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
30 June 2024
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : Sts Peter and Paul
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflection
Gospel: Matthew: 16:13-19
When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put the question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and other Jeremiah or one of the prophets. ‘But you, he said, ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied. ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So now I say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’
Reflection : Eternity – A Ring of Confidence
Our life with God is a journey, sometimes uphill, other times level, through light and shadow, to the fullness of eternal joy.
It is a journey, sometimes gentle, sometimes strenuous, through doubt and faith, to the fullness of eternal life.
It is a journey, sometimes solitary, other times accompanied, through isolation and love, to the fullness of eternal friendship.
It is a journey in which we are never really alone. There are those around us now, and those who have gone before. Saints Peter and Paul are two of those, and we remember them today. They discovered an eternal message amongst all the hardships and worries of daily life. Like them we can live that message if, like them, our lives too are founded on the One who came to share his joy, his life, his friendship – Jesus himself.
We Remember In Our Prayers Eva Dunhill whose Funeral Service is at St. Teresa’s, on Wednesday, 26th June at 11.15 am and Barbara Pugh whose Funeral is at St, Teresa’s on Monday. 8th July at 11 am. We remember them and their families, and those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they all be in God’s peace.
We Welcome Into The Family Of The Church Isaac Eamon Brady whose Baptism takes place at St. Teresa’s this Sunday.
A Big Thank You Becky and Steve Connor write :” Last Sunday we were so pleased with the turn out and atmosphere the parish promoted at the coffee morning to support Mia going to Lourdes in July. Mia and her friend Izzy are really looking forward to the Pilgrimage, and helping the sick. They are overwhelmed by the generosity of parishioners in raising an amazing £743. They now have the money to fund the trip, and will be in touch when they return, and share their story. Becky and Steve would also like to thank their friends who helped to run the Coffee Morning.
Social Event : There will be a St. Teresa’s Community Party, on Saturday 20th July, starting 7 pm in St. Teresa’s Parish Hall. Tickets are £5. To book please phone Kathryn on 07522 146571. All are welcome.
The Annual Mass In Honour Of Blessed Edward Bamber is at St. Winefride’s House, Low Moor Road, Bispham, FY2 0PA on Thursday 11th July at 6. 30 pm. As always it will be celebrated by Bishop Paul and our Deanery clergy, and is followed by light refreshments. All are very welcome.
The SVP and CAFOD Are Working Together In The Run Up To The General Election In July: As Catholics, we know that tackling poverty and injustice are among the most important issues politicians should act on. The national St. Vincent de Paul Society and CAFOD have produced a guide for Catholics for the General Election, with suggested questions to ask the candidates. Please see cafod.org.uk/encounter or svp.org.uk/encounter for more information.
The Food Pantry, situated at the back of church at St. Teresa’s, is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 10.30 am – 12 noon, and on Wednesdays, 2.30 pm – 4 pm. We are so grateful for all the volunteers who work in the Pantry, and all those who donate contributions.
The Next Meeting of St. Teresa’s Parish Pastoral Council is on Monday 1st July, 7 pm in the church sacristy.
Creator Of The World We Share
Generous, loving God, we ask you so often
‘to give us today our daily bread.’
Creator of the world we share,
teach us in the ways you care.
As we store the crops,
and fill the barns,
stack the shelves,
pile high the tins,
and wander the aisles
of supermarket choice,
show us how to see the world
through the eyes of the hungry.
Teach us how to share with all
our daily bread.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (Henri Nouwen)
How can we live in the world and not be destroyed by it? To live in the world and not belong to the world summarises the essence of the spiritual life. Hardly a day passes in our lives without our experience of inner or outer fears, anxieties and preoccupations. Still it is possible not to belong to these powers, not to build our dwelling place among them, but to choose the house of love as our home. This choice is made not just once and for all but by living a spiritual life, praying at all times and thus breathing God’s breath.
Scripture (Psalm 119:33-34, 42-47,51)
Teach me, Lord, the way of your will, and I will observe it. Give me understanding and I will observe your Law and keep it whole-heartedly. Give me an answer to the taunts against me, since I rely on your word. Do not deprive me of that faithful word since my hope lies in your judgments. I shall live in all freedom because I have sought your precepts. I shall speak of your instructions before kings and not be ashamed. Endlessly the arrogant have jeered at me but I have not swerved from your Law.
Tuesday (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
No one should be surprised at the difficulty of faith if there is some part of your life where you are consciously resisting or disobeying the command of Jesus. Is there some part of your life which you are refusing to surrender at his behest, some sinful passion, maybe, some hope, perhaps your ambition or your reason? It is now time to take the bull by the horns and say, ‘Only those who obey believe. You are trying to keep some part of your life under your control. Somewhere in your heart you are refusing to listen to his call.’ Only those who obey can believe, and only those who believe can obey.
Scripture (Luke 9:57-62)
They met a man who said to Jesus “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered ‘Foxes have their holes and birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ Another to who he said ‘Follow me’ replied, ‘Let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus answered, ‘Let the dead bury the dead; your duty is to go and spread the kingdom of God.’ Another said ‘I will follow you, but first let me say goodbye to my people at home.’ Jesus said once the hand has been laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God.’
Wednesday (Oscar Romero)
A Christian’s authenticity is shown in those circumstances in which following the gospel supposes a multitude of ruptures with the tranquility 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. More than ever is there need for prayer united with a genuine will to be converted, prayer that out of intimacy with God cuts one off from the confused clamour of life’s shallow experiences, a will to be converted that is not afrais to lose prestige or privilege or to change a way of thinking when it is seen that Christ insists on a new way of thinking more in keeping with the gospel.
Scripture (John 17:13-19)
Jesus said to the Father, ‘I have passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from evil. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in the truth.
Thursday (A Carthusian)
We want God, and so we love him, and we know the consequences and the conclusion. We do not think enough of this, and when we do we soon forget it. This is the great reality that should hold the whole of our attention; and it is in the light of this truth that we should look at and appraise everything here below. It has always been our conviction that God was calling us to live this truth with particular intensity. The deep interior anguish which results from this conviction is reserved for those souls whom God is calling to a higher life. God keeps them almost continually aware of the sheer nothingness of all that is around them, in order to detach them form it, so that he may take possession of them more readily.
Scripture (Ecclesiasticus 51:15-18,20)
My foot has pursued a straight path, I have sought wisdom ever since my youth. By bowing my ear a little, I have received her, and have found much instruction. Thanks to her I have advanced; glory be to him who has given me wisdom! For I was determined to put her into practice, have earnestly pursued the good, and shall not be put to shame. I have directed my soul towards her, and in purity have found her; having my heart fixed on her from the outset, I shall never be deserted.
Friday (Carlo Carretto)
Faith is a new dimension at work in each of us, one which does not start from reason, one which, while not contradicting reason, surpasses it infinitely because it can reach God. Abraham is the ancestral head of all those whose lives enjoy this new dimension, who accept the risk and the consequences, who consider themselves to be exiles on earth, perpetual nomads, who are not satisfied with what they can see but look for the invisible God, who learn to find him everywhere and who obey him.
Scripture (1 John 2:3-6, 15-16)
In this way we come to know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ without keeping his commandments is a liar, and truth has no place in them. But anyone who does keep his word, in such a one God’s love truly reaches its perfection. This is the truth that we are in God. Whoever claims to remain in such a person must act as he acted. 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 them, because everything there is in the world – disordered desires of the body and of the eyes, pride in possessions – is not from the Father but is from the world.
Martin Bennett