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
16 February 2025
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflection
Gospel – (Luke 6:17.21-26)
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:
“How happy are you who are poor; yours if the kingdom of God.
Happy are you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.
‘Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as
criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy,
for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the
prophets/
‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors
Treated the fake prophets.’
Gospel Reflection : Happy/Blessed Are We?
Happy/Blessed are people who have lost a lot – is this what Jesus is saying in the Gospel today? People who have lost money and are poor, who have lost love and weep, who have lost food and are hungry? And we can think of people who have lost a lot, who are refugees or out of work, who are lonely or without loved ones and friends, and wonder what sort of happiness is this?
We can only ask if there have been times when life seemed very empty, and yet somehow there was space for peace because we become open before God in our need. When children leave home, either because they want to or they have to; when husband or wife dies, when marriage breaks up, when relationships go sour, the heart and soul are opened, and there is room for the love and care of God. Or in the middle of the pain and the disappointments, we know that some energy is around that gives us peace, not in place of what we miss but alongside it.
And we begin to know that there are many happinesses – some can last, like love and convictions, some last just a while, like youth and health, and some last forever, like faith, hope and love. But there is one blessing nobody can take from us, and that is the relationship God has with us, and the relationship we have with him in the ways Jesus has shown us. For in all of life’s experiences there is space for the blessing of God.
We Remember In Our Prayers Rita Yiannaki, whose Funeral was last week and Margaret Joyce Martin, whose Funeral Mass is at St. Teresa’s on Friday 28th February at 11.30 am. We remember them and their families, and those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they all be in God’s peace.
This Sunday, 16th February the SVP (members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Teresa’s ) will be holding their regular collection ‘for those in need locally’
Household Support Fund – Important Information. People in the community struggling to pay for essentials such as food, heating and water this winter, can now apply for Support Funding from Wyre Council. Wyre residents can make an application now, using the online form on the Wyre Council website at www.wyre.gov.uk/household support. The closing date is 31st March 2025. Eligible residents are encouraged to seek support early, as the scheme may close earlier if the funds are exhausted due to demand.
The Next Day of Renewal will be held on Saturday 1st March, from 10 am to 4 pm at St. Clare’s Church, Sharoe Green Lane, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9HH. It will be led by Daniella Stephens, who will be speaking on ‘Do whatever he tells you’ John 2:5. As always, please bring a packed lunch. Tea and coffee are available. The day begins with Mass at 10 am.
There Is A Lancaster Diocese Pilgrimage To Walsingham, led by Bishop Paul, on 20-24th October, 2025. For details, please see the poster on the noticeboard at the back of church.
A Table Top Sale will take place on Saturday 22nd March, 10.00 am – 1.00 pm in St. Teresa’s Parish Hall. If you want to reserve a ‘Table’, then please give your name to Sue Ward at the back of church, or phone/leave a message on 01253 858346. All proceeds of the event will go towards the upkeep of St. Teresa’s, including our ‘Food Pantry’. Thank you for your anticipated support.
January 100 Club Winners : Phil Gooden £15, Chris Cousens £10, Win Ball £5
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday ( Meister Eckhart)
You should not worry yourself about food or clothing, feeling that these things are too good for you, but train your mind and ground your being to be above them. If good things come to you, you should accept them as being good, but in such a way that you would accept them just as
willingly if they were different. We should give ourselves up entirely to God whenever he allows anything to befall us, whether insult, tribulation or any other kind of suffering. Willingly learn all things from God and follow him, and all will be well with you. You will be able to accept honour and comfort, and if dishonour and discomfort were your lot, you could and would be just as willing to endure these too. So they can justifiably feast who would just as willingly fast.
Scripture (Jeremiah 17:5-8)
The Lord says this ‘Accursed be anyone who trusts in human beings, who relies on human strength and whose heart turns from Yahweh. He is like scrub in the wastelands: when good comes, it does not affect him since he lives in the parched [places in the desert. Blessed is anyone who trusts in Yahweh, with Yahweh for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it has nothing to fear, its foliage stays green; untroubled in a year of drought, it never stops bearing fruit.
Tuesday (Fr. Michael Ivens, SJ )
Taken literally, the words riches and honour refer to material possessions, and social and ecclesiastical status. In the wider sense, they can be anything at all that meets the inherent human need for identity, security, esteem, love. The particular significance we attach to the things, situations or relationships that for us meet these needs, the quality of our desire for these, our criteria for seeking or accepting them—all this raises the basic issue of the kind of persons we are and want to be in relation to God and others.
Scripture (1Tim 6:7-11,17)
We brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it; but as long as we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. People who long to be rich are prey to trial; they get trapped in all sorts of foolish and harmful ambitions which plunge people into ruin and destruction. ‘The love of money is the root of all evils’ and there are some who, pursuing it, have wandered away from the faith and so given their souls to any number of fatal wounds. Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud and should set their hopes, not on money, which is untrustworthy, but on God who gives us richly all we need for our happiness.
Wednesday (St. Francis of Assissi)
Let us be very careful of the malice and subtlety of Satan, who wishes that we do not raise our minds and hearts to God. He wishes to
ensnare the heart of a person under the guise of some reward or help, and to snuff out our memory of the word and the precepts of the Lord, and wishes to blind the heart of a person through worldly affairs and concerns. Therefore, let us be very much on our guard so that we do not lose or turn away our mind and heart from the Lord. But in the holy love which is God, I beg all, as they overcome every obstacle and put aside every care and anxiety, to strive as best they can to serve, love and honour the Lord God.
Scripture (Luke 6:20-26)
Jesus said to his disciples ‘How blessed are you who are poor: the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are hungry now: you shall have your fill. Blessed are you who are weeping now: you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal on account of the Son of man. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets. But alas for you who are rich; alas for you who have plenty now. Alas for you when everyone speaks well of you.
Thursday (Oscar Romero)
A Christian’s authenticity is shown in difficult hours, in those
circumstances in which following the gospel supposes a multitude of ruptures with the tranquillity 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. How necessary in this difficult hour is a conscience docile to the Lord’s truth. More than ever is there need for prayer that out of intimacy with God cuts one off from the confused clamour of life’s shallow expediencies, a will to be converted that is not afraid to lose prestige or privilege.
Scripture (Mk. 10;17-23)
A man asked Jesus ‘What must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You know the commandments.’ And the man said to him, ‘Master, I have kept these since my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and was filled with love for him, and he said to him, ‘You need to do one thing more. Go and
sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘ How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God.’
Friday (Desert Fathers)
One of the holy men named Philagrius lived in Jerusalem and worked hard to earn himself enough to eat. When he was standing in the market square trying to sell what he had made, a bag full of coins fell on the ground near him. Philagrius thought ‘ the one who lost this must soon come back.’ Soon the man did come back looking very gloomy. Philagrius gave him his bag back. The man wanted to give the hermit some of the money, but the hermit would not take anything. Then the man began to call out ‘Come and see what the man of God has done.’ But Philagrius escaped unnoticed and went out of the town, so that they should not know what he had done, nor pay him honour.
Scripture (Deuteronomy 6:10-13)
When the Lord has brought you into the country which he swore to your ancestors that he would give you, with great and prosperous
cities that you have not built, with houses full of good things you have not provided, with wells you have not dug, with vineyards and olive trees you have not planted, and then, when you have eaten as much as you want, be careful you do not forget God who has brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God is the one you must fear, him alone you must serve, his is the name by which you must swear.
Martin Bennett