St Benedict's, St Mary's and St Oswald's Warrington

4th Week of Easter

April 29th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Friday 5 May 2023

The Coronation of King Charles III

Image (c) Chris Jackson. Used with permission.

Order of Service: 23-24132 Coronation Liturgy

Order of Service with commentary: 23-24132 Coronation Liturgy Commentary

Wednesday 3 May 2023 – Feast of Saints Philip & James, Apostles

The Coronation of King Charles III

The coronation of King Charles III takes place on Saturday 6 May in Westminster Abbey. Cardinal Nichols, President of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, writes:

“This will be the first coronation for 70 years in our countries; indeed, the first since our late Queen, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, entered the ancient church as a young woman to take on the awesome responsibilities of monarchy. In his first address to our countries after the death of the Queen, His Majesty stated, in the context of the late Queen’s unwavering service, ‘that promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today.’

None of us can imagine the incredible burden that His Majesty will assume as he is crowned King alongside his wife and Queen, Camilla. The world has immeasurably changed since 1953 with many more opportunities and challenges in the lives of all.”

Three Days of Prayer (3 – 5 May 2023)

In the lead-up to the Coronation, Cardinal Nichols and the Bishops of England and Wales encourage us to pray for His Majesty King Charles and Queen Camilla. The Cardinal commends King Charles and Queen Camilla to our Heavenly Father, that He may sustain them in their duties all the days of their lives.

“May God bless His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen Consort, preserve them both in health of mind and body and grant them every grace and blessing now and for the years to come.”

Prayer Card

A special that can be used to pray for His Majesty King Charles and Queen Camilla can be found here:

prayer-card-Coronation-of-King-Charles-V2

Tuesday 2 May 2023 – St Athanasius

In all we do
You are with us, O God.

In all our laughter
You are with us, O God.

In all our tears
You are with us, O God.

In all our talk
You are with us, O God.

In all our silence
You are with us, O God.

In all our success
You are with us, O God.

In all our struggles
You are with us, O God.

In all our fear
You are with us, O God.

In all our sleeping
You are with us, O God.

In all our walking
You are with us, O God.

In all our loving
You are with us, O God.

(Source unknown)

Monday 1 May 2023 – St Joseph the Worker

A picture of the Hongkongers who travelled from Manchester and Leeds to join the Hongkongers in Warrington for Mass yesterday at St Benedict’s (click on image to enlarge):

4th Sunday of Easter (A) – 30 April 2023

Good Shepherd Sunday

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Mass Sheet (Easter 4A) 2023

Bidding Prayers: Bidding Prayers (Easter 4A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings: prego-easter-4-year-a-2023

Pastoral Letter from the Archbishop: Pastoral_Letter_30_April_23.01

Watch the Archbishop online:

Pastoral Letter for the Fourth Sunday of Easter – YouTube

World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Prayer Card: st-joseph-prayer-voc-sun

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

3rd Week of Easter

April 22nd, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 27 April 2023

Someone sent me this. It’s made my whole day brighter. It’s the little things that matter.

Wednesday 26 April 2023

“Praising God is like breathing pure oxygen: it purifies the soul, it makes you look far ahead, it does not leave you imprisoned in the difficult and dark moment of hardship.”

(Pope Francis, 21 April 2023)

Tuesday 25 April 2023 – Feast of St Mark, Evangelist

From today’s First Reading:

“Unload all your worries on to him, since he is looking after you.”

(1 Peter 5: 7)

Monday 24 April 2023 – Solemnity of St George, Patron of England

Happy Feast Day!

Today is the Solemnity of St George, Patron and Protector of England. This year, the feast has been moved from it’s usual date because the 23 April fell on a Sunday.

St George was a Roman soldier who was martyred on this day in 303 AD during the persecution of Christians in what is now present day Israel. He became a favourite saint for the Crusades and his feast day has been kept in England since 1222.

Let us ask St George to pray for us and for all the people of our country. Here is the prayer for today’s feast in the Roman Missal:

God of hosts,
who so kindled the fire of charity
in the heart of Saint George your martyr,
that he bore witness to the risen Lord
both by his life and by his death;
grant us through his intercession, we pray,
the same faith and power of love,
that we who rejoice in his triumph
may be led to share with him
in the fullness of the resurrection.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

3rd Sunday of Easter (A) – 23 April 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Mass Sheet (Easter 3A)

Bidding Prayers: Bidding Prayers (Easter 3A)

Reflection on the Readings: prego-easter-3-year-a-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

2nd Week of Easter

April 15th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 20 April 2023

Yesterday, at his weekly audience, Pope Francis said: Martyrs “are more numerous in our time than in the first centuries. Today there are many martyrs in the Church, many of them, because for confessing the Christian faith they are banished from society or end up in prison…there are many.”

