Newsletter for Catholics in 29 March 2020 + Fifth Sunday in Lent + Sundays Year A + Weekdays Year 2

TOGETHER Our churches have been closed as directed by Archbishop Malcolm. For now your homes are a domestic . I was delighted to see that Claudia has taken matters into her own hands and gathered her family for prayer!

Masses Intentions 29 March—5 April Sat Col. Michael John Bennetts A Sunday Parishioners Mon Stephen Buckley Tues John Ormsby A Wed John Wade LD Thurs Fr Patrick O’Sullivan Fri Margaret Parr and Towers Family Sat Thomas and Margaret Kennedy A

Palm Sunday Parishioners

How Do I Make a Spiritual Communion?

Alone or together with others in your household

Make the sign of the cross You could read the Gospel of the day Then share prayer intentions quietly or aloud Say the Lord’s Prayer Then make an act of spiritual communion At home we can follow Mass online, Make a Spiritual My Jesus, Communion, Pray for those who are ill, the dying, NHS staff I believe that You are present who care for them, for one another. in the Most Holy Sacrament.

Let’s not get lonely! Stay in touch using the telephone 568313 I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. or email [email protected], or join our Facebook Since I cannot at this moment page: Birkdale Catholics. Please share with family and friends. receive You sacramentally, At this time we can only send out the newsletter TOGETHER come at least spiritually into my heart. electronically. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me Lord Jesus Christ, to be separated from You. send the Holy Spirit over the world Amen. St. Alphonsus Liguori affected by the corona virus. In your goodness: Heal the sick! Close with the sign of the cross.

Protect those in danger of being infected. Strengthen those who care for the sick. TOGETHER by email My life is in your hands. [email protected] to get this I trust in you. newsletter weekly Amen. in your inbox.

Parish Priest: Fr Atli Jónsson Office: 40 York Road, PR8 2AY, Tel 01704 568313 [email protected] Deacon: Rev Bill Ball, Tel 567788. Parish www.birkdalecatholics.com & www.stteresasbirkdale.org Deanery www.southportcatholicchurches.org Diocese www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk Other Catholic churches in Southport: St John Stone & Sacred Heart Tel. 577722 * St Marie & St Patrick Tel. 531229 * Holy Family Tel. 532613 MASS THIS SUNDAY Gospel Acclamation Glory and praise to you, O Christ! Preface Fifth Sunday of Lent I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; Eucharistic Prayer III whoever believes in me will never die. Glory and praise to you, O Christ! Entrance Antiphon Give me justice, O God, Gospel John 11:3-7,17,20-27,33-45 and plead my cause against a nation that is faithless. The sisters sent this message to Jesus, ‘Lord, the man From the deceitful and cunning rescue me, you love is ill.’ On receiving the message, Jesus said, for you, O God, are my strength. ‘This sickness will end not in death but in God’s glory, Collect and through it the Son of God will be glorified.’ By your help, we beseech you, Lord our God, Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, yet may we walk eagerly in that same charity when he heard that Lazarus was ill he stayed where he with which, out of love for the world, was for two more days before saying to the disciples, your Son handed himself over to death. ‘Let us go to Judaea.’ Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you On arriving, Jesus found that Lazarus had been in the in the unity of the Holy Spirit, tomb for four days already. Bethany is only about two one God, for ever and ever. Amen. miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to sympathise with them over their A reading from the first book of Ezekiel 37:12-14 brother. When Martha heard that Jesus had come she The Lord says this: I am now going to open your went to meet him. Mary remained sitting in the house. graves; I mean to raise you from your graves, my Martha said to Jesus, ‘If you had been here, my brother people, and lead you back to the soil of Israel. And you would not have died, but I know that, even now, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves whatever you ask of God, he will grant you.’ ‘Your and raise you from your graves, my people. And I shall brother’ said Jesus to her ‘will rise again.’ Martha said, put my spirit in you, and you will live, and I shall resettle ‘I know he will rise again at the resurrection on the last you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, day.’ Jesus said: ‘I am the resurrection and the life. If have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks. anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ Psalm 129 ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said ‘I believe that you are the Christ, Response: With the Lord there is mercy the Son of God, the one who was to come into this and fullness of redemption. world.’ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord, Jesus said in great distress, with a sigh that came Lord, hear my voice! straight from the heart, ‘Where have you put him?’ They O let your ears be attentive said, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept; and the Jews to the voice of my pleading. R. said, ‘See how much he loved him!’ But there were If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, some who remarked, ‘He opened the eyes of the blind Lord, who would survive? man, could he not have prevented this man’s death?’ But with you is found forgiveness: Still sighing, Jesus reached the tomb: it was a cave with for this we revere you. R. a stone to close the opening. Jesus said, ‘Take the

