The Parish of Our Lady and St Patrick Oldham

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT(YEAR C)
WEEK: DECEMBER 8TH - 14TH 2024

Second Sunday of Advent

“…all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

YOUR CHARITABLE PRAYERS are requested for our parishioners and friends, especially those whose names appear below.
SICK:John Green, Joan Killeen, Eileen Killeen, Christine Clarke, Tony Kenny, Luke Burke, Dominic Boardman, Connie Marrone, Alexander Loughlin, Mary Malone, Win Powell, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Theresa McGarrigle
LATELY DEAD: Amy Howard, Patricia Haines, Declan Quinlivan, Eamonn Donovan, Gordon Hibbert
ANNIVERSARIES: Marie Francoise Boyi, Christopher Alan Whitehead, Krystyna Ogorek, Anthony Joseph Reilly, Michael Crossan, Molly Crossan, Patrick McDermott

LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £759.80

Standing Order: £674.00 a month

CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £50.00; Missio £12.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.

Our Bank: Barclays Bank - Account Name: TSDT, Our Lady and St. Patrick’s, Oldham; Sort Code 20 55 34; Account Number 90652504; Reference: Contr.

THIS SUNDAY'S MISSALETTE, HYMNS & ADVENT PODCAST

Second Sunday of Advent - Missalette

Second Sunday of Advent - Hymns

Second Sunday of Advent - Podcast

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First Sunday of Advent -Podcast

NOTICES:
All Masses will continue to be live streamed. A link is provided on the Parish website: www.smwsp.org.uk or via the Twitter App (@PhilipSumner13).

The Parish reconciliation service will be celebrated on Sunday 15th December at 3.00pm.

WARM FOOD HUB.
On 25th December 2024 from 12 noon till 3.00pm at 72 Yorkshire Street, Oldham, OL1 1SR. Places must be booked in advance using the following link: www.ukeff.org/christmas24/
The organisers will provide snacks, hot drinks, and a hot Christmas Dinner for those who are struggling and will benefit from support and assistance. This year will be the 11th year the organisers have supported people with a wide range of problems over Christmas, including (but not limited to):

financial hardship,
loneliness,
domestic abuse,
homelessness - particularly families in hotels with no cooking facilities

ANNUAL PARISH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
This event took place last week and was very much appreciated by those who attended. There were four great soloists who performed and four great choirs. I would like to put a pictorial account on the parish website, but I don’t have many still photographs taken by myself on the day; I was otherwise occupied being the MC! If anyone has a few still photos of the event that they could send me, that would be very helpful.

PILGRIMS OF HOPE JUBILEE IN OUR DIOCESE
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 and offers the faithful an opportunity to renew their relationship with God, each other, and all of creation. Over the coming months, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to observe this special year of grace in our own diocese. To find out more about the Jubilee and how to get involved, please visit https://dioceseofsalford.org.uk/news/jubilee-2025/

FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 11th January at 10.00am.

FIRST MASS OF CHRISTMAS
Christmas Eve (First Mass of Christmas) will begin with carols at 7.30pm, with Mass starting at 8.00pm.

SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK
Monday 9th December – The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Wednesday 11th December: St. Damasus I (Pope) – Born in Spain, he became Pope in 366 and encouraged devotion to the martyrs of Rome. He, therefore, ordered that the catacombs, in which they were entombed, be excavated, drained, adorned and opened to the public.
Saturday 14th December – St. John of the Cross - St John was born in 1542 and is the author of the famous poem “Noche obscura del alma” (Dark night of the soul). He was a Carmelite priest and a friend of the great mystic St Teresa of Avila. He was imprisoned for undertaking to return the Carmelites to their primitive rule of poverty. It was while he was in his gaol cell in Toledo that he composed his great poem.

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Today we have listened to three prophetic voices of hope, writing in difficult and worrying circumstances. The first of these voices presented to us is that of the prophet Baruch. His message was written after the fall of Jerusalem when the Jews were in exile in Babylon. Somehow or other, from the depths of misery, the writer is able to speak of genuine hope. He speaks of a return home from exile and suggests that the journey will be made easy because God will be walking with them, and they will be together. This will mean that it will be as if the valleys are filled in and the mountains made low.
The second of our prophetic voices comes from Paul, in his letter to the Philippians. We know, of course, that he was writing this letter when he was in prison with a very frightening prospect. Again, somehow or other, he speaks of hope for the future. And it’s clear that the reason he can speak of hope is because of the people who have worked with him to spread the message of the Good News. He knows that, despite his imprisonment, they and God are with him still.
The third prophetic voice is the one now so associated with this second Sunday of Advent. It is the voice of John the Baptist. Luke interestingly refers to the historical setting. He speaks of the powers of the age, Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, Herod the Tetrarch, and of the high priests Annas and Caiaphas. He’s suggesting that unlike the other big stories of that time (the Odyssey of Homer or the Aeneid of Virgil), what he is speaking about is God entering into our history and our lives. This is no myth. John the Baptist, of course, does not proclaim the birth of Jesus but the coming of the Messiah. Luke deliberately quotes Isaiah Chapter 40 when he speaks of the triumphant return of the people from exile and a time when “All flesh shall see the salvation of God.” He’s saying that the announcement of John the Baptist is one of God entering our lives again as he did to bring back the Israelites from exile. But this time, it’s of even greater importance.
Surely, one of the messages of this Sunday is for us to look for and listen to the other prophetic voices of hope that issue from those dark places closer to our own times. I speak, of course, of people like Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, Oscar Romero and many more. They were faced with massive oppression but refused to be cowed by it. They spoke to us all of a power that is unstoppable but nonviolent, one that is something of God intervening in history to heal.

ADVENT PODS
Some of you will remember that when Sr. Eileen was here, she produced some advent pods as a type of extra spiritual devotion during advent. At that time, she worked with Katrina, Debbie and Janet. Now Katrina, from her home in Scotland, has prepared Advent pods in a similar style and we will put them on our website each week in the hope that they will assist some of you in your spiritual preparation for Christmas.

FINANCES OF THE PARISH
The Parish finances have taken a bit of a bettering in the last couple of years, mainly because of the demolition of St. Mary’s church and the subsequent care of that site. The demolition itself cost the parish about £120,000; we’ve only yet paid about half of that amount. But, recently, fly tippers left a pile of asbestos waste on the site. This will cost the parish about another £10,000 to clear up. Of course, when the land is sold, the money from the sale will come back into the parish, but we have no idea when this might take place. So, like the farmers, we are now asset rich but cash poor!

PARISH OF SACRED HEART AND ST WILLIAM, UPPERMILL
The parish of Sacred Heart and St William, in Uppermill, is now officially a parish of the Diocese of Salford. Bishop John has received the definitive decree from Rome confirming that the parish has been transferred from the Diocese of Leeds. Fr Jim Clarke has been appointed parish priest at Uppermill, while remaining parish priest of St Joseph’s, Mossley. I know that Fr. Jim has been acting as Priest in Charge at Uppermill for some time but it’s only now that the parish has been officially transferred to this diocese.

DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES 2025
We are delighted to announce that our diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes will be taking place once again in 2025 between 31st July and 6th August. You can register your interest now by visiting www.salfordlourdes.co.uk or by calling 0161 817 2209.

WEEKLY SERVICES
SUNDAY:	10.00am. 12.30pm (Polish Mass) 6.00pm
MONDAY:	12 noon Mass
TUESDAY:	12 noon Mass
WEDNESDAY:	12 noon Mass
THURSDAY:	10.00am Mass
FRIDAY:	12 noon Requiem Mass for Pat Haines
SATURDAY:	12 noon Mass