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

17th Week in Ordinary Time

July 29th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 3 August 2023

“Friends, I want to be clear with you … In the Church there is room for everyone, for EVERYONE, and no one is superfluous — for the one who makes mistakes, for the one who falls … REPEAT AFTER ME: EVERYONE!! For me, for you …”

(Pope Francis at World Youth Day 2023)

Wednesday 2 August 2023

Prayer for World Youth Day
1-6 August 2023 Lisbon, Portugal

Our Lady of the Visitation,
you who left in haste
towards the mountain to meet Elizabeth,
lead us also to meet all those who await us
to deliver them the living Gospel:
Jesus Christ, your Son and our Lord!

We will go in a hurry,
with no distraction or delay,
but with readiness and joy.
We will go peacefully,
because those who take Christ take peace,
and welldoing is the best wellbeing.

Our Lady of the Visitation,
with your inspiration, this World Youth Day
will be the mutual celebration of the Christ
we take, as You once did.

Make it a time of testimony and sharing,
fraternization, and giving thanks,
each of us looking for the others
who always wait.
With you, we will continue
on this path of gathering,
so that our world will gather as well,
in fraternity, justice and peace.

Help us, Our Lady of the Visitation,
to bring Christ to everyone,
obeying the Father, in the love of the Spirit!

Tuesday 1 August 2023 – St Alphonsus Ligouri

“Acquire the habit of speaking to God as if you were alone with Him, familiarly and with confidence and love, as to the dearest and most loving of friends.”

“Speak to Him often of your business, your plans, your troubles, your fears – of everything that concerns you.”

(St Alphonsus)

Monday 31 July 2023 – St Ignatius Loyola

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 30 July 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Mass Sheet (Sunday 17A) 2023

Bidding Prayers: Bidding Prayers (17A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings: prego-sunday-17-ota-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

16th Week in Ordinary Time

July 22nd, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 27 July 2023

Video from Pope Francis for World Youth Day

Wednesday 26 July 2023 – Saints Joachim & Anne

Pope’s podcast to young people (conclusion)

Enriched by diversity

He then listened to Valeria, a religion teacher, who relayed feedback she receives from her young students who wish for a Church that is more transparent, youthful and close to people in their lives.

The Pope responded recalling the importance of a Church walking together with the people. He warned that when the Church becomes too closed in on itself, it risks becoming sectarian and divided. He added that the greatness of the Church lies in our diversity and unity.

The Pope then heard from Giuseppe who spoke about his leaving university studies, but spending a large part of his time at home playing videogames with online contacts.

The Pope observed that his life lived primarily online can become “aseptic” and isolated, as he misses the horizon, since human contact with others is so important.

Go to World Youth Day

In conclusion, after asking who would be going to World Youth Day, Pope Francis urged his young interlocutors in the “Popecast” to make the effort to take part in all the WYD events, calling it a worthwhile experience they will find very fulfilling, marked by community, celebration, hope and joy.

Source: vaticannews.va

Tuesday 25 July 2023 – Feast of St James, Apostle

Pope’s podcast to young people (continued)

Always striving ahead

Listening to the stories of Edward and Valerij, both serving time in a juvenile correctional community, the Pope heard about their difficult family situations and abandonment that led to their committing crimes they regret.

In response, the Pope asked them to consider that our mistakes must not be allowed to block our lives and that the “human story goes on with its successes and its failures.”

Even one mistake can cause our lives to be permanently marked by society, the Pope lamented, but he asked them to always remember the Lord is with them on their journey, ready “to take you by the hand, to help lift you up”. Our task, he said, is to acknowledge our mistakes so that God can help us reflect on our lives and move forward positively.

Horizon of hope

Arianna recounted her own struggle with bipolar disorder, which has caused her moments of great joy, but also moments when she has contemplated suicide. At the same time, she said she feels that she is “saved by God.”

The Pope listened to her closely and responded by encouraging her to “always look ahead, not to lose sight of the horizon…and the horizon is God.”

He invited her to follow the care recommendations of health professionals, and noted that we are all wounded in life in various ways and due to different causes, including sin, which require us to always look to the horizon of God’s love and mercy.

Pope Francis then addressed several Argentinian youth about their hopes for their country and improving life there, and he called on them to rise to the occasion and help make society better there, a country that is rich in resources.

