Ss Aidan & Oswald, Royton, Oldham

Home , Royton, Salford

 0161-624-1322

E-mail – [email protected]

Parish Website – www.staidanroyton.org.uk

St Vincent de Paul Society  07528 790623

Credit Union E-mail – [email protected]

Parish Priest: Fr Stephen Doyle

5th Sunday of Lent

Weekending 20th/21st March 2021

Mass Times This Week

Saturday Vigil – 5.30p.m. Sunday – 10.00a.m.

Monday 8.30a.m., Tuesday 8.30a.m., Wednesday 8.30a.m., Thursday 8.30a.m., Friday 8.30a.m., Saturday 12.15p.m.

Confessions

Saturday – 11.30a.m. to 12.00noon

Baptisms

Every Sunday – 10.45a.m. (By Appointment)

REFERENCES FOR TODAY’S MASS

Penitential Act - B The Apostles' Creed Preface II of Lent Eucharistic Prayer No.2 Memorial Acclamation - B

THIS WEEK’S CALENDAR

Sunday 5th Sunday of Lent Tuesday The Anniversary of the First National Lockdown 6.00p.m. Holy Hour (See below) St Turibius of Mogrovejo St Turibius of Mogrovejo was a 16th century Archbishop of Lima, Peru who used his authority to protect the poor Thursday The Annunciation of the Lord 7.30p.m. 'The Drama Displayed: A Journey of Salvation.' An Online Course from the Christian Heritage Centre, Stonyhurst. (See below) 7.30p.m. An Online Talk hosted by the 'Global Catholic Movement.' (See below) Saturday 5.30p.m. Palms will be blessed and distributed (See below) Sunday Palm Sunday 10.00a.m. Palms will be blessed and distributed

THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO:

• everyone who recently very kindly donated food for our visitors to the Welcome Centre. Although the Centre is closed because of the Coronavirus restrictions, nevertheless the poor still need to be fed and your generosity enables this to be done. Your response to this latest appeal has been quite extraordinary! Of all the appeals during the whole of the Coronavirus pandemic, this one has generated the biggest response. So, on behalf of all the beneficiaries of your kindness may I thank you very, very much. May God reward your generosity.

THE NEW PLANNED GIVING ENVELOPES – are available for collecting from the back of church this weekend. If you are not in the Planned Giving Scheme and would like to be, please telephone me and we will get it organised. If you are a taxpayer, the parish is able to benefit financially from Her Majesty’s Government. This will not affect your financial situation in any way – but you have to sign-up for this and join the Planned Giving Scheme. Again, you may telephone me should you wish the parish to benefit in this way. Thank you. (14/3) (21/3)

IN KEEPING WITH SOCIAL DISTANCE GUIDELINES – and Track- and-Trace legislation, it is necessary to ascertain numbers of attendees for all the Holy Week Services. To this end, as we had at Christmas, there are lists in the church porches for people to put their names and contact numbers down for any or all of the following services: Thursday 7.00p.m. Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper Friday 3.00p.m. Solemn Celebration of the Lord's Passion Saturday 5.30p.m. Easter Vigil Mass Sunday 10.00a.m. Easter Sunday Mass (14/3) (21/3)

CARDINAL VINCENT NICHOLS – has requested that every church in England and Wales be open at some time on Tuesday, the Anniversary of the First National Lockdown. It will be a National Day of Reflection. There will be a Holy Hour in this parish at 6.00p.m. for both silent prayer and reflection. The cardinal also encourages us to take part in a minute's silence at 12noon on Tuesday and a doorstep vigil of light at 8.00p.m. THE DRAMA DISPLAYED: A JOURNEY OF SALVATION – is the title of a free series of online talks offered by the Christian Heritage Centre, Stonyhurst. A range of excellent speakers will examine the key moments of salvation history, with the aid of great works of art at 7:30pm on every second Thursday of the month. The final talk takes place on Thursday. The Life to Come is the title of Thursday's talk. For more information and/or registration please visit: christianheritagecentre.com/events/the-drama-displayed/ (10/1) (24/1) (7/2) (21/2) (7/3) (21/3) THE GLOBAL CATHOLIC MOVEMENT – is hosting a series of reflective evenings throughout Lent with inspiring speakers, prayer and discussion. In 2015, Pope Francis published his ground-breaking letter on the environment Laudato Si. Since then, millions of people worldwide have joined the global movement to address the environmental crisis our world is facing. The sixth and final one in this series is on Thursday evening at 7.30. These engaging documentaries will inform and challenge people to respond to Pope Francis’ call to Care for Our Common Home. The talks are very important for all who are concerned about what is happening to our world and who want to take action. Pope Francis says, “Living our vocation to be protectors of God's handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or secondary aspect of our Christian experience...... Truly, much can be done!” (Laudato Si, 217 & 180) To register, email [email protected] (7/2) (14/2) (21/2) (28/2) (7/3) (14/3) (21/3) NEXT SUNDAY IS PALM SUNDAY – and because of the Coronavirus restrictions and Directives from the Bishops of England and Wales, things will be slightly different from usual. The palms will not be distributed before Mass. We will not be meeting outside for the Blessing of Palms and, therefore, there will not be a procession. The palms will be blessed at the back of church before Mass starts and will be distributed at the end of Mass as people leave church. The short version of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ will be read, but just by myself and not in parts. (21/3)

THE DIOCESAN DEPARTMENT FOR FORMATION – has produced a weekly Eco Thought throughout Lent. This week's is: ‘Unless a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single harvest; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.’

Take time over these next two weeks to notice signs of new life in the natural world around you; new growth making its way from beneath the winter soil, leaves returning, springtime making its presence felt, albeit often hesitantly.

And let the cycle of dying and rising in nature deepen our resolve to draw closer in these two weeks to Jesus and walk with him on his journey through the Cross to the Resurrection.

SALFORD DIOCESE IS CONDUCTING – an Environmental Case Study and its organisers are collecting information about things that are going on across the Diocese that have something to do with sustainability or ecology. They would like to know if there are things happening in parishes, schools or in the community. This could be almost anything – it could be the creation of a wildlife garden, tree planting, food growing, the formation of an environmental committee and activities, screening environmental films and hosting discussions, environmental education programmes or the installation of renewable energy for example. If you know of any activities like this that you would like to share, please let them know. The work that you, your friends or your colleagues have been doing might be interesting or helpful to the work of other people, across Salford Diocese and in other dioceses, parishes or schools. They would like to hear about anything that you think is relevant. For more information and to contribute to the Environmental Case Study please visit the Salford Diocesan Website. (7/3) (14/3) (21/3)