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LENT
MONDAY, 7TH APRIL:
Mass in St. Andrew’s will be at 9.30am.
STATIONS OF THE CROSS: during Lent on 11th and 18th April in St. Andrew’s at 6.30pm.
CAFOD SOUP LUNCHES
The final Lenten soup lunch is next Friday, 11th April in the parish hall in aid of Cafod following the 11.30am Mass. All welcome.
HOLY WEEK MASS TIMES
Monday St. Andrew’s 6.30pm; Tuesday St. Andrew’s 9.00am; Wednesday St. Anne’s 10.00am; Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper 7.00pm followed by watching at the Altar of Repose until 9.00pm; Good Friday Solemn Celebration of the Passion 3.00pm; Holy Saturday The Easter Vigil 6.30pm; Easter Sunday Masses at the usual times.
Confessions Holy Saturday 9.00-9.30am Holy Thursday after evening Mass until 8.30pm.
Please take home the separate Holy Week leaflet.
BONUS BALL RESULT
Wednesday 2nd April
Ticket Serial No 144947
No. 53: £30 won by Lional P Kilford
300 CLUB MARCH RESULT
£100: No.113 Nichola Turner
Drawn on Friday, 28th March after the soup lunch.
LENTEN LAUGHTER
How do you find out the price
of a sheep?
Just scan its baa–code!
PASTORAL LETTER
Bishop Terry has written a pastoral letter to be read at all Masses this weekend on the Terminally Ill (end of Life) bill which is going through Parliament at this time.
BAPTISMS
application forms are available from the Sacristy after Sunday Mass, Baptisms at St. Anne’s will usually be celebrated at 12.00 noon on Sundays and at St. Andrew’s Saturday mornings at 11.30am.
FIRST CONFESSIONS
please pray for the children of the Parish who will be making their First Confessions on Wednesday during a special service in St. Andrew’s at 6.30pm.
EASTER FLOWERS
There will be a second collection next weekend to help towards the cost of Easter Flowers.
CHURCH CLEANING
We are looking for a few more volunteers to help clean St. Andrew’s Church ready for the upcoming Easter celebrations on Monday, April 14th from 9.45 am. Even if you can spare a little time it all helps. Children are also welcome to come along and help.
FISHERMAN’S CHOIR
The amount raised from the Fisherman's Choir concert was £1,106. Thank you to everyone who supported the event in any way.
UNCLAIMED RAFFLE PRIZES
There are still two Easter egg prizes to be claimed, Numbers 24 and 394. Please check your tickets and see Paul if you have one of the winners.
FUNCTIONS THIS YEAR
June: South Bank Brass Band
July: A night at the races
September: Dave Mackin Show
November: Christmas Show
December: Christmas Draw
OFFERTORY ENVELOPES
We start using the new offertory envelopes from today.
WEEKLY DEVOTIONS
Rosary: Sundays 10.40am at St Anne’s; Monday — Thursday 9.10 am at St Andrew’s.
Mothers Prayers: Tuesday’s after 9.30 am Mass, Room 3 in the hall.
Divine Mercy: Wednesdays after Mass.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Novena: Thursdays after Mass.
OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL SUCCOUR
Every day we are assailed by so many fleeting images from televisions, computers, tablets and mobile 'phones. It can create a restlessness within us, and a sense of needing to look around for new ways to be constantly occupied and entertained. With so many distractions we can find difficulty concentrating on anything for a period of time. We may realize the need to rediscover the ability to stop and look, to appreciate something beautiful, to enjoy it and to be enriched by it. This can affect the way we approach religion too, looking for noise and movement and constant stimulation. We struggle to be still, to be silent, to contemplate.
This aspect of life which bring renewal of spirit is so important yet so neglected. As an aid to being more contemplative, in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions we use icons. They are colourful pictures of saints painted on wood panels. They draw us in to the mysteries of faith which they portray. As each church has a patron saint so each diocese has at least one. Our Lady of Perpetual Help is our main patron in the diocese of Middlesbrough and this is a famous icon portrayed in all our churches.
This icon portrays Mary holding the young child Jesus. We see the archangels Michael and Gabriel holding the Cross and nails which he will have to endure in the future. We see Jesus frightened by the vision of his future suffering. We see Mary holding Jesus with care and compassion and looking out of the picture with the same concern for all of her Son's followers. Mary wears a red tunic, as worn by virgins of the time, and a blue cloak as worn by mothers of the time. It shows her unique place in the history of Mankind and her honoured position in the Church.
A copy of the icon was brought from Rome by our first bishop, Richard Lacy. It is said that a picture speaks a thousands words. So why not take a moment to contemplate something beautiful, discover its hidden depths and return to daily life refreshed in spirit.
