1st Week of Advent

December 2nd, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Wednesday 6 December 2023

A beautiful service from York Minster to begin the season of Advent:

Live: Advent Procession broadcast from York Minster – YouTube

Order of Service:    Advent-Procession-2023

Tuesday 5 December 2023 – St John Almond

Monday 4 December 2023

An Advent Prayer

Loving God,
as your light grows in the dark of winter,
bring its strength and its hope to the people of the Holy Land
and to all people who suffer through war and conflict.
Just as you sent the star of Bethlehem to lead the way to your Son,
guide all people – leaders and citizens – to follow your ways of peace and justice.
As we remember the difficult journey of Mary and Joseph,
may the Holy Family be a source of courage for each of us,
helping us to reach out in friendship to the oppressed and displaced of this world.
Help us to see in the Christ-child we welcome this Christmas,
the one who came to bring an end to all divisions.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

(From the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, Ireland)

1st Sunday of Advent – 3 December 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Advent 1B) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Advent 1B) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-advent-1-year-b-2023

Prayers for Peace:    Prayers for Peace

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:    Israeli-Palestinian Crisis

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

34th Week in Ordinary Time

November 25th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Friday 1 December 2023

Please pray for Deacon Hugh Donleavy who will be ordained to the priesthood this evening by Archbishop Malcolm at St Alban’s, Warrington.

Lord our God,
who in governing your people
make use of the ministry of Priests,
grant a persevering obedience to your will
to this Deacon of your Church,
whom you graciously choose today
for the office of the priesthood,
so that by his ministry and life
he may gain glory for you in Christ.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Thursday 30 November 2023 – Feast of St Andrew

COP28 Climate Summit

As the COP28 climate summit gets under way, the Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues, Bishop John Arnold, has reiterated his call for the nations of the world to act:

“Whilst the extreme heat of last summer may be a distant memory for many of us, huge numbers of people around the world have had their lives devastated by climate disasters in the last year or so. Given that the impacts of climate change will only worsen, there is no option but for COP28 to succeed.

“I have recently written to the Prime Minister asking his government to take a real leadership role at the COP28 climate summit. Pope Francis, and our own bishops of England and Wales, have asked political leaders to take decisive action at this summit and create energy transition targets that are efficient, obligatory and readily monitored. They must also consider how such targets can be enforced so that any agreements made at the summit are meaningful.

“Care for God’s creation is intrinsically bound up with care for all our brothers and sisters and, given that climate change will affect poor countries the most, caring for creation can be thought of as an intrinsic part of the ‘preferential option for the poor’.

“Referencing his hopes for COP28, in his recent Angelus address on 26 November, Pope Francis mentioned the tragedies of war and the dangers of climate change. Both, he said, are contrary to God’s plan who created everything for life. The world is becoming more dangerous and fractious, and conflicts are increasing. It is vital, at this time, that the governments of the world overcome their divisions and work to promote real healing as well as effective co-operation to reduce carbon emissions.

“I also ask Catholics in England and Wales to pray for the success of COP28 – that real progress will be made. And I urge people to use the resources provided by our agency CAFOD so that politicians and the general public are made more aware of the urgency of this issue.”

COP28 is the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November until 12 December 2023, at the Expo City, Dubai.

(Source: Catholic Bishops Conference of England & Wales)

Wednesday 29 November 2023

“Let us continue to pray for the serious situation in Israel and Palestine. It is the ordinary people who suffer. Those who wage war do not suffer. Let us ask for peace. And may we not forget the dear Ukrainian people, who are suffering so much and are still at war.”

Pope Francis, 29 November 2023

Tuesday 28 November 2023

Fr John Poland installed as an Honorary Canon

Canon John Poland was installed as an Honorary Canon in a special Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Canon Poland was awarded the honour following his appointment as the Judicial Vicar in the first instance in the newly launched National Tribunal Service of England and Wales.

In total, four clergy of our Archdiocese were appointed to roles on the new NTS. Bishop Tom Neylon, Vicar General, was appointed Bishop-Moderator in the second instance. Canon Aidan Prescott, Vicar General, was appointed a Judge in the first service and Fr Sean Riley, Chancellor, was appointed Promoter of Justice in the second instance.

The Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, who works closely with Canon Poland. He described it as a great gift to be able to install Fr John as an honorary Canon.

The Mass was celebrated in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in the Cathedral, with the Chapter of Canons, the Archbishop, and other priests, including other officers of the NTS in attendance.

