EIGHTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
WEEK: MARCH 2ND - 8TH 2025
“For each tree is known by its own fruit.”
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, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis, Nel Eaton, Andrew Debbie
LATELY DEAD: Nora Hickey, Mary Malone, Paul Clarke
ANNIVERSARIES: Henrique Pereira de Carvalho, Philip Miley, Kenneth Cooper, Ronnie Melia, Neciforo Moniza, Romeo Tee, Eufemia Chuq
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £785.58
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00; Food Bank £10.00;Missio £50.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
POPE FRANCIS ON LENT |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
There’s been a slight change in the programme of Lenten Station Masses this year. They will begin on 11th March at St. Joseph’s, Mossley. The bishop will attend this Station Mass. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Joseph’s, Shaw. 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.
SACRAMENTAL PROGRAMME |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum has informed us that it is being carried out this year in St. Edward’s Church, Lees, Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin with a meeting for parents of all the young people who wish to be confirmed, on Wednesday 12th March at 7.00pm 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 7.00pm on 4th June at St. Mary’s Failsworth, or at 7.00pm. 5th June at St. Edward’s, Lees. Young people of Year 8 age group and older can register
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Todays readings are a good lead into Lent, especially in view of the Pope’s remarks outlined below. They invite us to use Lent as a time to take a good hard look at ourselves, and to remove the plank that prevents us from seeing the reality. If we simply react when other people’s behaviour impacts negatively on us, it’s very easy to convince ourselves that we are the good people. But Lent is a time for stepping back from that and being honest with ourselves.
The first reading invites us to look at our reasoning in different situations, because “the expression of thought discloses the cultivation of a person’s mind.” And the Gospel invites us to look at our fruits, especially, perhaps, in inspiring faith in others or encouraging and helping to build the Christian community. Thomas Merton reminds us that we don’t all have to do this in the same way, for my sanctity, he said, consists in being myself. But we find ourselves not by endlessly taking “selfies” or sitting in perpetual self-reflection but by looking outwards and engaging with the people around us. It is in dialogue with others, mixed with self-reflection, that we discover who we really are. The fruit tree bears fruit when it is open to the elements, and the sun and the rain bear down on it. We will bear fruit not when we simply copy our peers but when we find and be our authentic selves in relationship with our peers, recognising our own faults but also recognising what we can bring to those relationships
HEATING SYSTEM IN THE HOUSE |
| FINANCES FOR 2024 | There are a couple of amendments from the figures published last week |
| Income | |
| Gift-aidable income Non-Covenantable income Church Piety shop Ministry Income Other Restricted income Total |
£41,657.80 |
| Expenditure | |
| Church Presbytery Parish Expenses Diocesan Levy Bank charges Capital Expenditure Total |
£26,498.20 £17,173.52 £550.00 £20,149.78 £360.06 £55,150.94 £119,882.50 |
Total Cash in bank on 31st December 2024 £13,568.15
As you will see, we spent much more than we earned, but you will also see that £55,150.94 was capital expenditure on things like the new boiler for the church and the solar panels for the roof. In fact, it is amazing that we are still in the black! Many thanks for all your support throughout the year. My thanks also go to Jopaul Jose who has prepared these figures for us and kept a record of our accounts throughout the year.
Last week I received a bill for clearing up after the fly-tipping at the site of the former St. Mary’s Church. The bill amounts to £7,911.02. Sadly, there have been several other events of fly-tipping there during the last weeks!! I have asked the diocese if they will erect a concrete bollard in the gateway to prevent future access, unless they come with a JCB!
SEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
WEEK: FEBRUARY 23RD - MARCH 1ST 2025
"I say to you who hear, ‘Love your enemies"
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, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis, Nel Eaton
LATELY DEAD: Nora Hickey, Mary Malone, Gerry McParland, Mary Nolan
ANNIVERSARIES: Mary Dyson, Fred Dyson, Henriett Ramos Monteiro, Maria Manuela Veloso, Soraia Seiros, Claudia Moreira, Francisco Catahha
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £884.19
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00; NA £30.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
LENTEN SCHOOL OF PRAYER 2025 - Wardley Hall, Worsley, M28 2ND |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
There’s been a slight change in the programme of Lenten Station Masses this year. They will begin on 11th March at St. Joseph’s, Mossley. The bishop will attend this Station Mass. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Joseph’s, Shaw. 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.
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25 |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum has informed us that it is being carried out this year in St. Edward’s Church, Lees, Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin 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 3.30-5.00pm) and 19th 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.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
What is compassion? What is love? And how do we live them out in our own age? These are the questions that spring from the Gospel today. In many ways this is the hardest teaching Jesus offers us, because it goes against so much of what the "modern world" would have us believe. We live in a world of litigation and people demanding their rights. Of course, we need to respect each other rights but, in such a world, it’s very easy to criticise, to point the finger, to demonise and to be unforgiving of failure. In such a world we become obsessed with ticking boxes to protect ourselves from litigation, but do we forget basic humanity in the process? We often witness politics in which one side will try to demonise the other. The call of Christianity, however, is to rehumanise each other. A notable example took place in Rwanda after the dreadful mass killings that took place there in 1994. Some victims and perpetrators came together a few years later around a large cross and listened to each other’s stories. For some this was an amazingly difficult but healing process, where the truth was acknowledged, the wider elements were listened to, people’s humanity restored and even forgiveness expressed. The first reading today sees David and Saul as enemies in battle, and Saul is suddenly in David's power. The logic of the modern world would say "Strike while you can." But David chooses another path. He is com¬passionate. Perhaps we can all think of times when we were in a position to take revenge, score a victory over someone, or take it out on them. The measure of our faith is whether we are compassionate - especially with our enemies - as Jesus taught us. Martin Luther King Jr commented on today’s Gospel as follows: “Far from being the pious injunction of a utopian dreamer, the command to love one’s enemy is an absolute necessity for our survival. Love, even for enemies, is the key to the solution of the problems of our world. Jesus is not an impractical idealist: he is the practical realist.” “In order to love the enemy neighbour, we must recognize that the negative deed of the enemy does not represent all that the individual is.” “And finally, we come to see that there is within every human being the image of God, and no matter how much it is scarred, it is still there.” “Hate begets hate. Force begets force. Violence begets violence. Toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral ending in destruction for everybody.” Martin Luther King would certainly have a different, and I think far more Christian, approach to peace-making that we are witnessing in our world today.