In the parish we offer the Novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour each Thursday after Mass. Let us bring our pressing concerns and all our intentions to Our Lady and be sure that she will help.
Confirmations for the deanery were on Thursday 6th June, 7pm in the Cathedral. Please pray for our five young people from St. Andrew's Parish: Max, John, Tom, Brian & Fabian. May God bless them and their families for their efforts to bring them up in the Faith. When they received the Sacrament of Confirmation they were sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit will bring them strength of faith and the guidance they will need. We pray that God will bless them with the courage to be faithful to Jesus Christ and his Church throughout their lives, and wisdom in making good and right choices in life.
May God bless them and their families and through them the whole parish on this special occasions.
Parish Hall Security
NB: When groups are using the parish hall, please ensure you close the back door to the hall straight after you have entered so that it engages the security lock. It must NOT be left wide open for any reason. Please use the buzzer and intercom if you need entry to notify someone you are waiting.
Also ensure that heating, water boilers, lights are turned off; toilet taps are turned off, all gates and doors are locked and secure and the alarm is on before you leave. Thank you for your co-operation in this matter.
Some websites of interest
www.dojustice.co.uk for latest information and campaigns from CARITAS.
https://www.coretlumenchristi.org for online renewal in faith conferences
www.theascentuk.co.uk — raising up disciples in the heart of the Church– for young people to help to deepen their faith.
Holy Year 2025
2000 was the last jubilee year and they are celebrated every 25 years. The theme for next year is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. This year, 2024, is marked out as a time of prayer in preparation for the Holy Year. The diocese has lots of resources on its website: middlesbrough-diocese.org.uk, you can also read information about it on cbcew.org.uk representing the bishops of England and Wales.
Traditionally a Jubilee Year is an opportunity for repentance, reconciliation, pardon for sins and indulgences can be gained for the remittance of temporal punishment due to sin. This is a wonderful opportunity to make ourselves right with God and our neighbour. Please spread the word to family and parishioners.
The bishop intends to lead a diocesan pilgrimage to Rome in 2025, more details to follow. Please sign up early if you are interested.
New Lectionary
The bishops of England and Wales have introduced a new translation of the Mass readings which begin officially on 1st December. This means that the parish will be obliged to buy a new set of lectionaries for each church. Also anyone using Sunday Missals and Weekday Missals will notice the differences. We hope for an update later in the year. If anyone would like to order a new missal for themselves through the parish please let us know. (We have not been given any prices to date.)
Congratulations to the children who made their First Communions yesterday. Please keep them all in your prayers, as well as their catechists and families
Christian Marriage Week
Photograph copyright Paul Terry
The bishops conference has designated 7th-14th February as a week to celebrate Christian marriage, details of resources are available on their website, www.cbcew.org.uk.
Bishop David Evans on behalf of the bishops conference of England and Wales writes:
‘Marriage is God’s gift to men and women. It is an expression of the depth of human loving, of its enduring reality and of its likeness to the love of God. Marriage is also the fruit of a human desire for wholeness.
That wholeness is not discovered simply in an individual but in the mutual exchange of love between a husband and wife. A marriage develops from initial attraction, falling in love, the exploration of personalities, a decision to embark upon and sustain a lifelong relationship. A Christian marriage is rooted in faith. Firstly, that means faith in God, as the giver of life and the one who promises eternal life to those who believe in him. Faith also means God’s faith in his sons and daughters. In Jesus, he has shown people what human love can achieve through love of God and love that encompasses all the people in our lives.
For married people, love of neighbour begins with love of each other and of all the children that may be granted to them as parents. Marriage is a sacrament of reconciliation. It is the sacrament that endures even though it may bring its difficulties. It is a testimony to God’s forgiveness that unites what has been divided and brings unexpected discoveries of what men and women are capable of when they trust each other and stay steadfast to the vows they made to each other on their wedding day. National Marriage Week is an opportunity to ponder on this display of God’s love for the world he created.
It is a chance for married couples to reflect, perhaps with their families, on how they might develop the good things that exist between and within them. It is a time to demonstrate the value of marriage, based on sincerely lived vows, to men and women and to society as a whole. This is a week of prayer for the whole Church, in gratitude to God who has given us life and taught us to love so that we can be as he made us – a visible icon of himself.’
Let us pray for the thriving of Christian marriages in our own parish and for those preparing
to get married here in the near future.
Fr. Nicholas Postgate — the priest of the yorkshire moors
Nicholas Postgate was born in 1598 at Egton, near Whitby. He was born at a time when Catholics were persecuted, and fined for not attending protestant church services; his mother, who was widowed young, was fined a number of times. Priests travelled around the country in disguise, if caught by the authorities they were hanged, drawn and quartered. The influence of these missionary priests must have led Nicholas to be inspired to be a priest. He trained to be a priest at Douai in France (a forerunner of Ushaw College, Durham), it was illegal to train priests in England.
