20 SEPTEMBER – 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK – Both parishes
Foundation Mass
Dec members of the Tuson family
Holy Souls NDL
Parishioners
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OUR LADY’S and Ss PETER & PAUL’S – Both churches are now open for Sunday Vigil and Sunday Masses only. There are no weekday Masses currently, nor are the churches able to open for private prayer as yet. Social distancing rules require all parishioners wishing to attend, to contact the relevant parish office in order to reserve their place at Mass each week. Please wear a mask. |
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JOINT NEWSLETTER
THE RE-OPENING OF OUR CHURCHES
Please continue to contact the parish office on Thursdays to reserve your place(s) at Our Lady’s on 01772 812242 between 10.30am and 3pm – or email olhct@rcaol.org.uk – and on Fridays to reserve your place(s) for Ss Peter & Paul on 01704 822618 between 10.30am and 3pm, or email ssppm@rcaol.org.uk
Please note that, due to social-distancing rules, stewards may struggle to accommodate anyone who has not reserved a place at Mass. Contact the parish office on Thursdays and Fridays (10.30am – 3pm).
Your help on this is greatly appreciated – it helps us to keep everyone safe.
Don’t forget that Masses will continue to be live-streamed and televised for many months yet, so you can still take part in Sunday worship and the Act of Spiritual Communion will continue to be an important part of people’s worship for the foreseeable future. Please remember that the Sunday obligation remains lifted. This is especially important for those over 70 and those with underlying health issues, who may be wary of attending public events.
If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
READINGS FOR 20 SEPTEMBER
1st Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9, My thoughts are not your thoughts
Psalm 144: The Lord is close to all who call him
2nd Reading: Philippians 1:20-24, Life to me is Christ
Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16, Why be envious because I am generous?
Gospel acclamation: Alleluia, alleluia!. Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens! Alleluia!
Communion antiphon: You have laid down your precepts to be carefully kept; may my ways be firm in keeping your statutes
PRAYER INTENTIONS THIS WEEK
We pray for the Church: that she may be a beacon of hope throughout the world, reminding us all of our responsibility to care for and protect God’s precious gift of creation.
Lord, in your mercy…
We pray for those people who are already facing droughts, floods and storms: that God may grant them strength and hope for the future as they work to adapt to the changing climate.
Lord, in your mercy….
We pray for our parish and our local community: that through the grace of God we may hear the urgent cry of the earth and of the poor and be inspired to respond at this crucial time.
Lord, in your mercy…
POPE’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER: We pray that the planet’s resources will not be plundered, but shared in a just and respectful manner.
THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL REFLECTION FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE
The reflection on the Gospel is provided by Ged Edwards who is CAFOD’s Community Participation Officer working in Liverpool.
We are now in Creation Time, a special time in September and October started by Pope Francis for us to reflect on the beauty of Creation and the damage that humankind is doing to the Earth, and to help us do something about it. Right now, the Earth and everything on it is in real trouble because people and industry all over the world have been burning and releasing into the atmosphere the coal, gas and oil which had been trapped in the earth millions of years ago. This is causing climate change. Pope Francis was so concerned about this that he wrote a letter to everyone in 2015 called Laudato Si: On Care of our Common Home, and his concern hasn’t lessened since. The urgent thing is that we now have less than ten years to change the way mankind functions on the Earth and get on top of this. Pope Francis says climate change is a symptom of how we are mistreating creation, threatening many species of wildlife and people in poverty across the world. What is this Gospel story saying to us?
Some years ago, this story was at the heart of our monthly prayers at CAFOD. The vineyard owner gives each of the workers a denarius for their work. In Jesus’ time, a denarius was like the National Minimum Wage today – the vineyard owner was ensuring that those who worked for him and their families had enough to live on that day, as well as ensuring that his grapes were picked, and the vineyard looked after. As we reflected, we asked a question: if people got the same pay whether they worked all day or just for one hour, who would turn up to look after the vineyard early the following morning or would they all leave it till there was just an hour of daylight left?
That is not the point Jesus is making in the parable, but it is something his audience would be considering, and so should we. I live near Prescot and people still talk about the BICC factory (“The BI”) which employed thousands of people making electrical cables in the factory, and thousands more in supporting jobs. The BI was run down and closed in 1991, people moved away and 30 years later, Prescot has not fully recovered. An out of town retail park has replaced some of it but the town centre has many under-used and boarded up shops. In the Gospel story, it’s not just the local community or the owner that needs the vineyard. They both need it – it’s their common home, all the year round. They are both bound to it. It is part of their lives and it keeps them all alive, and so it is the responsibility of all of them to care for it.
For many in Prescot, the BI was the backdrop for every moment of their lives, their successes, failures, from cradle to grave, bringing them together and sustaining their lives and their family and community, body and soul. People depend on an employer and an employer depends on its people. But it’s the place that brings them together.
The BI was part of the Common Good. That is even more the case with the Earth as a whole, a bigger scale, but the impacts of climate change are felt everywhere, and we all play a part in it. For now, as the summer days get shorter, can we think about playing our part in preserving the Common Good? Let’s keep the oil, gas and coal in the ground! Let’s reach for a jumper, rather than the boiler switch, and walk rather than get in the car if we can. Small steps will make a difference if we all take them. Try and spend five minutes looking at and listening to nature.
And please write to express your concern to your MP. It’s their job to represent us and we need to tell them this is important to us.
