Parish Newsletter 7th February 2021

Sunday  : Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Contents:  ​The Gospel Reflection

Notices  (Including details of Live-Streamed Mass)

Reflections for the coming week

Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue, Jesus went with James and John straight to the house of Simon and Andrew.  Now Simon’s mother-in-law had gone to bed with fever, and they told him about her straightaway.  He went to her, took her by the hand and helped her up, and the fever left her and she began to wait on them.  That evening after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were suffering from diseases of one kind or another; he also cast out many devils, but he would not allow them to speak, because they knew who he was.

In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house, and went off to a lonely place and prayed there.  Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him they said, ‘Everybody is looking for you.’  He answered, ‘Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring country towns, so that I can preach there too, because that is why I came.’  And he went all through Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out devils.

Gospel Reflection :  “Open 24 Hours”

Reading the Gospel for this Sunday we may be reminded that Jesus had a very busy life. And yet elsewhere in the Scriptures we are told that to do the work he had been given it was essential for him to find a “lonely place and pray”..

Some of us have a lot of things to do. “Open 24 Hours” is the sign people expect to see on more than garage forecourts. And yet we can find a ‘lonely place’ elsewhere, as we may have done  

during lockdown, or will do again during this coming season of Lent. The ‘lonely place’ is not necessarily far away, or for those who live alone. We can find a place to pray within ourselves, in the room of our own hearts. It is there that plans are hatched and our hopes fostered, and where our real self resides.

This room is with us at all times. We carry it around wherever we are. We could make it a place where we can go, by putting aside some time of our own choosing.. Then with others we might find a wonderful discovery – that that place is not a lonely place at all, but occupied by the God of love who dwells in us all.

Notices

We Remember In Our Prayers  Gerard Brimelow and Marion Broxton whose Funerals were last week, Rita Cullen whose Funeral Mass is at St. Teresa’s on Thursday, 18th February, Betty Walsh whose Funeral is at Carleton Crematorium on Monday 22nd February, and Anita Aisbitt whose Funeral is also at Carleton Crematorium on Friday, 26th February. We remember them and their families, and continue to remember Bishop Patrick O’Donaghue, the former Bishop of our Diocese, who died on 24th January. May they all rest in God’s peace. NB. There is a statement of appreciation for Bishop Patrick printed in this Newsletter.

St. Teresa’s 100 Club Winners For January :  

Gerard Brimelow, £15, Rachel Brimelow, £10, Pat Murray, £5

The 10 am Live-Stream Mass From St. Teresa’s

Very sincere apologies for the technical fault last Sunday which made the Mass impossible to follow because of the sound. It was a problem we didn’t know about at the time, until so many people contacted us after the Mass, many thinking the fault was on their equipment, and so had kept trying for ages until they rightly gave up. It must have been so annoying! The fault was from our website, and we now hope that after a lot of testing and change, everything will be alright this Sunday. We thank Giles for his explanation and apology which he put on our website after the event last Sunday. You will find it in the News/Blog section, under the title “Update on the Live Streaming Mass for 31st January 2021”.

To join the live-streamed Mass this Sunday, which is now at 10 am, and will be throughout the lock-down, please search for the new website name st-teresas-cleveleys.co.uk That will take you to the “Welcome” page of the website. On the right at the top of that page you will see “Live-streaming”. Click on that and you will be taken to a picture of the Last Supper.. At the bottom of that are the words “Watch now”, which you can click on to when you want to join the Sunday, 10 am Mass, or even Masses that have already been recorded.

A Prayer That We Can All Say Together At The Time Of Communion At A LIve-Streamed Mass :

My Jesus, I believe that you are in the Blessed Sacrament. 

I love you above all things, 

and I long for you to be with me. 

Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally, 

come spiritually into my heart. 

I embrace you, 

and unite myself to you. 

Never permit me to be separated from you. 

Amen

Media Statement from the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster.

Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue, Fifth Bishop of Lancaster. RIP.

It is with great sadness that Bishop Paul Swarbrick and the Diocese of Lancaster acknowledge the death of Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue, who served as the fifth Bishop of our Diocese from July 4th, 2001 until his retirement on 1st May 2009. Since his retirement he lived near to his family in County Cork, still actively involved in the mission of the local church there. His family had a continuous and loyal place in his heart throughout his life and we send to them our prayers and condolences as well as our gratitude for bringing to us a man strong in faith and compassionate in spirit as our Bishop. 

Bishop Patrick was born in Mourneabbey, County Cork, on 4th May 1934, the middle child of five children born to Daniel and Sheila O’Donoghue. His education was received at the Patrician Academy in Cork, then continued when he moved to England in 1959 at the age of 25. His formation as a priest began at Osterley House then on to Allen Hall seminary in London. He was ordained as priest of the Westminster Diocese in 1967. In his life as a priest, Bishop Patrick served in a variety of responsibilities including being Rector of Allen Hall seminary and as Administrator of Westminster Cathedral. In 1993 he was ordained Bishop by Cardinal Hume and served as an auxiliary Bishop in West London before being installed as the fifth Bishop of Lancaster in 2001.

As Bishop of Lancaster, he chose the words “blessed are the poor” as the motto for his Crest of office. The choice of these words helps us as a diocese remember this essential part of his ministry as our Bishop. Many people will remember the sale of the previous Bishop’s House in Lancaster, with some of the proceeds going to support the work of charities which assist the poor. We also recall his outreach and voiced concern following the Morecambe Bay Cockle Pickers tragedy in 2004 when at least twenty-one migrant people were drowned. Within the life of the Diocese, he guided us through several “Fit for Mission?” reviews, the fruit of them still informing the life of the Diocese today. 