After ordination he worked as a priest, administering the Sacraments in secret in Tadcaster, Holderness, Everingham. The last twenty years of his life were spent living in Ugthorpe. He lived in poverty, serving the Catholics of the whole of the North Yorkshire moors from Cleveland to Whitby and Pickering. In 1678 he was caught doing a Baptism, was arrested and sent to trial. At the age of 83 Nicholas Postgate was martyred on 7th August 1679 at the Knavesmire in York.
Since his death local Catholic families have honoured him; in 1987 pope John Paul II declared him (along with 84 other martyrs) blessed.
May Blessed Nicholas Postgate pray for us all and help all the priests and people of the diocese to live out the Faith fully without fear or compromise.
(partly taken from the diocese of Middlesbrough Calendar of Saints)
God our Father
In Blessed Nicholas Postgate you gave to your Church an example of faith
And a willingness to live in poverty and humility for the glory of your name.
Grant that like him we may grow daily in union with Christ in the Mass,
And ponder on the mysteries of our salvation in the rosary.
We make this prayer through the same Christ our Lord, Amen.
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
Every day we are assailed by so many fleeting images from televisions, computers, tablets and mobile phones. It can create a restlessness within us, and a sense of needing to look around for new ways to be constantly occupied and entertained. With so many distractions we can find difficulty concentrating on anything for a period of time. We may realize the need to rediscover the ability to stop and look, to appreciate something beautiful, to enjoy it and to be enriched by it.
This can affect the way we approach religion too, looking for noise and movement and constant stimulation. We struggle to be still, to be silent, to contemplate. This aspect of life which brings renewal of spirit is so important yet so neglected. As an aid to being more contemplative, in the Catholic and Orthodox traditions we use icons. They are colourful pictures of saints painted on wood panels. They draw us in to the mysteries of faith which they portray.
As each church has a patron saint so each diocese has at least one. Our Lady of Perpetual Help is our main patron in the diocese of Middlesbrough and this is a famous icon portrayed in all our churches. This icon portrays Mary holding the young child Jesus. We see the archangels Michael and Gabriel holding the Cross and nails which he will have to endure in the future. We see Jesus frightened by the vision of his future suffering. We see Mary holding Jesus with care and compassion and looking out of the picture with the same concern for all of her Son's followers. Mary wears a red tunic, as worn by virgins of the time, and a blue cloak as worn by mothers of the time. It shows her unique place in the history of Mankind and her honoured position in the Church.
A copy of the icon was brought from Rome by our first bishop, Richard Lacy. It is said that a picture speaks a thousands words. So why not take a moment to contemplate something beautiful, discover its hidden depths and return to daily life refreshed in spirit.
St. Andrew's parishioner Tessie Ferguson celebrated her 90th birthday on Tuesday, 9th May, 2023.
Born Theresa Best in South Bank in 1933, Tessie was one of three children and was brought up in the towns Warwick Street.
After she completed her training as a teacher she was a nursery school teacher in St. Peter's School and recalls her time there with fondness and in turn is remembered fondly by many of her former charges.
On the day of her milestone birthday, Parish Priest Fr. Michael Sellers visited Tessie and presented her with some flowers on behalf of St. Andrew's Parish to say a well deserved Happy 90th birthday.
Our picture above shows Tessie receiving her flowers from Fr. Michael.
A couple from St. Andrew's Parish have celebrated their Diamond Wedding Anniversary and received a congratulations card on reaching the milestone from Buckingham Palace, signed by King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort.
Michael and Margaret Clark were married in St. Peter's Church, South Bank on 15th April 1963 by Fr. Terence Gilgallon. Michael's Best Man was Donald Pickering, his brotherr-in-law. Margaret's chief Bridesmaid was Anne Pickering, her sister-in-law (Michael's sister), and was attended by five other bridesmaids.
And 60 years to the date later they once again stood before God's Altar to receive a bouquet of flowers from St. Andrew's Parish Priest, Fr. Michael Sellers (abive).
At the time Pope John XXIII was the Pope leading the Catholic Church, Queen Elizabeth II was in the 11th year of her long reign, Harold McMillan was the British Prime Minister, JFK was the US President and the hit single How do you do it? by Gerry and Pacemakers was at the top of the charts.
Michael and Margaret celebrated their milestone anniversary with a family meal at a local restaurant.
