Holy Mass for Sunday at St. Peter & St. Paul’s, Mawdesley – Saturday at 5.00pm, Sunday at 11.15am

PARISH  OFFERTORY COLLECTION:  £224.05  Thank you      Standing Orders (January): £540.64  Thank you

ADVANCE NOTICE: ASH WEDNESDAY:  Wednesday 26 February, 6.45pm

SYNOD 2020:  Many thanks to those who offered their thoughts and reflections on the third of our four themes last Sunday (How we Pray Together).   Advance notice: the final parish meeting will be held at the coffee morning on Sunday 1 March, after 9.30am Mass.  Please make a note in your diary.  More details on this final theme: ‘Building community, nurturing belonging’ will be announced next week.  If you are unable to attend the meeting, please visit the Synod 2020 website: www.synod2020/office or follow the link on our parish website.

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR PRAYER:  Following the third Synod meeting (above) the Franciscan Sisters of Renewal (Leeds) are holding a retreat day at St Clare’s Church, Sharoe Green Lane, Fulwood PR2 9HH on Saturday 29 February, beginning at 10am.  The theme for the day is ‘Be Renewed in the Lord’ – a great way to commence our Lenten observances.  Please contact Christine on 07745 009694 or Annette on 07954 429333 for further details.

WALKING DAY QUIZ NIGHT: Many thanks to all those who attended the Quiz Night on Friday evening – and to all who organised this really enjoyable event..

CATHOLIC TIMES / UNIVERSE:  Copies are available for parishioners, at the extremely reasonable rate of £1.50 each.  Purchasing a copy enables you to keep up to date with the latest news and developments, both locally, nationally and internationally.  The papers can be found on the table in the porch.

OUR LADY’S MEMORIAL GARDEN:  Please see the plans for our parish memorial garden in the porch.  We will be organising fund-raising activities (eg ‘Buy-a-Brick) during the year.  Please contact John O’Hare / Paul Allison with any thoughts / ideas / suggestions.

RACIAL JUSTICE SUNDAY – 9 FEBRUARY:  The theme of this year’s Racial Justice Sunday is ‘You are at the Heart of the Church’ and its focus is on the contribution that Travelling Communities make to the Church in England & Wales.  It is therefore an opportunity for all Catholics to pray for, reflect on and respond to racial justice matters both within the Church and our wider society.  The Day is designed to encourage pro-active discussions on overt and latent forms of racism experienced by fellow Catholics.  In the wake of our recent reflections on Holocaust Memorial Day, it is worth remembering that over 700,000 Roma and Sinti adults and children were also victims of the Nazi genocide.  Please take a ‘Pledge’ card from the table in the porch, which includes a number of reflections from Pope Francis.

REFLECTION: WORLD DAY OF THE SICK – 11 FEBRUARY

Pope Francis has marked the 28^th World Day of the Sick this month with a call for warmth, dignity and love in our treatment of sick people.

In his message, the Pope acknowledged that there are ‘many kinds of grave suffering’ and also that ‘at times, human warmth is lacking in our approach to these’.  He recommended a ‘personalised approach to the sick, not just of curing but of caring’. 

He also reminded everyone that all life is sacred and belongs to God and that therefore, in addition to therapy and support, the sick should rightly expect care and attention to their needs: in a word, love.

He concluded his message by thanking all those who give their time freely to help the sick, such as the volunteers at Lourdes, and those in every parish who take time to visit our suffering members.