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
10 December 2023
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : 2nd Sunday of Advent
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflections for the coming week
Gospel: Mark: 1:1-8
The beginning of the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the book of the prophet Isiah:
Look, I am going to send my messenger before you;
He will prepare your way.
A voice cries in the wilderness:
Prepare a way for the Lord,
Make his paths straight.
And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. John wore a garment of camel-skin, and he lived on locusts and wild honey. In the course of his preaching he said, ‘Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’
Gospel Reflection : Expectant People
The people who listened to John the Baptist were filled with expectation. They thought their hopes for a Messiah were about to be fulfilled. They expected a powerful liberator who by force would free them from Roman occupation, and lead Israel into a new era of peace and justice.
It was this particular expectation which made it difficult to recognise Jesus and accept that he offered them something greater – something that could affect not only their lives but everyone throughout the whole world.
There are times when God doesn’t seem to act according to our expectations either. Or perhaps we expect too little of him, or nothing at all, and this prevents us seeing where he is in action for us right now. Christians should be expectant people, because if we want Christ’s love enough then he will be born in our lives too, and be present with us in all the situations we get ourselves into, and those terrible situations which just seem to happen and threaten us, like now.
We Remember In Our Prayers: Edward Hooker whose Funeral was last week, Dorothea Hargreaves whose Funeral Mass is at St. Teresa’s on Friday, 15th December at 11 am, Janet Lavin whose Funeral is at St. Teresa’s on Thursday, 28th January, at 12 noon, and Barry Kershaw whose Funeral is at St. Teresa’s on Friday, 5th January 2024, at 10 am. We remember them and their families, and all those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they all be in God’s peace.
This Weekend There Is The Regular Special Collection For The Work Of The Members of The St. Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) At St. Teresa’s
Over the past year the members of the SVP at St Teresas church, have provided help in many areas. This has included visits to parishioners who live in Care Homes. their own homes, and Hospital. The SVP members also visit homeless hubs, like the Salvation Army and those who are hungry, and provide a number of essential items. These include milk, tea, coffee, cereals, soups, and toiletries etc.
Help is also given to support those who come to the Presbytery door and the Food Pantry when required. In addition to this, financial donations are given to the Food Bank in Fleetwood, Cafod, and support to St Teresas Pantry. A yearly donation is also given to a school in India.
This Christmas, a joint venture by the SVP and the Blackpool Rotary Club has provided 40 Christmas Shoe Boxes to be given to Homeless people. Additionally, Weatherproof sleeping bags have been bought for distribution to the homeless over the Winter. These boxes will be available for you to see at the back of church this weekend. You will be able to see for yourself the contents of the boxes with items for men and women. Basic things like toiletries, underwear, gloves, hats, and warm drinks.
Without the generosity of our Parishioners we would not have been able to provide these things. On behalf of the SVP we would like to thank you so much for your support. Many thanks and a very Happy Christmas to you all.
Next Saturday, ‘Carols In Cleveleys’ : Join with local churches to sing Carols and share Christmas joy together, 11 am – 11. 30 am on Saturday, 16th December, outside Poundland, Victoria Road, Cleveleys (Weather Permitting!)
A Warm Wednesday Afternoon Welcome If you are on your own after Christmas, on Wednesday 27th December, why not join us for a festive afternoon, 12 noon – 3.00 pm, in St. Teresa’s Parish Hall. Come and pull a ‘cracker’ and meet some old or new friends, with food and a ‘natter’ to while away the afternoon. If you would like to be there, let us know, purely for catering numbers. Call Sue or Bernard 07889 532158 / 07515 347256.
Sunday Morning Mass Times At St. Teresa’s : St. Teresa’s Parish Pastoral Council has been giving considerable thought to the number of Sunday Masses we have at St.Teresa’s Church, aware of the changing circumstances we have in all our parishes, including the decrease in the number of priests, and the increase in ages of those priests who remain. It is therefore proposed that there should be one Sunday morning Mass, and that at 10 am. There will still be the Saturday evening Mass at 6. 30 pm, and the Sunday evening Mass at St. John Southworth Church at 5 pm. The Council is also aware that this will upset the long-established routine of Sunday morning parishioners, but sincerely hopes that you will feel able to to accept and support this change as being both a necessary and important change for the Parish. It is suggested that the starting date of the new Sunday morning Mass time of 10 am, replacing the 9 am and 10.30 am Masses, will be in the new year, Sunday 14th January 2024.
