Sunday 3rd November 2024
Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Masses & Liturgies for the coming week...
Friday 1st November
All Saints, Holy Day of Obligation
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Mass, Solemnity of All Saints
Saturday 2nd November
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am All Souls Mass
2pm Blessing of Graves at Accrington Cemetery (see below for more details)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sunday 3rd November
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Tuesday 5th November
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass (Feria)
Wednesday 6th November
9:15am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
10am Votive Mass of St. Joseph
"Saint Joseph is the patron and protector of a happy death. Those who pray to him are certain to die in good dispositions. He is the model of those who wish to die in the Lord."
- St Peter Julian Eymard
10:25am – 10:35am Devotions to Saint Joseph
(At the foot of the parish statue of St. Joseph, see below for more details)
Thursday 7th November
10am Deanery Mass for Deceased Clergy - St. Mary's, Burnley
(see below for more details)
Friday 8th November
5pm – 5:50pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
6pm Weekday Mass (Feria)
Saturday 9th November
9am – 9:50am Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament & Confessions
10am Mass, Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (Feast) (celebrated in the Lady Chapel)
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the oldest and highest ranking of the basilicas in Rome. The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the diocese of Rome, the official ecclesiastical seat of the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, not St. Peter's Basilica as so many mistakenly believe. It the oldest church in the West, built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This feast became a universal celebration as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter.
2pm Blessing of Graves at Accrington Cemetery (see below for more details)
6pm The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
6:30pm Vigil Mass for the Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sunday 10th November
9:30am The Holy Rosary for Peace in the World
10am Mass for the Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Sanctuary Lamp
This week (2nd November - 9th November), the Sanctuary Lamp is for the Deceased Members of the Makin and Pickles Family.
Last Week's Offertory Collection
£757.19. Thank you for your kind generosity.
Thank You!
A big Thank You to all those who helped to organise and support the parish social at Franco's last Sunday afternoon. Wonderful food and wonderful company. Thank you to Tony Alveston for helping to facilitate it and to Franco's for hosting us. We raised £423.80.
November: Month of the Holy Souls
The month of November, for us as Roman Catholics, is traditionally a time dedicated to praying for the dead and all the Holy Souls in purgatory who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. On Saturday 2nd November, All Souls Day, we will have our usual box containing the names of those who have died placed in front of the Altar. Throughout the month all those names of loved ones in the Holy Souls Box will will be prayed for. Please feel free to write the names of deceased family and friends down on a piece of paper and place them in the Holy Souls Box. Throughout November you are welcome at anytime to place further names in the box.
Parish November Prayer Service
On Saturday 16th November at 2pm there will be the annual prayer service for all those who have died in the parish over the last year (Nov 23 – Nov 24) and for all those whose names are in the Holy Souls box in front of the Altar. All are welcome. There will be the opportunity for light refreshments afterwards.
Blessing Graves
This year the Blessing of Graves will be on two Saturday afternoons between ourselves and St. Joseph & St. Anne's parish, Accrington. Myself and Fr. Wadsworth will be present to bless the graves of those whose families come to the cemeteries on the following dates:
Accrington Cemetery – Saturday 2nd November at 2:00pm
Dill Hall Cemetery – Saturday 9th November at 2:00pm
Mass for the Deceased Clergy
On Thursday 7th November at 10am, there will be a Requiem Mass for all the deceased priests who have ministered to our Catholic community in East Lancashire over the years. This special deanery Mass will be at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, Todmorden Rd, Burnley BB10 4AU. What a wonderful opportunity to come together as a deanery and pray for all those priests who have served our families over the years. Everyone is welcome.
Parish Schools
During November Sacred Heart, St. Mary's and St. Oswald's schools will be creating space and opportunity for pupils and families to pray for all those who have died among friends and family, people they have known and those they haven't. On Wednesday 13th November pupils from all three primary schools will join us for the 10am parish Mass and bring forward a book of remembrance with the names of people who have died that they would like to be prayed for.
Take a moment and recite this prayer given to us by Jesus through St. Gertrude the Great:
"Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen"
Devotions to Saint Joseph
On Wednesday 5th June, after the 10am Mass, there will be our first Wednesday devotions to St. Joseph (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 Church, that they may return and find a warm welcome.
Saint Oswald's School
On Wednesday I was invited to Miss Barlow's Class to talk about the Vocation of Marriage. A calling where a man and woman, united in love, are able to reveal and witness to our loving God in their everyday lives. Commitment, Faithfulness, Open to the Gift of Life, Sacrifice, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Gratitude, are just some of the aspects of God that a husband and wife show the world through their marriage. Let's pray for a continued appreciation of the vocation of marriage and those families who are stronger because of it.