| FINANCES FOR 2024 | |
| Income | |
| Gift-aidable income Non-Covenantable income Church Piety shop Ministry Income Other Restricted income Total |
£41,657.80 |
| Expenditure | |
| Church Presbytery Parish Expenses Diocesan Levy Bank charges Capital Expenditure Total |
£26,498.20 £17,173.52 £550.00 £20,149.78 £360.06 £55,150.94 £119,882.50 |
Total Cash in bank on 31st December 2024 £13,568.15
As you will see, we spent much more than we earned, but you will also see that £55,000 was capital expenditure on things like the new boiler for the church and the solar panels for the roof. In fact, it is amazing that we are still in the black!
Many thanks for all your support throughout the year. My thanks also go to Jopaul Jose who has prepared these figures for us and kept a record of our accounts throughout the year. I have just received a bill for clearing up after the fly-tipping at the site of the former St. Mary’s Church. The bill amounts to £7,911.02. Sadly, there has just been another event of fly-tipping there during the last week!! Still, the amount charged was two thousand pounds less than the amount originally mentioned.
SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
WEEK: FEBRUARY 16TH - 22ND 2025
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, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis, Nel Eaton
LATELY DEAD: Mateus Manuel Alfredo, Maria Moreno, Eileen Killeen, Graeme Matthew Park, Karolyn Wadsworth, Jacqueline De Almeida, Maria Lourdes De Barros, Nora Hickey, Mary Malone, Gerry McParland, Mary Nolan
ANNIVERSARIES: Fernando Lopez, Joao Lopez Da Silva, Alvaro Silva, Maria di Jesus, John Donnelly, Alice McConnon, Kathleen McDermott, Monica Gough, Alice Wright
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £901.89
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY
Today, the Catholic Church in England and Wales focuses on Racial Justice. Racial Justice Sunday began 30 years ago this year as a direct consequence of the racial killing of Stephen Lawrence on 9th July 1993. The subsequent enquiry, chaired by Lord MacPherson, defined the term ‘Institutional racism’, but it was the examples he gave of this concept that were perhaps more important and, sadly, are almost forgotten. He wrote of the ‘colour blind approach’, when people claim not to see colour. But, if we don’t see colour, then we don’t recognize the particular needs associated with that difference. As Church, we should be like Joseph’s coat of many colours and allow the different colours to be celebrated and to give the coat its beauty. Lord MacPherson also gave the example of what he called ‘the stereotypical approach’ when we think we know what the needs of different people are without ever having really listened to them to find out. The third example he gives is when people say things like, “We’ve always done it this way”, or “When in Rome, do as the Romans do!” This is when established groups in our communities claim power and exercise it to the detriment of newcomers. Dina Nayeri, who wrote ‘The Ungrateful Refugee’, wisely suggests that to help others to belong “…requires reciprocation… It is about allowing newcomers to affect you on your native soil, to change you.”
If we are to respond, on our part, to Jesus’ prayer, recorded in Chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel, “Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you,” then we must recognise that the oneness he suggests includes diversity and many colours. It is a challenge for us to be one by embracing difference and by becoming open doors to one another into the Divine Presence.
A Black priest, Fr. Patrick Saint Jean (SJ), born in Haiti and now working in the USA, writes:” I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word” (“The Crucible of racism”, 2022).
LENTEN SCHOOL OF PRAYER 2025 - Wardley Hall, Worsley, M28 2ND |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25 |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum has informed us that it is being carried out this year in St. Edward’s Church, Lees, Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin 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 3.30-5.00pm) and 19th 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.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
In the last few weeks, there were, no doubt, many Chinese people wishing each other a ‘prosperous New Year’. But is prosperity really a blessing? Mae West, the American film star who died in 1980, famously said; “I’ve been poor, and I’ve been rich, and believe me, rich is better!” But, a few years ago, a national newspaper told of a Lottery winner, Margaret Loughrey, who’d won £27 million in 2013. She’d been found dead in her home in Strabane, Northern Ireland. Sometime before, she was reported to have said, “Money has brought me nothing but grief; it has destroyed my life.” The same newspaper then went on to tell five more recent stories of people who had won millions but then seen their marriages crumble and their lives turn to ruin, one person even finding himself homeless.
