Phone/Fax: 0161 773 2324

OUR LADY OF GRACE Parish web page: www.ourladyofgrace.co.uk PRESTWICH Parish Email: [email protected] ‘Stay with us, Lord, on our journey’ Diocesan web page: www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk

1st SUNDAY IN LENT 21 February 2021

HOLY MASS THIS WEEK SUNDAY First Mass of Sunday is 7pm Saturday. Sunday morning 9.00 & 11.00 am MONDAY 12 noon The Chair of St Peter the Apostle TUESDAY 12 noon Lent Weekday/St WEDNESDAY 12 noon Lent Weekday THURSDAY 12 noon Lent Weekday FRIDAY 12 noon Lent Weekday SATURDAY 12 noon Lent Weekday

The church is open every day Monday to Saturday from 11.45 am to 1.00 pm Sundays from 8.45 am to 10.00 am, 10.45 am to 12 noon

My dear Parishioners a number who are Our Bishop will speak on the and Friends, housebound or shielding. ministry of serving during this These comments are typical: time and in the future. Have you noticed a little change in the Bidding Just a quick note to say how To register your place or for Prayers at our Sunday wonderful it has been to be more information email Mass? For some years now able to join you virtually for formation@dioceseofsalford. we have been praying in turn Mass over the last couple of org.uk indicating your child’s for the parishes within our weeks and this evening for age and which session they deanery - the deanery of St Ash Wednesday too. will be attending. An under Therese of Lisieux, covering 18’s videoconferencing Order is restored in my life Bury and Rochdale. consent form must be now being able to see my downloaded from the More recently, the diocesan precious church ...It makes diocesan website (address at website has released a me feel a lot more closer to top of this letter). The retreat network of prayer covering our beloved God. will take place on Zoom. the whole diocese, deanery Access is easy via the parish by deanery. We will now Altar servers, I hope you will website. Simply go onto the follow this network, take advantage of this online parish web page, click on remembering one particular retreat and that you will find it ‘Live Streaming’ and you will helpful. parish each week. We began see the list of upcoming and last Sunday with the past streams. Cathedral deanery of St

John. Previous newsletters gave a

Our diocese is holding an short account of the life of before and Messages continue to arrive Altar Servers Online after she came to in appreciation of the live Retreat next Saturday 27 and how she streaming from Our Lady of February: has been declared Grace church, including from - 10am-12pm (ages 8-11) ‘Venerable’ – a step towards - 1pm-3pm (ages 12-17) canonisation. The story and the Fr concludes here: , lies in the Fr Dearman’s reflections shrine of St Anne’s Church, on CHARACTERS FROM Elizabeth had become a Sutton, St Helens. The THE BIBLE Catholic with the help of church and shrine are now a Blessed , a place of pilgrimage. 5 - ELEAZAR member of the Order of the Cross and Passion, founded After her death numbers The cruelty of the Greek by St . grew. New works were Guided then by another undertaken. In 1875 the invaders in the books of Passionist, Fr Gaudentius Sisters were affiliated to the Maccabees knew no bounds. Rossi, and later by Fr Passionist Congregation, As well as torturing and Ignatius Spencer, Elizabeth founded by St Paul of the killing seven Jewish children took on board the charism Cross. They changed their in the presence of their and spirituality of St Paul of name to Sisters of the Cross mother, they seized the 90- the Cross. and Passion and ever since year-old Eleazar and tried to have worn the distinctive Following his example, she Passionist sign. force him to eat pork, which and her Sisters became they knew would mean a contemplatives in action, Elizabeth’s Cause is now rejection of his Faith which combining Martha and Mary being examined by the Holy he had lived and taught for into one. She was devoted to See with a view to eventual the passion and death of canonisation. On 21 January so many years. Jesus, expressed very 2021 Francis approved simply in a verse she once a decree of the Congregation His well-meaning friends wrote: for the Causes of , urged him to escape death A cross no cross where recognizing the ‘heroic virtue’ by eating another portion of Jesus is; of Sister Mary of meat and only pretending to With Jesus crosses are my Jesus, and declaring her eat the pork. But he knew bliss; ‘Venerable’. Why should the cross so that to do this would lead frighten me many people to lose their When on the Cross my God I faith and so he went bravely Next Friday, 26 February, is see? to his death. Family Fast Day for CAFOD Elizabeth drew her strength (Catholic Agency For from the and Overseas Development). We can sometimes find from the presence of Christ in This is the official aid agency ourselves in a situation the Blessed , the of the in where to do something and Wales. ‘Memorial of the Passion’. would not be wrong but CAFOD’s message is: This She treasured having the could upset other people Blessed Sacrament in the Lent in lockdown, you and and lead them into convent chapel. your parish can help transform lives! wrongdoing. St Paul said A Sister later explained how that eating food which had The CAFOD website tells they felt they were truly His been used in a pagan how people in developing Spouses, living under the sacrifice would not be sinful, same roof with Him. Now, countries often have to walk but might be an obstacle to when the day’s toil was over, for hours to get water. On they could visit Him, and visits to Kenya, I’ve seen how other people’s consciences, when weary and CAFOD has transformed the so he would rather go discouraged, often seeing lives of such people. We can without than cause another make this possible by putting little fruit in their work for person’s downfall. in the CAFOD envelope what souls, they could lay the burden at His Feet, and we save next Friday and Following Jesus can always receive comfort, and returning it next Sunday. For strength to take up His Cross those who are not at church, sometimes make great and follow Him once more. the CAFOD website provides demands on our generosity! Elizabeth died at Sutton in for online donations. Here’s 1864. Her body, together wishing you all a Happy Lent! with Blessed Dominic Barberi Fr Allen