Saint Charles Swinton
Parish Newsletter
17 January 2016
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Page 127 in Mass Book.
Peacemaking in the
Year of Mercy
Pope Francis has asked the Catholic
Community to live 2016 as a Year of
Mercy, inviting us to ‘contemplate the
mystery’ revealed in Jesus Christ. He
reminds us that Jesus’ parables of
mercy show the nature of God to be
‘that of a Father who never gives up
until he has forgiven the wrong and
overcome rejection with compassion
and mercy;’ and that Jesus
personified that mercy in his dealings
with all, friend and foe alike.
Mercy, the power of new hope.
Our task, therefore, is to make God’s
mercy visible in our world and to show
the creative power of that mercy, as
‘the force that reawakens us to new
life and instils in us the courage to
look to the future with hope’. As a
first step, everyone who visits a
Christian home, parish, school or
community should find there ‘an oasis
of mercy’. But then, says Pope Francis,
we have to take that mercy out
beyond the confines of Church life, by
opening our eyes to see the misery of
the world, the wounds of our brothers
and sisters who are denied dignity and
to recognise that we are compelled to
help them. And we must extend the
equality of God’s mercy to the natural
world as well, by the way we reverence
creation in both its beauty and its
fragility. The way of mercy must be a
seamless robe, affecting all of life.
The Coming
Week…….
Sunday
17 January
Second Sunday in
Ordinary Time
“Peace Sunday”
Virgin & Martyr
martyred at the age of twelve or
thirteen, according to Saint
Ambrose, around the year 300
8.30am Mass.
12.00noon Unity Week Prayer
Lunch in Saint Thomas Clifton
Green.
Friday 22 January
Mass 6.00pm (Saturday)
8.45am. 11.00am
12.00noon Unity Week Prayer Lunch
at Salvation Army, Station Road.
Monday
18 January
8.30am Mass.
Octave of Prayer for Christian
Unity begins. (see over)
12.00noon Unity Week Prayer
Lunch Worsley Road URC.
Tuesday
19 January
St Wulstan, Bishop
Wulstan was born in Warwickshire about
1008, and died in 1095. He became a
Benedictine monk of the cathedral priory
of Worcester, but in 1062 was appointed
bishop. He was renowned as a confessor,
and his care for the poor and sick and for
the high standards he demanded of his
clergy.
8.30am Mass.
12.30pm Unity Week Prayer
Lunch here in Saint Charles.
7.00pm Sacramental
Programme Parents’ session
Unit 4 “We are People who
Celebrate God’s Word”
9.15am Mass in School, Year 5.
All welcome
11.30am Unity Week Prayer
Lunch in Holy Rood church.
7.30pm RCIA (Faith formation)
continued over….
Saint Agnes,
A Day of Special Prayer for Peace on Earth
Wednesday
20 January
“Overcome indifference and win peace”
Pope Francis World Peace Message 2016
Thursday 21 January
recommences. This term looking at
the Sacraments.
8.30am Mass
Saturday 23 January
9.00am Mass in Cemetery.
12noon Sacrament of
Reconciliation.
10.00am Sacramental
Programme Children’s session.
10.00am Unity week Prayer
Breakfast in Manchester Road
Methodist church followed by…
11.30am Coffee Morning in aid of
Women’s World Day of Prayer local
expenses.
Sunday
24 January
Third Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Mass 6.00pm (Saturday)
8.45am. 11.00am
Retiring collection today for the
Annual White Flower Appeal to
support the work of the Society for
the Protection of Unborn Children.
The focus this year is on the
protection of vulnerable people in
the context of the proposed Assisted
Suicide Bill.
6.30pm Swinton and Pendlebury
Churches Together hold their
annual Unity Service at Saint Anne’s
Clifton to conclude the Octave of
Prayer for Christian Unity. – See
more details in centre column.
*********************************
Further ahead
Saturday 6 February
A Concert of Organ Music
at the Church of the Holy Rood.
From 12Noon – 1.00pm
Admission by Ticket only
see poster in porch for more details.
Overcome indifference to win the
prize of peace.
I hope you can hear the urgency in
Pope Francis’ appeal, his ‘burning
desire’ that we re-engage with the
need around us, ‘re-awakening our
conscience’ by practical actions and by
prayer. Today the Catholic Church in
England and wales celebrated Peace
Sunday, our annual day of prayer for
peace, using the theme chosen by Pope
Francis, ‘Overcome indifference and
win peace’. That title shows the same
sense of urgency as the Pope’s more
general appeal that we become
bearers of God’s mercy to the world.
For how can we hope for peace if we
do not reject the ‘destructive
cynicism’ which says that nothing can
be done to change the world? Yet this
is an urgency born of hope: Pope
Francis sees Peace as a ‘prize’ that is
there for the winning; and the way to
gain the prize is to choose (individually
and collectively) a way of life
dedicated to doing justice, God’s
justice, a justice rooted in love.
Working for peace every day of the
year.
The Catholic peace movement, Pax
Christi, which facilitates the Peace
Sunday celebrations each year, works
with similar urgency to secure the
‘prize’ of peace which is both merciful
and just. This it does locally by linking
together people committed to the
work of making peace, providing
resources and fostering prayer and
reflection regarding the meaning of
the Gospel of Peace. But it also works
internationally to build trust in
troubled areas of the world and to
speak out on issues of war and peace
on the basis of Catholic ethics.
by Fr Rob Esdaile, Parish Priest of Our
Lady of Lourdes, Thames Dutton, Surrey.
for more details of the work of Pax
Christi see www.paxchristi.org.uk
Octave of Prayer for
Christian Unity.
