The Parish of Our Lady and St Patrick Oldham

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT (YEAR C)
WEEK: MARCH 16TH - 22ND 2025

The Second Sunday of Lent

“This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him.”

YOUR CHARITABLE PRAYERS are requested for our parishioners and friends, especially those whose names appear below.
SICK: John Green, Joan Killeen, Christine Clarke, Tony Kenny, Luke Burke, Dominic Boardman, Connie Marrone, Alexander Loughlin, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Jean Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis, Andrew Debbie
LATELY DEAD: Coryell, Rachel, Helen, Susan and Shimoni (all from one family), Nel Eaton, Gerry McParland
ANNIVERSARIES: Michael Robinson, Mary Thomas, James Whelan

LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £1,023.80

Standing Order: £674.00 a month

CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00; Coffee Morning £18.50; Candles £724.33

Many thanks for your kind generosity.

If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.

THIS SUNDAY'S MISSALETTE & HYMNS

The Second Sunday of Lent - Missalette

The Second Sunday of Lent - Hymns

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).

STATIONS OF THE CROSS DURING LENT – LED BY THE CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP.
Every Friday evening during Lent (but not including Good Friday) from 6.00pm to 8.00pm.

DIOCESAN SYNOD: THE END OF THE JOURNEY
Recently, our Diocesan Synod drew to a close with the final stage of the journey. Two Saturdays ago, clergy and lay synod members gathered to vote on the 40 recommendations. The recommendations to receive the most votes for each group were: Supporting clergy, Promoting Collaboration, Harnessing Gifts and Talents; Promoting Personal Formation, Commissioning Catechists, Promoting Social Action; Having a Family Focus, Creating Community for Young People, Strengthening School links; and Developing Outward-Looking Parishes, Encouraging Participations, Developing Welcome Teams.
All recommendations will be fed into a Pastoral Plan, with specific focus on the top priorities, to guide the policies and decision making of the diocese in the years to come. The Synod came to its formal conclusion with a prayerful service of thanksgiving on the following Sunday afternoon, during which all 40 recommendations were presented to Bishop Arnold. Speaking in his homily, Bishop Arnold reminded the congregation of the importance of continuing the practice of listening, discerning, and praying together to ensure we remain open and alert to the call of the Holy Spirit.

MARY’S MEALS
Mary’s Meals is a charity organisation based in Scotland which feeds more than two million primary school children every day in the world’s poorest areas. They have now come up with the idea to collect and reuse foreign currency. People returning from travel in different countries often have some foreign currency left over. They might be able to use some of that again or get it changed into pounds sterling. But there might be still some bits and pieces left over. I know that we often get some of these bits and pieces put in the collection plate in the church! Mary’s Meals are now requesting those bits left over so that they can get them exchanged and use it to feed even more children. They say that they can also use UK coins and notes that are no longer legal tender. There are some envelopes at the back of the church for this currency or you can just bring it to the parish office, and we will arrange for it to be sent off to Mary’s Meals.

DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO WALSINGHAM
Our diocesan pilgrimage office is now taking bookings for its next annual pilgrimage to Walsingham. Our pilgrimage in this Holy Year of Jubilee will take place on Saturday 3 May 2025, with an option to extend your visit by staying overnight on Friday 2 May. For more information, prices, and details on how to book, please visit https://dioceseofsalford.org.uk/walsingham-pilgrimage-2025 or call 0161 817 2209

LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The next Lenten Station Mass is on 18th March, in St. Joseph’s, Shaw. Then, on 25th March, we will be at St Herbert’s, Chadderton. On the 1st April, we will be at St. Anne’s in Ashton. Then, finally, on 8th April, we will be at St Edward’s, Lees. All these Masses will be at 7.00pm.