Monday 27 November 2023

“We do not know God very well at all when we fear coming into God’s presence replete with all that is within us, weaknesses as well as strengths. Nothing we do can ever lessen God’s tenderness towards us.”

Fr Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Solemnity of the Christ the King (A) – 26 November 2023

World Youth Day

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Christ the King A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Christ the King A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-christ-the-king-year-a-2023

Prayers for Peace:    Prayers for Peace

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:    Israeli-Palestinian Crisis

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

33rd Week in Ordinary Time

November 18th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 23 November 2023

Wednesday 22 November 2023

November Thoughts

“Today you will be with me in paradise!” Jesus speaks those words to the good thief on the cross and they’re meant for every one of us who dies without yet fully being a saint and without having had the time and opportunity to make all the amends and speak all the apologies that we owe to others. There is still time after death, on both sides, for reconciliation and healing to happen because inside the communion of saints we have privileged access to each other and there we can finally speak all of those words that we couldn’t speak before. We can reach across death’s divide.

Fr Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Tuesday 21 November 2023

Monday 20 November 2023

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 19 November 2023

World Day of the Poor

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Sunday 33A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (33A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-33-ota-2023-1

Message from Pope Francis:    Pope Francis World Day of the Poor 2023

Prayers for Peace:    Prayers for Peace

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:    Israeli-Palestinian Crisis

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

32nd Week in Ordinary Time

November 11th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Friday 17 November 2023

CSAN Statement on the Israel-Gaza Conflict

“Caritas Social Action Network supports the call by Pope Francis for an immediate ceasefire in the Israeli-Gaza conflict.  In his comments after the Angelus on 29 October, Pope Francis said, “…in Gaza, may space be opened to guarantee humanitarian aid, and may the hostages be released right away. Let no one abandon the possibility that the weapons might be silenced – let there be a ceasefire”.

Thursday 16 November 2023

“I know…”

The risen Christ can reach down to the deepest corners where we are hiding,
prisoners of our loneliness, our fears, our anxieties, our despair,
our depressions, our cynicism, our shame,
and there he shows us his hands and his side.

This is an important gesture.  It is Jesus’ way of saying to us:

“I know what you are suffering because I shared it.
I know your sadness because I felt it,
I know your feeling of having been abandoned by God because I screamed it,
I know your loneliness because I was betrayed by all my friends.
But thanks to me all this suffering has become a source of life, peace and joy,
and it reopens to doors, it abolishes the walls,
it restores the relationship with the Father.”

From Luigi Gioia in ‘Say It To God’ (Bloomsbury, 2017)

Wednesday 15 November 2023

Israel and Palestine

“Our thoughts turn every day to the very serious situation in Israel and Palestine.  I am close to all those who suffer, Palestinians and Israelis.  May the weapons be stopped: they will never lead to peace, and may the conflict not widen! Enough! Enough, brothers! Enough!” (Pope Francis, 12 November 2023)

The health ministry in Gaza says the number of people killed since Israel launched its retaliatory strikes is at least 11,255.  Of those, 4,630 are children and 3,130 are women.

Israel says 1,200 people were killed in the attack on 7 October and around 240 were taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Tuesday 14 November 2023

Advert for new Parish Administrator:

Careers – Join the team (liverpoolcatholic.org.uk)

Monday 13 November 2023

World Day of the Poor

Next Sunday is the seventh World Day of the Poor established by Pope Francis in 2017.

The Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) has prepared a Novena in preparation for the day.  You can download it here:

CSAN-World-Day-of-the-Poor-Resource-2023

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 12 November 2023

Remembrance Sunday

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    

Mass Sheet (Remembrance Sunday 32A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Remembrance 2023)

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-32-ota-2023

Prayers for Peace:    Prayers for Peace

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict:    Israeli-Palestinian Crisis

God bless,
Fr Dave

31st Week in Ordinary Time

November 4th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 9 November 2023

Wednesday 8 November 2023

Christ be near at either hand,
Christ behind, before me stand;
Christ with me where’er I go,
Christ around, above, below.

Christ be in my heart and mind,
Christ within my soul enshrined;
Christ control my wayward heart;
Christ abide and ne’er depart.

Christ my life and only way,
Christ my lantern night and day;
Christ be my unchanging friend,
Guide and shepherd to the end.

From the Divine Office, based on St Patrick’s Breastplate.