St Andrew’s Church celebrates 60th Anniversary of First Mass
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The first Mass was on Wednesday, January 23rd, 1963 and celebrated by the Bishop of Middlesbrough, the Rt. Rev. George Brunner. The following afternoon the Evening Gazette reported the event with the headline: 600 CROWD INTO NEW TEES-SIDE R.C. CHURCH Sixty years later on Monday, January 23rd, 2023 Bishop Drainey celebrated a special Mass which was attended by surviving clergy who have served in the parish. The bishop spoke Fr. Michael Sellers, the current Parish Priest, thanked those who played a part and supported the 60th celebrations and encouraged parishioners ‘Let us all use our talents to build up the church in our own time and for the future’. After the Mass everyone was invited into the parish hall where an anniversary cake was cut by Bishop Terry and a buffet prepared by parishioners was enjoyed. |
Links to other external sites
www.retrouvaille.org.uk for couples having marriage difficulties
www.ampleforthabbey.org.uk for a full programme of retreats available in a beautiful setting.
(NB: St. Andrew's Parish cannot accept responsibility for the content of any external web sites).
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI 1927 - 2022 RIP
The Vatican announced the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on the morning of New Years eve, at the age of 95, in these words: ‘With sorrow I inform you that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9.34am (Rome time) in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican’.
Cardinal Nichols said: I am deeply saddened to learn of the death of Pope Benedict. He will be remembered as one of the great theologians of the twentieth century. I remember with particular affection the remarkable Papal Visit to these lands in 2010. We saw his courtesy, his gentleness, the perceptiveness of his mind and the openness of his welcome to everybody that he met. He was through and through a gentleman...a scholar...a pastor… a man of God – close to God and always his humble servant. Pope Benedict is very much in my heart and in my prayers. I give thanks to God for his ministry and leadership.’
Joseph Ratzinger was born and Baptised on 16th April 1927 in Bavaria. His devout Catholic parents abhorred the rise of the Nazis and had to move house several times to avoid their pressure and influence. Joseph had a brother and a sister. He was ordained a priest in 1951 along with his brother. He dedicated his life as a priest to academic work and study.
He attended the Second Vatican Council and was made Archbishop of Munich in 1977 and soon after a cardinal. Pope John Paul II called him to Rome as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He continued to devote his life to explaining, defending and protecting the teachings of the Church. He was called on to correct errors in teaching the Faith and received criticism for it. But he remained patient and charitable to those who insulted and mistreated him. As he said later at the funeral of Pope John Paul II: ‘An ‘adult’ faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty; a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ.’
On 19th April 2005 Cardinal Ratzinger was elected the 265th pope and chose the name Benedict. He recalled that the previous pope by that name lived through the First World War and tried to bring peace and reconciliation, and also St Benedict the founder of Western monasticism reminding us of the Christian foundations of Europe.
During his time as pope he wrote encyclicals on love and hope, wrote three books on Jesus of Nazareth, encouraged everyone to live out the full traditional teachings and practises of the Church in the modern world, worked hard to bring justice to abuse victims, and at the heart of everything he said and did to proclaim God’s Presence to the world.
On 11th February 2013 Pope Benedict XVI shocked many of us in the Church and outside, by announcing his abdication at the age of 85. He is said to have lived a semi-monastic life in the grounds of the Vatican since then, promising to pray with and for the Church. May he be united with God and the angels and saints in heaven and continue to pray for us all.
'A HUMBLE WORKER IN THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD'
Pope Benedict XVI RIP-Spe Salvi. (2nd Encyclical)
Spe Salvi combines the concern of a true pastor with a rigorous use of the New Testament scriptures and an effective appeal to some great voices in the Catholic tradition: from St Augustine of Hippo down to St Josephine Bakhita of Darfur (who was sold five times in the slave-markets of Sudan before being taken to Italy and set free) and Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, a prisoner for thirteen years, five of them spent in solitary confinement.
Introduction. “SPE SALVI facti sumus” — in hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, “redemption” — salvation — is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. Now the question immediately arises: what sort of hope could ever justify the statement that, on the basis of that hope and simply because it exists, we are redeemed? And what sort of certainty is involved here? Before turning our attention to these timely questions, we must listen a little more closely to the Bible’s testimony on hope. “Hope”, in fact, is a key word in Biblical faith—so much so that in several passages the words “faith” and “hope” seem interchangeable.
Thus the Letter to the Hebrews closely links the “fullness of faith” (10:22) to “the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23). Likewise, when the First Letter of Peter exhorts Christians to be always ready to give an answer concerning the logos — the meaning and the reason—of their hope (cf. 3:15), “hope” is equivalent to “faith”. We see how decisively the self-understanding of the early Christians was shaped by their having received the gift of a trustworthy hope, when we compare the Christian life with life prior to faith, or with the situation of the followers of other religions. Paul reminds the Ephesians that before their encounter with Christ they were “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12).
