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
21 August 2022
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : The Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflections for the coming week
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30
Throughout towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
‘Once the Master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying “Lord, open to us” but he will answer “I do not know where you come from.”
Then you will find yourself saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”
“Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of God.
‘Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
Gospel Reflection : Through The Narrow Door
The way to happiness is through the narrow door. This is the happiness-way of Jesus himself.
We may think that the way to happiness is to try everything, and find happiness through a whole variety of experiences; or to possess as much as we can, and try to find happiness through wealth and material things; or to build up acquaintance with people of the right connections, and find happiness in our circle of contacts. Yet, Jesus talks about a narrow door, and people who are last being first.
Jesus seemed to find happiness in the way he treated people, with acceptance and real love, and with sharing and giving his life for them. That is the sort of happiness he means : the happiness coming from commitment to family and friends, and to those in our care, including those who others don’t seem to care about; making the best of failures, and finding spaces and times for prayer, when we can know deep-down joy and peace of soul. This is the happiness of God, and this is the way which by example he has shown us that we are saved.
The door to happiness is narrow, but its foundations are deep. The door will allow us through because we have the key on our side to let us through, and we can take with us into the presence of God our lives and situations, just as they are.
We Remember In Our Prayers Gillian Fedyniak whose Funeral was last week, Trevor Caine whose Funeral Service is at Carleton Crematorium on Wednesday, 31st August at 10.30 am, Betty McCafferty whose Funeral Mass is at St. Teresa’s on Thursday 1st September at 12 noon, Michael Holden whose Funeral Service is at St. Teresa’s on Friday 2nd September at 10.45 am, and Vittorio Scannapieco whose Funeral Service is in the chapel at Poulton New Cemetery, on Friday, 9th September at 1 pm. We remember them and their families, and all those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they be in God’s peace.
We Welcome Into The Family Of The Church Ayda Leigh Clarke and Grayson William Clarke whose Baptisms take place this Sunday.
Gift Aid This week we were delighted to hear from our Diocesan Gift Aid Officer the amount of money from the last tax year which has been put into our Parish Bank accounts from our parishioners who have signed the Gift Aid Form for their weekly parish collection: £7,973 for St. Teresa’s and £1,567 for St. John Southworth. As our parish incomes have decreased over the last two and a half years, like for most charities, this is very welcome good news for us, and proves that if you are paying tax then signing up for Gift Aid is really worth doing. A big thank you to those who have done so. If anyone else would like to Gift Aid their collection money, then have a word with Fr. Chris.
More ‘Thank You’s‘ For Your Generosity Michelle Oakford from CAFOD has written to us : “Thank you to all parishioners at St. Teresa’s and St John Southworth for your generous support of CAFOD this year, and for your latest donation of £1,100 which we received on 12th August. Thank you to all those who signed the petition to Fix the Food System. Thank you so much for being there for our global family, and for donating to our World Food Crisis Appeal.
Your donations, through our network of local experts, will provide food and nutrition for families who are living through extreme hunger, as well as ongoing support for farming communities around the world. Together we can keep up the fight against the causes of poverty, hunger and injustice.”
Used Stamps : As St. Teresa used to say, it is sometimes the small things that can do a great good. At St. Teresa’s church, in the porch as you come into church, there is a box for our used stamps. These are used to support the Missions, and they are still wanted. Please keep this in mind if you get anything by post, and we thank Pat who still organises this for us.
The Sacrament of Confirmation for both St. Teresa’s and St. John Southworth parishes will take place on 11th November, at St. Teresa’s. This is for young people who will be in Year 8 in High School this September, and for anyone in the years above. There is an introductory meeting for the young people who wish to be Confirmed, and their parents, on Thursday, 6th October, at 6.30 pm in St. Teresa’s Church. Although contact is being made through Cardinal Allen R.C. High School, there may be other young people at other secondary schools who would like to be Confirmed. Would anyone wishing to be Confirmed please contact Fr. Chris (01253 853340).
100 Club Winners For July : Pat Meddows £15; Michael Westray £10; John Tirrell £5
Hiring St. Teresa’s Parish Hall : It is now possible to hire St. Teresa’s Parish Hall for some event of your own. For availability and advice please contact the Hall manager, Mike Holderness, on 01253 827230 or 07872 680645.