The readings today ask us to question what a blessing is. Indeed, the Gospel, which is Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, turns upside down what it suggests we might wish for. “Blessed are you who are poor…you who weep now…you, when people hate you…exclude you…revile you” I can’t imagine many people thanking you if, instead of wishing people a prosperous New Year, you wished that they would be poor, sad and reviled. Jesus, however, was speaking about the fulfilment of the prophesy of Isaiah that he had proclaimed in the Synagogue of Nazareth, when he launched his messianic mission. He was confirming the ‘reversal’ spoken of in Mary’s Magnificat, when she thanks God, who ‘puts forth his arm in strength and scatters the proud-hearted’ who ‘casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly’, who ‘fills the starving with good things and sends the rich away empty’.
But also, we need to recognise that the story of Christianity is of Jesus without finery, or the trappings of status, crucified and apparently despised by humanity. And yet we consider his story of the cross as one of amazing blessing. There we see true humanity, powerful in its vulnerability. We see someone not imposing his will on others but giving his life so that we might know forgiveness. We see someone trusting even when everything pointed to abject failure. We see a love that continues even in the face of rejection and hatred. When I bless you as a priest, or when you bless yourselves, we do so with the sign of a cross. In a way, when we do this, we are suggesting that our hopes are for something much deeper than material wealth.
The readings are asking us to look beyond the superficial to the blessing that can come out of struggle and that isn’t destroyed by it, because its roots are deep and sustained by life-giving waters. It is, after all, at times of struggle that we often turn to God and others for help and allow them into our lives. It’s then that we can find something that can sustain us through the valleys of darkness, something that opens our lives to genuine love.
FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
WEEK: FEBRUARY 9TH - 15TH 2025
“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
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, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis, Nel Eaton
LATELY DEAD: Mateus Manuel Alfredo, Maria Moreno, Eileen Killeen, Graeme Matthew Park, Karolyn Wadsworth, Jacqueline De Almeida, Maria Lourdes De Barros, Nora Hickey, Mary Malone, Gerry McParland
ANNIVERSARIES: Fernando Lopez, Joao Lopez Da Silva, Alvaro Silva, Maria di Jesus, John Donnelly, Alice McConnon, Kathleen McDermott, Monica Gough, Alice Wright, Catherine and Lewis Laverty,
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £858.04
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Greater Manchester Chinese Catholic Community £200.00
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
WEEK FOCUSSING ON RACIAL JUSTICE
Today, Christians from other denominations will focus on Racial Justice. One of the writers for the resources sent out by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland points out that, in the Prophet Amos, there is the line, “Are not you Israelites the same to me as the Cushites? Declares the Lord” (Amos 9:7). But who were the Cushites? They were the ancient inhabitants of Sudan, South Egypt and Ethiopia, African people. What God is saying through the prophet is that, if the Cushites, like the Hebrews were being oppressed, they also deserved liberation. Whatever the ethnic background, God is committed to liberating people. He was and is involved in the struggles of all oppressed people.
A couple of years ago. In March 2022, a government report, chaired by Tony Sewell, suggested that the Black communities of this country had passed from an age of heroism, through an age of rebellion to an age of participation in British society. So, if the Black communities are now enjoying an age of participation, why do we still need to mark Racial Justice Sunday? But subsequent government reports, one on the state of policing in London and another on the state of policing in Scotland, have shown a very different picture; those reports refer to the continued presence of institutional racism in the police service, and at a serious level. A quick glance at other indicators will also show that there’s still so much racism and injustice in our society. And the racist activity on social media at the beginning of August last year after the dreadful killing of three children in Southport, followed by serious racist protests in the streets of several towns and cities, remind us of the importance of this day.
It’s true that society, in the UK, has changed so much in recent years, but racism has changed too. Pope Francis, in his Encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti”, said: “Racism is a virus that quickly mutates and, instead of disappearing, goes into hiding, and lurks in waiting.” (Fratelli Tutti par. 97). Then, in 2021, he ‘Tweeted’: “Instances of racism continue to shame us, for they show that our supposed social progress is not as real or definitive as we think.”
LENTEN SCHOOL OF PRAYER 2025 - Wardley Hall, Worsley, M28 2ND |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25 |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum has informed us that it is being carried out this year in St. Edward’s Church, Lees, Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin 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 19th 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.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
In our post-modern world, there’s a tendency to think that science will find a way to sort out every problem. Human knowledge has taken massive strides in the fight against cancer. The problem of global warming, too, is hopefully being addressed by scientists developing machines that will continue to make our lives easier, without consuming too much energy, and developing more renewable sources for that energy. With such a tendency, human knowledge and skill is put on a pedestal and the desire to consume is unabated and insatiable.
But today’s readings speak of the weakness of human ability and, in complete contrast, the awesome power of God at work in our world. All three of our readings speak of individuals becoming aware of that power of God in their lives and at the same time of them realising their own weakness. We started with Isaiah, who had some vision of God in the temple. He immediately realised how wretched he was, a man of unclean lips living among a people of unclean lips. Then we moved on to St. Paul in the second reading speaking of his experience of God on the road to Damascus. He says that, despite all his weaknesses, God chose him to be an Apostle, a title he does not deserve. Finally, in the Gospel, Peter, who was the expert fisherman, who’d decided that there was no point in fishing anymore that day, sees that, with Jesus’ intervention, an amazing haul of fish was to be had. “Leave me, Lord,” he says, “I am a sinful man.”
All three were to be chosen by God despite their weaknesses. Isaiah was to be an amazing prophet, who captured in language some of the truest images of the Messiah who was to come. It was to Isaiah that we heard Jesus turn to discover his own mission. For their parts, Paul and Peter were to be the foremost builders of the early Church. But both continued to have their weaknesses even after they had been chosen. We know that Peter went on to deny Jesus and Paul was to be over harsh towards John Mark, who shared his ministry.