Tuesday 7 November 2023

Image (c) Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales

Statement on the ongoing war and violence in the Holy Land

Bishop Declan Lang, Chair of the Bishops’ Conference’s International Affairs department, and Bishop Nicholas Hudson, Chair of the Holy Land Co-ordination, have released a statement on the ongoing Israel/Hamas war:

“To our brothers and sisters across the Holy Land, particularly those sheltering in the Parish of the Holy Family in Gaza along with those in the West Bank, we remain close to you and in constant prayer for you at this most difficult, terrifying, and testing of times.  May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you always.

“To our own government, we urge you to continue your diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire, the immediate release of all hostages and the facilitation of humanitarian aid so that desperately needed food, water, fuel, and medical supplies can be safely delivered into Gaza.  We will continue to add our voice to the impassioned chorus calling for justice, peace, and the cessation of the suffering that has descended upon the Holy Land.

“To the Catholic Community here in England and Wales, please join us in prayer for those in the Holy Land, particularly for those who have been taken hostage, those who have been killed, those who have been injured, and their families.

“We also pray for those who are wearied by the conflict to receive strength, and those in positions of power and authority receive the wisdom to guide them into ways of peace and justice.”

Bishop Declan Lang
Chair, Department for International Affairs

Bishop Nicholas Hudson
Chair, Holy Land Co-ordination

Monday 6 November 2023

Brothers and sisters, STOP!

“I continue to think about the serious situation in Palestine and in Israel where many, many people have lost their lives.  In God’s name, I beg you to stop: cease using weapons!  I hope that avenues will be pursued so that an escalation of the conflict might be absolutely avoided.

“Let the hostages be freed immediately.  Let’s think of the children, of all the children affected by this war, as well as in Ukraine and by other conflicts: this is how their future is being killed.  Let us pray that there might be the strength to say, “enough”.”

Pope Francis, 5 November 2023

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 5 November 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Sunday 31A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (31A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-31-ota-2023

Prayers for Peace:    Prayers for Peace

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

30th Week in Ordinary Time

October 28th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Friday 3 November 2023

Mgr John Devine, Dean of the New Co-Cathedral

Inauguration of New Co-Cathedral

As you may know, Pope Francis has granted cathedral status to the Church of St Mary of the Isle in the Isle of Man.  The church will be a co-cathedral for the Archdiocese alongside the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool.  It will be the first Catholic co-cathedral in the British Isles.  Co-cathedrals are rare in the Catholic Church.  They exist when two dioceses, each with their own cathedral, are merged or when a single diocese spans two distinct civil jurisdictions as in our own Archdiocese.

The Inauguration of our new Co-Cathedral will take place today at 12.00 noon.  At the start of the ceremony, Archbishop Malcolm and the Apostolic Nuncio will knock on the church door to gain admittance.  The Nuncio will proclaim the decree from Pope Francis elevating the church to cathedral status and then install Archbishop Malcolm in his seat or ‘cathedra’.  The Canons of the Metropolitan Cathedral Chapter will then take their seats in the choir stalls.

You can watch this historic occasion online here:  https://t.co/QzH3XGAlRh

All Souls – 2 November 2023

Mass times:

11.00 am Mass at St Benedict’s
7.00 pm Mass at St Oswald’s

Mass sheet we will be using in church:    All Souls Mass Sheet 2023

Solemnity of All Saints – 1 November 2023

Mass times:

Tuesday 31 October – 7.00 pm Vigil Mass at St Oswald’s
Wednesday 1 November – 11.00 am Mass at St Benedict’s

Mass sheet we will be using in church:   Mass Sheet (All Saints 2023)

Monday 30 October 2023

Screenshot from video

Holy Family Parish, Gaza

Parishioners from Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza are praying fervently for an end to the war and peace for all.

The Parish compound has turned into a refuge for many seeking shelter.  In the Strip and confirmed by some managing to get through the communications blackout, people are now lacking essentials supplies, such as food, medicine, and clean water, as well as telephone and internet access.

At the same time, the parish priest of Holy Family, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, wishes to share that despite so much anguish, children sheltering in the parish are bearing witness to hope.  They recorded the video below, addressed to Pope Francis and to all those praying for peace. The two-minute video of young people of various ages shows them making the Sign of the Cross, praying the ‘Our Father’, the ‘Hail Mary’ and the ‘Sub Tuum Praesidium’ prayer (Latin for ‘Under thy protection’).

