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
13 February 2022
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices (including information about the First Holy Communion programme)
Reflections for the coming week
Gospel (Luke 6:17.21-26)
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:
“How happy are you who are poor; yours if the kingdom of God.
Happy are you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
‘Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as
criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy,
for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets/
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors
Treated the fake prophets.’
Gospel Reflection : Happy/Blessed Are We?
Happy/Blessed are people who have lost a lot – is this what Jesus is saying in the Gospel today? People who have lost money and are poor, who have lost love and weep, who have lost food and are hungry? And we can think of people who have lost a lot, who are refugees or out of work, who are lonely or without loved ones and friends, and wonder what sort of happiness is this?
We can only ask if there have been times when life seemed very empty, and yet somehow there was space for peace because we become open before God in our need. When children leave home, either because they want to or they have to; when husband or wife dies, when marriage breaks up, when relationships go sour, the heart and soul are opened, and there is room for the love and care of God. Or in the middle of the pain and the disappointments, we know that some energy is around that gives us peace, not in place of what we miss but alongside it.
And we begin to know that there are many happinesses – some can last, like love and convictions, some last just a while, like youth and health, and some last forever, like faith, hope and love. But there is one blessing nobody can take from us, and that is the relationship God has with us, and the relationship we have with him in the ways Jesus has shown us. For in all of life’s experiences there is space for the blessing of God.
We Remember In Our Prayers Lynn Barlow whose Funeral is at Park Crematorium, Lytham on Tuesday 1st March at 11.30 am, and Ray Hargreaves whose Funeral has yet to be arranged. We remember them and their families, and all those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they be in God’s peace.
A Big Thank You From S.P.U.C. who are very grateful for the recent donations made to this year’s White Flower Appeal :– £142.89 from St. Teresa’s and £22.30 from St. John Southworth.
Church Flowers At St. Teresa’s : Unfortunately the ladies who have for many years done the flowers at Easter and Christmas have had to finish. We are very grateful for all they have done for us in the past, but if anyone is interested in taking this on please contact Jane Collier (Tel. 01253 864704) or Fr. Chris (01253 853340).
100 Club Winners For January :
Mary Holland £15, Patrick Mc Loughney £10, Diane Bajkowski £5
St Teresa’s Parish Council meets this Monday, 14th February, at 7 pm in the church sacristy.
Information About The First Holy Communion Programme Which Begins Very Soon
There is a meeting to introduce this year’s preparation for first Holy Communion, for both children and parents/guardians, on Monday, 21st February, 6.30pm in St Teresa’s church. This year First Holy Communion will be for children aged Year 4 in Primary School, and upwards, and will take place at St. Teresa’s church on Sunday 15th May. The meetings to prepare for this, for children and parents, will begin on Sunday, 27th February after the 10.30 am Mass at St. Teresa’s.
Please Note : These First Holy Communion arrangements, as always, are also for children who are in other schools besides St. Teresa’s, who are Baptised and within the age group outlined above.
Volunteers For CAFOD : A vital aspect of church is people being willing to share their talents, experience and energy. Could a resolution of yours this year be to volunteer for CAFOD? They have lots of different ways in which you can get involved, such as : –
* In the parish – where you will be highlighting CAFOD’s work to support communities globally who are living with injustices and in poverty.
* In local schools – where you will deliver assemblies and workshops about CAFOD’s work. No experience is necessary. Full support, resources and regular training are provided.
* Coordinating volunteers – to help CAFOD support, encourage and bring together a small group of volunteers.
If you would like to know more, please get in touch with Emma Nolan :
A Current CAFOD Campaign : Recently CAFOD have been campaigning for new legislation which would hold UK companies accountable when they fail to prevent human rights and environmental abuses. Will you email your MP now, and ask them for a new law?