For mission to be effective in the Church, the most important elements are not what we bring to help that mission but how God is active in our lives, and us being aware of that activity. The greatest dynamic for mission is God’s mercy and that has two major elements, realising the forgiveness that I receive from the cross of Christ and being aware of his presence in my life. Is it any wonder that when the concentration of the world is on human capacity to solve problems, as it is in the West, mission is least effective and the Church in that area shrinks? If it is to grow again, we must become more aware of God’s presence in our lives and of his love for us despite our weaknesses. Then we must put out into deep water, away from the comfort of the harbour, or of things familiar and safe. It’s there that we learn to rely more on God and there that we will be fruitful in the ministry given to us.
THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD (YEAR C)
WEEK: FEBRUARY 2ND - 8TH 2025
“…my eyes have seen your salvation…a light for revelation to the gentiles.”
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, Mary Malone, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis
LATELY DEAD: Vittorio Forgetto, Mateus Manuel Alfredo, Maria Moreno, Eileen Killeen, Graeme Matthew Park, Karolyn Wadsworth
ANNIVERSARIES: Joe Rimmer, Michael McGladdery, Terry Mills, John Donnelly, Alice McConnon, Kathleen McDermott, Monica Gough, Alice Wright, Catherine and Lewis Laverty
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £754.36
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £40.00, Donation in remembrance of Pat Haines £64.50
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
MASS IN CANTONESE BY ARCHBISHOP SAVIO HON
Today, Sunday 2nd February at 2.30pm we are privileged to have another visit to this church from Archbishop Savio Hon who works in the diplomatic service for the Holy See. He will say Mass in Cantonese. We will welcome many Hong Kong people for this Mass.
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25 |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum has informed us that it is being carried out this year in St. Edward’s Church, Lees, Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin 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 19th March at St. Edward’s (time to be announced). 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.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
On this Feast Day, we jump back again, from the early ministry of the adult Jesus (where we have been since the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord), to the infancy narratives, when his parents came to present him in the temple.
The ancient practice of presenting Jewish children in the temple in this way was meant to be a reminder of when God brought their ancestors out of slavery in Egypt. They had finally gained their freedom when the last of the ten plagues caused the firstborn sons of the Egyptians to perish. Their own children were saved/redeemed by the blood of a lamb painted on the doorposts. From that time on, religious Law required Jewish families to continue to redeem their firstborn sons soon after their birth with a sacrifice of some sort. The sacrifice that Mary and Joseph offered as they brought Jesus to the temple was that of two turtle doves. But, as he was being presented, the old man Simeon, in an inspired outburst, also reminded any onlookers of the prophecy of Isaiah. He said that now his eyes had seen the salvation which, according to Isaiah all the ends of the earth would see. He was saying that the Messiah was for all people, and not just for the Jews, though he was their glory too. And the Prophet Malachi had said that this “Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his Temple.” The child Jesus was fulfilling that prophecy.
Some of us might be tempted to speculate as to what made Simeon so certain that Jesus was the child for whom he’d been waiting. Perhaps he’d heard some rumours about the strange circumstances of Jesus’ birth and then investigated more before coming to his conclusion. But Luke, no doubt deliberately, doesn’t tell us. He simply says that Simeon was someone on whom the Spirit of God rested. Luke’s silence in this matter clearly suggests that it’s God who reveals Himself to us and not human beings who discover God. To see salvation means waiting patiently, like Simeon. Then, as Simeon was no doubt struck with a tremendous sense of awe holding the prophesied servant of salvation in his arms, he found the Spirit of God within him impelling him to speak.
This day is also known as “Candlemas Day” when candles are often blessed and lit and sometimes carried in procession in many churches around the world. They’re lit as a sign of defiant hope in a difficult world, and, for Christians, they echo again Simeon’s claim that Jesus is the light of the nations and not just the glory of the people of Israel. A candle’s gentle light has often been a powerful symbol for Christians and non-Christians alike. In August 2015, people in this country left thousands of tealights in jam jars to line the bridge over the River Adur in Shoreham after the Hawker Hunter jet crashed into the A27. But there are so many other examples. In this year of a Jubilee of ‘Hope’, we are invited to light a candle, physically or metaphorically, in the face of the adversity before us all.
THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
WEEK: JANUARY 26TH - FEBRUARY 1ST 2025
“He has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor…recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
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, Mary Malone, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis
LATELY DEAD: Victoria Forgetto, Mateus Manuel Alfredo, Maria Moreno, Eileen Killeen, Graeme Matthew Park,
ANNIVERSARIES: Joe Rimmer, Michael McGladdery, Terry Mills
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £662.83
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00, NA (for use of the meeting room) £30.00.
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
CARITAS SUNDAY |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 8th March at 10.00am.
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY (HMD) takes place each year on 27th January. Holocaust Memorial Day is a day that we put aside to come together to remember, to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur, in the hope that there may be one day in the future with no genocide. |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum, who organises this programme, has informed us that it is being carried out this year in both St. Edward’s Church, Lees and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin on Monday 17th February – time to be announced (St. Edward’s Church, Lees) or on Tuesday 18th February at 3.30-5pm (St. Damian’s). If there are young people who want to be on the programme, you can sign up at the first meeting. 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.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Today’s Gospel is a split reading, starting at the beginning of the first chapter and then jumping to the fourth. The first section is addressed to someone called ‘Theophilus’. Is this Luke’s patron or is it anyone who would claim to be a lover of God? The Greek word ‘Theophilus’ simply translates as “lover of God”.
