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 May 2023
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : Seventh Sunday of Easter
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflections for the coming week
Gospel: John 17:1-11
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Father, the hour has come:
Glorify your Son
So that your Son may glorify you;
And through the power over all mankind that you have given him,
Let him give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him.
And eternal life is this:
To know you,
The only true God,
And Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I have glorified you on earth
And finished the work
That you gave me to do.
Now, Father, it is time for you to glorify me
With that glory I had with you
Before ever the world was.
I have made your name known
To the men you took from the world to give me.
They were yours and you gave them to me,
And they have kept your word.
Now at last they know
That all you have given me comes indeed from you;
For I have given them
The teaching you gave to me,
And they have truly accepted this, that I came from you,
And have believed that it was you who sent me.
I prat for them;
I am not praying for the world
But for those you have given me,
Because they belong to you:
All I have is yours
And all you have is mine,
And in them I am glorified.
I am not in the world any longer,
But they are in the world,
And I am coming to you.
Gospel Reflection : Jesus Prays For You
In the hours before Jesus’ death, you might wonder what was on his mind. Did he wonder about the success of his mission, or how his message would be spread? Maybe, or maybe not.
But we do know that he prayed for his friends. From the supper room, where he looked at his friends with love and sadness in his heart, he prayed for them, and assured them that he would always be with them in bread and wine, when they celebrated the meal which remembered him. And on the cross he looked on all his friends who stood at a distance. And he looked beyond his friends to all who down the ages would believe in him.
He prays for you now, as he prayed for you then – praying like a parent for a child, a grandparent for a grandchild, a friend for a friend.
Allow him to pray for you. Allow him to reach out to you in love, for real prayer teaches us to love one another. And join with his prayer for those you wish to pray for. “May they all be one.”
We Remember In Our Prayers Dorothy Greaves whose Funeral was last week, Stephen Tormey whose Funeral is at Carleton Crematorium on Wednesday, 24th May, at 9.30 am, Michael Martin whose Funeral Service is at St. John Southworth church on Thursday, 1st June at 10.30 am, Ronald Cole whose Funeral is at St. Teresa’s church on Friday 9th, June at 11 am, and Anne Beswick, whose Funeral is at St. Teresa’s church on Monday 19th, June at 12 noon. 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 Elijah Paul Johnson – Wright, whose Baptism is at St. Teresa’s this Sunday.
We Congratulate and Pray for Every Blessing for Chris and Andre Glynn, who celebrate their Diamond Wedding Anniversary next Thursday, 25th May.
This Weekend, at each Mass, there is the annual Special Collection to support the work of the Catholic Media Office in this country.
On Monday 26th, June, Our Parish Deacon, Bernard Ward, Celebrates His 25th Anniversary of Ordination. There will be a Silver Jubilee Mass that day at 6.30 pm in St. Teresa’s Church, followed by a celebration in the Parish Hall. Anyone from both our parishes is most welcome.
As is our tradition, there will be a special collection for Bernard in order to give him a money gift on the night. This collection will take place in both our churches next weekend at each Mass, so if you can kindly donate please come prepared.
Because we need at least a rough number of those who intend to be in the Hall that night, for food catering purposes, please will you help us in one of two ways. Either add your name to the piece of paper which will be at the back of church this weekend and the next, or phone Isobel on 01253 859952, and leave a message with her. If for any reason you cannot stay for the celebration after Mass you are of course still very welcome to attend the Mass itself.
The 100 Club Winners for April : Stan Rawcliffe £15, Astrid Porter £10, Mary Jones £5.
A Very Big Thank You From the Thornton Cleveleys Friends of Trinity Hospice. The Secretary, Kathryn Burn, writes on their behalf “We had a well attended Coffee Morning last Saturday, and raised just over £800, which is excellent. All the money we raise goes to ensuring that palliative care remains freely available to those in our community who need it. Your support, including from the parishioners of St. Teresa’s and St John Southworth, is greatly appreciated. Thank you once again for supporting us and caring about others in this way.”
A Message Too From CAFOD : Did you know that Church teaching says that we should not only support those in poverty but also tackle the root causes of poverty? Pope Benedict XVI said that “Love – Caritas – is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace.” For decades CAFOD, the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, has spoken out against injustice. To find out more and get involved in tackling the root causes of poverty, please go to cafod.org.uk/latestcampaigns
The Food Pantry at St. Teresa’s Church is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10.30 am – 12 noon, and on Wednesday, 2.30 pm – 4 pm. NB the food pantry is not open on Monday, 29 May (bank holiday).
