Parish Bulletin 22nd August 2021

St Teresa & St John Southworth Churches, Cleveleys

Fr Chris Cousens—Phone: 853340

Rev Bernard Ward (Deacon) (Tel: 858346) 

Enquiries for St John Southworth: Phone: 853340

22 August 2021

http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk

Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com

Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433                 

Contents:  ​Gospel Reflection

Notices 

Reflections for the coming week

Gospel

After hearing his doctrine many of the followers of Jesus said, ‘This is intolerable language.  How could anyone accept it?’  Jesus was aware that his followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this upset you?  What if you should see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before?

​‘It is the spirit that gives life,

​The flesh has nothing to offer.

​The words I have spoken to you are spirit 

​And they are life.

‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’  For Jesus knew from the outset those who did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.  He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’  After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him.  Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, who shall we go to?’  You have the message of eternal life, and we believe, we know that you are the Holy One of God.’

Gospel Reflection : :  The Aroma of Goodness

We pick up messages about what will give us a full life from many daily sources.

We are told to seek the fullness of life in keeping the body young, or in knowing ourselves, or in wealth and health, or in doing well in examinations or business.

We are told to seek the fullness of life in avoiding pain, in doing good, in loving others.

And, Jesus says, to seek the fullness of life is to know and live by some very basic truths :– That God our Father loves us, that we are brothers and sisters to one another, and that ‘good’ will always overcome ‘evil’.

So why do we sometimes turn up our noses when we get but a whiff of such simple goodness going on around us all the time?

We Remember In Our Prayers  Daniel Penswick, our school Governor, whose Funeral was last week (at English Martyrs, Poulton), and Barry Jones whose Funeral is at Carleton Crematorium on Friday, 27th August at 12.30 pm. We remember them and their families, and all those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they be in God’s peace.

Live-Streamed Mass    We are very sorry indeed that we were unable to live-stream the 10.30 am Mass last Sunday. We were unable to make the connection, which is normally quite simple, just before the Mass itself. Despite brave attempts to do so during the week, we were still not able to do so. Unfortunately our system designer/expert has been unavailable, so we are unsure of a broadcast this weekend. We do truly apologise for this, and ask for your forgiveness – and patience!  As they used to say in the early days of television, ” Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible”!

5th Cleveleys Rainbows, Brownies and Guides   have spaces for new members age 4-14 years. Our new term starts in September. If anyone is interested in this good news, please contact Kathryn Brimelow on 07522 146571. We thank Kathryn for this, who says “We are also recruiting new leaders”. So if anyone would like to consider helping this much-appreciated group, please phone Kathryn too.

BAPTISMS  :  We Welcome Into The Family Of The Church   Maeve Emelia Poole, Otis Peter Tirrell, Jude William Hind and Jacob Jack Brogan whose Baptisms have taken place this month. We are very aware of the frustration caused to parents because of the Covid regulations over the past eighteen months. Many parents had to postpone their child’s Baptism, some more than once. Baptisms are conducted at both our churches, St Teresa’s and St. John Southworth, on Sundays at 12 noon. To arrange a Baptism please phone Fr. Chris, 01253 853340.

Used Stamps  :  St Patrick’s Missionary Society are again asking us to save the used stamps we receive, and hand them in to be sold for their missionary funds – and yes that does mean any stamp we receive, however lowly we might think it looks! They can use them all. Pat has very kindly put a box to collect these, in the outer porch of St. Teresa’s church, on the table next to the church door.

Youth Event  :  Local Christian Churches are supporting a Youth Event for young people of High School age +, a ‘Free Gig’ on Friday 27th August, 7.30 – 9.30 pm. This takes place at the Grange, Dinmore Avenue, Grange Park, Blackpool FY3 7RW. The event includes performances from OTC and SOULBOX, and is being organised by the Message. The Message is a UK Christian  charity delivering Christian schools work, creating Christian Youth resources whilst encouraging Christian mission. For more information email : emma.owen@message.org.uk

“You Have The Message Of Eternal LIfe“

We pick up messages

about what will give us full life

from many different sources.

We are told to seek the fullness of life

in keeping the body young,

or in knowing yourself,

or in prayer and fasting,

or in wealth and health.