Of course he knew they had had gods, he knew they had had a religion, but their gods had proved questionable, and no hope emerged from their contradictory myths. Notwithstanding their gods, they were “without God” and consequently found themselves in a dark world, facing a dark future. In nihil ab nihilo quam cito recidimus (How quickly we fall back from nothing to nothing)[1]: so says an epitaph of that period. In this phrase we see in no uncertain terms the point Paul was making. In the same vein he says to the Thessalonians: you must not “grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Th 4:13).
Here too we see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness. Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well.So now we can say: Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content.
In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known — It is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.
Pope Benedict XVI RIP- (3rd Encyclical)
Benedict XVI argues that charity is at the heart of the Church’s social doctrine where every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from love.
Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness by his earthly life and especially by his death and resurrection, is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and of all humanity. Love — caritas — is an extraordinary force which leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace.
It is a force that has its origin in God, Eternal Love and Absolute Truth. Each person finds his good by adherence to God’s plan for him, in order to realize it fully: in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free (cf. Jn 8:32). To defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are therefore exacting and indispensable forms of charity. Charity, in fact, “rejoices in the truth” (1 Cor 13:6). All people feel the interior impulse to love authentically: love and truth never abandon them completely, because these are the vocation planted by God in the heart and mind of every human person.
The search for love and truth is purified and liberated by Jesus Christ from the impoverishment that our humanity brings to it, and he reveals to us in all its fullness the initiative of love and the plan for true life that God has prepared for us. In Christ, charity in truth becomes the Face of his Person, a vocation for us to love our brothers and sisters in the truth of his plan. Indeed, he himself is the Truth (cf. Jn 14:6).
from Deus caritas est
“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). These words from the First Letter of John express with remarkable clarity the heart of the Christian faith: the Christian image of God and the resulting image of mankind and its destiny. In the same verse, Saint John also offers a kind of summary of the Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”.
We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John’s Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should … have eternal life” (3:16).
In acknowledging the centrality of love, Christian faith has retained the core of Israel’s faith, while at the same time giving it new depth and breadth. The pious Jew prayed daily the words of the Book of Deuteronomy which expressed the heart of his existence: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your might” (6:4-5). Jesus united into a single precept this commandment of love for God and the commandment of love for neighbour found in the Book of Leviticus: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (19:18; cf. Mk 12:29-31). Since God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is now no longer a mere “command”; it is the response to the gift of love with which God draws near to us.
Excerpts from ‘My Spiritual Testament'
(Part 1)
When, at this late hour of my life, I look back on the decades I have wandered through, I see first of all how much reason I have to give thanks.
Above all, I thank God Himself, the giver of all good gifts, who has given me life and guided me through all kinds of confusion; who has always picked me up when I began to slip, who has always given me anew the light of his countenance.
In retrospect, I see and understand that even the dark and arduous stretches of this path were for my salvation and that He guided me well in those very stretches. I thank my parents, who gave me life in difficult times and prepared a wonderful home for me with their love, which shines through all my days as a bright light until today.
My father’s clear-sighted faith taught us brothers and sisters to believe and stood firm as a guide in the midst of all my scientific knowledge; my mother’s heartfelt piety and great kindness remain a legacy for which I cannot thank her enough. My sister has served me selflessly and full of kind concern for decades; my brother has always paved the way for me with the clear-sightedness of his judgements, with his powerful determination, and with the cheerfulness of his heart; without this ever-new going ahead and going along, I would not have been able to find the right path.
I thank God from the bottom of my heart for the many friends, men and women, whom He has always placed at my side; for the co-workers at all stages of my path; for the teachers and students He has given me. I gratefully entrust them all to His goodness.
Benedictus PP XVI (published 31st December 2022).
Excerpts from ‘My Spiritual Testament' (Part 2)
And I would like to thank the Lord for my beautiful home in the Bavarian foothills of the Alps, in which I was able to see the splendour of the Creator Himself shining through time and again. I thank the people of my homeland for allowing me to experience the beauty of faith time and again. I pray that our country will remain a country of faith and I ask you, dear compatriots, not to let your faith be distracted. Finally, I thank God for all the beauty I was able to experience during the various stages of my journey, but especially in Rome and in Italy, which has become my second home.
I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart from all those whom I have wronged in some way. What I said earlier of my compatriots, I now say to all who were entrusted to my service in the Church: Stand firm in the faith! Do not be confused! Often it seems as if science – on the one hand, the natural sciences; on the other, historical research (especially the exegesis of the Holy Scriptures) – has irrefutable insights to offer that are contrary to the Catholic faith... I have seen... the reason of faith has emerged and is emerging anew.
