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
11 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 : 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflection
Gospel: John 6:41-51
The Jews were complaining to one another about Jesus. Because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus, son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say. “I have come down from heaven”?’Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other.
‘No one can come to me
Unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me,
And I will raise him up at the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They will all be taught by God,
And to hear the teaching of the Father,
And learn from it,
Is to come to me.
Not that anybody has seen the Father,
Except the one who comes from God:
He has seen the Father.
I tell you most solemnly,
Everybody who believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your fathers ate the manna in the desert
And they are dead;
But this is the bread that comes down from heaven,
So that man may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever,
And the bread that I shall give
Is my flesh, for the life of the world.’
Gospel Reflection : “Summertime, And The Feeling Is……” – What?
Like a fruit tree we all know our seasons :
In spring the tree is full of buds and blossoms, as at times our lives are full of hope and promise.
In summer the tree is full of leaves, as at times our lives are full of contentment and joy.
In autumn the tree becomes a feast of colour, and is full of ripe fruit, as at times our lives are full of meaning and achievement.
But in winter the tree is stripped bare, as we are when pain and depression seem to rob us of everything.
How awful it would be if, at the height of our summer, we failed to see our neighbour’s winter. How wonderful it is that in our own community we have people who, though in their own winter, keep on creating spring, and summer, and autumnfor others.
This Week, on Thursday 15th August , We Celebrate The Feast of The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary, A Holy Day of Obligation :
The Masses at our Two Churches Are As Follows :
St Teresa’s : 9.30 am Thursday 15th;
St John Southworth : 6.30 pm Thursday 15th
A Big ‘Thank You’ To All Those Who Organised And Supported The Enjoyable “Afternoon Tea” In St. Teresa’s Parish Hall Last Wednesday. This was both a social and fund-rasing event. ££450 was raised from the ticket money and the raffle, so we are very pleased to say that we have been able to donate £225 to CAFOD, and £225 to the SVP. Thank you to everyone involved.
There is a Craftroom Clearout Tabletop Sale In St Teresa’s Parish Hall On Saturday 14th September 11 am – 2 pm To The Public – Sellers Only at 10 am. Why not sell those stashed supplies that you no longer use. A 6 ft table is £15. Please email nanstabletopevents@hotmail.com to book.
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 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.
Confirmation : This year, for both our parishes, Bishop Paul is coming to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation at St. Teresa’s church, on Monday, 18th November, at 7 pm.
Young people, Year 8 or above at school. or any older people who may have missed out in the past, are invited to take part in the preparation programme, and receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Please give the names of any young person (or older) to Fr. Chris (Tel. 01253 853340)
The dates of the Preparation Programme are as follows :
Thursday 10th October
Thursday 17th October
Thursday 31st October
Thursday 7th November
All 6 30 pm – 7.45 pm
Saturday, 9th November, 10 am – 2 pm
Sunday, 17th November Practice after the 10 am Mass
Monday 18th November Confirmation Mass at 7 pm
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (Cardinal Newman)
Be not afraid. He is most gracious and will bring you on little by little. He does not show you whither he is leading you; you might be frightened if you see the whole prospect at once. Sufficient for the day is its own evil. Follow his plan; look not on anxiously; look down at your present footing ”lest it be turned out of the way” but speculate not about the future. I can well believe that you have hopes now, which you cannot give up, and even which you support in your present course. Be it so; whether they will be fulfilled, or not, is in his hand. He may be pleased to grant the desires of your heart; if so, thank him for his mercy; only be sure that all will be for your greatest good.
Scripture (1Kings 19:4-8)
Elijah himself went on into the desert a day’s journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were dead. “ Lord” he said “ I have had enough. Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down and went to sleep. Then all of a sudden an angel touched him and said “Get up and eat.” There was a scone baked on hot stones and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. But the angel of Yahweh came back a second time and touched him and said “Get up and eat or the journey will be too long for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights, until he reached Horeb, God’s mountain.
Tuesday (Pope Paul VI)
We ourselves must be convinced of the need for a living, true and active faith. Even more today when the difficulties are so much greater. It is not enough to have a vague, weak and uncertain faith which is purely one of sentiment and habit, made up of theories, doubts and reservations. Nor is it enough to hold a faith which just accepts what it pleases, or which seeks to avoid difficulties by denying assent to truths which themselves are both difficult and mysterious.
Scripture (Psalm 119:33-37)
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 wholeheartedly. Guide me in the way of your commandments, for my delight is there. Bend my heart to your instructions, not to selfish gain. Avert my eyes from pointless images, by your word give me life.
Wednesday (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
When Levi and Peter were called to follow, there was no doubt that Jesus meant business. Both of them were to leave everything and follow. Only one thing was required in each case: to rely on Christ’s word, and to cling to it as offering greater security than all the securities in the world. The forces which tried to interpose themselves between the word of Jesus and the response of obedience were as formidable then as they are today. Reason and conscience, responsibility and piety all stood in the way, and even the law and ‘scriptural authority’ itself were obstacles to the extremes of ‘enthusiasms’. But the call of Jesus made short work of these barriers. That call was the Word of God himself, and all that it required was single-
minded obedience.
Scripture (1John 2:24-27)
Let what you heard in the beginning remain in you; as long as what you heard in the beginning remains in you, you will remain in the Son and in the Father. And the promise he made you himself is eternal life. So much have I written to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. But as for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you since the anointing he gave you teaches you everything, and since it is true, not false, remain in him just as it has taught you.
Thursday (Metropolitan Anthony)
We see that we cannot partake deeply of the life of God unless we change profoundly. It is therefore essential that we should go to God in order that he should transform and change us. Instead of spending our lives looking in all directions, we should follow one direction only. Conversion is turning away from a great many things which we value solely because they are very pleasant or expedient for us. The first impact of conversion is to modify our sense of values: God being at the centre of all, everything
acquires a new position and a new depth. All that is God’s, all that belongs to him is positive and real. Everything that is outside him has no value or meaning.
Scripture
Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they are dead; I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.
Friday (Teilhard de Chardin)
What I cry out for, like every human being, with my whole life and all my earthly passion, is something very different from an equal to cherish: it is a God to adore. To adore….that means to lose oneself in the unfathomable, to plunge into the inexhaustible, to find peace in the incorruptible, to be absorbed in defined immensity, to offer oneself to the fire and the transparency, and to give of one’s deepest to that whose depth has no end.
Scripture (Col. 2:6-10)
So, then, as you received Jesus as Lord and Christ, now live your lives in him, be rooted in him and built up on him, held firm by the faith you have been taught, and overflowing with thanksgiving. Make sure that no-one captivates you with the empty lure of a ‘philosophy’ of the kind human beings hand on, based on the principles of this world and not on Christ. In him, in bodily form, lives divinity in all its fullness, and in him you find your own fulfilment.
Martin Bennett