They thank the Pope for Friday’s Day of Prayer, Fasting, and Penance for Peace in the World, and pray for him, with a closing greeting directed to everyone.  And in the background, the din of bombs exploding can be clearly heard.

You can watch the video here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AqczXyKCGs&t=113s

Source:  Independent Catholic News

Parish Feast of Blessed James Bell – 29 October 2023

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) 

Stained glass window of Blessed James Bell in St Mary’s Shrine

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Parish Feast & 30A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (Blessed James Bell) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-30-ota-2023

Prayers for Peace:    Prayers for Peace

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

29th Week in Ordinary Time

October 21st, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Friday 27 October 2023

Day of Prayer for Peace

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN:

“I repeat my call for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East, the unconditional release of all hostages, and the delivery of life-saving supplies at the scale needed. Everyone must assume their responsibilities. This is a moment of truth. History will judge us all.”

Wednesday 25 October 2023

When I loved myself enough

On the ‘Association of Catholic Priests’ website, Fr Jim Cogley writes:

“Some years ago a woman named Kim McMillian, after a lifetime suffering from doubt and self-criticism, discovered the importance of loving herself, and the incredible difference it made in every aspect of her life.  It was the key that unlocked the dungeon of the torture chamber into which she had imprisoned herself.  Shortly afterwards she wrote a book where each page contained just a few lines relating to her newfound discovery.  It has the catchy title, “When I loved myself enough”.  It was very popular and had huge sales worldwide.  Unfortunately she died just a few months after writing the book.  At only 53, and not knowing she was ill, this was to be her essence and final message to the world.  The book is still available so I am not going to reproduce her work.  However, on a recent retreat, I invited the participants to write their own book based on the same title.”  This is what they wrote:

When I loved myself enough…
I would allow things to happen and not try and force them.
I would allow others to be who they are and not try and change them.
I would admit when I am wrong and not just say ‘sorry’.
I would feel my feelings and not try to analyse them.
I would befriend my difficult emotions and so give them space to transform.

When I loved myself enough…
I would not try and change myself,
instead I would accept myself as I am with all my imperfections.
I would stop being critical and judgmental towards myself and others.
I would not argue with my hunches and go more with my gut instincts.
I would stop blaming others
and take responsibility for my own feelings and reactions.
I would stop playing it safe and take far more risks with the game of life.

When I loved myself enough…
I would allow myself to feel and not slip into denial and evasive ways,
like reaching for my phone.
I would declutter my home
and make space for new and exciting possibilities to materialise.
I would stop being invisible and playing small.
I would let me light shine and allow my gifts to be a gift to others.
I would see my loneliness as an invitation to come more home to myself.

When I loved myself enough…
I would speak to myself with respect and compassion.
I would listen to my body and not push it beyond its limits.
I would take care of my needs and not feel guilty.
I would give freely to others without questioning motives.
I would stop trying to be perfect and allow myself to become whole.

When I loved myself enough…
I would stop comparing myself with others.
I would accept my limitations and weaknesses.
I would meditate and give myself time to recharge my batteries.
I no longer needed to impress anyone.
I would indulge myself with silence.

Tuesday 24 October 2023

Mass in honour of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine

On Saturday 28 October, the Archbishop will celebrate Mass in honour of Our Lady, Queen of Palestine, to pray for peace and justice in the Holy Land.  The Mass will take place in the Cathedral at 11.30 am.

All are welcome to come and pray with the Archbishop and with Knights and Dames of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Monday 23 October 2023

Jewish Doctor speaks out on Israel and Palestine

In this reflection for the ‘Your Inner Child’ website, Dr Gabor Mate, Hungarian-Canadian physician and author describes his own life experience and expresses his view on the situation in Israel and Palestine. 

“I’m personally a Holocaust survivor as an infant, I barely survived. My grandparents were killed in Auschwitz and most of my extended family were killed. I became a Zionist; this dream of the Jewish people resurrected in their historical homeland and the barbed wire of Auschwitz being replaced by the boundaries of a Jewish state with a powerful army…and then I found out that it wasn’t exactly like that, that in order to make this Jewish dream a reality we had to visit a nightmare on the local population.

“There’s no way you could have ever created a Jewish state without oppressing and expelling the local population. Jewish Israeli historians have shown without a doubt that the expulsion of Palestinians was persistent, pervasive, cruel, murderous and with deliberate intent – that’s what’s called the ‘Nakba’ in Arabic; the ‘disaster’ or the ‘catastrophe’. There’s a law that you cannot deny the Holocaust, but in Israel you’re not allowed to mention the Nakba, even though it’s at the very basis of the foundation of Israel.