The ‘Warm Space’ takes place in St. Teresa’s Church Hall on Wednesday afternoons, 2 pm – 4 pm. All welcome.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (A Carthusian monk)
From time to time, God allows peace to well up from the soul and to pervade the nature of our senses. There is, as it were, a sudden uprising which makes us conscious of it. It is by faith that we perceive the divine Truth, and in particular the presence and action of God with us. Faith introduces us into another and higher world, that of God of which it is the light. Ask Jesus, then, to make this wonderful light shine more and more in our hearts—this light which, little by little, becomes love, and which is the true life.
Scripture (Psalm 33:13-15,18,20-22)
From heaven, the Lord looks down, he sees all the children of Adam. From the place where he sits he watches all who dwell on the earth; he alone moulds their hearts, he understands all they do. We are waiting for the Lord; he is our help and our shield, for in him our heart rejoices, in his holy name we trust. Lord, let your faithful love rest on us, as our hope has rested in you.
Tuesday (St. John of the Cross)
Tranquillity and repose in God is not all darkness to the soul but tranquillity and repose in the divine light and in a new knowledge of God, whereby the mind is raised to a divine light. The mind, tranquil and reposing in God, is raised up from the darkness of natural knowledge to the morning light of supernatural knowledge of God; not clear, indeed, but dim, like the night at the approaches of the dawn. In this tranquillity the understanding is lifted up in a strange way above its natural comprehension to the divine light.
Scripture Acts 1:3-4,9-11
He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the Kingdom of God. While at table with them he told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Now, having met together, he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky as he went when two men in white were stood beside them, and they said, ‘This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way as you have seen him go into heaven.’
Wednesday (Fr. P Lallemant, SJ)
Without contemplation one will never make much progress in virtue, and will never be much use in helping the progress of others. One will never be quite free from imperfections, always being attached to earth and never rising above the feelings of nature. But with contemplation, one will do more, both for oneself and for others, in a month than one could do without it in ten years. Contemplation produces the very acts of sublime love of God and it perfects faith and all other virtues, lifting them to the highest degree to which it is possible to rise.
Scripture (Matthew 28:16-20) The eleven disciples set out for Galilee to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, “ All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always, yes to the end of time.”
Thursday (Fr. Richard Rohr)
As a people, we are afraid of silence. That’s our major barrier to prayer. I believe silence and words are related. Words that don’t come out of silence probably don’t say much. They are probably more unloading our own thoughts than a communicating. Yet words feed silence—that’s why we have the word of God. But that word doesn’t bear much fruit—it really doesn’t break open the heart of the Spirit—unless it’s tasted and chewed, unless it’s felt and suffered at a level beyond words. That running from silence is undoubtedly running from our souls, ourselves, and therefore, from God. If I had to advise on thing for spiritual growth, it would be silence.
Scripture (Lamentations 3:22-26)
Surely the Lord’s mercies are not over, his deeds of faithful love not exhausted; every morning they are renewed; great is his faithfulness! ‘The Lord is all I have,’ I say to myself, ‘and so I shall put my hope in him.’ The Lord is good to those who trust him, to all who search for him. It is good to wait in silence for the Lord to save.
Friday (Brother Lawrence)
When the mind has developed some bad habits of wandering and inattention, they are difficult to overcome and they draw us, in spite of ourselves, to earthly things. I do not advise you to do much talking at prayer, for much talking is often the occasion of wandering. Hold yourself before God, keeping in mind the presence of the Lord. If your mind wanders and withdraws at times do not be disturbed; the will must call it back quietly. One way to do this during the time of prayer is not to allow it to strive too much during the day. It must be kept strictly in the presence of God. Being accustomed to remember him from time to time, it will be easy to remain quiet during your prayers.
Scripture(Col.3:1-4)
Since you have been raised up to be with Christ, you must look for the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at God’s right hand. Let your thoughts be on things above, not on the things that are on the earth, because you have died, and now the life you have is hidden with Christ in God. But when Christ is revealed—and he is your life—you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.
Martin Bennett