26 April – 4th Sunday of Easter

 

MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK 

Saturday  25th     5.00pm     Parishioners
Monday 27th   11.00am   Funeral Mass: Mary Vosper
Thursday  30th   10.00am    November Lists
Saturday   2nd      5.00pm    Mary & Richard Singleton 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
Thursday at 10.00am, followed by Exposition & Benediction    

CONFESSIONS: Next confessions: last Saturday of the month –  25 April / 30 May – 4.15pm to 4.45pm 

READINGS FOR 26 APRIL
1st Reading: Acts 2: 36-41, God has made him both Lord and Christ.
Psalm 23: The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.
2nd Reading: 1 Peter 2:20-25, You have returned to the Shepherd of your souls.
Gospel Reading: John 10:1-15, I am the door of the sheep.
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia. I am the good shepherd, says the Lord.  I know my sheep and my own know me. Alleluia. 
Communion antiphon: The Good Shepherd has risen, who laid down his life for his sheep and willingly died for his flock, 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.

POPE’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR MAY
That everyone might have food
We pray that everyone, from large producers to small consumers, be committed to avoid wasting food and to ensuring that everyone has access to quality food

SAINTS / FEAST DAYS THIS WEEK
28 April – St Louis Grignon de Montfort
29 April – St Catherine of Siena
30 April – St Pius V
1 May – St Joseph the Worker
2 May – St Athanasius

REST IN PEACE
Fr Gerard Cobham died earlier this week – a good friend of the parish, who led many services here over the years.  Our prayers and condolences to the family.  May he rest in peace.
Parishioner Bernadette Welch also died this week.  Her funeral will take place of Monday 11 May at 11.30am.  May she rest in peace.
A Requiem Mass for the late Mary Vosper will be here on Monday 27 April, at 11am. 
Eternal rest give unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May all these dear souls rest in peace.

PRIESTS’ TRAINING FUND – COLLECTION THIS WEEK
Priestly training takes between 6 to 8 years and costs approx. £25,000 a year; in addition, our retired priests need help and support if unwell, plus accommodation and living costs.  We are grateful for any donations and prayers, to help grow our much-needed and much-valued archdiocesan priesthood.
Father, we pray for an increase in holy vocations to the priesthood, to keep alive the blessed memory and work of your Son, Jesus – through the preaching of his Word and the administration of the sacraments.  May we have more holy ministers of your altar, who are careful and fervent guardians of the Eucharist.  Call ministers of your mercy, who, through the sacrament of reconciliation, spread the joy of your forgiveness. Sustain the bishops, priests, deacons and all consecrated religious – and all baptised in Christ – so that they – and we – may faithfully fulfil the mission of the service of the Gospel.  We pray this through Christ, our Lord.  Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray for us.  Amen

MILL HILL MISSIONS (MISSIO) DONATIONS
Generous parishioners enabled us to donate a total of £60.00 to the Mill Hill Missions last year.  Thank you everyone.
Please return any (red) Mission boxes to church for counting.  If you need someone to collect them, please contact Sandra Cobham on 01704 821609 and she will arrange collection.  Thank you.

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=24pe76Edh_s&list=RD24pe76Edh_s&start_radio=1
Stainer’s beautiful anthem, ‘God so loved the world’ is sung with great poise and commitment by Tenebrae.  The social distancing of choir members reflects the date of the recording: April, 2021.

WITH EVERY BLESSING  FOR A HAPPY AND PEACE-FILLED EASTER