DIVINE MERCY DEVOTIONS

On a recent holiday to Poland I able to purchase a picture of the Divine Mercy.  This devotion was made popular through the 'Apostle of Divine Mercy' - St Faustina. 

3:00pm



DIVINE MERCY DEVOTIONS

EVERY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

BEGINNING 6th FEBRUARY

ANOTHER SETTING

MUSIC FOR MASS

Here is one possible setting for the New Translation of the Gloria at Mass

CHRISTMAS CRIB

With the rush to bring the blog upto date I forgot to add a picture of the Crib at St Joseph's.  My apologies for that.  I include one with this post.  As readers will be able to see form the pic we decided to make a change to previous years and have the crib scene in front of the altar.  A number of people have commented on how nice it looked and made a change from being 'confined in that box' as one parishioner put it.  Any further comments will be welcome.

FATHER AIDAN O'REILLY RIP

Please pray for the happy repose of the soul of Father Aidan O'Reilly who has recently died.  His obituary and funeral details are given below.

Fr Aidan O'Reilly died in Nazareth House, Prestwich, on Thursday 20th January. Father O'Reilly was in his seventy-eighth year, the fifty-second year of his Sacred Priesthood.

Aidan O'Reilly was born on 12th May, 1933, and was baptised on the same day in the Parish Church of St Killian, Mullagh, County Cavan. He was confirmed on 11th April, 1944, in the same church. He was educated at St Patrick's College, County Cavan, St Mary's College, Dundalk and St Kieren's College, Kilkenny. Aidan was accepted as an ecclesiastical student for the Diocese of Salford on 11th March, 1954, and continued his studies at St Kieren's College, Kilkenny. He was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on 31st May 1959, in Kilkenny.

Father O’Reilly served the diocese in the following appointments:

As Assistant Priest:

1959 Sacred Heart, Derker

1959 St Joseph, Reddish

1967 Sacred Heart, Colne

1974 St Catherine, Didsbury

As Parish Priest:

1977 St Veronica, Helmshore

As Assistant Priest:

1979 St Mary, Oldham

1979 St Peter, Middleton (with special responsibility for St John Fisher’s, Boarshaw)

1981 St Joseph the Worker, Irlam

As Parish Priest:

1989 St Boniface, Lower Broughton

1991 St Philip, Lower Kersal

As Pastor Emeritus

1993 St Hugh of Lincoln, Stretford

1995 St Joseph, Bury

Fr Aidan O’Reilly retired from active ministry in the year 2000 and lived in retirement in a house on Pole Lane, Bury, and for the last couple of years he has lived at Nazareth House in Prestwich.

Funeral arrangements

Fr O'Reilly's mortal remains will be received into the chapel of Nazareth House, Prestwich, on Tuesday 01 February at 7.00pm for concelebrated Mass. Bishop Brain will celebrate the Requiem Mass on Wednesday 02 February at 11.00am. Burial will take place on Thursday 03 February in Fr O'Reilly's home parish in Mullgah, County Cavan.

SAINT JOSEPH'S PRESBYTERY

The plaque, commemorating the opening of the Cathedral Centre has the following inscription: ‘Congregavit nos in unum, Deus amor’ - The love of God gathers us into one – a reminder that we are all the family of God in Salford Diocese.

The charitable works of our diocese have a long history. In 1886 Bishop Vaughan founded the Catholic Children’s Rescue Society in response to the poverty and deprivation experienced by children at the time of the Industrial Revolution in the urban communities and the mill towns around Greater Manchester and South Lancashire.

Bishop Holland, in the 1970s, set up Catholic Welfare Societies to answer some of the needs of adults in our society. The CWS, as it became known, developed services to older people and local communities especially in North Manchester and responded also to the growing needs of homeless people in the area.

Inspired by Bishops Vaughan and Holland, in our own day we continue the charitable work of the diocese. To this end in 2008 a new charity entitled Caritas Diocese of Salford was created and now incorporates the work of Catholic Children’s Rescue Society and Catholic Welfare Societies – so it is no longer seen as exclusively a child care agency.

Caritas appointed its first Chief Executive, Mark Wiggin, in 2010. Bishop Terence Brain, inspired by Bishop Vaughan and Bishop Holland, said “The new charity will provide professional support to allow local initiatives to grow. It will help us all to realise that what I do in my community is part of the work of the Family of God of the Diocese: we are one in body and spirit serving the one God through the one Lord, one faith and one baptism”.