Bishop Patrick was always a man of the people, but never afraid to gently speak the truth as he best understood it, even when it might bring him difficulty or ridicule. In November 2020, his family published a tribute to him called “Life Stories: Bishop Padraig O’Donoghue”. In there he has the following words about his life which speak with clarity of the man he was, and the life he lived: 

“I would wish to be remembered by my parishioners and fellow priests as a man of great faith, as a man who was not afraid to ‘upset the apple cart’. As a Bishop it was my responsibility to guide parishioners on the path to God. If I were asked what I view as my greatest legacy in life, then I would have to say that it was my work in establishing ‘The Passage’ in central London, the capital’s largest voluntary sector day centre for homeless and vulnerable people. I viewed myself as a simple priest who had a great desire to help my fellow man, to try to make a difference in people’s lives.” 

In prayer we commend his life and his eternal soul to Almighty God. 

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord,

Let perpetual light shine upon him 

May he rest in peace. Amen.

Daily Reflections for this week

 Monday (Viktor Frankl)

One time we were at work in a trench. The dawn was grey around us; grey the snow in the pale light of dawn; grey the rags in which my fellow prisoners were clad, and grey their faces. I was struggling to find the reason for my sufferings, my slow dying. In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend that hopeless, meaningless world, and from somewhere I heard a victorious “Yes!” to my question of the existence of an ultimate purpose. In spite of all the enforced physical and mental primitiveness of the life in a concentration camp, it was possible for spiritual life to deepen.

Scripture (Rom 8:35-39)

Can anything cut us off from the love of Christ—can hardships or distress or persecution, or lack of food or clothing, or threats or violence? No; we come through all these things triumphantly victorious, by the power of him who loved us. For I am certain of this: neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nothing already in existence and nothing still to come, nor any power, nor the heights or the depths, nor any created thing whatever will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tuesday (Martin Luther King Jnr.)

My experience with God had given me a new strength and trust. I knew now that God is able to give us the interior resources to face the storms and problems of life. Let this affirmation be our ringing cry. It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of 

freedom. When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a great benign Power in the universe whose name is God, and he is able to make a way out of no-way, and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.

Scripture (Ps. 40:10-12,16-17)

I have not kept your saving justice locked in the depths of my heart but have spoken of your constancy and saving help. I have made no secret of your faithful and steadfast love in the great assembly. For troubles surround me until they are beyond number; my sins have overtaken me; I cannot see my way. They outnumber the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me. But joy and happiness in you to all who seek you! Let them ceaselessly cry ’Great is Yahweh’ who lve your saving power. Poor and needy as I am, the Lord has me in mind. You, my helper, my Saviour, my God, do not delay. 

Wednesday (Henri Nouwen)

We tend to divide our past into good things to remember with gratitude and painful things to accept or regret. This way of thinking, which at first glance seems quite natural, prevents us from allowing our whole past to be the source from which we live our future. It locks us into a self-involved focus on our gain or comfort. If God is to be found in our hard times, then all of life can open us to God’s work among us. As we come to God with our hurts—honestly not superficially—something life-changing can begin slowly to happen. We discover how God is the one who invites us to healing. We realise that any dance of celebration must weave both the sorrows and the blessings into a joyful step.

Scripture (Philippians 4:4-7)

Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful. Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything, but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Thursday (Thomas Cullinan, OSB)

I think that staying power is a quality we need very badly. People seem to lack long-term courage, that creative patience—not apathy, but the sort of patience that knows how to go on and on until the end appears—to hang on to the vision until it is possible to be creative with it, and not to give up one’s vision just because the thing seems hopeless. The New Testament writers had a word for it: “hypomene”. It meant “patient endurance,” the ability to be poised to do what needed doing even though all the going seemed to be against one. And that staying power calls on deep spiritual resources, on a deep peace within ourselves.

Scripture (Ps. 22:1-2,19, 22-25)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The words of my groaning do nothing to save me. My God, I call by day but you do not answer, at night, but I find no respite. Yahweh, do not hold aloof! My strength, come quickly to my help. I shall proclaim your name to my brothers, praise you in full assembly. For he has not despised nor disregarded the poverty of the poor, has not turned away his face, but has listened to the cry for help. 

Friday (Fr. Richard Rohr.)

Rising and dying are closely related. Despair, I suspect, is another kind of dying and another kind of pain. It is not so much the loss of persons as the loss of ideals, visions and plans. The crash of images is experienced as a death of the spirit, as a loss of hope, as a darkness almost too much to bear. Until we walk with this despair, we will not know that our hope was hope in ourselves, in our successes, in ourpower to make a difference, in our image of what perfection and wholeness should be. Until we walk with this despair, we will never uncover the hope on the other side of human achievement. Until we allow the crash and crush of our images we will never discover the real life beyond what only seems like death.

Scripture (Mk. 1:32-38)

That evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were possessed by devils. The whole town came crowding round the door, and he cured many who were sick with diseases of on kind or another; he also drove out many devils. In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and went to a lonely place and prayed there. Simon and his companions set out in search of him, and when they found him said “Everybody is looking for you.” He answered “ Let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring towns, so that I can proclaim the message there too, because this is why I came.”

Martin Bennet