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Votive Mass of Our Lady
Saturday 7th September
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions
10am Votive Mass of Our Lady
6pm The Holy Rosary
6:30pm the Vigil Mass followed by a torchlight procession to the parish grotto (weather permitting)
Sunday 8th September
9:30am The Holy Rosary
10am Mass beginning with the procession of the statue of Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle around church
2pm Celebratory Afternoon Tea. Thanks to the generosity of volunteers coming forward and organising this event. See details below.
If any other parishioners would like to volunteer their time and facilitate an event they are more than welcome to. Please see Fr. O'Brien to share what you would like to do. Our Lady of Oswaldtwistle, pray for us.
The Feast of Saint Monica
This Feast of St. Monica this year falls on Tuesday 27th August. As we know, St. Monica was a devoted wife and mother who earnestly prayed for her family to return to the Church. Her prayers were expressed in words and tears that came straight from the heart, asking Our Lord to bring her family, especially her son Augustine, back to the Faith. As Brandon Vogt comments:
"St. Monica exemplifies the power of a praying parent. She wasn't able to convince Augustine with words, and in fact, whenever she tried to talk to him about religion, he brushed her away. But through her daily, committed intercession, over more than fifteen years, Augustine was able to journey into the Church."
We all know people, especially loved ones, family and friends, who struggle with the Faith and who have lapsed for all kinds of reasons. Let's come together on Tuesday 27th August to ask St. Monica's intercession to bring them home to the Lord. At 7pm there will be the celebration of Mass followed by the opportunity to venerate a relic of St. Monica and invoke her aid. Her statue, which will be placed on the sanctuary, will have a prayer box before it where people are invited to write the names of family and friends and place them in the box asking for St. Monica's intercession. All are welcome and do spread the word so that others may know and come.
You gave Saint Monica a spirit of selfless love manifested in her constant prayer for the conversion of her son Augustine. Inspired by boundless confidence in Your power to move hearts, and by the success of her prayer. I ask the grace to imitate her constancy in my prayer for [name(s)] who no longer share(s) in the intimate life of Your Catholic family. Grant through my prayer and witness that (he/she/they) may be open to the promptings of Your Holy Spirit, and return to loving union with Your Church. Grant also that my prayer be ever hopeful and that I may never judge another, for You alone can read hearts. I ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen."
St. Monica, pray for us!
St. Mary's Celebratory Afternoon Tea
On the afternoon of Sunday 8th September at 2pm there will be a Celebratory Afternoon Tea as part of the parish festal weekend. There will be sumptuous sandwiches, tempting cakes, traditional scones with jam and cream. Tickets will be £15pp on a first come first serve basis and will available from the stewards desk. Numbers are limited and so in fairness people will only be able to put their name down if they have payment with them when booking. The booking sheet will be available this weekend (14th/15th July) at the 6:30pm Vigil Mass and the 10am Sunday Mass.
Lourdes Prayer Petitions
Eric & Berni Parr, from our parish, will be going on the diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes from the 26th July to the 1st August. They have kindly offered to take any prayer petitions people may have to the shrine of Our Lady. There is a box at the back of church (under the large crucifix) please place any prayers intentions there and they will take them after this Sunday's Mass (14th July).
Radio Maria
*We (Salford Diocese Communication department) have been contacted by Radio Maria England with the request to share the following notice:
Radio Maria England is thrilled to announce that it has begun broadcasting on digital radio in Stockport and some Greater Manchester areas. In addition to digital radio, anyone can tune into Radio Maria England via their free mobile app, website, or through the Alexa Smart Speaker. Radio Maria England is a Catholic radio station that aims to inspire, educate, and inform listeners about the Catholic faith and make the message of the Gospel accessible to all, wherever they are.
Salford Lourdes Pre-Departure Mass
Join the diocese on Sunday 21st July as we gather together in prayer for the Pre-Departure Mass of our diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. Whether you're travelling to Lourdes or are looking to join in prayer at home, you are welcome to the Mass at 5.30pm at St Patrick's church, Collyhurst. Mass will be celebrated by Canon Michael Cooke along with clergy from the diocese, with music from our wonderful Lourdes Choir. There will be refreshments and a chance to catch up with friends after Mass.
Free Webinar - Promoting and supporting integration and wellbeing of refugee children
To mark World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Caritas in partnership with the Caritas Social Action Network, will be hosting a national webinar aimed at equipping communities with the knowledge, skills and resources to effectively support children who are refugees or seeking asylum. The webinar is aimed at teachers, school leaders, school family support workers, social workers, counsellors, therapists and governors. Clergy and others involved in supporting people in their local community would also find the session beneficial. The webinar will take place online on Wednesday 25 September at 4pm. To book your place and find out more, visit https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/event/welcoming-classrooms/
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 Diocese of Salford Summer Appeal
Our diocesan charity, Caritas Diocese of Salford, has launched its summer appeal as new research reveals child poverty to be at an all-time high across Greater Manchester and Lancashire. To find out more about the appeal and how you can support families across our diocese, please visit www.caritassalford.org.uk/campaign/child-poverty
Job Vacancies
Counsellor (Caritas Schools' Service)
Appointment Type: Term Time Only, Permanent
Working Hours: 22.5 hours per week, with potential to increase hours
Location: Schools-based across the Diocese of Salford
Salary: £30,529 - £36,072 per annum (pro rata for term time and part time)
Find out more and apply at https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/about/careers/
Childcare Assistant - Our Lady & St Hubert's Playgroup
Appointment Type: Part-time, 1 year fixed-term contract
Working Hours: 24 hours per week
Location: Our Lady & St Hubert's Playgroup, Hallfield Road, Great Harwood, Blackburn, BB6 7SN, Great Harwood, Blackburn
Salary: £12 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