Second Sunday of Advent

 Great news to remind everyone that we will once again be holding our 

CHARITY CANDLELIGHT CAROL SERVICE 

on 

SATURDAY 18th DECEMBER 

at 7.30pm

with the

OCTAVIUS SINGERS

Mince pies and mulled wine afterwards.

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 5th December. Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  Mass at 9.30am

Tuesday Requiem Mass for Frances Tooher at 2pm

Wednesday ---

Thursday ---

Friday ---

Saturday ---

Sunday 12th December. Third Sunday of Advent. Gaudete.

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Please note that the Funeral Service for Molly Woodburn will be held at Charnock Richard Crematorium at 12.30 on Monday 20th December. Molly has not been able to attend Mass for some years but some parishioners may remember her.

ADVANCE NOTICE OF CHRISTMAS MASSES.

Christmas Eve at 7pm

Christmas Day at 8.30am

First Sunday of Advent... and the Feast of St Catherine

 

This Sunday sees the start of the Church's New Year (Year C for Sunday for those with Missals).

It was to be the date that the Sunday Obligation was re-instated but the bishops of England and Wales have rescinded on that but they do make the point (see the statement below) that not attending Mass while you have returned to work, shopping and other activities is not really on. Mass by video link was a temporary fix and is no long-term substitute for the real thing.

Now it is Advent, I am also overjoyed to say that we will once again be holding our 

CHARITY CANDLELIGHT CAROL SERVICE 

on 

SATURDAY 18th DECEMBER 

at 7.30pm

with the

OCTAVIUS SINGERS

Mince pies and mulled wine afterwards.

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 28th November. First Sunday of Advent (Year C)

Our patronal Feast - St Catherine Labouré.

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  Mass at 9.30am: Votive Mass of St Catherine Labouré

Tuesday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Wednesday Mass at 9.30am

Thursday NOVENA & BENEDICTION at 7pm

Friday Mass at 9.30am

Saturday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Confessions before at 11.30am - 11.50am

Sunday 5th December. First Sunday of Advent. 

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BISHOPS' STATEMENT: HONOURING SUNDAY

During the pandemic, public worship was suspended for a time and there have been restrictions on parish life. As a result, people have been exploring other ways to practice their faith including Spiritual Communion via live streaming, for example. As people begin returning to more regular patterns of parish life and following the first face to face meeting of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales in Leeds, the bishops have issued the following statement about the importance of honouring Sunday. While it takes into account that some people may be legitimately still shielding, we must be honest with ourselves and look at whether we can return to Sunday Mass in person. Perhaps we all know people who stopped attending during lockdown and perhaps followed Mass online. Perhaps some people have returned to work, shopping and visiting friends but are still not attending Mass - it is this that the Bishops are asking people to think about. It is true all over the country that Mass attendance is still well down on the pre-Covid figures in a way that seems far in excess of those who might still be shielding at home.

Honouring Sunday

We are attentive to the experience of the last year or so, when we have lived our faith through the limitations of the pandemic. We have heard of the longing which some express as a “homesickness”. We want to be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. We yearn to celebrate the sacraments together, especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We desire to be nourished by our Lord in Holy Communion. The live streaming of the Mass and the remarkable response of our Catholic communities to those in need, have provided comfort, sustenance and resilience.

The Eucharist, source and summit

The Eucharist is the source and summit of our spiritual and pastoral life. Many people have said to us that they have appreciated the noble simplicity of the Mass at this time, which has allowed the mystery and majesty of our Lord’s sacrificial love to shine through. The central appeal of the Mass, its beauty and its transcendence, raises our minds and hearts to God in an unambiguous and compelling manner. Our Lord Jesus invites us to receive anew the gift of Sunday as the preeminent day, the day of the Resurrection, when the Church gathers to celebrate the Eucharist. Here we stand together before our heavenly Father, offering our thanksgiving and prayer, through our Saviour in the Holy Spirit. Here we receive Christ in his Word. Here we are nourished by Christ in his precious Body and Blood. This is our primary joy, for which there is no substitute, and from which we draw our strength.

The Gift of the Sunday Eucharist

The Sunday Eucharist is a gift; as God’s holy people we are called to praise and thank God in the most sublime way possible. When the Church speaks of the Sunday obligation, it reminds us that attending Mass is a personal response to the selfless offering of Christ’s love. At this time, we recognise that for some people there may be certain factors which hinder attendance at Sunday Mass. The pandemic is clearly not over. The risk of infection is still present. For some, there is legitimate fear in gathering together. As your bishops, we recognise that these prevailing circumstances suggest that not everyone is yet in the position to fulfil the absolute duty to attend freely Sunday Mass.

