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

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):