“I visited the Occupied Territories (West Bank) during the first intifada. I cried every day for two weeks at what I saw; the brutality of the occupation, the petty harassment, the murderousness of it, the cutting down of Palestinian olive groves, the denial of water rights, the humiliations…and this went on, and now it’s much worse than it was then.

“It’s the longest ethnic cleansing operation in the 20th and 21st century. I could land in Tel Aviv tomorrow and demand citizenship but my Palestinian friend in Vancouver, who was born in Jerusalem, can’t even visit!

“So then you have these miserable people packed into this, horrible…people call it an ‘outdoor prison’, which is what it is. You don’t have to support Hamas policies to stand up for Palestinian rights, that’s a complete falsity. You think the worse thing you can say about Hamas, multiply it by a thousand times, and it still will not meet the Israeli repression and killing and dispossession of Palestinians.

“And ‘anybody who criticises Israel is an anti-Semite’ is simply an egregious attempt to intimidate good non-Jews who are willing to stand up for what is true.”

Source: Jewish doctor speaks out on Israel and Palestine | ICN (indcatholicnews.com)

Image:  Dr Gabor Mate (c) Wiki Image

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 22 October 2023

World Mission Sunday

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Sunday 29A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (29A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-29-ota-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

28th Week in Ordinary Time

October 15th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 19 October 2023

LGBTQ+ Catholics

Fr Timothy Radcliffe at the Synod in Rome yesterday:

“Many of us wept when we heard of that young woman who committed suicide because she was bisexual and did not feel welcomed. I hope it changed us. The Holy Father reminded us that all are welcomed: todos, todos, todos.”

Wednesday 18 October 2023 – St Luke the Evangelist

At his General Audience today, Pope Francis said:

The cry of children and the poor

“The situation in Gaza is desperate. Please let everything possible be done to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. The possible widening of the conflict is disturbing. Let the weapons be silenced; let the cry for peace be heard from the poor, from the people, from the children!”

There is only one side to take

“War does not resolve any problem. It only sows death and destruction, increases hate, multiplies vengeance. War erases the future. I exhort believers to take only one side in this conflict: the side of peace – not in word, but in prayer.”

Day of Fasting, Penance & Prayer

“I have decided to declare Friday, 27 October, a day of fasting, penance and prayer for peace. I invite the various Christian confessions, members of other religious, and all who hold the cause of peace in the world at heart to participate.”

Tuesday 17 October 2023 – St Ignatius of Antioch

Day of Prayer for the Holy Land

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, invites all parishes and religious communities across the world to pray for peace in the Holy Land today, 17 October.

Writing to the world’s faithful as President of the Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land (ACOHL), His Eminence wrote:

“The pain and dismay at what is happening is great. Once again we find ourselves in the midst of a political and military crisis. We have suddenly been catapulted into a sea of unprecedented violence. The hatred, which we have unfortunately already been experiencing for too long, will increase even more, and the ensuing spiral of violence will create more destruction. Everything seems to speak of death.

“Yet, in this time of sorrow and dismay, we do not want to remain helpless. We cannot let death and its sting (1 Cor 15:55) be the only word we hear.

“That is why we feel the need to pray, to turn our hearts to God the Father. Only in this way we can draw the strength and serenity needed to endure these hard times, by turning to Him, in prayer and intercession, to implore and cry out to God amidst this anguish.

“On behalf of all the Ordinaries of the Holy Land, I invite all parishes and religious communities to a day of fasting and prayer for peace and reconciliation…

“This is the way we all come together despite everything, and unite collectively in prayer, to deliver to God the Father our thirst for peace, justice, and reconciliation.”

I’ve collected some prayers together which may help:

Day of Prayer for Peace in the Holy Land

Monday 16 October 2023

Pope Francis on Israel & Palestine

“I continue to follow with great sorrow what is happening in Israel and Palestine.  I renew my appeal for the freeing of the hostages and I strongly ask that children, the sick, the elderly, women, and all civilians not be made victims of the conflict.

Humanitarian law is to be respected, especially in Gaza.  Please, let no more innocent blood be shed, neither in the Holy Land nor in Ukraine, nor in any other place!  Enough!  Wars are always a defeat, always!