Education Mass at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Lancaster LA1 3BT on Friday, 7th October at 6.30 pm : All parishioners are invited to join Bishop Paul at the annual Diocese of Lancaster Education Mass. This invitation extends in a special way to all those involved in education and faith information – teachers, including those who teach outside the Catholic sector, catechists, youth workers, deacons and priests. The celebration gives us the opportunity to express our thanks and acknowledge the contribution made by all those in the Diocese involved in the work of education and formation in the faith. Together we also ask God’s blessing on the mission of education and formation in our Diocese. Please put the date in your diaries.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday Many Christian leaders have found themselves imprisoned in a life where all the words were already spoken, all events have already taken place, and all the people have already been met. But for those who have a deep-rooted faith in the value and meaning of life, every experience holds a new promise, every encounter carries a new insight, and every event brings a new message. Christian leadership is called ministry precisely to express that in service to others new life can be brought about. It is this service which gives eyes to see the flower breaking through the cracks in the street, ears to hear a word of forgiveness muted by hatred and hostility, and hands to feel new life under the cover of death and destruction. (Henri Nouwen)
Scripture (Isaiah 66:18-21)
The Lord says this: I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations. As an offering to the Lord they will bring all your brothers from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says the Lord. And some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord.
Tuesday Creation is the activity of an artist possessed by the vision of perfection. From this point of view, each human spirit is an unfinished product, on which the creative spirit is always at work. Various glimpses of one living Perfection wake up the love and desire for that living perfection, latent in every human creature, which is the same thing as the love of God. All our responses to the incitement of this hidden God, however it may reach us, follow much the same road. All mean, on the one hand, action, effort, renunciation of the narrow horizon, the personal objective; and on the other hand a deliberate and grateful response to the attraction of the unseen, deepening into a conscious communion which gradually becomes the ruling fact of life.(Evelyn Underhill)
Scripture (Colossians 1:15-20)
He is the image of the unseen God, the first born of all creation, for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers – all things were created through him and for him. He is the beginning, the first born form the dead, so that he could be supreme in every way; because God wanted all fullness to be found in him and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross.
Wednesday :Many pastoral workers, although they pray, develop a sort of inferiority complex [because of the influences of ‘the world’] which leads them to relativize or conceal their Christian identity and convictions. They end up being unhappy with who they are and what they do… they end up stifling the joy of mission with a kind of obsession about being like everyone else and possessing what everyone else possesses. It is striking that even some who clearly have solid doctrinal and spiritual convictions frequently fall into a lifestyle which leads to an attachment to financial security, or to a desire for power or human glory at all cost, rather than giving their lives to others in mission. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary enthusiasm! (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium)
Scripture (Luke 13:24-30) Jesus said, ‘Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. You may find yourself standing on the outside, saying, “Lord, open to us,” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will start saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets,” but he will say, “Away from me, all evil doers!” And there will be weeping and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. And people from east and west, north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. There are those now last who will be first and those now first who will be last.
Thursday In all that we do and at all times we should accustom ourselves to sharing in the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, in all that he did and chose not to do, in all that he suffered and experienced, and we should always be mindful of him as he was of us. You should freely practice those kind of works in which you find that you can and do possess a mind raised above all things into God. For God does not notice the nature of the works but only the love, the devotion and the spirit which is in them. (Meister Eckhart)
Scripture (Deuteronomy 30:15-17)
‘Look, today I am offering you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am laying down for you today, if you love the Lord your God and follow his ways, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord will bless you. But if your heart turns away, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other Gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish.
Friday This creature, although lost in her own self, found her true self in one instant in God. Although she thought herself to be very poor, yet she remained rich in the divine love. She, knowing the grace and operation to be all from God, remained lost in herself. She gave her free-will to God, and God thereupon worked with its means. O great wonder to see God having so great care of human beings! All tongues are incapable of expressing it, all intellects of understanding it. That person becomes foolish in the eyes of the world, to whom you, O Lord God, manifest even the slightest spark of your indescribable love. You, O God, wish to exalt humans. (St. Catherine of Genoa)
Scripture (Ephesians 3:8-11)
I, who am less than the least of all God’s holy people, have been entrusted with this special grace, of proclaiming to the gentiles the unfathomable treasure of Christ, and of throwing light on the inner workings of the mystery kept hidden through all the ages in God, the creator of everything. The purpose of this was that now, through the Church, the principalities and ruling forces should learn how many-sided God’s wisdom is, according to the plan which he formed from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord
Martin Bennett