Wednesday 19 April 2023

(click on image to enlarge)

Tuesday 18 April 2023

“Our hope is called Jesus. He is alive and evil has no more power over Him. Failure cannot prevent us from beginning again, and death becomes the passage to the beginning of a new life.”

(Pope Francis, 18 April 2023)

Monday 17 April 2023

2nd Sunday of Easter (A) – 16 April 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Mass Sheet (Easter 2A)

Bidding Prayers: Bidding Prayers (Easter 2A)

Reflection on the Readings: prego-easter-2-year-a-2023

Hillsborough

This weekend, we remember all those who died at Hillsborough thirty-four years ago. We remember especially Ian Whelan from St Oswald’s and his parents, Doris and Norman.

Lord,
comfort the families and the friends of the 97 who died
and all who feel their loss.
Hold them in the love that holds their loved ones.
Through Christ our Lord.

Some Funnies

If the resurrection happened today…

God bless,
Fr Dave

Easter Octave

April 10th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Easter Friday – 14 April 2023

Today’s Gospel recounts the appearance of the Risen Lord to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias:

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. It was by the Sea of Tiberias, and it happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee and two more of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said, ‘I’m going fishing.’ They replied, ‘We’ll come with you.’ They went out and got into the boat but caught nothing that night.

It was light by now and there stood Jesus on the shore, though the disciples did not realise that it was Jesus. Jesus called out, ‘Have you caught anything, friends?’ And when they answered, ‘No’, he said, ‘Throw the net out to starboard and you’ll find something.’ So they dropped the net, and there were so many fish that they could not haul it in. The disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord.’ At these words ‘It is the Lord’, Simon Peter, who had practically nothing on, wrapped his cloak round him and jumped into the water. The other disciples came on in the boat, towing the net and the fish; they were only about a hundred yards from land.

As soon as they came ashore they saw that there was some bread there, and a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus said, ‘Bring some of the fish you have just caught.’ Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net to the shore, full of big fish, one hundred and fifty-three of them; and in spite of there being so many the net was not broken. Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.’ None of the disciples was bold enough to ask, ‘Who are you?’; they knew quite well it was the Lord. Jesus then stepped forward, took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish. This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after rising from the dead.

(John 21: 1-14)

Thought

This epilogue to the Gospel of John presents a lovely scene of the disciples being re-united with their Risen Lord. As in other encounters with the Risen Christ, he has mysteriously changed so that they have difficulty recognising him.

In addition, there is the touching scene of Peter’s restoration: a triple declaration of love and loyalty is extorted from Peter to compensate for his triple denial, and a triple commission is given to him, concluding with the repeat of his call, ‘Follow me’.

While Matthew’s Gospel concludes with a promise that the Risen Christ will be always with his Church, St John paints Christ nourishing the Church – feeding his followers at the picnic breakfast.

(Adapted from commentary by Fr Henry Wansbrough, OSB)

Easter Thursday – 13 April 2023

Today’s Gospel follows on from yesterday. The two disciples, who had recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, return to Jerusalem and tell their story to the other disciples.

The disciples told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Jesus at the breaking of bread.

They were still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ And as he said this he showed them his hands and feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.

Then he told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms has to be fulfilled.’ He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.’

(Luke 24: 35-48)

Thought

Today, the Risen Christ appears to the disciples, who are cowering behind closed doors. And what does Christ say to those who denied knowing him or abandoned him at his lowest point? Does he exact revenge? Shame them? No, he says, “Peace be with you.” The way of Jesus Christ is about love, mercy and forgiveness.

Fr James Martin, SJ

Easter Wednesday – 12 April 2023

Today’s Gospel is the well-know account of Jesus appearing to two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast.

Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.’

Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.

When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?’

They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, ‘Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.