Prayer is the meek and holy force to oppose the diabolical force of hatred, terrorism and war.  I invite all believers to join with the Church in the Holy Land and to dedicate next Tuesday, 17 October, to prayer and fasting.”

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 15 October 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Sunday 28A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (28A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-28-ota-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

27th Week in Ordinary Time

October 7th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Wednesday 11 October 2023 – Pope Saint John XXIII

Israel and Palestine

“I continue to follow what is happening in Israel and Palestine with tears and apprehension: many people killed, others injured.  I pray for those families who have seen a feast day transformed into a day of mourning, and I ask that the hostages be released immediately.

It is the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves, but I am very concerned about the total siege under which the Palestinians are living in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims.  Terrorism and extremism do not help reach a solution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but fuel hatred, violence, revenge, and only cause each to other suffer.

The Middle East does not need war, but peace, a peace built on dialogue and the courage of fraternity.”

(Pope Francis, 11 October 2023)

Tuesday 10 October 2023

Prayer for the Holy Land

God of justice and peace,
we pray for the many people whose lives have been torn apart
by the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
We remember especially those who have died,
those who are grieving, the injured
and those now without food, shelter or medical supplies.
May those who have the power to bring peace
be touched by a spirit of compassion and kindness.
Through Christ our Lord.

(Adapted from CAFOD)

Monday 9 October 2023 – St John Henry Newman

Let us pray for peace and justice for the people of Israel and Palestine.

Letter from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem (click to enlarge):

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 8 October 2023

Prisoners’ Sunday

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Sunday 27A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (27A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-27-ota-2023

Prisoners’ Sunday

Prisoners’ Sunday – Catholic Bishops’ Conference (cbcew.org.uk)

Some Funnies

Ah, at last, HS2…

God bless,
Fr Dave

26th Week in Ordinary Time

September 30th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 5 October 2023

Please pray for the Synod taking place in Rome.

Pope Francis:  “Jesus’ gaze that blesses invites us to be a Church that does not face today’s challenges and problems with a divisive and contentious spirit but, turns its eyes to God who is communion and, with awe and humility, blesses and adores him, recognising him as its only Lord.”

Wednesday 4 October 2023 – St Francis of Assisi

Two momentous events today.

First, Pope Francis released a supplement to his 2015 Encyclical, Laudato Si’, on caring for our common home.  Entitled, ‘Laudate Deum’ (‘Praise God’), the Apostolic Exhortation calls on the world to take climate change seriously – to read the signs of the times and to assist the world’s poorest people who are bearing the brunt of climate change.  Focusing on international cooperation, Pope Francis calls us to move beyond expressing concern to having the courage to make substantial changes.

Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for Environmental Issues for the Bishops’ Conference, said:  “Clearly, the way we are currently living our lives is unsustainable.  We need urgent political action, on a global scale, to address this crisis before it’s too late.  But it’s also right that we ask ourselves certain questions.  What is our relationship to God’s creation?  Is it a resource for us to make profits from, or a precious gift that we are to protect?  Are we stewards of the earth, or exploiters?”

You can read Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, Laudate Deum, here:

laudate-deum-exhortation-041023.pdf (cbcew.org.uk)

Secondly, following a two year consultation involving all the Catholic parishes accross the world, the Synod on Synodality opened in Rome.  In his opening address, Pope Francis said:  “This is the Synod’s primary task: to refocus our gaze on God, to be a Church that looks mercifully on humanity. A Church that is united and fraternal, that listens and dialogues; a Church that blesses and encourages, that helps those who seek the Lord.”

You can follow the progress of the Synod here:

Synod 2021 – 2024

Tuesday 3 October 2023

Eve of the Synod on Synodality

“The essence of the synodal journey is found in a basic truth that we must never lose sight of:  its purpose is to listen, to understand, and to put God’s will into practice.”

(Pope Francis, 3 October 2023)

Monday 2 October 2023 – The Guardian Angels

“At the side of every person is a protector the Lord gives to help us, to nudge us to get up when we have stumbled, to show us the way when we have chosen the wrong path. Let us listen to the voice of our Guardian Angel.”

(Pope Francis, 2 October 2023)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 1 October 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:    Mass Sheet (Sunday 26A) 2023

Bidding Prayers:    Bidding Prayers (26A) 2023

Pastoral Letter:    Pastoral Letter 1 October 2023

Reflection on the Readings:    prego-sunday-26-ota-2023

Synod of Bishops 2021-2024

Synod 2021 – 2024

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave