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
3 September 2023
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : The 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflections for the coming week
Gospel:
Matthew: 16:21-27
Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. “Heaven preserve you Lord,” he said. “This must not happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way, but man’s”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let me renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life with lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.”
Gospel Reflection : Happen It Won’t Happen – Happen It Might
Where before have we heard Peter’s comment to Jesus in today’s Gospel? Isn’t it true that we do sometimes think or say : ‘It must not happen’ or ‘It should never have happened’. So : –
The person I love must not reject me. This body of mine must not let me down. I must not fail – my exam, my family, my own expectations. This must not happen to me.
Or – This love should not have failed. He or she should never have died. This employment should not have ended. This must not happen to me.
But, are there not new ways of seeing life? Despite all our anger and sorrow, failure is not the end, and may lead to some new strength. Love which dies, may later
be renewed elsewhere.
All of life’s events – the ones we choose, the ones which just happen – challenge us to trust in a Life that is bigger than any of us. or do we think we have our lives, and God’s, all sown up! This must not happen to us!
We Remember In Our Prayers Rod Yiannaki, whose Funeral is at St. Teresa’s on Wednesday, 20th September, at 10.30 am, and Freya Coppen, whose Funeral is at St. Teresa’s on Monday, 25th September at 11 am. We remember them, and their families, at this very sad time. May they all be in God’s love and peace.
A Very Big Thank You to all those who organised and supported in any way the Table Top Sale last weekend. A very much appreciated amount was raised through that event : £724.70. This is all going to help stock St. Teresa’s Food Pantry, which is open each weekday. As you might imagine, there are times when, despite people’s ongoing donations, the cupboards are running a little bare. The money raised will be a great help, and Sue Ward and all the volunteers she organised can be rightly proud of what they have achieved.
Thank You Too for the money which was also given last week in the annual Collection Special for the National Catholic Trust, our own country’s Catholic Church Organisation which supports us in so many ways through its different departments. Each year we are levied in a similar way to the local authority Community Charge. This year the levy is : £993.26 from St. Teresa’s, and £184.45 from St. John Southworth. The amounts in the Special Collection last weekend – £165.95 at St. Teresa’s and £57.80 at St. John Southworth – will go a little way to paying what we owe.
Volunteers For Something Else : About a month ago a group of a dozen people did an incredible job to help clear up the weeds around St. Teresa’s Church. This Tuesday, 5th September, 11 am – 12 noon,
they are invited to do so again. Obviously, anyone else who would like to join them will be most welcome. Please bring your own tools.
The ‘Hub in the Hall’ Meetings, which take place in St. Teresa’s Church Hall each Wednesday, 2 pm – 4 pm, begin again this coming Wednesday, 6th September. All are very welcome.
The Food Pantry At St. Teresa’s Church is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10.30 am – 12 noon, and on Wednesdays, 2.30 pm – 4 pm
The Church Shop, in the porch at St. Teresa’s, is open before and after each Weekend Mass. You are very welcome to go in and browse.
Gaining and Losing
There is a way of losing by gaining :
You can win an argument but lose a friend.
Through competition and promotion
I may advance in my profession,
but in terms of relationships I am impoverished.
My energies are so focused on efficiency and success
that I haven’t time to grow emotionally
and to develop my capacity for relationships.
In our drive to attain power and control,
we could easily sacrifice friendship and loyalty,
so much so that we end up alone.
Lord, let me never forget your haunting words :
“What good will it do you to gain the whole world
if you lose your soul?”
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (Tolstoy, from Resurrection)
Nekhlyudov remembered how he had once meditated on his life and tried to solve the questions, what he ought to do and how he ought to do it; and he remembered how he had been unable to decide them, so many were the considerations in each. He now put to himself the same questions, and was astonished how simple it all was because he now took no thought of what would happen to himself. He thought “the whole meaning of the work which is carried out by our life is dark to me and cannot be made intelligible. To understand the whole work of the Master is not in my power; but to do his will, written in my conscience, that is in my power.
Scripture (Mk. 14:32-37)
When they came to Gethsemane, Jesus took Peter, James and John with him, and he began to feel terror and anguish. And he said to them” My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and stay awake.” Going a little further, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that if it were possible, this hour might pass him by. “Abba, Father, “he said “For you everything is
possible. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I would have it.
Tuesday (St. John of the Cross)
To practice virtue you should be constant in your religious observance and in obedience without any concern for the world, but only for God. In order to achieve this and to avoid being deceived, you should never set your eyes on the satisfaction or the dissatisfaction of the work at hand as a motive for doing it or failing to do it, but on doing it for God. Thus you must undertake all things, agreeable or disagreeable, for the sole purpose of pleasing God through them.
Scripture (1John 2:15-17)
Do not love the world or what is in the world. If anyone does love the world the love of the Father finds no place in him, because the disordered desires of the world and pride in possession are not from the Father but are from this world. And the world with all its disordered desires is passing away. But whoever does the will of God remains for ever.
Wednesday (Fr. Richard Rohr.)
When one attempts to live the reign of God in this world, one comes to know the cross through misunderstanding, difficulty, privation, persecution. The affluent and unpersecuted churches of the North have abandoned the life of the cross and pursued happiness and survival in this world. The cross is our salvation. It makes us holy. It frees us and liberates us for God and the great picture. It “opens the gates of heaven” by closing off our loyalties to hell. Through the cross, Jesus paid the price, not so we would not have to but so that we would in fact know that there is a price for truth and love: everything.
Scripture ( Mt. 16:21-24)
Jesus began to make it clear that he was destined to go toJerusalem and suffer grievously, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Peter started to rebuke him, saying “Heaven preserve you, Lord, this must not happen to you.” But Jesus turned and said to Peter “Get behind me
Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.” The he said to his disciples “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let them renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Thursday (Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate)
In the Beatitudes, we find a portrait of the Master, which we are called to reflect in our daily lives. The word “blessed” expresses the fact that those faithful to God and his word, by their self-giving, gain true happiness. Although Jesus’ words may strike us as poetic, they clearly run counter to the way things are usually done in our world. Even if we find Jesus’ message attractive, the world pushes us towards another way of living. The Beatitudes are in no way trite or undemanding, quite the opposite. We can only practise them if the Holy Spirit fills us with his power and frees us from our weakness, our selfishness, our complacency and our pride. Let us listen once more to Jesus, with all the love and respect that the Master deserves. Let us allow his words to unsettle us, to challenge us and to demand a real change in the way we live. Otherwise, holiness will remain no more than an empty word.
Scripture (Jeremiah 20:7-9)
You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger. I am a daily laughing-stock, everybody’s butt. Each time I speak the word, I have to howl and proclaim: ‘violence and ruin!’ The word of the Lord has meant for me insult, derision, all day long. I used to say, ‘I will not think about him, I will not speak his name any more.’ Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones. The effort to restrain it wearied me, I could not bear it.
Friday (General Synod of the Anglican Church in Canada)
Making plans does not produce vision. Seeking a fresh vision is a spiritual quest that involves living in ambiguity, waiting on God, dying to old ways, letting the Spirit blow where it will and being resurrected to face a new day in a new way. Grasping a vision requires “letting go” and being open to transformation. Making plans without waiting for the prophetic voice will result in restructuring of what is and not transformation.
Scripture (Romans 12:1-2)
Think of God’s mercy, brothers and sisters, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model your behaviour on the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.
Martin Bennett