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
12 February 2023
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 in Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Gospel Reflection
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-37
For I tell you, if your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors. You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say this to you: anyone who is angry with his brother will answer for it before the court.
‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: If a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
‘Again, you have learnt how it was said to our ancestors. You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you: do not swear at all.
All you need say is “Yes” if you mean yes, “No” if you mean no, anything more than this comes from the evil one.’
Gospel Reflection : The teaching and action of Jesus will often force difficult decisions in our lives
Again this week in the Gospel there is some criticism of the Scribes and Pharisees by Jesus. This was not a judgement about them personally but about their religion not going deep enough, and the fact that they didn’t seem to notice that. They seemed happy to keep the law even when it might become a huge burden to others. They never investigated why people did religious things.
There is “true religion” and “false religion”. False religion has been used to promote war and violence over the centuries, and in fact still does so in many countries . Religion, including Christianity, has been used to violate the dignity and rights of many groups of people, like the single parent, LGBT men and women, and others over the years. True religion is the religion of the heart, rooted in compassion for all God’s creation. Any religious practice, like living by rules, participating in worship, and our relationship with God, is to come from the heart, and from the desire only to do what God wants, and give to God first place in our lives.
The ‘righteousness’ of the people in Jesus’ time sometimes came from the desire for power over others. True religion is humble and sees everyone as an equal child of God, unlike the false religion, including clericalism, which puts traditionalism and its practices above compassion. This year especially we should strive to think synodally – to help develop a listening Church which is open to the views of others.
As Pope Francis puts it : “Let us not soundproof our hearts; let us not remain barricaded in our certainties….so often our certainties can make us closed. Let us listen to one another”.
We Remember In Our Prayers Graham Warren whose Funeral is at Carleton Crematorium on Monday, 13th February at 3.30 pm, and Angela Black whose Funeral is at Carleton Crematorium on Tuesday, 21st February at 11.45 am. We remember them and their families, and all those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they be in God’s peace.
Silver Wedding We congratulate and pray for every blessing for Lynsey and Ben Ankers, who next Tuesday celebrate twenty-five years of married life. Half term couldn’t have come at a better time for the much appreciated Headteacher of our School and her husband!!
First Holy Communion This year First Holy Communion, for both St. Teresa’s and St. John Southworth parishes, will be celebrated on Sunday, May 14th at St. Teresa;s church. This is for children aged from Year 4 (in Primary School) and upwards. The first meeting in preparation for this, for the children and their parents/guardians, as are all the meetings, will be at St. Teresa’s church on Sunday 26 February, at the 10.30 am Mass and immediately afterwards. All details about the preparation programme will be given at that meeting.
Please Note : These First Holy Communion arrangements, as always, are also for children who are in other schools besides St. Teresa’s, but who are Baptised and within the age range outlined above.
The Syria-Turkey Earthquake Appeal : CAFOD (The Catholic Agency For Overseas Development) has sent us this message. ” In the wake of the terrible earthquakes in Syria and Turkey on 6th February, CAFOD’s local experts are already on the ground in Syria and responding to the needs of those affected. We have been working for years providing humanitarian support to families affected by the 12 year long conflict – families who now face another devastating crisis.
Because of the generosity of your parishes in recent Fast Days and other donations, we were able to make an initial allocation of £100,000 to provide urgent humanitarian support – food, water, shelter, medical assistance and winter kits – in the worst affected areas. We also set up a Syria-Turkey Emergency Appeal.
Our prayers are with all our sisters and brothers affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. We would appreciate your support in inviting people in your parish to pray for everyone affected, and to consider donating to CAFOD’s Earthquake Appeal, either online at cafod.org.uk/give, or by giving in the collection basket marked CAFOD as you come into or leave either of our two churches this weekend. Alternatively if Sue Ward is at the back of church she will be wearing the CAFOD lanyard which parishioners could scan with their phones. The QR code has been changed to point your donation directly to the Earthquake Appeal.”
Thank you for even thinking of doing something right now. Perhaps we should remember that an earthquake is a natural disaster. Yes, but the death toll and suffering is anything but natural.
Let us just use our kind human natures to help, even if it’s just in a small way.
The SVP Collection which had been advertised for this weekend has of course been kindly postponed.
