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
15 September 2024
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflection
Gospel – Mark 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him, ‘John the Baptist,’ they said ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’
He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it.’
Scripture Reflection : “To have a green thought in a green shade”
In the second Reading today, St. James talks about doing ‘a good act’, what perhaps we used to call ‘a good deed’. He is linking faith and action, and the fact that you can’t have one without the other. In his words on faith in action Pope Francis frequently refers to ‘the cry of the earth’ and ‘the cry of the poor’. A good work in our present day really does involve the world in which we live!
The truth is that we are all intended to be people who love creation. This week perhaps try this – take a walk in a park, however small, or just look at the land which surrounds your house. Try to experience the world as if you have never seen it before : how much green there is, and all different shades; how tall some trees are, and how small some plants are; how many different colours there are amongst the flowers that are waiting for the autumn break. We all need to keep up our love of creation to make us strong in our care for creation. We tend to care for what we love!
Maybe we can use fresh eyes when we look at the care of the poor, the marginalised and those least able to help themselves. Do our attitudes and actions reflect our Christian values? Most of the negatives of climate change affect the very poor with drought, and storms, and fire and flooding.
What can I do? Individually we can only do a little, – maybe recycling, avoiding waste of food or use of plastic – but, together, a little means a lot.
We Remember In Our Prayers Marguerite Julia Foulds whose Funeral was last week, and Maureen Ann Sheppard whose Funeral Service is at St. Teresa’s on Monday, 16th September at 12 noon and Maria Cirillo whose Funeral Mass is at St.Teresa’s on Wednesday, 2nd October at 11.00 am. We remember them and their families, and those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they all be in God’s peace.
This Weekend At Each Mass There Is The Annual Special Collection For The Home Missions.
There is a Parish Council Meeting this Monday 16th September at 7 pm in the church Sacristy
A Date For Your Diary – St. Teresa’s Parish Christmas Fair Is Coming! – Sunday 1st December. More details to follow shortly.
The SVP Are Now Organising The Traditional ‘Christmas Shoe Box’ Appeal For The Salvation Army. Knitting Volunteers Are Needed For This, to Supply 20 Ladies and 20 Mens Double Ply Wool Hats (Beanie Style), and Scarves If Possible. These will go in the Shoe Boxes with other things for Christmas. The Shoe Boxes are supplied. Please contact Linda (07966 477479) or Carolyn (01253 933696).
Cardinal Allen Catholic High School Are Having Their Annual Open Evening On Thursday 19th September from 5 pm until 8 pm. All are very welcome to go there that evening and see the great opportunities the school has to offer our young people.
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.
There Is A Day of Renewal on Saturday 5th October, from 10 am to 4 pm at St Clare’s Church/Parish Hall, Sharoe Green Lane, Fulwood, Preston PR2 9HH. This will be led by Mary Hardman, who will be speaking on “Forgiveness – Following the Example of Jesus Christ”. The day starts with Mass at 10 am. Please bring a packed lunch. Tea and coffee are available For further information contact Christine 07745 009694 or Annette 07954 429333. Everyone is very welcome.
Please join us on Friday, 27th September in St. Teresa’s Parish Hall for our CELEBRATION of the first year of the FCPCC (Fylde Coast Pregnancy Crisis Centre of which 4 of our parishioners are trustees).
Our first Centre on the Fylde Coast is currently operating from a dedicated room in the Baptist Church, Cleveleys. It provides time, space and support to both men and women, relieving psychological, emotional and spiritual distress related to unplanned pregnancy, post abortion issues or other pregnancy/child loss.
Our Fylde Coast branch of the PCN (Pregnancy Centres Network) will bring much relief to the area as the nearest centre to us is in Manchester, some 40+ miles away and none in England north of us. Prayer support has been an essential part of achieving our goal.
Our ‘Celebration Evening’ starts at 7.30pm in St. Teresa’s Parish Hall, and will consist of a table quiz, a buffet and live music provided by ‘3-PAGE HARMONY’, Tea and Coffee are provided but please feel free to bring your favourite tipple!
Tickets for our evening of the Friday, 27th September, cost £10 and are now on sale from the back of church or contact Sue/Bernard Ward on 858346 or 07889532158.
