PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS

This poster was seen in a London Church. Some will love it and some will hate itI'm grateful to Fr Z' blog http://wdtprs.com/blog/ for highlighting this

REQUIESCANT IN PACE

PLEASE REMEMBER IN YOUR PRAYERS ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DIED IN THE TWO WORLD WARS AND MORE RECENT CONFLICTS. MAY THEY REST IN PEACE

NEW CRIB FIGURES

For sometime now we have been in need of a new set of crib figures at St. Marie's. Over the passage of time animals have lost ears, fingers and arms have been broken and some of the figures are now in a sorry state.

During our pilgrimage to Lourdes last year I hapeened to mention this to Father Anthony Kay our Vicar General and he took me to the Monasteres de Bethlehem Shop. This shop contains many tasteful statues and religious items made by religious communities all over the world.

We have made a start on the new crib figures. To buy the entire crib in one go would prove to be too expensive so I propose that we do this over period of time. We have to make a start somewhere so this year I got the figures of Mary, Joseph and the Baby. They can be seen in this post. Over a period of time we will be able to purchase all the figures in the set.

Over the next couple of weeks the figures can be seen on the Lady Altar. Do please come and have a look at them.

If you would like to make a donation towards the cost of the new crib or would like to purchase one of the figures, perhaps in memory of a loved one, then please mark your donations 'Crib' and send them to: St Marie's Presbytery, Manchester Road, Bury, BL9 0DR. The names of all those who have contributed will be put in a commemorative folder and placed near the crib and be remembered in the prayers of the parish each Christmas.

RELIGIOUS INSPECTION

Please keep in your prayers the staff and pupils of St Joseph's Primary School as they have their Religious Inspection on Thursday and Friday this week.

WEDDING

Please remember in your prayers Melissa Dunbar and John Cookson who were married at St Joseph's on 18th July. Sorry for the delay in posting the photograph but the gremlins have been at work again!!!

MORE PICTURES

Here are two more pictures (of slightly lesser quality, I'm afraid) of the Absolutions at the Catafalque.

PICTURES

At last the gremlins have been laid to rest and I have been able to upload a picture. Hopefully I wll be able to put some more up in due course. Here we see, Fr. Francis Wadsworth singing the Gospel.

REQUIEM MASS

Apologies to all those who have been hoping to see pics of our recent Latin Mass here. I have been having difficulty uploading them to blogger. As soon as the problem resolves itself then pictures will appear.

EGO TE BAPTIZO...

Congratulations to Daveth and Judith Frost on the birth of their daughter Tamsin Elizabeth Carenza. Baby was born on 4th September and baptised at St Marie's on 10th September using the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Daveth is the Principal of Holy Cross College in Bury.

My apologies for not uplaoding these pictures sooner.

BLESSING OF GRAVES

I will be leading prayers and blessing graves in Bury Cemetery this Sunday afternoon 7th November beginning at 2:00pm. Although this pious devotion has been organised by the Italian Community of Bury anyone who wishes to join us is most welcome and I will gladly bless the graves of those who request it.

REQUIEM MASS

MISSA CANTATA

(Extra Ordinary Form 1962)

FRIDAY 5th NOVEMBER

7:30pm

Saint Marie's Church

Manchester Road

Bury BL9 0DR

Music will be the Plainsong Requiem

from the Liber Usualis

together with Motets by Croft and Purcell

Ks. ALOSZA'S PRYMICJA

Here is a pic of Father Alosza celebrating his First Mass in Karaganda.

CZESTOCHOWA

No trip to Poland can be complete without stopping off to salute Our Lady Queen of Poland who has been honoured at Jasna Gora since the 1300's.

Saint Luke the Evangelist, according to tradition, is believed to be the original artist of this painting in which Mary is depicted holding the Christ Child. This sacred picture, enshrined and venerated at Czestochowa was first brought from Jerusalem through Constantinople and was bestowed to the Princess of Ruthenia. It was brought to Poland in 1382 through the efforts of Ladislaus of Opole who had discovered it in a castle at Belz. To ensure its protection, he invited the Monks of Saint Paul the First Hermit from Hungary to be its guardians. From this time onward, the historic records of the painting are documented and authenticated by the miracles associated with the painting.

In 1430, a devastating attack on the Polish Shrine resulted in tragic losses and the damaging of the holy picture. To this very day, despite the attempts to repair the damage, the slashes on the face of the Virgin Mary are still visible.

The foundation of the Monastery and Shrine in Czestochowa began with a small wooden church. Subsequent development (1632-48) led to the construction of the present day basilica and defense wall which surrounds the sacred buildings.