(Luke 24: 13-35)

Thought

In the moving story of the Road to Emmaus, two disciples fail to to recognise the Risen Christ, even as he walks beside them. Why not? Several reasons are often suggested. They are walking into the sun, his face was covered, etc. But the most likely explanation is that the appearance of the “glorified body” of Christ after his Resurrection looked different. It was Jesus of Nazareth, of course, but in several Gospel stories he is hard to recognise. We can’t fault the disciples of course: no one had ever seen anything like this.

Fr James Martin, SJ

Easter Tuesday – 11 April 2023

Today we hear St John’s account of the Resurrection. Jesus first appears to Mary of Magdala.

Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

(John 20: 11-18)

Thought

In John’s Gospel, it is to a woman, not to one of the male disciples – not even to Peter or the Beloved Disciple – before whom the Risen Christ first appears. She is then commissioned to proclaim the Good News to the rest of the disciples. Thus her title: ‘Apostle to the Apostles’.

(Fr James Martin, SJ)

Easter Monday – 10 April 2023

This week, we listen to the various accounts of the Resurrection given to us in Gospels proclaimed at Mass each day. Today, we hear from St Matthew’s Gospel:

Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.

And there, coming to meet them, was Jesus. ‘Greetings’ he said. And the women came up to him and, falling down before him, clasped his feet. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee; they will see me there.’

While they were on their way, some of the guard went off into the city to tell the chief priests all that had happened. These held a meeting with the elders and, after some discussion, handed a considerable sum of money to the soldiers with these instructions, ‘This is what you must say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” And should the governor come to hear of this, we undertake to put things right with him ourselves and to see that you do not get into trouble.’ The soldiers took the money and carried out their instructions, and to this day that is the story among the Jews.

(Matthew 28: 8-15)

Thought

The Gospel for today lets us relive the women’s encounter with the Risen Jesus on Easter morning. Jesus meets them while they are going to announce him. This is beautiful: when we proclaim the Lord, the Lord comes to us.

(Pope Francis, 10 April 2023)

Holy Week

April 1st, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Easter Sunday – 9 April 2023

“This is the day that God has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”
(Psalm 117)

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Christus resurrexit! Resurrexit vere!
Chrystus zmartwychwstał! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstał!
Khristos voskrese! Voistinu voskrese!
Le Christ est ressuscité! En verité il est ressuscité!
Tá Críost éirithe! Go deimhin, tá sé éirithe!
Atgyfododd Crist! Yn wir atgyfododd!

A very happy Easter to you all!

May the joy of this day – the greatest day of the year for Christians – lift your spirits, renew your hope, and bring peace to your hearts.

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Easter Sunday Mass Sheet 2023

Reflection on the Readings: easter-sunday-year-a-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

Holy Saturday – 8 April 2023

The Easter Vigil

On this Holy Saturday night, the holiest night of the year, we keep the ‘mother of all vigils’ (St Augustine). The Vigil begins with the lighting of the big Easter candle proclaiming “The Light of Christ”. Then, in the light of the candle, we will listen to stories of what God has done for his people through the ages. After the Gospel of the Resurrection, we will renew our Baptism and welcome new members into the Church. Finally, we will celebrate Christ’s risen presence with us always in the Eucharist.

The Easter Vigil will take place at 8.00 pm at St Oswald’s.

If you’re not able to join us in church this evening, you might like to join in one of the many celebrations online.

Good Friday – 7 April 2023

Today, all over the world at 3.00 pm, Christians stop whatever they are doing (if they can) to celebrate the Passion of the Lord. In a very simple but ancient liturgy, we listen to St John’s account of the Passion of the Lord, pray for the needs of the Church and the world, and venerate the Cross.

The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord will take place at 3.00 pm at St Oswald’s.

In addition, there will be Stations of the Cross for Children at 11.00 am at St Benedict’s and Stations of the Cross at 12.00 noon at St Oswald’s.

If you’re not able to join us in church today, you might like to use this little prayer service at home:

Holy Thursday & Good Friday at Home 2023

Holy Thursday – 6 April 2023

This evening, we enter into the Easter Triduum – a three-day celebration of our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. We begin by recalling what Jesus did on the night before he died – how he washed the feet of his disciples and shared the Last Supper with them.

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper will take place at 7.30 pm at St Benedict’s followed by ‘Watching’ until 9.30 pm.

Mass Sheet we will be using in church:

Holy Thursday Mass Sheet 2023

Wednesday of Holy Week – 5 April 2023