Caritas Diocese of Salford is a charity with a long history, a demonstrated ability to change and adapt and the will to continue to do so. It has never been static. In joining in a partnership with Caritas, whether as an employee, a service beneficiary, a volunteer, a funder, or in a local community project partnership, you are becoming part of its present, its future and ultimately another phase of its rich history!

AND THIS IS WHERE WE AS A PARISH COMMUNITY COME IN. Representatives from Caritas Diocese of Salford will be at our Masses this weekend to let us know of future Diocesan plans for the use of St. Joseph’s Presbytery. Let us listen to what they have to say and think how we can be involved in this exciting project.

There will also be a parish meeting at St. Joseph's on Tuesday 25th January at 7pm for anyone to come and ask questions, share their ideas, voice their concerns etc. Please do come along so that no one can say ‘No one told me, or no one asked me what I thought.’

As you will have seen from reading earlier posts on this blog we will begin to use the new translation of the Order of Mass from september this year.  I have already posted the Gloria and Creed in the new translation, 

Here is a sampler of the new DVD that has been produced to help us with the new translation of the Roman Missal.

NEW TRANSLATION 2

Here we see the words of the Creed in both the present translation and the one we will use from September this year.  Again the changes in the new text are highlighted in blue.

We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures,
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen
 
_________________________________________

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

A TASTE OF THE NEW TRANSLATION

This post contains the Confiteor (I Confess...) that we use at the start of Mass in the Penitnetial Rite.  The first one is the text as we currently have it.  The other is the text as we will pray it from September 2011. The changes to the present text have been highlighted in blue


I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned thorugh my own fault
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
and I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

_____________________________________


I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

NEW TRANSLATION

The following statement has been issued by the Communications Office of The Bishops' Conference of England & Wales

Before leaving England, Pope Benedict XVI asked the Bishops of England & Wales to prepare for the introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal. The Missal contains the texts which are prayed by priest and people every time Catholics come to Mass. Work on the new translation has been ongoing since the publication of a new Latin edition of the Roman Missal in 2002. The Holy Father thanked the bishops for the contribution they had made, ‘with such painstaking care, to the collegial exercise of reviewing and approving the texts. This has provided an immense service to Catholics throughout the English-speaking world’.

The translation of the Roman Missal is now complete and the Holy See has given its recognitio on the text. The bishops, following the Holy Father’s encouragement that this new translation is an opportunity for ‘in-depth catechesis on the Eucharist and renewed devotion in the manner of its celebration’, have decided that from September 2011 the Order of Mass in the new translation will be used in parishes in England and Wales. The Order of Mass contains those texts of both priest and people which are constant at each celebration of Mass. For 3 months from September 2011 until December 2011 there will be catchesis in parishes both on the new translation and on the Mass itself. This will precede the publication of the new Missal which at the earliest is expected by Advent 2011.

To assist parishes and other communities to prepare for the new translation and to assist them in its introduction and catechesis a number of resources are being prepared. The first of these, the interactive DVD Become One Body One Spirit in Christ has already been sent out to dioceses.

Bishop Arthur Roche, bishop of Leeds and chairman of the Department for Christian Life and Worship said:

“The new translation is a great gift to the Church. The Mass is at the heart of what the Church is, it is where we deepen our faith in Christ and are nourished by him so that we can glorify the Lord by our lives. In the new translation we find a text that is more faithful to the Latin text and therefore a text which is richer in its theological content and allusions to the scriptures but also a translation which, I believe, will move people’s hearts and minds in prayer.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Church in England and Wales to learn about our faith and the Mass. I hope that parishes over the coming months will prepare for the introduction of the new translation with resources, such as Become One Body One Spirit in Christ and the materials being prepared by the Department for Christian Life and Worship and others. When the completion of the text was first announced Pope Benedict said: ‘Many will find it hard to adjust to unfamiliar texts after nearly forty years of continuous use of the previous translation. The change will need to be introduced with due sensitivity, and the opportunity for catechesis that it presents will need to be firmly grasped. I pray that in this way any risk of confusion or bewilderment will be averted, and the change will serve instead as a springboard for a renewal and a deepening of Eucharistic devotion all over the English-speaking world.’ I invite people to unite their prayers with those of the Holy Father for the introduction of the new translation.”