Jesus Christ is truly the Way, the Truth, and the Life – and the Church, in all her shortcomings, is truly His Body. Finally, I humbly ask: pray for me, so that the Lord may admit me to the eternal dwellings, despite all my sins and shortcomings. To all those who are entrusted to me, day after day, my heartfelt prayer goes out.
Benedictus PP XVI (published 31st December 2022).
Prayer for Families by Pope St John Paul II
Lord God, from You every family in Heaven and on earth takes its name. Father, You are love and life.
Through Your Son, Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, the fountain of divine charity, grant that every family on earth may become for each successive generation a true shrine of life and love. Grant that Your grace may guide the thoughts and actions of husbands and wives for the good of their families and of all the families in the world. Grant that the young may find in the family solid support for their human dignity and for their growth in truth and love. Grant that love, strengthened by the grace of the Sacrament of Marriage, may prove mightier that all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. Through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that the Church may fruitfully carry out her worldwide mission in the family and through the family. We ask this of You, Who is life, truth and love with the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Blessed Pauline Jarricot
What difference can one person make?
Recently we celebrated two great feast days which were inspired by one person, God inspired them with a special mission. When love for God had grown cold, St Margaret Mary was shown how to rekindle it with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In a similar way St Juliana’s love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was a catalyst for the establishment of the Feast of Corpus Christi for the whole Church. In life they were largely unknown, but their faith has borne much fruit, as faithful disciples of Jesus, over the centuries.
In May this year Pauline Jaricot was declared ‘Blessed’. Again she may not be well known by name but her legacy lives on in the red mission boxes which have been used in many homes over the years. Pauline dedicated her life to the missions, wanting everyone to know God and have the opportunity to share the Faith. She founded the Association for the Propagation of the Faith two hundred years ago; groups of people came together to pray for the missions and contribute a coin to support the work of spreading the Faith. Her foundation became very popular and developed into the international organisation which we now call ‘Missio’. Red boxes are still used and still help to support missionary work throughout the world. Anyone who would like to start using a red mission box can leave their name and address at the church.
Prayer was central to Pauline’s life. She also founded the Living Rosary Association. Groups of fifteen people were each given one of the fifteen decades of the Rosary which they were to say individually each day, making up between them all a’living Rosary’. This might be a good way for parishioners to join together in praying for a special intention.
Pauline also saw the terrible conditions of some local workers in France. Despite bad health she bought a factory and employed the poor to make rosaries and devotional items. Cruelly the managers she employed swindled her and she lived in poverty until she died.
There are leaflets and prayer cards at the back of the churches, please take one and please support the work of Missio.
‘Pauline’s life shows us that every prayer, however short, and every contribution, however small, is valued by God. By joining together we really can transform our world.’
UKRAINE CRISIS — HOW YOU CAN HELP!
The scenes of war and destruction on the news since Russia's attack on Ukraine and the siege and bombing in Mariupol, including that of a children's and maternity hospital, have shocked many of us. The unjust invasion and the bombing of civilians have led to over ten million people fleeing for their lives.
How can we help?
Firstly we can pray and fast and offer penances for an end to the invasion and for the restoration of their country to the people of Ukraine. The Legion of Mary are leading the Rosary before Mass during the week for this special intention, all welcome around 9am. The senior Catholic archbishop of Ukraine, Archbishop Shevchuk, has said: ‘let us not only pray for peace in Ukraine, but let us pray for our enemies, for their conversion, for the conversion of Russia, as Our Lady of Fatima has requested of us.’
Secondly we can offer financial help to supply basic necessities to those who are sheltering in other countries.
Aid to the Church in Need have organised a special emergency fund for this intention. The Catholic Church in Ukraine is a church of martyrs, in the time of Stalin thousands were killed or put in work camps.They have helped the Church to rebuild over the decades since then and they are helping still. Please make a donation through the parish, or you can leave an offering at the presbytery, or make a gift directly to acnuk.org
The Legion of Mary are leading the Rosary before Mass during the week for this special intention, all welcome around 9am.
ST. LUKE — DOCTOR, MISSIONARY, AUTHOR
We are encouraged to listen to the Word of God and to ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in living out the Gospel in our daily lives. On Sundays in ‘Ordinary Time’ we work through one of the Gospels in particular. This year we are reading from the Gospel of St Luke. Each Evangelist is addressing his words to different listeners and so emphasises different aspects of Our Lord’s teachings and actions, in order to help these varieties of people to come to know Him more.