We are told to seek the fullness of life

in avoiding pain

in doing good,

in loving others.

And Jesus asks us to seek the fullness of life

by knowing and living such simple truths –

that God our Father loves us,

That we are brothers and sisters,

and that good overcomes wrongdoing.

Jesus lived like this himself,

aware of his Father’s love,

and of his love for others,

and courageous in his victory over evil.

Daily Reflections for this week

Monday (Cardinal Basil Hume)

Our attitude must always be one recognising that it is never by any power of our own that we can take one step of progress in our understanding of the things of God. It is a gift, and one for which we must ask earnestly, sincerely, constantly. If we do not believe, we remain in the dark, we miss the true meaning of life and the future has no hope. Perhaps one of the greatest difficulties of our age, and for many Christians too, is that we only half believe, half doubt. We do not go the whole way and say “I believe” with total conviction. Our ability to make this act of faith is a gift from God for which we have to ask, and it demands a humility of mind which is not characteristic of contemporary society.

Scripture (Rev. 3:15-16,20-22)

I know about your activities, how you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were one or the other, but since you are neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Look, I am standing at the door knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share a meal at that person’s side. Anyone who proves victorious, I will allow to share my throne, just as I have myself overcome and have taken my seat with my Father on his throne. Let anyone who can hear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Tuesday (C.S.Lewis.)

I think that all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond. One has a glimpse of a country where they do not talk of those things, except perhaps as a joke. Everyone there is filled full with what we should call goodness as a mirror is filled with light. But they do not call it goodness. They do not call it anything. They are not thinking of it. They are too busy looking at the source from which it comes.

Scripture (Joshua 24:2-3,14-15)

Joshua then said to all the people: ‘Yahweh the God of Israel says this: “From the time immemorial, your ancestors lived beyond the River and served other Gods. I then brought your ancestor Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the length and the breadth of Canaan. So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the Gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. But if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you now live. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

 Wednesday (2nd Vatican Council—The Church Today)

For its part, authentic freedom is an exceptional sign of the divine image within us. For God has willed that we be left ‘in the hand of our own counsel’ so that we can seek our Creator spontaneously and come freely to utter and blissful perfection through loyalty to him. Hence our dignity demands that we act according to a knowing and free choice. Such a choice is personally motivated and prompted from within. It does not result from blind internal impulse nor from mere external pressure.

Scripture (Psalm 40:5-8)

How much you have done, Yahweh my God—your wonders, your plans for us—you have no equal. I will proclaim and speak of them; they are beyond number. You wanted no sacrifice or cereal offering, but you gave me an open ear, you did not ask for burnt offering or sacrifice for sin; then I said ‘Here I am, I am coming.’ In the scroll of the book it is written of me, my delight is to do your will; your law, my God, is deep in my heart.

Thursday (Fr. Michael Ivens, SJ)

(Explaining the Second Week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius)

The personal love of Christ, which is a grace, is a love which changes and re-orientates the whole person. It is the love by which we allow the loved-one to take over our lives, to lead us along his own ways towards his own objectives, the love by which we trust ourselves to the other’s power to change us. A person advancing through contemplation in a love of this kind is made especially aware of certain specific qualities of the true life in Christ, and experiences these as desirable.

Scripture (John 6:63-69)

Jesus said ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’  He went on, ‘That is why I told you that no one could come to me except by the gift of the Father.’ After this many of his disciples went away and accompanied him no more. Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’ Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom should we go? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe; we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.’

Friday (Jean Vanier)

A Christian community will always be running against the tide of society, with its individualistic values of wealth and comfort and resulting rejection of the people who get in the way of these. A Christian community constantly calls its members to share, to welcome, become poorer and go beyond their resources to a truer love. It is important to be reminded of the precise goals of the community, its calls and its origins. Too often, the essential is obscured in a thousand and one activities. People no longer know why they are together or to what they should be witnessing. They discuss the details but forget what brought them together.

Scripture (2 Cor. 4:3-4,6)

If our gospel seems to be veiled at all, it is so to those who are on their way to destruction, the unbelievers who have been blinded by the god of this world, so that they cannot see shining the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. It is God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ that has shone into our hearts to enlighten them with the knowledge of God’s glory, the glory on the face of Christ.

Martin Bennett