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
4 August 2024
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflection
Gospel: John 6:24-35
When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into boats and crossed to Caephernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered:
‘I tell you solemnly,
You are not looking for me
Because you have seen the signs
But because you have had all the bread you wanted to eat
Do not work for food that cannot last,
But work for food that endures to eternal life,
The kind of food the Son of Man is offering you,
For on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’
They said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’ So they said, ‘What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
Jesus answered:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
It was not moses who gave you bread from heaven,
It is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven,
The true bread;
For the bread of God
Is that which comes down from heaven
And gives life to the world.’
‘Sir,’ they said ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered:
‘I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me will never be hungry;
He who believes in me will never thirst.
Gospel Reflection : “I Am The Bread of Life”
Perhaps we could imagine them saying “He’s talking about bread again. Yes – bread, again!”. Jesus often mentions bread, the staple of life to so many. In the years before Jesus, bread was understood as a gift from heaven. Jesus is the new Bread of heaven, and of life.
The meaning expanded over time, and when Jesus talks about giving the bread of life he is talking of his Word as well as the Eucharist. The Word of God we find in our Scriptures feeds the mind and soul, giving meaning to life, giving us a way of life, and encouraging us to live our lives in the spirit of the Gospel.
In the first part of every Mass we prepare ourselves to receive the Eucharistic bread. Catholics for years stressed Holy Communion over the Word of God. We sometimes talked about ‘getting Communion’, ignoring the first part of the Eucharist, while in reality both are essential to our Christian life. In fact our daily life is well helped by reading the Gospel every day.
Maybe we can list sometime the words of the Bible, and especially the Gospels, which do enlighten our lives, and keep us in touch with God. The Jewish people wore the words “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone”, called the Shema, around their neck, touching them often to keep in touch with the Lord.
We Remember In Our Prayers Gladys Hughes, whose Funeral was last week. We remember her and her family, and those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they all be in God’s peace.
We Welcome Into the Family of the Church Betsy Olivia Wilson and Dolly Amelia Wilson whose Baptisms take place at S. Teresa’s this Sunday.
The SVP (the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St.Teresa’s are very grateful indeed for your generous donations last weekend in their special collection. £190 was raised to support ‘those in need locally’ – one of the largest amounts ever given to that collection, and that amongst all the other calls which are made on our generosity. Thank you so much.
Another Social/Fundraising Event : Members of the SVP and CAFOD groups at St. Teresa’s are holding an Afternoon Tea in the Parish Hall on Wednesday 7th August, 2 pm -4 pm. Tickets are £10 each, which includes a raffle ticket, and can be purchased at the back of church.
July 100 Club Winners Sarah Brimelow, £15, Eamon Brady, £10, Fr. Chris Webb, £5.
Diocesan Centenary Our Diocese of Lancaster, comprising the whole area in the north west of England, from Preston to Carlisle, was first founded in October 1924. To help us prepare for Centenary Celebrations in October this year, a Centenary Prayer Card has been produced, which you will find in the church porch, It has a capital ‘C’ on the front,against a red and green background. Please feel free to take one.
The Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord is next Tuesday, 6th August, and will be celebrated at the 9.30 am Mass at St. Teresa’s
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.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (Fr. Richard Rohr)
The Good News is always pointing to the future, to someplace new, to the Promised Land. It never points backward except to validate the call to faith in God’s future. This is the irony of Christian history: much of it has been looking backward to the good old days of faith and miracles, back to when “God was God”, when the great prophets lived. How did the word of God become this conservative thing, holding us to the (usually recent) past? The word always points us to the future and calls us out of our own idol-making and insecurities to the security and future God will create. Faith is the security to be insecure.
Scripture (Exodus 16:2-4, 15)
On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had set out from Egypt, the whole community of Israelites began complaining about Moses and Aaron in the desert and said to them, ‘Why did we not die at the Lord’s hand in Egypt, when we were able to sit down to pans of meat and eat bread to our heart’s content! As it is, you have brought us into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death!’ Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Look, I shall rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day, the people must go out and collect their ration for the day; I propose to test them in this way to see if they will follow my law or not.’ The next morning the Israelites said ‘What is that?’ ‘That,’ Moses told them,’ is the bread the Lord has given you to eat.’
Tuesday (St. John of the Cross)
In order to come to pleasure you have not, you must go by a way that you will enjoy not. To come to the knowledge that you have not, you must go by a way that you know not. To come to the possession that you have not, you must go by a way that you possess not. To come to be what you are not, you must go by a way that you are not.
Scripture (Ephesians 4:17-18,22-24)
So I say this to you and urge you in the name of the Lord, do not go on living the aimless kind of life that pagans live. That is hardly the way you have learned from Christ, unless you have failed to hear him properly when you were taught what the truth is in Jesus. You must put aside your old self, which belongs to your old way of life and is corrupted by following illusory desires. Your mind is renewed in spirit so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way, in the uprightness and holiness of the truth.
Wednesday (“Soul of Christ” -Traditional)
Jesus, may all that is you flow into me. May your body and blood be my food and drink. May your passion and death be my strength and life. Jesus, with you by my side, enough has been given. May the shelter I seek be the shadow of your cross. Let me not run from the love which you offer, but hold me safe from the forces of evil. On each of my dyings, shed your light and your love. Keep calling me until that day comes, when, with your saints, I may praise you forever. Amen.
Scripture (Hebrews 13: 7-9,14)
Remember the first leaders of your community, who preaches the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, take their faith as your model. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever. Don’t be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines: it is better to rely on grace for inner strength than on food, which has done no good to those who concentrate on it. There is no permanent city for us here; we are looking for the one which is yet to be.
Thursday (Meister Eckhart)
Whoever does not truly have God within themselves but must constantly receive him in one external thing after another, seeking God in diverse ways, whether by particular works, people or places, such a person does not possess God. The least thing can impede them, for they do not have God and do not seek, love and intend him alone. It is not only bad company but also good company that can obstruct them, not only the street but also the church, not only evil words and deeds but also good words and deeds, for the obstruction lies within themselves since in them God has not become all things. If this were the case, they would be at peace in all places and with all people, for they would possess God and then no one would be able to take him away from them nor impede them in their work.
Scripture (Jn. 6:24-29)
The crowd got into the boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him, Jesus said “In truth I tell you, you are looking for me not because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.” Then they said to him “What must we do if we are to carry out God’s work?” Jesus gave them this answer, “This is carrying out God’s work: you must believe in the one he has sent. I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger, no one who believes in me will ever thirst.”
Friday (1st Epistle of Clement)
Through Christ we see God’s face as in a mirror, spotless, exalted. Through Christ the eyes of our heart have been opened. Through Christ our dim and clouded understanding unfolds like a flower towards the light. Through Christ the Lord of the universe willed that we should taste the knowledge of eternity. For he is the very brilliance of the rays that shine from God’s majesty.
Scripture (Colossians 1:15-18)
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 invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers—all things were created through him and for him. He exists before all things, and in him all things hold together, and he is the head of the Body, that is, the Church.
Martin Bennett