Source: vaticannews.va

Monday 24 July 2023

Pope Francis listens and responds to young people in new podcast

In the latest “Popecast” by Vatican News’ Salvatore Cernuzio, Pope Francis listens to recorded questions of a group of young people who share their personal stories. To each he responds with words of encouragement. The questions and his answers are featured in an Italian-language podcast produced by Vatican Radio – Vatican News. The Pope’s first podcast took place back in March for the tenth anniversary of his pontificate.

The young people featured in this second podcast represent a variety of backgrounds and age-groups, sharing their difficulties, but also their dynamism and hopes.

God loves you

Pope Francis listened to the story of Giona, who spoke about the challenges of being a believer, while accepting the reality of having physical challenges and being transgender.

The Pope offered words of encouragement, saying “God loves us just as we are,” and that “the Lord always accompanies us, always. Even if we are sinners, He draws near to help us.” The Pope added, “do not give up, keep striving ahead.”

Source: vaticannews.va

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 23 July 2023

World Day for Grandparents & Older People

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Mass Sheet (Sunday 16A) 2023

Bidding Prayers: Bidding Prayers (16A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings: prego-plus-16th-sunday-ota-2023

Lourdes Pilgrimage Schedule: Lourdes Pilgrimage Schedule

World Day for Grandparents & Older People

Message from Pope Francis:

Message for Grandparents & Older People 2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

15th Week in Ordinary Time

July 15th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 20 July 2023

Tuesday 18 July 2023

Illegal Migration Bill

The Illegal Migration Bill will now become law after a series of votes in the House of Lords failed to result in further modern slavery protections and child detention limits. Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees, Bishop Paul McAleenan, says the Church will continue to ‘love the stranger’ and call for the expansion of safe routes for those fleeing their homes:

“This legislation stands at odds with the teaching of the Church on welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating refugees. Refugees are human beings made in the image and likeness of God, not a political problem to be solved. We must never make recognition of people’s dignity dependent upon where they come from or how they reach our country. The biblical call to love the stranger is unequivocal and indiscriminate.

“As a Church, we will continue to welcome those seeking sanctuary here and call for the expansion of safe routes. We urge our government to redouble its efforts to tackle factors such as conflict, persecution, and climate change that force people to flee their homes.”

Comment

Alf Dubs is a member of the House of Lords and patron of the Refugee Council. He wrote a very good article in The Guardian at the weekend entitled, “The UK’s illegal migration bill is a nasty piece of work. So is the cruelty inflicted on refugee children.” You can read it here:

The UK’s illegal migration bill is a nasty piece of work. So is the cruelty inflicted on refugee children | Alf Dubs | The Guardian

Monday 17 July 2023

A thought from Pope Francis on yesterday’s Gospel (Matthew 13: 1-23):

“Let us imagine a seed: it is tiny, barely visible, but it makes plants grow that bear fruit. The Word of God is thus: think of the Gospel, a small book, simple and within reach of all, that produces new life in those who receive it.”

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 16 July 2023

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Mass Sheet (Sunday 15A) 2023

Bidding Prayers: Bidding Prayers (15A) 2023

Reflection on the Readings: prego-sunday-15-ota-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

14th Week in Ordinary Time

July 8th, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Thursday 13 July 2023

Last week, Fr Jan Nowotnik, Director of Mission for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, was named as one of the voting members of the upcoming General Assembly of the Synod, set to take place in October.

“When we listen to each other,” Fr Nowotnik says, “and particularly when we listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, speaking to the Church through our prayer, through the Scriptures, through the liturgy, through our conversations with each other, we can hear afresh what is important for the Church of today.”

The process so far, he said, has brought many such contemporary themes in the Church to light. Some of these are positive – “the things that we hold in common, our love of Christ, our love of the Church, our desire to serve the Church and each other” – while others are less inspiring: “there aren’t as many young people in church, the role of women, certainly the consequences of the sexual abuse within the Church”.

Ultimately, he says, synodality is a matter of “helping us to understand what the Lord is asking of us to do now, rooted in our tradition, rooted in our teaching, and that desire to walk with each other and accompany each other on the journey which we share as our common baptismal heritage.”