St. Teresa’s Rainbows, Brownies and Guides urgently need some more leaders. If anyone is available, please contact Kathryn Brimelow on 07522 146571
The St. Teresa’s 100 Club Winners for January : Jane Collier £15, Rebecca Gooden £10, David Schofield £5
The Church Shop at St. Teresa’s is situated in the church porch, and is open before and after each Sunday Mass. Amongst other things, cards and gifts are available, and now the latest 2023 Lancaster Diocese Directory, with all the latest information about every aspect of our whole Diocese, including all the support it gives us. Just go in and have a look.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (Thomas Merton)
Freedom does not consist in an equal balance between good and evil choices, but in the perfect love and acceptance of what is really good, and the perfect hatred and rejection of what is evil. All true freedom comes to us as a supernatural gift of God, as a participation in his own essential freedom by the love he infuses into our souls. It can only be found in perfect union and submission to the will of God. If our will travels with his, it will reach the same end, rest in the same peace, and be filled with the same infinite happiness that is his. Therefore, the simplest definition of freedom is this: it means the ability to do the will of God.
Scripture (Ecclesiasticus)
If you wish, you can keep the commandments; to behave faithfully is within your power. He has set fire and water before you; put out your hand to which ever you prefer. Man has life and death before him; whichever a man likes better will be given him. For vast is the wisdom of the Lord; he is almighty and all-seeing. His eyes are on those who fear him, he notes every action of man. He has never commanded anyone to be godless, he has given no one permission to sin.
Tuesday (St. Augustine)
Our free will avails for nothing except sin, if we do not know the way of truth; and even if we know our duty and proper aim, unless we take delight in it and feel a proper love for it, we neither do our duty nor live rightly. It is in order that such a course may engage our affections that God’s love is shed abroad in our hearts. The letter of the law, which teaches us not to commit sin, kills if the life-giving Spirit be absent. The Law causes sin to be known rather than shunned. In the Old Testament, the finger of God worked on tablets of stone; in the New Testament it was on our hearts.
Scripture (1 Cor. 12:31 – 13:3)
Set your mind on the higher gifts. And now I am going to put before you the best way of all. Though I command languages both human and angelic – if I speak without love, I am no more than a gong booming or a cymbal clashing. And though I have the power of prophecy, to penetrate all mysteries and knowledge, and though I have the faith necessary to move mountains – if I am without love I am nothing. If I should give away to the poor all that I possess, and even give up my body to be burned – if I am without love, it will do me no good whatever.
Wednesday (Catechism of the Church, Part 3, chapter 1)
By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God. As long as freedom has not bound itself definitively to its ultimate good which is God, there is the possibility of choosing between good and evil, and thus of growing in perfection or of failing and sinning. The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin.”
Scripture (Ephesians 4:1-4,15-16)
I urge you to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which you were called. With humility and gentleness, and with patience, support each other in love. Take every care to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as one hope is the goal of your calling by God. If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow completely into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole Body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each individual part to work according to its own function. So the body grows until it has built itself up in love.
Thursday (Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh)
Seeking God is an act of boldness, unless it is an act of complete
humility. Encountering God is always a crisis, and the Greek word
crisis means judgment. The necessary moral and spiritual condition for prayer is explained by Simon the New Theologian, who tells us that if we want to pray with a free heart, we must make our peace with our God, our conscience, our neighbour and even the things about us. That is to say that the condition of a life of prayer is a life in accordance with the gospel; a life which makes the commandments and the counsels given us by the gospels second nature.
Scripture (Matthew 5:23-24, 27-28,33-34,37)
If your righteousness does not surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. You have heard how it was said ‘You shall not kill’; but I say this to you, anyone who is angry with a brother will answer before the court. If you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering.
Friday (Maximus the Confessor)
The one who throws off self-love, the mother of the passions, will very easily with God’s help put aside the others, such as anger, grief and so on. Do not compare yourself to people who are weaker, but rather reach out to the commandment of love. For by comparing yourself to these you fall into the pit of conceit; in reaching out for the latter you advance in the heights of humility. The blameworthy passion of love engrosses the mind in material things. The praiseworthy passion of love binds it to divine things. For generally where the mind devotes its time, it also turns its desire and love.
Scripture (Psalm 119:104-109,111-114)
From your precepts I learn wisdom, so I hate all deceptive ways. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Accept, Lord, the tribute from my mouth and teach me your judgements. Your instructions are my eternal heritage, they are the joy of my heart. I devote myself to obeying your statutes, their reward is eternal. I hate a divided heart, I love your Law. You are my refuge and shield, I put my hope in your word.
Martin Bennett