Responding to the Gift

We now encourage all Catholics to look again at the patterns which they have formed in recent months with regard to going to Mass on Sundays. This would include consideration and reflection about what we might do on Sundays, such as sports or shopping, or other leisure and social activities. This review, and the decisions which arise from it, fall to every Catholic and we trust this will be done with honesty, motivated by a real love for the Lord whom we encounter in the Mass.

The Sunday Mass is the very heartbeat of the Church and of our personal life of faith. We gather on the “first day of the week,” and devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42). The Eucharist sustains us and spurs us on, renewing our gratitude and our hope. When we say “Amen” to Christ in receiving his Body and Blood, we express the love of God which is deep within us, and at the end of Mass, when we are sent forth, we express our love for our neighbour, especially those in need. These two dimensions reveal the full meaning of our faith. We are gathered together and sent out, we pray and are fed, we worship and we adore; these are intrinsic to our lives as those baptised into Christ.

Christ the King

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 21st November. Christ the King

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  Mass at 9.30am

Tuesday --- No Mass today

Wednesday Mass at 9.30am

Thursday NOVENA & BENEDICTION at 7pm

Friday - No Mass today

Saturday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Confessions before at 11.30am - 11.50am

Sunday 28th November. First Sunday of Advent. 

Our patronal Feast - St Catherine Labouré.

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Remembrance Sunday

A SONNET FOR REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 

(Malcolm Guite)

November pierces with its black remembrance

Of all the bitterness and waste of war.

Our silence tries but fails to make a semblance

Of that lost peace they thought worth fighting for.

Our silence seeths instead with wraiths and whispers,

And all the restless rumours of new wars,

The shells are singing as we sing our vespers,

No moment is unscarred, there is no pause,

In every  instant bloodied innocence

Falls to the weary earth, and whilst we stand

Quiescence ends again in acquiescence,

And Abel’s blood still cries in every land.

One silence only might redeem that blood

Only the silence of a dying God.

                                                                                                

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 14th November. REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

32nd Sunday Year B.

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  Mass at 9.30am

Tuesday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Wednesday Mass at 9.30am

Thursday NOVENA & BENEDICTION at 7pm

Friday - No Mass today

Saturday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Confessions before at 11.30am - 11.50am

Sunday 21st November. Christ the King

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Masses for the week of 7th November

 
Wednesday is the Feast of Pope St Leo the Great.

Pictured here turning back Attila the Hun from the gates of Rome.

Defending the Church and the Faith is, I suppose, 

the primary duty of the Successors of St Peter.

Let us pray for Pope Francis in these days of the Church's trials.

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 7th November. 32nd Sunday Year B.

 Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  Mass at 9.30am

Tuesday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Saturday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Confessions before at 11.30am - 11.50am

Sunday 14th November. REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY

33rd Sunday: Year B

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

All Saints and All Souls

 

This Sunday is the Solemnity of All saints - 

a wonderful celebration to cheer us all with the hope of Heaven.

The Feast of All Souls also falls this week -

Do come and take this opportunity to pray for those who have died.

we will celebrate a Vigil Mass on Monday evening at 7pm, 

(NB. NOT Tuesday, as it said on last week's Newsletter)

when we will begin a month of Masses offered for the Holy Souls. 

You may pick up a form from the back of church 

to write down the names of all you deceased loved ones. 

These will be placed at the altar 

and Mass will be offered for them throughout the month of November.

DON'T FORGET 

THAT THE CLOCKS GO BACK!

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 17th October. ALL SAINTS. 

 Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  Mass at 7pm for ALL SOULS

Tuesday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Wednesday Mass at 9.30am

Thursday  Novena & Benediction at 7pm

Friday Mass at 9.30am

Saturday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Confessions before 11.30am - 11.50am

Sunday 7th November

32nd Sunday: Year B

Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Masses for Sunday 24th October

Bartimaeus calls out “Jesus, Son of David. Take pity on me!”

MASSES AT ST CATHERINE'S THIS WEEK

Sunday 24th October.  30th week Year B

 Mass at 8.30am & 10am

Monday  2pm Requiem Mass for Seámus McLoughlin

Tuesday ---

Wednesday ---

Thursday  ---

Friday ---

Saturday Traditional Latin Mass at 12 noon

Confessions before 11.30am - 11.50am

Sunday 31st October

Solemnity of All Saints

Mass at 8.30am & 10am