Further information on the new translation of the Missal can be found here: http://www.missal.org.uk/

 

CRIB FIGURES

First of all may I thank all those who have generously donated towards the cost of the new crib figures at St Marie's. 

In the photo that accompanies this post you can see the new figures of St Joseph and Our Lady.  The figure of the Christ Child is also new and is the one that we will use from the Epiphany till the Presentation of the Lord.  We also have a new figure of the new born Infant that we will use from Christmas to the Epiphany. 

The new figures come from the Monasteres de Bethlehem shop in Lourdes.  Each time I go on the diocesan pilgrimage I will be able to obtain a few more figurres so that over the coming years we can build up the crib.  The names of all those who have generously donated towards this will be placed on a plaque near the Crib and remembered at Christmas in the years ahead.  

SCHOOL AGAIN

In the afternoon we focused on Years 5 and 6. Part of our time was taken up with a question and answer section where I was in the 'hot seat' and the children could ask me any questions they liked about the life and work of a priest.

Following on from this I spoke about the vestments used at Mass and got one of the children to volunteer to be our priest. From the photos i thionk you can tell that the children enjoyed it. i enjoyed it too. It is wonderful to be able to share with the children the joy of what it means to be a priest.

MORE FROM SCHOOL

The next day We focused on the the junior children. With the Year 3 children we talked about the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism and that it is from this Sacrament that all the vocations in the life of the Church come.

During our time together we looked in detail at the Sacrament of Baptism and the promises that parents and godparents make on behalf of their children. We also recalled the first unit of our our Sacramental Programme preparation 'We are the People of God.'

VOCATIONS AND SCHOOL VISITS

Each parish and school of the diocese is allocated a day to pray for and foster vocations to the Priesthood and the Religious. I was asked if I would play at part in this at our primary school - St joseph and St Bede. This I was more than happy to do and prepared something that we actually spread over two days so that the majority of pupils could be involved.

In the infant department I talked to the children about some of the many different things a priest is asked to do. To help the children focus on the different aspects of a prest's work i used a power point presentation with photographs taken from different ascpects of my ministry and from the different parishes in which I have served.

As a fun activity in the afternoon we talked about the different vestments that a priest wears for Mass and then the children made their own models of a priest and coloured in vestments to dress him.

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE

Recently we were pleased to receive the Miraculous Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St Marie's. This imagine is one that has touched and been consecrated with the TILMA (cloak) of St Juan Diego.
The image was placed in church for veneration by the faith and was the focus of our day of prayer for the sanctity of human life.

A TOUCH OF SADNESS

Over the Christmas period it has been my priviledge to minister to those who have been bereaved. Losing a loved one at any time of the year is never a very nice experience, but at Christmas time it seems to take on an added significance. Please remember in your prayers all those who have recently died, especially those who died around Christmas time. Also remember their families who mourn their passing.

Hannah Haniak

Geoffrey Gilbert

Stephen Bonsu

Maureen Booth

Pat Thompson

Thomas MaCauley

Janina Nowak

Mary Halford

David Dunbar

Donald Gorton

Raymond Deveney

Tony Hardman

Rosina Balsamo

Bridget Cosgrave

Violet Lyons

FLOWERS

In between all the liturgies of Christmas I managed to do a spot of flower arranging at St Joseph's. To the professional eye they probably lack a lot, but it was my little effort to beautify the church for Christmas.

A QUICK REVIEW

Due to the fact i havent posted anything for a while I will try and summarise events over the last few months to bring this up to date and then hopefully all will be well.

Christmas seems a distance memory as I wirte this post, but I am happy to say that things went very well here in the parish.

The scene for Christmas was set by our annual service of nine lessons and carols by candlelight. Having the snow and ice didnt help with the numbers attending but those who came enjoyed a very prayerful service and rflection in prepartation for the apporaching Feast.

Masses for the Chirstmas Fewast were duly celebrated in both our churches. Here I record my thanks to theose who worked so hard in preparing our churches for the celebration of the liturgy. It would be impossible to name all those who have helped by name, but you know who you are and I am deeply grateful for your help and support.

Hot on the heals was the Feast of The Holy Family and again we gathered in church for our Sunday Masses. The Bank Holiday was welcomed as a time of relaxation, especially for priests!!!

BACK TO BLOGGING

Its amazing finding out who reads this little blog!!! A number a people have commented over the last few weeks that I haven't posted anything for sometime. I must try and rememdy this over the next few days or so.