Wednesday 12 July 2023

Tuesday 11 July 2023

A beautiful simple prayer by Fr Paul Keller, a Claretian Missionary:

Lord,
I may not be much,
but I’m yours.
I may not have a lot to offer,
but you can have it all.

Monday 10 July 2023

Feast of St Benedict, Abbot – 9 July 2023

(Transferred from 11 July)

Mass Sheet we will be using in church: Feast of St Benedict Mass Sheet 2023

Bidding Prayers: Feast of St Benedict Bidding Prayers 2023

Reflection on the Readings: prego-sunday-14-ota-2023

Sea Sunday

Sea-Sunday-Parish-Booklet-2023

Some Funnies

God bless,
Fr Dave

13th Week in Ordinary Time

July 1st, 2023 by Dave Heywood

Friday 7 July 2023

Exploring Prayer – Part 5 of 5

In the fifth and final part of this series, Archbishop Justin explores how we can enter into wonder in prayer.

“When you read the Bible, you see that whenever people meet God, they are filled with wonder. There’s often fear too, but there is wonder.

Wonder is the emotion we feel when we’re overwhelmed by God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. How we do step into this extraordinary place? The short answer is we pray!

It’s impossible to fully understand how deeply we are loved by God. But in prayer we can find ourselves on the fringes of the foothills of the beginnings of how extraordinary it is that we can have a relationship with our creator. We can actually experience in our hearts this wonderful God who we see in Jesus.”

Fifth Video: Wonder (click on the link below)

Part 5 – Wonder! | Exploring Prayer with Archbishop Justin Welby – YouTube

Thursday 6 July 2023

Exploring Prayer – Part 4 or 5

In the fourth part of this series, Archbishop Welby explores saying thank you to God in prayer.

Fourth Video: Giving Thanks (click on the link below)

Part 4 – Giving Thanks | Exploring Prayer with Archbishop Justin Welby – YouTube

Wednesday 5 July 2023

Exploring Prayer – Part 3 of 5

In today’s video, Archbishop Justin says: “If we’re honest, we know that in our lives we mess up, we go wrong, we fall short of our own standards – let alone of God’s. And when that mounts up in our lives we end up feeling isolated, guilty and ashamed.

Saying sorry is a really important way of keeping our relationships with each other healthy. It means we can trust each other. It’s no different in our relationship with God.

In this session we explore how we approach this vital part of prayer, how we relate to Jesus – who forgave his enemies – and what happens when we say sorry from the bottom of our hearts and become willing to try and set things right.”

Third Video: Saying Sorry (click on the link below)

Part 3 – Saying Sorry | Exploring Prayer with Archbishop Justin Welby – YouTube

Tuesday 4 July 2023

Exploring Prayer – Part 2 of 5

In this second video, Archbishop Welby reflects on the question: “How do we pray when our lives – or the world – has gone wrong?

So much prayer that we find in the Bible – particularly in the Psalms – is lament, sorrow, rage and protest. It’s a normal way of praying for Jesus as well. He protests about injustice and cruelty. He stands up to people. He calls out to God for change. He weeps at the graveside of a friend.

So in this session, we talk about how we are honest with Jesus Christ and say to him, ‘This is not right!’

Those are the prayers that go straight to the heart of God. Those are the prayers Jesus collects in his arms and absorbs – as he absorbed all sorrow on the cross. He is with us always.”

Second Video: Learning to Lament (click on the link below)

Part 2 – Learning to Lament | Exploring Prayer with Archbishop Justin Welby – YouTube

Monday 3 July 2023 – Feast of St Thomas, Apostle

Exploring Prayer – Part 1 of 5

Recently, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, released five short videos exploring prayer. They’re very good.

Archbishop Justin says: “We can often think about prayer as a shopping list – going to God and asking him to do this, this and this. But prayer is so much more than that – it’s a relationship! It’s about opening our hearts to allow God to fill our lives with his presence, his wisdom and his love. Whatever we are bringing to God – our joys or our sorrows, our hope or our despair – nothing is ever lost with God. He hears all of our prayers. And when we pray with open hearts, we deepen our relationship with him.”

In the first video, the Archbishop explores what it means to pray and how you can get started if you have never tried before – or if you need a bit of a refresher, which we all do from time to time!

First Video: Asking God (click on the link below)

Part 1 – Asking God | Exploring Prayer with Archbishop Justin Welby – YouTube

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – 2 July 2023