Under the heroic leadership of the Prior of the Monastery, Father Augustine Kordecki, the Shrine withstood the attacks of the Swedish Invasion of 1655. This great victory proved to be a tremendous boost to the morale of the entire Polish nation. As a result, King Jan Casimir, in 1656, made a solemn vow proclaiming the Mother of God to be the "Queen of the Polish Crown" and the Shrine of Jasna Gora to be the "Mount of Victory" and a spiritual capital for Poland.

During the years of Poland's partition (1772-1918) the Shrine of Jasna Gora became a vibrant link for the Polish people with their homeland. The holy painting enshrined at Czestochowa beamed as a lighthouse of hope during the painful years of national hardships and defeats.Following the restoration of national independence in 1918, pilgrimages to the Polish Shrine grew in number and size.

As World War II ended, a nation devastated by the scourges of war drew new strength and courage from the Shrine to rebuild and recover from the war. Today the Shrine attracts millions of worshipers and tourists who come to honour the miraculous image of Our Lady.

OUT OF THE DEPTHS...

During our stay in Katowice we were taken to visit a mine in Zabrze. We were a little apprehensive about going down the mine as this was the day that the miners were being rescued in Chile. But it was an amazing experience to see first hand what it was like to work down a mine. Entering the mine at the pit head and then going down and down into the earth to a level of 320 metres.

In the middle of the mine a chapel has been constructed and dedicated to St Barbara, the Patroness of mine workers.

Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera so there are no photos to show. However pics can be seen on the official website. www.kopalniaguido.pl

HOLIDAYS CONTINUED

As part of our holiday in Poland we stayed as guests of Fr. Andrej Marcak, a priest of the Archdiocese of Katowice. Fr. Andrej was the Parish Priest of the Polish Community here in Bury a number of years ago. He still keeps in touch with his former parishioners.

Father Andrej was the perfect host during our stay taking us to visit the cathedral and Kuria of the Archdiocese and the seminary. It was here, whilst talking to the Rector that we wer aked to address some of the students of the seminary and share with them experiences of the English Church. Fr. Andrej acted as our translator.

A few photos of our meeting are included in this post.

MORE ABOUT LICHEN

The Basilica of Our Lady of Lichen is in the care of the Marian Fathers, a Congregation founded in ~Poland over 300 years ago by the servant of God Stanislaw Papczynski.
The basilica was consecrated on 7th June 1999 by Our late Holy Father John Paul II

For more information about the Basilica at Lichen please go to www.lichen.pl. The site is mainly in polish, there is a small article in English (Click on the flag to change the language). There is also the option to have a virtual tour of the basliica and grounds. It is well worth a look.

BASILICA AT LICHEN

After arriving in Krakow on the 5th of October we were on the move again on the 7th October to the Basilica of Our Lady of Lichen, the Sorrowful Queen of Poland. Here I was to meet up again with my brother, Fr Alosza Micinski before he went back to Karaganda to continue his mission with the people there. It was lovely to meet with him again and to assure him of our love and prayers as he takes up his ministry in very difficuly and challenging circumstances.

This post includes some pictures of the Basilica at Lichen.

HOLIDAYS

For most people the holiday season take place in the months of June, July and August. For priests this can be a difficult time to get away as there are usually a few weddings in the parist and the drawing to a clsoe of the Sacramental Programme. This is also linked with the availability of a supply priest to look after the parish whilst you get away.

With all this in mind I was finallable to take my holiday at the beginning of October. I am most greatful to Mgr. Teodor Poloczek of the Archdiocese of Katowice who was able to supplt for me during that time.

The Holiday began after the last Mass on 3rd October when I left the parish in the nands of Mgr Poloczek and headed south to stay overnight with my travelling companion, Fr. Philip Thomas of the Diocese of CLifton.

From there we travelled by car via folkestone and Calais, France, Belgium and Germany to our final destination, Krakow in Poland.

Thanks to the kindess of one of the parishioners at the Polish Church we we able to make Krakow our base, staying in a nice appartment owned by them.

WEDDING

Please pray for Catherine Morriss and Jack Palmieri who were married at St Marie's on Saturday 2nd October. We wish them every happiness in their married life.

PLEASE PRAY FOR

Of your charity pray for the happy repose of the souls of those who have recently died:

John Leyden
Lazlo Toth
Jack Morriss
Elizabeth Wosser
Generoso di Biase
Genniao (Jack) Cirillo

PATRICK AND LEANNE'S WEDDING

On the 21st August we celebrated the marraige of Patrick Casey and Leanne Shortt. Please kee pthem in your prayers as the begin their married life together.

PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES

At the end of July I participated in the annual diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. Once again some 25 priests together with our bishop, sick pligrims, youth helpers and people from across the diocese travelled to Our Lady's Shrine. As these last few posts are only a summary of events to play 'catch up' with the blog may I direct you to our diocesan website for a more deailed reflection on our pilgrimage
http://www.salforddiocese.org.uk/

RETURN TO BLOGGING

After a long time away from the blogsphere I thought it was time to make a return. A number of people have commented that the blog has been quiet for a little while which made me realise how many people actually read it.