You could request they ask that the Government:
• invests overseas in renewable energy, not in energy from oil, coal and gas,
• ensures by 2030 that new cars sold are electric rather than petrol or diesel,
• reduces speeds around schools to 20mph to encourage walking and cycling.
Pope Francis has released a video for Creation Time in which he says, “Today, not tomorrow; today, we have to take care of Creation responsibly.
Let us pray that the planet’s resources will not be plundered but shared in a just and respectful manner. No – to plundering; yes – to sharing.
So, this Creation Time, let’s join him in celebrating and protecting our Common Home.
THE ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you.
Never permit me to be separated from you. Amen.
WE STILL NEED YOUR LOCKDOWN PHOTOGRAPHS FOR OUR JOINT PARISH CALENDAR!
Many thanks to those parishioners – children, young people and adults – who have already sent in some truly lovely photographs. There are still a few months that need filling, so please get snapping with cameras or mobiles! Photographs must be in landscape format and may have been taken at any time over the last 5 – 6 months
The theme is ‘All Things Bright & Beautiful in West Lancs’
Please convert to a jpeg file and identify the photograph, when you send the email.
There will be a vote for the cover photograph next month. Closing date is FRIDAY 2 OCTOBER
The calendar will be available to purchase in time for Christmas and would make ideal gifts for family and friends!
Proceeds will be shared between our two parishes and another registered charity.
SPECIAL COLLECTION THIS WEEKEND: Home Missions
SPECIAL THANKS to Mgr John Butchard for coming to say Mass for us over the last two weekends. It’s been lovely to welcome him again.
OUR LADY’S ‘ZOOM’ COFFEE MORNING / 200 CLUB DRAW: SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER
Unfortunately, this has had to be cancelled owing to a very poor response, but thank you to the few parishioners who had expressed an interest. Perhaps another time…?
200 CLUB: There will still be a draw however, and winners will be notified in the next week.
OFFERTORY DONATIONS DURING THE LOCKDOWN
Many thanks to generous parishioners who have sent in donations to our churches. Your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated.
Instead of putting money in offertory envelopes each week, those who are able to make an offering are asked to complete a Standing Order Mandate for your bank, from either your parish office. We can email the document to you, if you wish, so that you can print off, complete and send to your bank.
Alternatively, you may still wish to write a cheque (payable to either ‘Our Lady Help of Christians Church’ or ‘Ss Peter & Paul Church Mawdesley’) and post to the presbytery with a covering letter and one offertory envelope for gift aid purposes.
Donating by text / online: Please check the May Newsletters and use the links provided
MASSES ONLINE WILL CONTINUE TO BE STREAMED INDEFINITELY
Locally, there is St Clare’s, Sharoe Green Lane, Fulwood: www.saintclares.co.uk which streams Mass daily at 10am. Please follow the easy links on the website.
https://www.vaticannews.va/en Pope Francis
https://www.churchservices.tv/whats-on-now/ Great selection of Masses and other Church services https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/tv-lourdes/ Mass and daily at 2pm, the Rosary in English
https://www.livemass.org Extraordinary Form (1962 Missal)
Use the website links to EWTN, those who have Sky can tune in on Channel 588, or the Archdiocese to access daily Masses
On the radio: Catholic Radio Channel 0147
Also, you may wish to try the Pray as you Go phone app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.foxcode.prayasyougo&hl=en
PRAYERS from the Archdiocese, for Stations of the Cross etc: https://www.liverpoolcatholicresources.com/
Please email the Parish Office with details of any other online services you know of that may help parishioners at this very difficult time. We will try to include them in next week’s Newsletter.
CARING FOR OUR COMMON HOME: We celebrate the Season of Creation between 1 September to 4 October. CAFOD ask us particularly to pray the Novena to St Francis https://cafod.org.uk/Pray/Prayer-resources/Novena-to-St-Francis
JESUIT MISSIONS CREATION WEBINAR: An evening with Leah Casimero and Joel Thompson SJ: Beauty, Justice and Hope in the Amazon. Tuesday 22nd September, 7:30pm, on Zoom. The link to join: https://jesuitmissions.org.uk/our-events/
SAINTS, SCHOLARS AND SPIRITUAL MASTERS: Free online talks organised by the Christian Heritage Centre at Stonyhurst, taking place Thursdays at 7:30pm over the coming months. To register: https://christianheritagecentre.com/event/saints-scholars-spiritual-masters/ or by email to events@christianheritagecentre.com
APPLICATIONS FOR BISHOP RAWSTORNE ACADEMY: One of the entry requirements of C of E schools requires evidence of the commitment of one of the parents or guardians of the prospective pupil to the Christian faith, ie fortnightly worship for a period of at least one year prior to the application (and 2 years prior to entry). Please note that the Church is contacted to verify attendance for this 2 year period. Therefore the period of assessment started in Sept 2019 for pupils hoping to enter in Sept. 2021,. Any pupils who will be applying to start in September 2022 will need to begin their period of faith commitment now (Sept. 2020). Please pass this info on to parishioners who may not always manage to see the Newsletter and ask them to check the following link: https://files.schudio.com/bishopr/files/Admissions/Admissions_Policy_for_Sept_2021_Intake(1).pdf
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUERIES OR NEED ANY HELP, PLEASE CONTACT FR ANDERS AT THE PRESBYTERY IN TARLETON ON 01772 812242, OR EMAIL EITHER OFFICE.
WITH EVERY BLESSING FOR THE COMING WEEK