St Luke was probably born of pagan parents in Antioch and worked as a doctor. He was converted by St Paul and became his co-worker in his missionary journeys. He wrote the Acts of the Apostles which gives a history of the Church in New Testament times. His Gospel emphasises:
God’s mercy. St Luke points out that Jesus came as a Saviour for the whole world. No-one is beyond the mercy of God. Even if they are on the margins of society, no-one is outside of His creation and His love. He came to seek out the lost.
The Humanity of Christ. St Luke records the nativity stories which we look forward to reading every Christmas. The Son of God took on human flesh and experienced all that we do, except sin. Knowing this is a source of hope to so many people.
Prayer. Many times St Luke points out that Jesus went away to pray by himself, he often spent the whole night in prayer. The apostles and disciples followed Jesus’ lead as we see in the Acts of the Apostles, joining together in prayer, especially on Sundays and to ask God’s guidance.
Healing. St Luke, having been a doctor, gives many details about the miracles of healing which Jesus did. It shows that he came to restore all God’s creation, to make it whole again. He offers that healing to everyone.
Compassion. Jesus goes out of his way to show gentleness and compassion especially to those people who would have been looked down on such as the sick and the poor. He raises their spirits when he shows everyone around that they all have dignity in the eyes of God because he made them.
As we listen to St Luke’s Gospel over the coming weeks let us ask God to help us to be more faithful to daily prayer, to experience the healing which he offers to our souls in the Sacraments, and to show the compassion we receive to those who need it most.
BAPTISM — THE GATEWAY TO THE SACRAMENTS
Baptism is called ‘the gateway’ to the Sacraments. We become Christians when we are Baptised, Original sin is washed away, we are made children of God and brothers and sisters of each other in the Church.
We also receive the gift of faith in our souls. It is sometimes described as a seed which we have to nurture so that it will germinate and grow and bear fruit. This takes a lifetime.
Recently thirty children were registered by their parents for the preparation course for First Confession and First Holy Communion. Parents, at Baptism, promise to pass on the Faith to their children by teaching them to pray each day, following the Commandments, and bringing them to Mass each Sunday.
The Gospel of John relates how Jesus went to a wedding and performed his first recorded miracle, changing water into wine. In this way he blesses marriage and makes it a Sacrament. When a Christian couple gets married they celebrate a Sacrament and receive special graces from God to be good husbands and wives, fathers and mothers. Those graces are always there being offered by God, even when we don’t live up to them.
Please pray that God will bless all married couples in the parish and help them in their efforts to pass on the Faith to their children. We pray too for those couples who are preparing for marriage this year. When Jesus changes water into wine we learn that what is essential for a stable society (marriage and family life, represented by the water) can also, with Gods help, bring joy (represented by the wine) to that family and to the wider community.
PARISH HALL
Functions and events that can now be held in the parish hall with restrictions are:
Small prayer groups/meetings;
Educational courses;
MAP asylum seekers drop in;
Wednesday evening Jive dancing classes;
Thursday afternoon bingo;
SVP 1st & 3rd Friday refreshments.
The following restrictions are in place for the protection of all people who use the hall:
• Everyone must sanitise their hands before taking their seat;
• Face coverings must be worn while walking about the hall;
• Only two people are permitted to serve refreshments from the kitchen
• Group organisers are responsible for disinfecting any tables and chairs at the end of each session (this must not be done by the person who cleans the hall).
We reserve the right to cancel any event should any of the above restrictions not be met by the group.
Please speak to Paul Terry if you would like to hire the hall for your meetings, training or if you are just looking for some office space.
Please note: There will be no large events until further notice.
The hall will remain closed on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
OVER ONE HUNDRED BRAVE STORM TO REMEMBER FR. JACK McKEEVER
Over a hundred parishioners and clergy braved horrendous weather to attend the memorial Mass for Fr. Jack Mckeever on Tuesday, December 7th which was celebrated by Bishop Terry. Parishioners from parishes he had served were welcomed to join together with parishioners from St. Andrew's in remembering our much loved and missed friend.
Fr. Jack passed away in James Cook University hospital following a short illness on Sunday, October 31st, the day when this year the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of All Saints, a very fitting end to his 63 years of priesthood.
Fr John James McKeever was born in Ardee, County Louth, Ireland on 7 March 1933. He trained to be a priest in St Patrick’s Seminary, Thurles and was ordained on 15th June 1958. He came to the Middlesbrough Diocese and was Curate at St Wilfrid’s in York from 1958 to 1961; he was moved to St Pius X in Middlesbrough as Curate from 1961 to 1968. He was then moved to Our Lady and St Peters in Bridlington as Curate from 1968 to 1973. In 1974 he was appointed as Parish Priest to the Sacred Heart Church in Howden and from 1981 to 1996 he became Parish Priest at St Gabriel’s in Ormesby, Middlesbrough.