Luke tells us too that he has got his information for his account from eyewitnesses, and so, he says, it is trustworthy.
Then, our reading jumps to Luke’s account of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Yes, Luke has already, at this stage, written about the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. Then, we are told that Jesus goes out into the desert to fast for forty days. Clearly, there, he thinks about how he should carry out his ministry and he’s tempted either simply to provide for the material needs of people, or to perform showstopping miracles, or to impel people to believe in him. Having been tempted in this way, he then returns to his hometown of Nazareth, a tiny place of only about 100 – 150 people where everyone would have known him. There, he sets out his stall by referring, as he will do on several other occasions, to a passage of the Prophet Isaiah. It’s actually a conflation of two passages (Ch. 61 & Ch. 58 v.6). There he speaks of the return from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem. The people who had been allowed to stay in Jerusalem by the Babylonians would, at this stage, have been desperately poor and the people who had been in exile would have known oppression. Nehemiah writes about this same period in the first reading today. The opening of the book of the Law by Ezra the priest is echoed by Jesus’ opening of the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue. As the people who have returned from exile, spoken of in the first reading, are caught up in a powerful moment of being able to be fully themselves again (following the Law), so Jesus has his listeners enthralled as he sits down after reading the text, clearly with the intention of saying something in explanation. What he says is equally powerful: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” His listeners wouldn’t have needed any further explanation. He was talking about himself being the one to bring true liberation to the people, to enable a reversal of status and the removal of shame. This is a message of liberation, of a non-violent revolution, when people are re-humanised, and are no longer, in modern day parlance, simply consumers or computer-generated statistics, but people of individuality and great dignity. Surely, a Christian is called to join in this mission.
Jesus’ listeners, as you would see if you read the next few verses, were so questioning. How can someone we all know be capable of this? We would do well to recognise that God often works through the familiar and the ordinary, through the people we know.
MASS IN CANTONESE BY ARCHBISHOP SAVIO HON |
SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
WEEK: JANUARY 19TH - 25TH 2025
“On this mountain, for all peoples, the Lord is preparing a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of succulent food, of well-strained wines.”
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, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Emsis
LATELY DEAD: Victoria Forgetto,
ANNIVERSARIES: Peter Guilfoyle, Claire Kelly, Alice McConnon, John Donnelly, Jim Buttimer, Paddy Joe Canny, Nathan McLean
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £1081.70
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Candles £619.61; Charismatic Group donation £499.01
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
If anyone needs the Bank account details to set up Direct Debit payments, please contact Father Phil.
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).
CARITAS SUNDAY |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 8th March at 10.00am.
OCTAVE OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY (18TH – 25TH JANUARY) |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY (HMD) takes place each year on 27th January. Holocaust Memorial Day is a day that we put aside to come together to remember, to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur, in the hope that there may be one day in the future with no genocide. |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum, who organises this programme, has informed us that it is being carried out this year in both Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin on Monday 17th February at 3.30pm-5pm (Newman College) or on Tuesday 18th February at 3.30-5pm (St. Damian’s). If there are young people who don’t go to either of these schools who want to be on the programme, it is planned to do a further series of meetings. 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. Forms for registering are not available yet, but I will contact Fr. Callum this week for these forms.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Today, we focus on the sign that Jesus gave at the marriage feast at Cana. This is from the account given by the evangelist, John. For him, it’s this sign that marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, not his Baptism in the Jordan. According to John, the marriage feast at Cana takes place before Jesus sets off to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. It seems that it was only as he started his return journey from Jerusalem that he travelled northeast to the River Jordan, where he was baptised by John.
Like the other evangelists, John sees this entry into public ministry as telling us so much about Jesus, but to be able to understand what is being said, we must be aware of the Old Testament. The first reading today is one of the passages that help to explain the event. There, as well as in the writing of the Prophet Hosea (2:21), we hear of the Lord God being likened to a bridegroom rejoicing over his bride, the people of Israel. Earlier, in Isaiah (25:6), we had also been told of God providing for his people a banquet “of succulent food, of well-strained wines.” Jesus would have been very much aware of these scriptural passages and is surely saying something about himself through the sign he gave at Cana. It’s he who is the bridegroom (God himself) and he invites us to that heavenly banquet where we will receive a full measure, pressed down, and flowing over.
There’s also a more subtle allusion to another scriptural passage. We hear of Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:10-19), telling the people that God would descend to them on the third day. The evangelist John tells us specifically (though the three words which begin the chapter in John’s Gospel, “Three days later,” are for some reason excluded from the text chosen for today), that this event took place ‘on the third day’, suggesting the presence of God coming down to his people.
Jesus’ use of the term “woman” to speak to his mother on this occasion, might seem harsh to the modern ear, but John begins the account of Jesus’ public ministry with Jesus using this title and he will conclude with Jesus, on the cross, using the same title as he leaves his mother in John’s care. John clearly understands Jesus’ use of this term as referring to Mary as the new Eve, the mother of all believers. Notably, in the story, when Jesus has seemed to rebuke her, she simply demonstrates her complete trust and says to the attendants, “Do whatever he tells you.” It’s that trust with which she engenders trust that will be the invitation to the eternal banquet.
FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD (YEAR C)
WEEK: JANUARY 12TH - 18TH 2025
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
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, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Williamson, Margaret Emsis
LATELY DEAD: Joseph McParland, Jim Bowker, Teresa McGarrigle, Anghel Alina, Win Powell, Jane Lord, Michael O’Rourke, Edward Donovan
ANNIVERSARIES: Alice McConnon, John Donnelly, Jim Buttimer, Margaret Grudzien, Judith Dwyer, Margaret Hywell, Teresa Donovan, Bridget Donovan, William Donovan, Brendan Sheehy, John McDermott, Peter Crossan, Dave Fanning, Paddy Joe Canny, Nathan McLean
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £589.31
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.
We have had to remove the bank account details because, if the details are in the public domain, we will suffer more attempts to extract money from our accounts. Two such attempts have been made in the last few weeks! If anyone needs the account details, please contact Father Phil.
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).
CARITAS SUNDAY |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 8th March at 10.00am.
OCTAVE OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY (18TH – 25TH JANUARY) |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY (HMD) takes place each year on 27th January. Holocaust Memorial Day is a day that we put aside to come together to remember, to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur, in the hope that there may be one day in the future with no genocide. |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum, who organises this programme, has informed us that it is being carried out this year in both Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin on Monday 17th February at 3.30pm-5pm (Newman College) or on Tuesday 18th February at 3.30-5pm (St. Damian’s). If there are young people who don’t go to either of these schools who want to be on the programme, it is planned to do a further series of meetings. 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. The Bishop will carry out the confirmations in both churches. Young people of Year 8 age group and older can register. Forms for registering will be available after Christmas.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Today, there’s a jump from the stories surrounding Jesus’ birth to the time when he’s thirty years old and just about to begin his public ministry. Anyone writing a book, or an article, knows that those first few lines are so important; they draw someone into the story and sometimes give the reader the idea of what sort of story it is. Jesus’ baptism does this so well. We find all sorts of clues as to the person he is and will be.
First, he announced himself in the wilderness where John was baptising. The wilderness was a special place for the Jews because of the Exodus story which reminded them of God intervening on their behalf. The exodus journey had concluded with the Ark of the Covenant crossing the River Jordan very close to the point where Jesus was baptised. Jesus is opening up the way to the Promised Land.
Next, the simple act of Baptism points forward to what Jesus himself calls a second Baptism, his death on the cross. Some of us might associate water with memories of holidays by the sea or walks by pleasant lakes or winding streams. But water, in the Book of Genesis, was a symbol of chaos and death. In Genesis, we see God bringing life out of chaos. You might remember that in the New Testament too, the Book of Revelation gives a vision of the New Jerusalem as a place where there will be no more sea. Again, it was a symbol of death. Jesus suggests that he is prepared to plunge himself into chaos or death to help us out of it. And this is what he will do on the cross. In fact, Jesus refers to the death he must undergo as a baptism. So, Baptism begins his public ministry and points to another type of Baptism that will conclude it.
But his Baptism was also the Baptism of John which was a public acknowledgement of one’s sinfulness. Why would Jesus accept such a baptism? He is prepared to become completely one of us, even to being thought of as contaminated by our sinful condition. Isaiah had prophesied that the Messiah would be “thought of as someone punished…burdened with the sins of all of us…letting himself be taken as a sinner.” On the cross too, he will be thought of as a sinner and a criminal, when he was completely innocent.
There are also the words that we hear from the Father, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” There’s a clear reference here to more words of Isaiah, which speak of the Messiah “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights.”
So, with such symbolic action Jesus clearly speaks of the type of Messiah he will be and points to the way he will do it. So much is said in one small action!
FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY (YEAR C)
WEEK: JANUARY 5TH - 11TH 2025
“Then shall you see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult…”
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, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Williamson, Margaret Emsis
LATELY DEAD: Joseph McParland, Jim Bowker, Teresa McGarrigle, Anghel Alina, Win Powell, Jane Lord, Michael O’Rourke
ANNIVERSARIES: Richard Teefy, Pauline Jordan, Patricia Locke, Peter McDermott, Joe Beswick, Margaret Grudzien, Judith Dwyer, Margaret Hywell, Teresa Donovan, Brendan Sheehy, John McDermott, Peter Crossan, Dave Fanning
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £906.77
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00
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.
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).
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on next Saturday,
11th January at 10.00am.
OCTAVE OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY (18TH – 25TH JANUARY) |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY (HMD) takes place each year on 27th January. Holocaust Memorial Day is a day that we put aside to come together to remember, to learn about the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution and the genocides that followed in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur, in the hope that there may be one day in the future with no genocide. |
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025
Fr. Callum, who organises this programme, has informed us that it is being carried out this year in both Newman College and St. Damian’s High School. The programme will begin on Monday 17th February at 3.30pm-5pm (Newman College) or on Tuesday 18th February at 3.30-5pm (St. Damian’s). If there are young people who don’t go to either of these schools who want to be on the programme, it is planned to do a further series of meetings. 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. The Bishop will carry out the confirmations in both churches. Young people of Year 8 age group and older can register. Forms for registering will be available after Christmas.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
The Feast of the Epiphany, as we celebrate it today, focuses on the arrival of the Magi, but it wasn’t always the case. Initially, this day celebrated several different events through which God manifested himself to humanity, including the baptism of the Lord and the marriage feast of Cana. The word, ‘epiphany’ means a ‘revelation’ and is often associated with a ‘light bulb moment’, when we see ourselves perhaps stumbling around in the darkness, and then, as if someone has suddenly turned the light on, we see or understand something we didn’t before. It can be a very ordinary event that gives us such a ‘light bulb moment’. For Archimedes, it was simply having a bath and realising the scientific principle that the volume of water displaced is equal to the volume of the body submerged.