A Big Thank You Too for the good number of people who attended the Advent Scripture Meeting on Friday Night. This was an opportunity to have some peaceful, spiritual preparation for Christmas by reflecting on the Advent Sunday Mass Scripture Readings. This will take place again, in the church sacristy, 7-8 pm, next Friday, 8th December, and Friday, 15th December, looking at the Readings for the following Advent Sunday. The Readings are provided. Everyone will be made very welcome.
Christmas Mass Times :
St Teresa’s : Sunday 24th December (Christmas Eve) 6.30 pm
Monday 25th December (Christmas Day) 9 am and 10.30 am
St. John Southworth : Monday, 25th December (Christmas Day) 10 am
(There is no 5pm Mass on Sunday 24th December)
The Church Shop, in the porch at St. Teresa’s Church, is open before and after each weekend Mass. In addition to the gifts and Christmas cards on sale, we also have a daily prayer and Scripture journey through Advent booklet, ‘Walk with Me’, priced £1.
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.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (“Letters from a Russian monk” Fr. John)
You write that you are much occupied with every day cares, and prayer goes badly. You must recognise that you are living in the world. How could you live without cares? You read the Scriptures but do not understand the power of their teaching. For even the Hoy Fathers did not live without cares and they sometimes felt very weak. It is not necessary to fear weakness. If a person recognises their weakness and repents, the Lord in his mercy will not remember their weakness and sins.
Scripture (Ps. 85:1-2,6-11)
Yahweh, you are gracious to your land, you take away the guilt of your people, you blot out all their sin. I will hear what the Lord God has to say, a voice that speaks of peace for his people if only they renounce their folly. His saving help is near for those who fear him, his glory will dwell in our land. Mercy and faithfulness have met, justice and peace have embraced. Justice shall march before him and peace shall follow his steps.
Tuesday (C.S.Lewis)
Now what sort of ‘hole’ has man got himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. This process of surrender is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than simply eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years.
Scripture (Mark 1:4-8)
And so it was that John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. All Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. In the course of his preaching he said, ‘Someone is following me , someone who is more
powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals. I have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.
Wednesday (St. John of the Cross)
Mary Magdalene, in spite of her past, paid no heed to the crowds of people, prominent as well as unknown, at the banquet. She did not consider the propriety of weeping and shedding tears in the presence of our Lord’s guests. Her only concern was to reach him for whom her soul was already wounded and on fire, without any delay and without waiting for another, more appropriate time.
Scripture (Philippians 3:12-16)
I have not yet reached my goal, but I am still pursuing it in an attempt to take hold of the prize for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not reckon myself as having taken hold of it; I can only say that forgetting all that lies behind me, and straining forward to what lies in front, I am racing towards the finishing point to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. So this is the way in which all of us who are mature should be thinking. Let us go forward from the point which we have attained.
Thursday (Charles de Foucauld)
When thinking about the happiness of God, a deep peace floods the soul, transitory things are nothing. We are walking towards God, contemplating His immense happiness and rejoicing for ever in the thought of the infinite, perfect, unchangeable happiness of this God we love; we are happy with the happiness of the Beloved, and the thought of His unchangeable peace calms the soul. The sight of my own nothingness does not weigh me down: it helps me forget myself and think only of Him who is all in all.
Scripture (Isaiah 40:1-5)
“Console my people, console them” says your God. “Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and cry to her that her period of service is ended, that her guilt has been atoned for.” A voice cries “Prepare in the wilderness a way for the Lord. Make a straight highway for our God across the desert. Let every
valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be levelled. Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed and all mankind will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Friday (A New Catechism)
When we are filled with the joy of fulfilment, the experience opens up wider perspectives. It seems that it has overtones—the conviction that this is not just an accident. At such moments it seems as though something in us answered “Yes” when we asked the meaning of life. “Yes, there is a meaning. Our longings are meant to be fulfilled. We are safe and sure, founded on something boundless for our hearts.”
Scripture (2 Cor. 1:18-22)
As surely as God is trustworthy, what we say to you is not both Yes and No. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, was never Yes and No: his nature is all Yes. For in him is found the Yes to all God’s promises and therefore it is through him that we answer “Amen” to give praise to God. It is God who gives us a sure place in Christ and has both anointed us and marked us with his seal, giving us as pledge the Spirit in our hearts.
Martin Bennett