The last parish he served was Ss. Joseph and Cuthbert in Loftus as Parish Priest from 1996 retiring in 2010. He retired with his long serving housekeeper Phil Oliver, first moving to Ormesby where Phil had a house. However, they struggled in the bad winter and icey roads on the estate up Ormesby Bank so they both moved to Normanby after Fr. Jack bought a property there. In retirement he was active in support of the local priests and parishes, especially here at St. Andrew's where we have all been grateful for his good humoured and unwavering help, support and encouragement.
He was an avid sports fan and used to be a season ticket holder for The Boro at Ayresome Park and the Riverside Stadium. However, his first love was horse racing and in his younger years used to travel all over the country to see the big races, The Cheltenham Gold Cup, Royal Ascot, The Derby at Epsom and the York Ebor. In old age he never lost his love of the sport but had to be content with having a flutter at the local betting shop and watching it on the television.
In 2018 St. Andrew's Parish had the great honour of organising and hosting Fr. Jack's Diamond Jubilee, pictured above, which was attended by many parishioners from some of the parishes he had served and many of his fellow priests.
Fr McKeever’s housekeeper, Philomena Oliver sadly died last year. Since then Frs health had declined quite rapidly. However, in the last year, he had come to rely on, and appreciate, the practical help and support of a number of parishioners from St. Andrew's. We would like to thank them for their care and support, and to thank everyone who has kept Fr McKeever in their prayers.
At the time of his death he had spent 63 years a priest including the last 12 years helping at St. Andrew's Parish.
As we pray for Fr McKeever’s soul let us thank God for his life’s work as a priest. Could we also pray for his brothers and sisters and wider family in Ireland.
Fr. Jack's funeral was held in Ireland on Monday, November 15th at 12 noon. You can view it by clicking the link below::
Our photos show (top) Fr. Jack celebrating Mass in St. Andrew's Church; and celebrating the Mass for his Diamond Jubilee with former Parish Priests Canon Edmond Gubbins (left) and Canon Michael Loughlin. Photographs by Paul Terry.
SACRAMENTS
Now that we have a public daily Mass available in the parish, and also an extra Sunday Mass at St Anne’s we can highlight other Sacraments.
Baptism and Marriage – a number of enquiries came in during the last year and could not take place due to a lockdown or numbers being restricted. There are now no restrictions on numbers attending Baptisms or Marriages so I am happy to discuss this with any couple who is willing to make the necessary commitment to Sunday Mass attendance and bringing the child up in the Catholic Faith when a Baptism is requested.
Confirmation – as yet we have not been given a date for the next Confirmation but I will be glad to see any young person who was due to be confirmed before the lockdown and begin the preparation.
Home Visits – we are currently limited to one visit per morning and the same in an afternoon. We hope to compile an up to date list of the housebound in the parish and those who would like to receive Holy Communion in the next few weeks. Please let me have the details of anyone you know. I am always available for the Sacrament of the Sick for those who are dying within the parish. If a priest is needed in the hospital it is best to ask the ward to page the on-call Catholic chaplain.
DEATH OF VERY FIRST CURATE OF ST ANDREW'S PARISH
Monsignor Seamus Kilbane, the first priest to serve as a curate at the newly opened St Andrew's Parish, died peacefully during the early hours of Monday morning, July 12th. He was 91. He was a resident at the Holy Name Care Home in Hull.
Monsignor Kilbane was born in Mountbellow, County Galway and attended St Patrick’s Seminary in Thurles. He was ordained priest on June 10th 1956. He arrived at St. Andrew's to assist the newly appointed Parish Priest Fr. Patrick Bluett in 1962. In the photo above Fr. Kilbane is sat at the head of the table with the boys section of the Young Christian Workers at a meeting in the parish hall in 1963.
On Saturday, February 23rd he was the celebrant of the very first wedding at St. Andrew's Parish which was between Anthony Paul Whitehead of Dormanstown and Kathleen Mary Meed from Normanby.
He was moved on in 1967 and went on to serve in a number of parishes throughout the diocese. He retired from his final parish of Leyburn and Ulshaw Bridge in September 2002 after 7 years and retired in York after giving 46 years of service to the Diocese of Middlesbrough. At the time of his retirement, the Bishop of Middlesbrough, The Rt Rev. John Crowley praised Mgr Kilbane for his 46 years of priestly service and his work throughout the Middlesbrough diocese and wished him a happy retirement at his new home in York.
Monsignor Kilbane was laid to rest in the Victorian Cemetery, Cemetery Road, York following Requiem Mass in St George’s Church on Friday, July 23rd 2021, at 11am. RIP.