12 April – 2nd Sunday of Easter / Divine Mercy

 

MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK 

Saturday  11th     5.00pm    Parishioners
Monday    13th  10.00am     In thanksgiving
Saturday  18th     5.00pm    Jonathan Ainscough RIP

LATEST  UP-DATE 

 MASS TIMES: SATURDAY VIGIL MASS at 5pm

PARISH OFFICE:   The Parish Office is open on Friday, from 10am to 4pm

 PARISH NEWSLETTER

MASSES THIS WEEK
Monday at 10.00am    

CONFESSIONS: Next confessions: last Saturday of the month –  25 April, 4.15pm to 4.45pm 

READINGS FOR 12 APRIL
1st Reading: Acts 2: 42-47, All who believed were together and had all things in common.
Psalm 118: Give praise to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever.
2nd Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9, he has caused us to be born again, to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31, Eight days later, Jesus came.
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia.  You believed Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord.  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.  Alleluia. 
Communion antiphon: Bring your hands and feel the place of the nails, and do not be unbelieving, but believing, alleluia.

POPE’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR APRIL
For priests in crisis
For priests going through moments of crisis in their vocation, that they may find the accompaniment they need and that their communities may support them with understanding and prayer.

SAINTS / FEAST DAYS THIS WEEK
13 April – St Martin

POPE LEO’S PRAYER VIGIL FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST: SATURDAY EVENING 11 APRIL
In union with Pope Leo and his call for a vigil of peace today, we pray that a willingness to engage in dialogue may become the means to resolve situations of conflict throughout the world, and especially at this delicate time in the Middle East.
Please check the following link, to Vatican News, on this:
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-xiv-appeal-ceasefire-middle-east-audience-8-april.html

CONFLICT IN THE MIDDLE EAST – PRAY FOR PEACE
God of peace, bearer of hope, we seek your help for the peoples of the Middle East.  Quiet the clamour of war, and guide us towards peace.  Where there is hatred and division, sow seeds of calm and openness.  Where there is destruction, help us to rebuild.  Where children are crying, bring an end to tears.  Shelter your peoples and protect them.  Guide them and keep them from harm.  Show us how to break down the barriers of history and fear and breathe whispers of hope.  Amen.                                                                                   
Linda Jones/CAFOD

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY
From Creation, God has revealed his nature as love itself, in Sacred Scripture and most perfectly in the life, Passion, death and Resurrection of his Son, Jesus. Saints have also borne witness to God’s unfathomable love, e.g., in the writings of Augustine, Aquinas, Catherine of Siena, Francis of Assisi, Margaret Mary Alacoque and Thérèse of Lisieux.

In his second encyclical, Rich in Mercy, Pope Saint John Paul II offered an extended meditation on the mystery of God’s mercy, which he calls “the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God” (Dives in misericordia, 13). He returned to this theme throughout his pontificate:

“As a gift to humanity, which sometimes seems bewildered and overwhelmed by the power of evil, selfishness, and fear, the Risen Lord offers His love that pardons, reconciles, and reopens hearts to love. It is a love that converts hearts and gives peace. How much the world needs to understand and accept Divine Mercy!
Lord, who reveals the Father’s love by your death and Resurrection, we believe in you and confidently repeat to you today: Jesus, I trust in you, have mercy upon us and upon the whole world.  Amen”.

SCHOOL REUNION – NOTRE DAME HIGH SCHOOL, LIVERPOOL: Message from Bernie Shaw
Did you attend a Notre Dame School in the Archdiocese of Liverpool? There will be a reunion on 17th May for all ex-pupils & teachers, consisting of Mass at 11.00am followed by a complimentary light lunch & a social, finishing at 3.00pm, at the Irenaeus Centre, Waterloo. A donation for our current charity & a raffle prize would be appreciated.
Reply by 3rd May to Bernie Shaw, 0161 483 0173 (Acting President of the Archdiocese Notre Dame Association).

OFFERTORY ENVELOPES
The boxes for April 2026 to March 2027 are now available for collection, from the narthex.

OFFERTORY ENVELOPES / GIFT AID / STANDING ORDERS!
If you are a taxpayer then you can easily help the parish to claim 25% extra on top of every donation you make – and it won’t cost you a penny!  Eg: a donation of £10 per week would result in £12.50 going to the church. If you are able to use gift aid, please collect a form from the porch on your way out today, and return it to the Parish Office asap. 
If you are a taxpayer who makes regular cash donations, please consider using an offertory envelope instead of just placing your ‘loose’ donations in the basket. This is really important: it can bring in more than £1000 to the church every year, as we’ll be able to claim gift aid directly on every donation you make.  It won’t cost you anything at all, but it will make a huge difference to our finances.
Please contact the Parish Office if you’d like to use envelopes – they are free! 
Even better – you can donate ‘painlessly’ each month by setting up a standing order with your bank.  Forms are available in the porch.

DON’T FORGET! PARISH FOODBANK – DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME
Thank you for donations already received, which have been taken to the foodbank centre at St Mary’s in Leyland.   They are particularly short of tinned pasta, tinned meat / fish and puddings. 
Please check that donations are well before their BB date!
Thank you all for your kind-hearted generosity.  It makes such a big difference.

CATHOLIC PICTORIAL
Keeping you up to date with all the news from around the Archdiocese online: www.catholicpic.co.uk
Postal subscriptions are available: 3 issues = £9.50, 6 issues = £19 and 12 issues = £37.50.
Email enquiries@cpmmmedia.com or ring 0151 709 7567.
Digital copies are also available.  Please use the phone number / email address above.

MASS INTENTONS
Mass intentions are welcome, not just for our dear departed, but for any other occasion eg in thanksgiving, successful outcome (exams / operation), wedding / anniversary blessings. Please write your name and intention, with the preferred date – if applicable –  on a piece of paper and place in an envelope, along with your offering, either in the weekly offertory basket or through the presbytery door.  It may not be possible to guarantee the specific date requested, for various reasons, however, every effort will be made to find a date as near as possible. 

THE UNIVERSE CATHOLIC WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS
These are available to order directly from the publisher (www.thecatholicuniverse.com  or call Michelle on 0743 661 7650. It can be posted to you each week. A 3 months print subscription is £42.00 – 6 months is £75.00 and the year at £140.00.

MAGNIFICAT
Now is a good time to buy a yearly subscription to Magnificat.  It works out at less than £1 per week at £65 pa.
The Magnificat is published monthly. For each day, it contains the readings and prayers for Mass, with a meditation from the great spiritual writers of the Church throughout history and prayers for morning and evening inspired by the Liturgy of the Hours.  You will also find the lives of the saints, articles on spiritual topics by contemporary writers, prayers at night, hymns, reflections and essay on a great example of Christian art in each issue.
Please order online at www.magnificat.com or phone Margaret Hiscock on 020 3882 9432.          

       
       
       

MUSICAL TREAT FOR THE WEEK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxGwrNGyyWg&list=RDQxGwrNGyyWg&start_radio=1

A perfect hymn for Easter Sunday, ‘This joyful Eastertide’ – and here performed beautifully by the Gesualdo Six.

WITH EVERY BLESSING  FOR A HAPPY AND PEACE-FILLED EASTER