We hope to make this a lovely social occasion, as well as raising awareness and helping the finances.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (John Henry Newman)
Christ takes you at your word, so to speak; he offers to make you different.
He says, “I will take away from you your heart of stone, the love of this world and its pleasures, if you will submit to my discipline.” Here we draw back; No; we cannot bear to lose the love of the world, to part with our present desires and tastes; we cannot consent to be changed. After all, we are well satisfied at the bottom of our hearts to remain as we are, only we want our conscience taken out of the way.
Scripture (John 21:18)
Peter was hurt when Jesus asked him a third time, ‘Do you love me?’ and said ‘Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.’ Jesus said to him ‘Feed my sheep. In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands and somebody else will take you where you would rather not go.’ In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’
Tuesday (Cardinal Basil Hume)
Humility is central to the Christian life; it is facing the truth about who God is, and the truth of who I am. Humility in another is a very beautiful thing to see; but the attempt to become humble is painful indeed. It hurts to be criticised, to be misunderstood, to be written off. None of us enjoys walking that way. Our Lord must have felt like this at the end of his life. Everybody had turned against him. They were going to execute him; they were insulting him. We know that this moment of failure was God’s moment of success. Oddly enough, I believe that for some of us it is when we realise how little we are regarded by others that we begin to realise how highly we are esteemed by God. Whenever I feel inadequate or a failure, God can enter into my life and bring his success.
Scripture (Ps. 119: 85, 92-96)
The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me in defiance of your Law. True to your faithful love, give me life, and I shall keep the instructions you have laid down. Had your Law not been my delight, I would have perished in my misery. I shall never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours, save me, for I seek your precepts, for by them you have given me life. I am yours, save me, for I seek your precepts. The wicked may hope to destroy me, but all my thoughts of your instructions. I have seen that all perfection is finite, but your commandment has no limit.
Wednesday (Henri Nouwen)
In answer to Jesus’ question “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?”, it is not easy to distinguish between doing what we are called to do and doing what we want to do. True action leads us to the fulfilment of our vocation. Whatever our position in life, the question is not “What do I most want?” but “What is my vocation?”. The most prestigious position in society can be an expression of obedience to our call as well as a sign of our
refusal to hear that call, and the least prestigious position, too, can be a response to our vocation as well as a way to avoid it. If our actions flow from our call, we are in fact drinking our cup, bit by bit. The sorrows of our lives will no longer paralyze us, nor will our joys make us lose our perspective.
Scripture (1 John 2:3-6)
In this way we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him’ without keeping his commandments, is a liar and truth has no place in him. But anyone who does obey what he ahs said, in such a one God’s love truly reaches its perfection. We can be sure that we are one in God only when the one who claims to be living in him is living the same kind of life that Christ lived.
Thursday (Letters from a Russian monk)
St. Anthony said: ‘When I was visiting an abbot, a virgin came to the old man and said “Abba, I spend my life fasting; I eat once a week and study the Old and New Testaments every day.” The old man answered “Have poverty and plenty become a matter of indifference to you?” “No”, she said. “Disgrace and praise?” “No”, she said. “Enemies and friends?” “No”, she said. Then the old man said “Go and work, you have achieved nothing.” She had studied the Holy Scripture, but had not understood the essence of what it taught.
Scripture (Mark 8:31-35)
Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days rise again. And he said all this quite openly. The, taking him aside, Peter tried to rebuke him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said ‘Get behind me, Satan! You’re not thinking as God thinks, but as human beings do. He called his disciples and the people to him and said ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.’
Friday (Evelyn Underhill)
The spiritual life requires a definite plan of life: and courage in sticking to the plan, not merely for days or weeks, but for years. New mental and emotional habits must be formed, all our interests re-arranged in new proportion round a new centre. This is something which cannot be hurried; but unless we take it seriously, can be infinitely delayed. Many people suggest by their behaviour that God is of far less importance than their morning paper or early cup of tea. The life of co-operation with Him must begin with a full and practical acceptance of the truth that God alone matters. We must be prepared for the fact that even on small and personal levels this will cost a good deal; frequently thwarting our inclinations and demanding real sacrifice.
Scripture Isaiah 50:4-7)
The Lord has given me a disciples tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple. The Lord has opened my ear, and I have not resisted, I have not turned away.
Martin Bennett