So, what’s the aspect of God that Matthew is trying to enable us to glimpse today? He uses all sorts of symbolism in the telling of this story that requires a knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. Helpfully, two of these pieces of Scripture being referred to are used as the first reading and the responsorial psalm today. Isaiah had spoken of gentiles, with kings among them, bringing gold and incense before the God of Israel. Now, Matthew does not make any mention of kings; he only speaks of ‘Magi’ (astronomers and astrologers); it’s tradition and culture that has developed the notion of three kings, no doubt helped by today’s psalm, which refers to kings and mentions just three of them. There’s one from Tarshish (in Spain), another from Sheba (in Yemen) and a third from Seba (in Ethiopia). Again, as I often point out, these pieces of Scripture were written hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, but Matthew is clearly suggesting their fulfilment in the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. It's important to make a link too with another biblical story, that of the Queen of Sheba coming to visit King Solomon, the son of King David, to see his wisdom in practice. Matthew is suggesting, in his telling of the visit of the Magi, that, in Jesus, we have a much greater and truer ‘Son of David’. In fact, later in his Gospel, he will make direct reference to this (Mtt 12:42).
This feast invites us to recognise God guiding us and speaking to us through the ordinary things in life. In the middle of the nineteenth century, a woman of African descent, called Harriet Tubman, escaped from slavery in Maryland (USA) and travelled north to freedom in Canada. Then she returned several times to help other enslaved people to escape to freedom. On different occasions, she avoided capture by listening to her dreams, and, like the Magi in the Gospel today, taking different routes. She had a real sense of God guiding her, both by her dreams and by the interventions of different people, and by following the North star.
FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY (YEAR C)
WEEK: DECEMBER 29TH 2024 - JANUARY 4TH 2025
“His mother treasured up all these things in her heart”
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, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Williamson
LATELY DEAD: Jim O’Hanlon, Joseph McParland, Jim Bowker, Teresa McGarrigle, Win Powell, Jane Lord
ANNIVERSARIES: Michael McGrother, Irene Dodd, Debbie Remorozo, Frances Michailuk, Mamma Lina Feniuk, Dawn Cookson Martines and baby Robbie, Richard Teefy, Pauline Jordan
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £852.28; Christmas Eve/Day collection £1,370.68p
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £20.00; Foodbank £20.00.; Donations from AA (for use of room) £100.00; NA £30.00; Donations from a funeral £40.00
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.
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).
POPE’S MESSAGE FOR WORLD PEACE DAY – 1ST JANUARY 2025
The Holy Father addresses a Message of good wishes and hope to Heads of State and Government, Heads of International Organisations, Leaders of different religions and every person of good will. Hope, which also characterises the Jubilee Year, is the preponderant theme of this 58th Message. Pope Francis invites us to look at the many challenges that severely endanger the survival of humanity and Creation with a heart full of hope.
To do this, it is necessary to rely on God's mercy. By His forgiving our debts, we will rediscover ourselves all children of the Father, and therefore all brothers and sisters, united on the path of peace. More concretely, then, Pope Francis recommends three actions that can truly mark a path of peace: the forgiveness of the international debt; the abolition of the death penalty; the establishment of a World Fund that will definitively eliminate hunger.
POPE FRANCIS ON BBC RADIO 4’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY |
NEW ALMANACS
The new almanacs, giving the information about the priests, parishes, associations, and organisations of the diocese are on sale in the parish shop.
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025 |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 11th January at 10.00am.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK |
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
Today’s Gospel story is one that is only found in the Gospel of Luke. Scholars say that it’s the first of two bookends, this one at the beginning of the Gospel account. The second is that of the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, in the last chapter of Luke’s Gospel.
We see several similarities between these ‘bookends’. In both stories, there’s a sense of Jesus having been lost. In the first, he has been lost by his parents. In the second, he’s been lost to the disciples through his death on the cross. In both stories, there’s been three days of loss. In both stories, there’s a failure of people to understand, Mary and Joseph in the first and the two disciples in the second. In both stories we see Jesus explaining that this was the way it had to be, that he was simply being obedient to his Father’s will.
This is Luke’s way of pointing the way his story will go, rather like the introduction to an essay, and then explaining what the story has all been about, as in the conclusion to an essay. He’s saying that there will be things in the story that we will not understand when we first hear it; we will need to hold these things in our hearts until real understanding is given us. Then, he’s also saying that this is a story of obedience rather than one of disobedience as we might have first thought. Throughout the story of Jesus, he will refer to carrying out his Father’s will and praying, “Thy will be done!”
There are many things that we only come to appreciate after we have sat with them for a while. Then, when we do realise their significance, we sometimes can’t understand why we didn’t understand that straightaway.
CROSSOVER NIGHT |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
QUOTATIONS |
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT(YEAR C)
WEEK: DECEMBER 22ND - 28TH 2024
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”
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, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow, Nynna Carpio, Terry Cummins, Elizabeth Flanagan, Margaret Williamson
LATELY DEAD: Jim O’Hanlon, Joseph McParland, Jim Bowker, Teresa McGarrigle, Win Powell.
ANNIVERSARIES: Peter McDermott, Vincent and Ethel Concannon, David Beatty, Patricia Locke, Colin Riley, Alice and Denis Buckley, Patricia Locke, Dawn Cookson Martines and baby Robbie.