It is impossible to write something on everything that has happened over the past few monbths so the next few posts will be a summary of some of the main events in the life of the parish.

PRAYERS FOR OUR BISHOPS

I discovered this site today. It is a site that promotes prayer for our Bishops as the Shepherds of the Lord's flock. I encourage you to take a look at the site and to join your prayers to mine for our Bishop.

www.rosaryforthebishop.org

MORE PICTURES

GOOD BYE OLD SCHOOL

On Wednesday of this week I celebrated Mass at St Marie's Primary School to mark the end of the academic year and to ask God's blessing on all our Year 6 Children as they leave our school and move to the High School. Here are some pictures from our celebration.

Processja Boze Cialo (2)

Processja Boze Cialo

On the weekend of Corpus Christi I was invited by Fr Ryszard and the Polish Community in Biry to take part in their Annual Procession of the Blessed Sacrament. My thanks go to Father and the Polish community for their kind inivation and generous hospitality.

DEPART FROM ME O, LORD

Lord,

unworthy as I am you have chosen me

to share in the eternal priesthood of Christ

and the ministry of your Church.

May I be an ardent but gentle servant

of your gospel and your sacraments.

This prayer is given in the Roman Missal for the anniversary of ordination of a priest. I feel it sums up all that a priest is called to be: an ardent but gentle servant of the Gospel and the Sacraments. There is not a priest alive who does not admit his own unworthiness of the great office that he holds. In the life of a priest there are many graced filled moments when you realise that it is not your work but the Lord's work you are doing. Or as i often say ''When it goes well, that's God's doing and when it goes wrong, that's my doing.

I share with you a letter i received from a family for whom I had celebrated a funeral. When you receive letters like this you feel like saying with St Peter ''Depart from me O Lord for I am a sinful man'' and yet it makes you realise that it is the Lord who is doing this work throught us. 'May God who has bgun this work in you bring it to fulfilement in the day of Christ Jesus'

______________________________

DEAR BISHOP BRAIN,

I still have happy memories of when I was your tour guide on the Union of Catholic Mothers trip to Rome and Assisi four years ago. Are you still wearing the panama they bought for you for painting ? I shall be in Lourdes with Liverpool in July and look forward to seeing you again.
That is not my reason for writing, however.

Our brother Peter died on 18th June. Because he was profoundly deaf he never went to his local church but went to Mass with the deaf clubs in Manchester, Sheffield (where he worked) or Sacred Heart Blackpool (where he lived for 20 years).

When he died suddenly I was in Surrey and could not get back in time. I asked the hospital to inform the Priest. The normal chaplain was not on duty that night and so a certain Father Francis was called from Saint Marie's, Bury.

We had always worried that Peter, because of his deafness, might die alone and frightened. It was not to be. Not only was Father Francis gentle and caring, he could sign also. And so Peter knew what was going on and his nieces assure me that he died very peacefully, in the full knowledge of what was happening, shortly after Fr Francis left.

But still the Holy Spirit was moving. It turned out that Peter actually lived in the parish of Saint Marie and Father Francis kindly agreed that it was the appropriate Church for his funeral. He could not have been kinder. Despite his busy schedule he took time to meet us twice to ensure that the family's wishes were met. He guided us gently through the items we needed to consider.

Our family do not normally cry at funerals because we are lucky. We truly believe that our beloved has gone to a better place. But, when Father Francis, who had only met Peter for the first time on his deathbed, took the trouble to "sign" part of the Mass, the hymns and the committal to our brother, well!!!

There are no words to express Peter's family's deep debt of gratitude to Father Francis.
My Lord, Saint Marie's, Salford and yourself are blessed to have such an outstanding shepherd.

Yours Sincerely...

CONFIRMATION PICS

Just received a couple of pics from the recent Confiramtions at St. Marie's. May thanks to parents for passing on so many lovely pics of our recent celebrations. Sorry for the delay in posting them onto the blog.

COMMUNION PARTY

After the First Communion celebrations in church I went into school the following day to bless the First Communion gifts and the cut a special cake with the children.

MORE COMMUNION PICS

FIRST COMMUNION AT SAINT JOSEPH'S

Here are the first pictures of our First Holy Communion Celebrations on Sunday. More will follow shortly.

MORE FIRST COMMUNION PICTURES

Some more pictures from our First Holy Communion celebration at St Marie's yesterday.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNIONS

The First of many pictures to follow from our First Holy Communion celebrations to-day at St Marie's. My thanks go to the staff from both St Marie's and Bury Catholic Prep who have supported me and worked so hard to prepared the children for their special day. Please remember them all in your prayers.