Thursday 21 December 2023
CHRISTMAS MASS TIMES
Thursday 14 December 2023
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Sunday 17th December.
Gaudete Sunday.
Third Sunday of Advent.
Mass at 8.30am & 10am.
Saturday 16th December
7.30pm
our annual Charity Candlelit Carol Concert
with the talented Octavius Singers.
Everyone always says, it marks the start of “Christmas proper” for them,
so if you’ve never been before why not come along this year?
Mulled Wine and Mince Pies will be served afterwards in the Pope John Paul Room.
A collection will be taken up for the Charities of the Order of St Lazarus,
including those suffering from leprosy in Sri Lanka.
St Catherine Labouré Catholic Church
Stanifield Lane
Leyland
PR25 4QG
Friday 8 December 2023
Second Sunday of Advent & our Carol Concert this week
Sunday 10th December.
Second Sunday of Advent.
Mass at 8.30am & 10am.
Saturday 2 December 2023
First Sunday of Advent
Sunday 3rd December.
First Sunday of Advent.
Mass at 8.30am & 10am.
A REMINDER...
Our annual Carol Concert given by the
Octavius Singers is on
Saturday 16th December at 7.30pm
Always a lovely occasion,
so mark it in your diary now!
Saturday 25 November 2023
Christ the King
Sunday 26th November.
Christ the King
Saturday 18 November 2023
33rd Sunday of the Year
The Parable of the Talents by Willem de Porter
1634 National Gallery, Prague
The scene is set in a stone castle. Within a cascading room of drapery are positioned a group of men seated and standing around a teak table. The master of the house sits on his arm chair while his trunk and baggage are scattered carelessly around him. This suggests that he has arrived afresh from a long journey.
Light is instrumental in dividing the painting into the background and the foreground. Lurking among the grayish blue shadows and leaning against an exquisite metal railing is the wife of the merchant/master. She curiously sprawls in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her spouse. Right behind her, gazing through the window is the father, awaiting his son.
The presence of the anticipating wife and the father illuminates the personality of the master. It reveals at once that he is a man of business and he means business. At his return, he catches up not with rest but rather with his servants in order to settle the accounts. Thus the Master is hardworking, diligent and calls for accountability.
A quick flashback concedes that the Master had entrusted his estate to his servants before embarking onto his journey. Each servant received talents in accordance to his ability. While the first two servants bear fruit by ‘multiplying’ the talents, the third servant staggered in his liability. He not only hid the talent but buried himself in wicked sluggishness.
Located in the eschatological discourse of Matthew’s Gospel, the parable illustrates how the disciples are to wait in faithfulness until the Lord returns. The Master’s return is certain but the timing unknown. The third servant, weary of waiting, numbed his senses of the imminent Parousia. As lethargy got the better of him, he feared the risk in serving His Master.
Eventually his mediocrity cost him dearly!
Thirty First Sunday Year A. 19th November
Saturday 11 November 2023
Remembrance Sunday
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
We remember all who have died in conflicts everywhere, long ago, recent and current, as also pray for peace wherever violence disfigures God's world.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls
of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace. Amen
32nd Sunday Year A. 12th November
Saturday 4 November 2023
Thirty-First Sunday of the Year
The Feast Day of this great Pope falls on Friday.
Thirty-First Sunday Year A. 5th November
Mass at 8.30am & 10am.
Saturday 28 October 2023
All Saints, All Souls and 30th Sunday of the Year.
We offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass— the greatest of all prayers— for our deceased loved ones. There are envelopes at the back of church in which you may place the names of any of those you would like to be remembered at Mass during November.
Each Mass celebrated for the whole of the month of November is offered for them.
Rooted in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the perennial teaching of the Church, the offering of Holy Mass has been considered the most efficacious manner of praying for and assisting the souls of our departed loved ones as they journey through the purification of Purgatory.
Each Mass is, as we know, the re-presentation of the saving sacrifice of Calvary, and, when we specifically ask for Mass to be offered for a deceased loved one, we ask that the merits of that saving sacrifice be applied to the soul of the one we mourn.
It has been the pious practice of Catholics to list their deceased during the month of November, that Masses be offered for them throughout this particular period—a sign of our ongoing love and concern for those who have gone ahead of us on this pilgrimage of life.
If you wish any loved ones to share in these benefits, please place your offering for the Masses in the envelope provided at the back of church and return it.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls
of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace. Amen
Thirtieth Sunday Year A. 29th October
Saturday 14 October 2023
28th Sunday of the Year
Monday is the Feast of St Margaret Mary
Visionary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Twenty Eighth Sunday Year A. 15th October
Friday 6 October 2023
Twenty Seventh Sunday of the Year
Monday is the Feast of St John Henry Newman;
May he pray for the Church at his time.
Saturday 30 September 2023
Rosary Sunday
Monday 25 September 2023
Bishop's Parish Visitation
Saturday 23 September 2023
Bishop's Visitation this Sunday
Saturday 16 September 2023
24th Sunday of the year
Feast Day of Padre Pio on Saturday
Twenty Fourth Sunday Year A. 10th September
Sunday 10 September 2023
Sunday 10th September
The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows
15th September
Twenty Third Sunday Year A. 10th September
Saturday 2 September 2023
Sunday 3rd September at St Catherine's
St Cuthbert's Feast Day is on Monday.
Some of his deathbed words, as recorded by the Venerable Bede in Chapter 30 of the Life of St Cuthbert.
Have peace, and Divine charity ever amongst you: and when you are called upon to deliberate on your condition, see that you be unanimous in council. Let concord be mutual between you and other servants of Christ; and do not despise others who belong to the faith and come to you for hospitality, but admit them familiarly and kindly; and when you have entertained them, speed them on their journey: by no means esteeming yourselves better than the rest of those who partake of the same faith and mode of life. But have no communion with those who err from the unity of the Catholic faith.
Twenty Second Sunday Year A. 3rd September