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £879.99
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £30.00; CAFOD £501.15; Heating £56.52
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.
"I pray that peace will reign in our homes and in our attitudes towards others, that peace may reign in the world."
First Sunday of Advent - Podcast Second Sunday of Advent - Podcast Third Sunday of Advent - Podcast Fourth Sunday of Advent - Podcast
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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).
FIRST MASS OF CHRISTMAS
Christmas Eve (First Mass of Christmas) will begin with carols at 7.30pm, with Mass starting at 8.00pm
WARM FOOD HUB.
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NEW ALMANACS
The new almanacs, giving the information about the priests, parishes, associations, and organisations of the diocese are on sale in the parish shop.
CONFIRMATION PROGRAMME FOR 2025 |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 11th January at 10.00am.
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK
Wednesday 25th December – The Nativity of the Lord
Thursday 26th December – St Stephen – Stephen is called the ‘protomartyr’ for he was the first Christian to die for the Faith. He had been appointed one of Jerusalem’s seven deacons. Accused of preaching blasphemy, he was arrested and tried before the High Priest, Caiaphas and condemned to death by stoning.
Friday 27th December – St. John the Evangelist – Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle. John, Peter and James the Just were the three pillars of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death. He was one of the original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to escape martyrdom. It had been believed that he was exiled (around AD 95) to the Aegean Island of Patmos.
Saturday 28th December – The Holy Innocents
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS |
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.
DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES 2025 |
LENTEN STATION MASSES FOR 2025
The Lenten Station Masses for 2025 will begin on 11th March at St. Jospeh’s, Mossley. Then, on 18th March, we will be in St. Herbert’s, Chadderton. On 25th March, we will be at Ss. Aidan and Oswald’s, Royton. 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.
A very Merry Christmas from the webteam - |
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT(YEAR C)
WEEK: DECEMBER 8TH - 14TH 2024
“…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.
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.
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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 |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be on Saturday 11th January at 10.00am.
FIRST MASS OF CHRISTMAS |
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 |
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 |
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 |
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT(YEAR C)
WEEK: DECEMBER 1ST - 7TH 2024
“In those times, after the time of distress…the powers “Yes, I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth”
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
ANNIVERSARIES: Mary Anne Coen, Denis Guilfoyle, Maggie Moores, Marie Francoise Boyi Paddy McGinn, Mary Oakes, Terence Lees, Jan Dabrowski, Alphonso Ferrara, Peter Hordynski, Christopher Alan Whitehead, Krystyna Ogorek
LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £786.25
Standing Order: £674.00 a month
CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £25.00; Donation £100.00
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.
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).
ADVENT
The great season of Advent begins today. This is meant to be a time of cutting back in preparation for the feast, not a time for pre-empting the feast. I encourage you not to put up the Christmas decorations once December starts, but to allow the true sense of Advent to be lived.
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BISHOP JOHN ARNOLD COMMENTS ON COP29
Following the conclusion of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for the Environment, has voiced his disappointment about the inadequacy of the agreed climate finance deal.
Bishop Arnold remarked: “COP29 offered a critical opportunity for the global community to renew their commitment to our common home, to honour past promises and take meaningful action to reduce carbon emissions and avert the climate crisis. Regrettably, the climate finance deal has fallen short of what is urgently needed. Sadly, those who are least responsible for climate change will continue to bear the brunt of its devastation. The leaders of developing nations have already condemned the COP29 climate deal as a ‘travesty of justice’, pointing out that wealthier nations have failed to respond to ‘the cry of the earth and cry of the poor.’
LECTIONARY |
FIRST COMMUNION PROGRAMME FOR 2024-25
The next session will be a reconciliation service on Saturday, December 7th at 2.00pm. Then, the following meeting will be on Saturday 11th January at 10.00am
FIRST MASS OF CHRISTMAS |
SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK
Tuesday 3rd December – St. Francis Xavier – He was a Basque Spaniard and a friend of St. Ignatius Loyola and one of the first Jesuits. He preached in India, arriving at the Portuguese colony of Goa. After about seven years, he set sail for Japan where he became the first European to set foot on those islands and preached there for two years with incredible success. He then set off for China but died on an island off the coast of China in 1552.
Wednesday 4th December: St. John Damascene – He was from Damascus in Syria. He became a monk, a philosopher, a theologian and a Defender of Sacred Art during the iconoclast crisis of the eighth century.
Tradition tells us that she was a noble woman, learned in science and oratory, who came to Christianity after receiving a vision. At 18 years old, she offered to debate with the pagan philosophers, who were, it is said, convinced by her arguments. The emperor ordered her execution.
Friday 6th December – St. Nicholas – We know him best by his Dutch name, “Santa Claus”. He was a bishop of Myra, a city in Turkey. It’s said that he saved three women who had been leaning towards prostitution because their father was too poor to pay their dowries. Nicholas is said to have thrown three bags of gold through their open window. These three bags became the idea behind the three balls of gold outside a pawnbrokers.
Saturday 7th December – St. Ambrose - St Ambrose was a lawyer in Milan and not yet baptised when, inspired the shouts of a child in the crowd, the people of the city made him their bishop. He was renowned for his eloquence as a preacher and for his gifts as a hymn-writer. He is said to have baptised Augustine.
THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS |
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.
The Parish reconciliation service will be celebrated on Sunday 15th December at 3.00pm. |
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 |
ANNUAL PARISH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
This event took place yesterday. Many thanks to all who put so much time and effort into making this event a success.