18 – 25 January.
Each of the days of this Octave the
Churches Together Group in Swinton
and Pendlebury have organised a
series of Prayer Lunches.
We are hosting one of these on
Tuesday 19 January at 12.30pm.
Details of the other days can be
found in porch.
The Octave will conclude on
Sunday 24 January with our annual
Unity Service, this year in Saint
Anne’s, Clifton at 6.30pm.
This year’s material for each day’s
prayer has been prepared by the
people of Latvia with the theme of
“Salt of the Earth”
We hope to have some element of
the Unity Service in Latvian!
**********************************
The Catholic
Parliamentary and Public
Affairs Internship Scheme
Faith in Politics
Internship
Our excellent internship scheme
provides recently graduated
Catholics with an intensive
experience of political and social
action in a spiritual context. This
year we're looking to offer up to
eight internships, including
placements with Christian MPs at
Westminster; a parliamentary
support role within the Bishops’
Conference Secretariat; with the
Catholic Agencies CAFOD and
CSAN in social action and public
policy roles, and a media and
communications internship in
Archbishops’ House
Westminster.
There's still time to apply so if
you fit the bill or know
someone who does, please
apply now.
You can also visit our
websitehttp://faithinpolitics.org.
uk.
Mercy Bus
Volunteers
This Lent the Salford Diocese have
organised for a Mercy Bus with
priests on board to reach out to
people during the Year of Mercy.
Beginning in February, the
specially designed double-decker
"Mercy Bus" will tour different parts
of the Diocese, stopping in City and
Town centres for the day. There will
be a group of priests on board
available for confession, or a
blessing, or to simply have a chat
with.
We need young adult volunteers
(18-35yrs) who are willing to be
"missionary disciples," by
approaching people as they pass the
Bus offering them a free gift blessed
by Pope Francis (a miraculous medal)
and if they accept it, engaging them
in a conversation about what is
available on the Bus for them.
The dates the Mercy Bus will be
touring the Diocese are Saturday
6th (Salford), 13th (Bolton), 20th
(Burnley), 27th (Blackburn) February,
and Saturday 5th (Rochdale), 12th
(Ashton) 19th (North Manchester)
and Tuesday 22nd (South
Manchester) March 2016.
If you are able to volunteer we just
ask that you attend our training
day on Sunday 31st January 2016,
3-5pm at Salford Cathedral, 3
Ford Street, Salford M3 6D
************************************
At back of church
Latest Catholic papers and periodicals.
Why don’t you find out what’s happening
in the Church – some of it is very Good
News!
You will also find a copy of the
article I was quoting last Sunday –
please take for free. It is the article
by Richard Leonard entitled “Among
my clan, no one is canonised,
A member of Churches Together in Swinton and Pendlebury
Parish Priest: Rev Mgr Paul F Smith STL   0161 794 1089   paulsmith@saintcharles.freeserve.co.uk website: www.stcharlesswinton.co.uk
MASS TIMES
Saturday: 6.00 pm (First Mass of Sunday)
Sunday
 8.45 am (Church Parade every second
Sunday of the month)
 11.00 am (with children's Liturgy of the
Word)
Registered Charity No. 250037
SACRAMENT OF
RECONCILIATION
Saturdays: 11.30 am to 12.00 noon
and after evening Mass
BAPTISMS
By appointment. Parents are expected to
attend a course of preparation.
Monday to Friday: usually 8.30 am
Holy Days
7.30 pm (eve), 8.30 am
WEDDINGS
Six months notice is normally required.
Saint Vincent de Paul Society
Monthly as announced
Union of Catholic Mothers
First and third Tuesdays at 7.15pm
Beaver Scouts
Mondays in school at 6.00pm
Cub Scouts
Tuesdays in school at 6.00 pm
Brownies
Wednesdays in school at 6.00 pm
Rainbows
Thursdays in school at 6.00 pm
If you would like to receive this weekly newsletter by e-mail please give me your e-mail address.
immaculately conceived or the Son
of God”.
A member of Churches Together in Swinton and Pendlebury
Parish Priest: Rev Mgr Paul F Smith STL   0161 794 1089   paulsmith@saintcharles.freeserve.co.uk website: www.stcharlesswinton.co.uk
MASS TIMES
Saturday: 6.00 pm (First Mass of Sunday)
Sunday
 8.45 am (Church Parade every second
Sunday of the month)
 11.00 am (with children's Liturgy of the
Word)
Registered Charity No. 250037
SACRAMENT OF
RECONCILIATION
Saturdays: 11.30 am to 12.00 noon
and after evening Mass
BAPTISMS
By appointment. Parents are expected to
attend a course of preparation.
Monday to Friday: usually 8.30 am
Holy Days
7.30 pm (eve), 8.30 am
WEDDINGS
Six months notice is normally required.
Saint Vincent de Paul Society
Monthly as announced
Union of Catholic Mothers
First and third Tuesdays at 7.15pm
Beaver Scouts
Mondays in school at 6.00pm
Cub Scouts
Tuesdays in school at 6.00 pm
Brownies
Wednesdays in school at 6.00 pm
Rainbows
Thursdays in school at 6.00 pm
If you would like to receive this weekly newsletter by e-mail please give me your e-mail address.