My soul is waiting for the Lord. stone away.’ Martha said to him, ‘Lord, by now he will I count on his word. smell; this is the fourth day.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I not My soul is longing for the Lord told you that if you believe you will see the glory of more than watchman for daybreak. God?’ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted Let the watchman count on daybreak up his eyes and said: and Israel on the Lord. R. ‘Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I knew

Because with the Lord there is mercy indeed that you always hear me, but I speak for the and fullness of redemption, sake of all these who stand round me, so that they may Israel indeed he will redeem believe it was you who sent me.’ from all its iniquity. R. When he had said this, he cried in a loud voice, A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 8:8-11 ‘Lazarus, here! Come out!’ The dead man came out, his People who are interested only in unspiritual things can feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth never be pleasing to God. Your interests, however, are round his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, let him not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit go free.’ of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary and had possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to seen what he did believed in him. him. Though your body may be dead it is because of The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ. sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you. The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Something to Think and Pray about

The shortest verse in the Bible is in this Sunday’s Gospel: “Jesus wept.” Reading these two words we learn that Jesus is a Prayer with the Pope March 2020 real human being, the son of Man, a man of the earth We pray that the Church in China may persevere in who weeps over a friend. its faithfulness to the Gospel and grow in unity. His was a human heart. He liked his friends. They https://www.facebook.com/thepopevideo gave him a home away from home. They took him away from the mob to safety for food, companionship www.thepopevideo.org and rest. We might picture him at a friend’s house; there is chat, laughter, prayer and people who know We Pray for the Sick how to keep silence. See him at table where food is Toby Peters aged two, Nella aged four, shared and a glass of wine raised in celebration of Eddie Grant, Jack Rogan, Canon Bert Shaw, goodness and joy. Ciara Lee, Mgr Austin Hunt, Joyce Mountford, Today Jesus would at your house share a laugh, eat Sheila Smith, Peter , Harry Purcell, a scone and have a cup of tea with you. He would Dorothy Gibb, Christopher Connolly, Terry Martin, know how to operate your dishwasher and help cook or clear the table. He would be like the man who Peter Berry, Elvira McLay, Anne Dutch, Kitty Turner, gives a wink at the sign of peace! Not always so Sid Geoghegan, Kathleen Jenkinson, Pat Little, serious, even about religion. He would be at ease in Kathryn Harding, Emma Whittaker, Nola Nelson, your company and you in his. Audrey Garside, Lindsey Rodger, Minna Moffatt, He is a good friend. Friendship with him renews our Mary Stanton, Anne Dodgson, Sian Williams, spirit. Michael Walton, Gordon Lindsay, Doreen Grant, When life is ending we will give thanks for friends, Marian Ball, Valerie Spalding, Jemima Jenkins, and regret the way we have drifted or hurt each Harold Waters, Michael McCormack, Pat Mills, other. Real friendship is when another’s thoughts and Catherine (young mum), Muriel Appleton, life become at least as, or even more important than Michael McIlroy, Megan Borthwick, our own. Richard Hughes, Michael & Dorothy Brady So, the resurrection and the life, is not just for after death. It is for now. We raise each other up in The Lately Dead friendship and in love. It happens by the grace of the Elizabeth (Betty) Beck Lord, himself a friend. When we love, God lives in us. Anniversaries Picture your friends and those you love Col. Michael John Bennetts, John Ormsby, and give thanks to God for each of them. Thomas and Margaret Kennedy

Lord, We pray for help me to keep the love and friendship Our parish, given me alive. that this time apart may help us to strengthen the bond we have with God and each other

Our schools, the children, staff and governors.