Around the world, communities who work with CAFOD are experiencing the impacts of climate change, human rights abuses and environmental destruction, linked in some cases to activities of some UK companies. This has to stop. Pope Francis himself calls on us to strengthen national and internatonal legislation to regulate the activities of extractive companies, and to ensure access to justice for those affected. “Let’s all play our part in this.” If this new law is passed, it would have an incredibly positive effect on communities around the world; businesses who are profiting from abuses would be punished and stopped in their tracks, and they would pay compensation so the victims can live a dignified life. Please email your MP now and ask them to support this new law to end corporate abuse.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday ( Meister Eckhart)
You should not worry yourself about food or clothing, feeling that these things are too good for you, but train your mind and ground your being to be above them. If good things come to you, you should accept them as being good, but in such a way that you would accept them just as
willingly if they were different. We should give ourselves up entirely to God whenever he allows anything to befall us, whether insult, tribulation or any other kind of suffering. Willingly learn all things from God and follow him, and all will be well with you. You will be able to accept honour and comfort, and if dishonour and discomfort were your lot, you could and would be just as willing to endure these too. So they can justifiably feast who would just as willingly fast.
Scripture (Jeremiah 17:5-8)
The Lord says this ‘Accursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, who relies on human strength and whose heart turns from Yahweh. He is like scrub in the wastelands: when good comes, it does not affect him since he lives in the parched [places in the desert. Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit.
Tuesday (Fr. Michael Ivens, SJ )
Taken literally, the words riches and honour refer to material possessions, and social and ecclesiastical status. In the wider sense, they can be anything at all that meets the inherent human need for identity, security, esteem, love. The particular significance we attach to the things, situations or relationships that for us meet these needs, the quality of our desire for these, our criteria for seeking or accepting them—all this raises the basic issue of the kind of persons we are and want to be in relation to God and others.
Scripture (1Tim 6:7-11,17)
We brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. People who long to be rich are prey to trial; they get trapped in all sorts of foolish and harmful ambitions which plunge people into ruin and destruction. ‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith and so given their souls to any number of fatal wounds. Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud and should set their hopes, not on money, which is untrustworthy, but on God who gives us richly all we need for our happiness.
Wednesday (St. Francis of Assissi)
Let us be very careful of the malice and subtlety of Satan, who wishes that we do not raise our minds and hearts to God. He wishes to
ensnare the heart of a person under the guise of some reward or help, and to snuff out our memory of the word and the precepts of the Lord, and wishes to blind the heart of a person through worldly affairs and concerns. Therefore, let us be very much on our guard so that we do not lose or turn away our mind and heart from the Lord. But in the holy love which is God, I beg all, as they overcome every obstacle and put aside every care and anxiety, to strive as best they can to serve, love and honour the Lord God.
Scripture (Luke 6:20-26)
Jesus said to his disciples ‘How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall have your fill. Blessed are you who are weeping now: you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal on account of the Son of man. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets. But alas for you who are rich; alas for you who have plenty now. Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you.
Thursday (Oscar Romero)
A Christian’s authenticity is shown in difficult hours, in those
circumstances in which following the gospel supposes a multitude of ruptures with the tranquillity of an order that has been set up against or apart from the gospel. It is much easier to keep on following the many easy lords set up as idols of the moment: money, power, prestige and so on. How necessary in this difficult hour is a conscience docile to the Lord’s truth. More than ever is there need for prayer that out of intimacy with God cuts one off from the confused clamour of life’s shallow expediencies, a will to be converted that is not afraid to lose prestige or privilege.
Scripture (Mk. 10;17-23)
A man asked Jesus ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You know the commandments.’ And the man said to him, ‘Master, I have kept these since my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and was filled with love for him, and he said to him, ‘You need to do one thing more. Go and
sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘ How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God.’
Friday (Desert Fathers)
One of the holy men named Philagrius lived in Jerusalem and worked hard to earn himself enough to eat. When he was standing in the market square trying to sell what he had made, a bag full of coins fell on the ground near him. Philagrius thought ‘ the one who lost this must soon come back.’ Soon the man did come back looking very gloomy. Philagrius gave him his bag back. The man wanted to give the hermit some of the money, but the hermit would not take anything. Then the man began to call out ‘Come and see what the man of God has done.’ But Philagrius escaped unnoticed and went out of the town, so that they should not know what he had done, nor pay him honour.
Scripture (Deuteronomy 6:10-13)
When the Lord has brought you into the country which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, with great and prosperous
cities that you have not built, with houses full of good things you have not provided, with wells you have not dug, with vineyards and olive trees you have not planted, and then, when you have eaten as much as you want, be careful you do not forget God who has brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God is the one you must fear, him alone you must serve, his is the name by which you must swear.
Martin Bennett