Parish Grounds
The drop in temperature and the darker nights can only mean one thing – autumn has arrived! This also means that trees begin to shed their leaves and as we all know we have plenty of trees on the parish grounds. Volunteers are always greatly appreciated with this yearly task and all help is gratefully accepted. Maintaining the paths and keeping them free from leaf debris isn't the most glamorous of jobs but it's an important one for health and safety reasons. If there is a day you are free, or a time you can pop down to church, which is convenient for you, please contact Navada Keenan who helps to facilitate all our parish garden volunteers – email: keenannavada@gmail.com
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those who do so much to keep our church gardens looking pristine and tidy. It is much appreciated. Thank you.
Take Action to Oppose Assisted Suicide
Catholics across England and Wales are being called to unite in prayer and compassionate action in opposition to a new Bill on assisted suicide. The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales has pulled together a range of resources with more information, a pastoral letter from Cardinal Nichols, and a link to an online tool to contact your MP to voice your opposition to the bill. Find out more at https://www.cbcew.org.uk/opposing-assisted-suicide
New Lectionary Resources
With the new edition of the Lectionary for Mass coming into use on the First Sunday of Advent, the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has signposted us to some useful resources introducing the new edition, what changes have been made, and why. Find out more at https://www.cbcew.org.uk/lectionary/
New Lectionaries
This weekend at the back of church you will be able to see the new lectionaries that have been published ready for use at the start of Advent. Thank you again to all those who have sponsored the cost of buying these new books. Families and loved ones names will be placed on the inside cover in due time. The Lectionaries are the books that contain the Scripture readings for Mass and the Sacraments, and have been changed as part of the continuing process of revising liturgical translations. The process began with the Roman Missal in 2011 and has continued with all the other liturgical texts. The new Lectionary will use the English Standard Version – Catholic Edition of the Bible and the Abbey Psalter. The changes are intended to make the biblical translations more faithful to the original languages, biblical scholarship, and to provide a text for use in liturgical setting that is more proclaimable and, where appropriate, more inclusive.
Readers Day
A session for readers from within St John Vianney Deanery will take place at St Mary's Parish Rooms, Burnley, on Saturday 9th November. The session will begin at 11.45am and finish at 1.00pm. The focus will be on the importance of the Ministry of Reader and a chance to become acquainted with the translation, found in the new lectionary, which comes into use on 30th November. Tea/Coffee/cake will be served from 11.15am. All readers are welcome to attend. Please let Fr O'Brien know if you would like to attend so he can forward numbers to the Dean.
The Diocese Synod Big Listen - Building Connections
Our thanks goes to everyone who gave up their time on Wednesday evening to join us for the second of our topic evenings. It was wonderful to hear your thoughts and ideas as to how we can build better connections both across our parish and the wider diocese. As a reminder to those who wanted to reflect further before submitting their suggestions, there will be a box at the back of the church where you can post your responses. The box will be there until Sunday 10 November. The next session will take place in late November. And we will let you have the details as soon as we have them. For more information about the synod please feel free to speak to Mike Cowley or Sharon Siddel our parish reps.
Synod Theme Gathering for Young Adults
Young adults across the Diocese of Salford are invited to join us to take part in the next important stage of our Diocesan Synod. This November, our Young Adults Synod Members will be leading a special theme gathering to further discern and discuss the themes to have emerged from last year's Big Listen Exercise and to submit proposals for each of the themes. The meeting will take place after our next monthly Mass for Young Adults, which begins at 5.30pm on Sunday 10th November at St Augustine's Church, Manchester. All are very welcome to attend!
Masses for Vocations
The Diocese of Salford's Vocation Team will be holding two Masses for Vocations this November. The first Mass takes place on Wednesday 13 November, 7pm, at Our Lady of the Assumption in Langley. The second will take place on Thursday 21st November, 7pm, at St Thomas of Canterbury Church, in Bolton. All are welcome to join as we pray for the future of vocations in our diocese.
Vocations Newsletter
Our diocesan Office for Vocations is pleased to share with you its latest newsletter, featuring news and updates on vocations to the priesthood and permanent diaconate, as well as insights into different aspects of ministry. To read the latest copy, please visit https://tinyurl.com/vocations-2
Thank you from Caritas Salford
As we head towards the end of the year, our diocesan charity Caritas Salford would like to share a message of thanks to everyone who has supported their work so far this year. To find out more about how your generosity has impacted those in our diocesan community, head to https://www.caritassalford.org.uk/your-stories/
Job Vacancies
Cook - Cathedral House (Replacement Role)
Appointment Type: Part-time, permanent
Working Hours: 9 hours per week worked over two days: Saturday and Sunday. 4.5 hours per day (10.30am - 3pm)
Location: Cathedral House, 250 Chapel Street, Salford, M3 5LE
Salary: £13.38 per hour.
Find out more and apply at https://dioceseofsalford.org.uk/news/vacancies
Cleaner - Parish of Corpus Christi (replacement role)
Appointment Type: Part-time, permanent
Working Hours: 4 hours per week, working pattern to be agreed with Parish Priest
Location: St John's Presbytery, The Crescent, Bromley Cross and St Brendan's Church, Harwood.
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