The emergency services and all hospital workers The sick and the housebound All affected by the coronavirus

All worried about their health

Catholic Patient at Southport Hospital/ Hospice? When a priest is urgently needed ask the Ward staff to contact the priest on-call.

Do you shop online? You can raise money for the parish, at no additional cost to yourself? Click on the

link below and follow the simple instructions. https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/ birkdalecatholics/?invite=mv7m0f&referral- campaign=s2s Mary's Mantle List from of Shops that do local delivery (Some may need a minimum order) Sub tuum praesidium These businesses will NOT be confugimus, knocking on your door unsolicited. Sancta Dei Genetrix. Please take care with door-to-door Nostras deprecationes sellers! ne despicias Jennings Greengrocers 553775 in necessitatibus nostris, Fruit and Veg 577686 sed a periculis cunctis Hallidays 551524 / 07875082019 libera nos semper, Bates Diary 567595 Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Free delivery of milk, yoghurt, bread, cheese and juices. Can take payment We fly to Thy protection, over the phone. O Holy Mother of God; Birkdale Cheese Centre 568822 Do not despise our petitions Delivers on Tuesdays and Thursdays Birkdale Health Shop 564353 in our necessities, Delivers on Thursdays, Fridays and but deliver us always Saturdays from all dangers, Broughs Butchers 574069 O Glorious and Blessed Virgin. Ask for Stephen Ashton, min. order £20 Amen Langdons of Southport 224888 Taken from the Sefton Council Website Sandwiches and food £10 min order If you need help for you or your household, we recommend that you Nature’s Remedies – The Original call Sefton Council on 0345 140 0845 or go to: https:// Southport Health Shop 545666 Email: [email protected] ask for the support you need and to get advice on www.sefton.gov.uk/ http://www.natures-remedies- where else you may be able to access information and help. southport.co.uk/ Our teams will asses your needs and pass your information to Will deliver or post orders Sefton Council for Voluntary Services (Sefton CVS) Peets Place Call Kevin Peet Important Information 07877125999 • Seek help from people you know – e.g. family, trusted neighbours Fresh or frozen fish, Tuesday through and friends, or reputable charities, local advice agencies and to Sunday. Deliveries £3 Free for over established faith organisations £30; Email [email protected] • Only give cash to someone you know and trust and for a specific Stanley’s Greengrocer 568503 purpose which you have agreed with them Delivers milk, fruit and veg • Do not give your bank card and PIN number to anybody We Grow Co, Tel. 212763 Do not give personal health or care details to anyone unless they run by Autism Initiatives are from the NHS or the Council and have a need to know. Organic veg, fruit and eggs delivery once a fortnight. Delivery £1 You may also want to look at: https://mysefton.co.uk/ Wesley Fish Shop 542778 £3.00 delivery charge for orders under Mass online £25.00 Free over £50. https://www.vaticannews.va/en Pope Francis Wiltshire Farm Foods 0800 077 3100 They have a depot in Southport and https://www.churchservices.tv/whats-on-now/ Great selection of deliver complete frozen meals Southport Cake Creations 541137 Masses and other Church services Bin Collections as normal! https://www.lourdes-france.org/en/tv-lourdes/ “please be patient with our teams as Mass and daily at 2pm the Rosary in English services may take longer than usual at this time. Please don’t contact us about a https://www.livemass.org Extraordinary Form (1962 Missal) missed bin as the service may be running a day behind in some areas. Please be Catholictv.org and http://www.liverpoolcatholic.org.uk/ considerate when parking cars, allowing space for the bin wagons to get through, Sky channel 588 and please look after your neighbours At my solitary Mass and put their bins out for collection if they need support during this time.” each day I pray for the intention given, for Free Car Parking Sefton Council has temporarily parishioners, family suspended all parking charges across and friends, for the Council car parks, and pay and display patients and staff at areas across the borough #COVID19 Southport hospital and https://mysefton.co.uk/2020/03/27/ the hospice. sefton-council-suspends-parking- Fr Atli charges-during-covid-19-outbreak/ …