The Parish of Our Lady and St Patrick Oldham

THIRTY THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
(YEAR B)
WEEK: NOVEMBER 17TH - 23RD 2024

Thirty Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

“In those times, after the time of distress…the powers in the heavens will be shaken”

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, Amy Howard, Dominic Boardman, Connie Marrone, Alexander Loughlin, Mary Malone, Win Powell, Surya Duval, Margaret Lawless, Peter Barlow
LATELY DEAD: Cyril Clarke, Fr. Brendan Curley, Mgr. John Chaloner, Bernadette Marie Cox, Patricia Haines
ANNIVERSARIES: Michael Guilfoyle, David Humphry, Mary Casey, Marie Polis, Michael and Catherine McGladdery, Paddy McGinn

LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £794.34

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.

THIS SUNDAY'S MISSALETTE

The Feast of Christ the King - Missalette

(The Newsletter will be updated on Monday)

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).

Sunday 17th November 2024 is the eighth World Day of the Poor with the theme from the Book of Sirach, “The prayer of the poor rises up to God” (Sir 21:5). Pope Francis, in his message that this year is dedicated to prayer in anticipation of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025. Christian hope, the theme of the Jubilee Year, is grounded in the certainty that our prayer reaches God’s presence; “not just any prayer but the prayer of the poor.” Pope Francis, as he has done so often in his pontificate, challenges the mentality of the world, “which demands that we become somebody, that we make a name for ourselves at any cost, breaking social norms in order to accumulate wealth.” The Gospel gives us a different account of happiness, “which cannot be acquired by trampling on the rights and dignity of others.” We are all called to be “truly poor”, to be humble and virtuous, to live simply, to know our need for God and the certainty that God loves us, all of us, which is why we are called to help people out of circumstances of poverty, which
are an affront to human dignity.

PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE BISHOP
There are copies of this pastoral letter at the back of the church. Please take one and read it. He explains the some of the reasons for the change in the translation of the Bible we will be using from 1st Sunday of Advent. Of course, he doesn’t claim that this new translation is perfection itself. “No translation or method will ever be beyond criticism.” But it is an attempt to make some improvements.

QUARANT'ORE AT ST MARY'S, THE HIDDEN GEM
The parish of St Mary's, the Hidden Gem, invites you to join them at the end of November for a special time of prayer - 40 hours of Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. It begins with Holy Mass at 8.00am on Friday 22nd November and ends with 12 noon Mass for the Feast of Christ the King (Sunday 24th), followed by a short Blessed Sacrament Procession and Solemn Benediction. Call 0161 834 3547 for more details.

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

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

BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE AND THE FORMS FOR THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO HAVE DIED OVER THE LAST YEAR
The Book of remembrance will be left out on the altar rails for the next few weeks for people to enter the names of those whom they would like us to remember at Masses during the whole month of November.

SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK
Monday 18th November –Dedication of the Basilicas of SS Peter and Paul.
From the 12th century, the dedications of the Vatican Basilica (St. Peter’s.) and of St. Paul’s Basilica (outside the walls) have been kept on this day. Besides being an act of thanksgiving for the two buildings, it’s also a celebration of the lives of Peter and Paul.
Thursday 21st November – The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Friday 22nd November – St Cecilia

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
The readings today could sound a bit frightening. The Prophet Daniel speaks of a time of “unparalleled distress” and Jesus, in the Gospel takes up the same theme. He speaks of when the sun will be darkened and the powers in the heavens will be shaken! We hear this language at a time when there’s an incessant flow of news about potential climate disaster. We see, dreadful floods in different parts of the world. We see forest fires ravaging whole swathes of the countryside and swallowing up whatever towns lie in their path. It's little wonder, I suppose, that I’ve been asked by several people if we have entered the end times.
One thing is certain, that people have been suggesting that we are in the end-times for centuries. Two thousand years ago, St Paul was convinced that the end times would happen within his lifetime. People caught up in slavery, or in the Jewish holocaust perhaps thought that they were the times of unparalleled distress. Similarly, when thousands of people were killed in Srebrenica or Rwanda or millions were killed in the killing fields of Pol Pot in Cambodia, again perhaps some thought that these were times of unparalleled distress. In a far less serious category, nearly sixty years ago in this area, it went very dark during the middle of the day. Apparently, it was something to do with dust whipped up from the Sahara Desert and carried across sea and land in such a way as to blot out the sun. Those with me at school at the time were convinced that the end-times were happening!
But are these the end-times? One of the statements from today’s Gospel reminds us that no-one knows, not even Jesus. Today’s Gospel was part of Jesus’ farewell discourse to his disciples. He was in the last week of his life, and he was imagining the world that his disciples would have to occupy. In fact, Mark was writing his Gospel around the time that the Emperor Nero was trying to blame the Christians for the great fire of Rome. He had unleashed a great persecution of Christians. A little later, Rome destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. You can guarantee that the Jews and Christians of that time thought that they were in the ‘end-times’. Jesus was imagining events like these but trying to encourage his disciples not to jump into panic mode. He was trying to encourage them to stand firm in these times, not to panic!
It is, however, also important, occasionally, to be reminded of our mortality and to be brought to the edge of the abyss we will all fall into if we don’t change our behaviour. Every year, in November, we are faced with our own mortality as we remember those who have died, and, as it were, we are brought to the edge of the abyss with the mention of the end-times. It is just particularly poignant in the context of COP29 in Azerbaijan. It’s not an easy message but a very necessary one.

PARISH TEAM MEETING
There will be a Parish Team Meeting this Thursday (21st November) at 7pm. If you have any items you want the team to discuss, please pass these either to me or to one of the Parish Team (Frank Wisniewski, Jim Taylor, David Daka, Tina Nufable, Christine Wilson, Janet Hirst, Margaret Larrad, Sharon Teefy).

FESTIVAL OF LIGHT
Every year the Oldham Interfaith Forum celebrate a festival of light, when several of the major festivals of the different religions are marked under one roof. This year the Festival of Light will be at 6.30pm on 18th November in the QE Hall, Oldham. The festivals celebrated are Diwali, Channukah, Mawlid al-Nabi and Christmas. The event is free to enter. More information later.

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.

ANNUAL PARISH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Annual Parish International Music Festival will take place this year on Saturday 30th November at 3pm. This event is approaching fast. Please get your different presentations together and let me know what you intend to do so that I can organise the programme.

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 Kath Green
SATURDAY:	12 noon Mass