SICK AND RETIRED CLERGY FUND
Our Sick and Retired Clergy Fund is a vital resource that provides key provision for our priests after years of dedicated service to our diocesan community. As the number of priests reaching retirement age has grown, this fund has never been more needed to ensure our clergy can enjoy the happy and dignified retirement they so deserve.
We invite you to find out more about this fund and read our newsletter by visiting: https://dioceseofsalford.org.uk/sick-and-retired-clergy-fund/

CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
The programme will begin this week with a meeting for parents of all the young people who wish to be confirmed, on Wednesday 12th March at 7pm at St. Edward’s Church, Lees. Then the programme begins for the children on 17th March at Newman, 18th March at St Damian’s (both 3.30-5pm) and 18th March at St. Edward’s (at 6.00pm). You can sign up the young people for the programme at the first meeting (the one for parents). There will be seven sessions in all, the last one being a reconciliation service. The confirmations will take place at 7pm on 4th June at St. Mary’s Failsworth, or a 7pm. 5th June at St. Edward’s, Lees. Young people of Year 8 age group and older can register.

PARISH RECONCILIATION SERVICE
There will be a Parish Reconciliation Service at 1.30pm on Saturday 12th April. I can’t do the usual Sunday time because I have Chinese Mass in Salford at that time.

SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK
Monday, 17th March. St. Patrick (Patron of Ireland, and one of the patrons of this Parish). He was born around 385 and, in his youth, was taken as a captive to Ireland where he worked as a herdsman. Having escaped, he became a priest and, later, a Bishop. He then returned to Ireland where he preached the Gospel and influenced many to convert to the Faith. He died in 461 and was buried in Downpatrick.
Tuesday, 18th March. St. Cyril of Jerusalem. He became Bishop of Jerusalem in 348. He is famed for the catechetical instructions he gave to candidates for baptism and for his defence of the faith. He was exiled three times.
Wednesday, 19th March. St. Joseph (Husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus)

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
It’s important to realise that the event spoken of in today’s Gospel happened immediately after Jesus’ first prophecy of his passion. He had told the apostles that he must go to Jerusalem where he would suffer grievously, be rejected by the chief priests and the elders and be put to death. It’s then that we hear about him going up on a mountain with Peter, James and John. Luke is deliberately alluding to the most formative event of Judaism, the Exodus. If you were to read the Book of Exodus (Chapter 24), you would see that Moses went up on Mount Sinai and took with him Aaron, Nadab and Abihu. In the same way Jesus took with him Peter, James and John. In Exodus, we hear about a cloud covering the mountain and God speaking from out of the cloud. On the mount of transfiguration, we are told “a cloud came and overshadowed them” and “A voice came from out of the cloud”. In the book of Exodus, we are told that, after communing with God, Moses’ face was radiant (Chapter 34:29); in the same way we are told that, on the mount of transfiguration, Jesus’ face too was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. On the mount of transfiguration, we are told that Moses and Elijah spoke to Jesus about his ‘departure’, but the Greek word for ‘departure’ is ‘Exodus’. They were speaking to him about the journey that lay ahead for Jesus as the way to provide freedom for his people, just as, through the ‘Exodus’, Moses brought his people to freedom. It was Jesus’ acceptance of this journey that made the Father proclaim, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him”. This was the Father’s way of telling the three apostles that what Jesus had prophesied just before they came up the mountain was the ‘Exodus’ (departure) from our and their slavery to sin.
Jesus gives the three apostles and us a reminder of God’s presence through history, with the Law and the Prophets guiding the way, leading humanity to that glory that will be ours. Martin Luther King Jr saw the power of that image and used it in his final message to people in 1968, just before he was killed. It certainly applies to us today. “I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now…I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So, I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

PARISH HALL
I have had to let the school take on ownership and responsibility for what was the parish hall; we couldn’t afford all the work that needed doing to it! If anyone wishes to use it in future, they will have to contact the school, but the problem with the drains continues.

WEEKLY SERVICES
SUNDAY:	10.00am. 12.30pm (Polish Mass) 6.00pm
MONDAY:	12 noon Mass
TUESDAY: Father Phil might be a few minutes late.	12 noon Mass
WEDNESDAY:	12 noon Requiem Mass for Nel Eaton
THURSDAY:	12 noon Mass
FRIDAY:	12 noon Mass
SATURDAY:	12 noon Mass