A few helpers are needed to travel with the bus to assist passengers enter and alight the vehicle.

It is anticipated that this will involve one Sunday morning every 3 or 4 months.

Like to help? Telephone John O'Donnell on 01772 746339.

England, Wales Bishops Host Scripture Conference

Catholic Midwives Win Appeal

Consequences of the Arab Spring

Give it up !

To find out more, you can see a video about the campaign by clicking here.

The Passion Triumphs Not as an Emotion But as a Fact

Francis: 'Give Time to Time'

VATICAN CITY, April 12, 2013

(Zenit.org) - Drawing from the advice given to the Sanhedrin by the Pharisee Gamaliel, Pope Francis said today that it is a good idea to "give time to time."

The Pope celebrated his customary early morning Mass in Domus Sanctae Marthae today, reflecting on the passage from the First Reading, Acts 5:34-42.

In that reading, Gamaliel advises the chief priests and Sanhedrin to allow the works of the first Christians to run their course: "So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men [the Apostles], and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God."
In his homily, Pope Francis observed that "give time to time” is “wise advice also for our life, because time is God’s messenger. God saves us in time, not in the moment.” 
"The Lord saves us in history, in our own personal history," he continued, as reported by the Vatican Publishing House, whose staff attended the Mass. "The Lord does not work as a fairy with a magic wand.”

The Pontiff then described “triumphalism” as “a great temptation in Christian life, of which not even the Apostles were immune."

"Triumphalism is not of the Lord,” who lived “humbly," the Pope said. "The Lord teaches us that in life everything is not magic, that triumphalism is not Christian.”

Instead, the Pope spoke of a “grace that we must ask for,” which “is that of perseverance: to persevere in the way of the Lord, to the end, every day.” 
One proceeds on the way “with difficulty, with effort, with so much joy.” Hence the invocation is "that the Lord save us from triumphalist fantasies.”
The homily ended with this phrase: to walk every day “in the presence of God: that is the way of the Lord. Let’s go on that one!”

May 18 - Saint John I, Pope and Martyr, † 526 (Ravenna, Italy) - Vigil of the Pentecost

Our Lady of Lavasina

In the 16th century, Lavasina, Corsica, was a modest fishing port situated near the mouth of the creek of the same name. There lived a family of fishermen called the Daneses, who sometimes did business in Rome. It happened that the Daneses had some debtors in that city, who said that they were insolvent and offered to pay their debt by sending them a painting of the Virgin. As the Daneses had a great devotion for Mary, they accepted the deal. The painting – signed by a master – was sent from Rome, carefully wrapped for the journey. But the Daneses' surprise was great when, instead of a painting, they found a sum of money equal to the money that was owed to them. Upon seeing this prodigy, and after investigating the matter in Rome, the Daneses concluded that the money came miraculously, and resolved to build a small shrine to house the painting of the Madonna. It was a very small chapel, with standing room for only twenty people. (…) In 1675, a humble Franciscan tertiary known as Sister Maria, who lived in Bonifacio, fell ill with a terrible contraction of her legs, which were folded up under her. She had to remain in bed and was continuously in pain. After several years, Sister Maria asked to be transported to Genoa, where she could receive better medical care. During the journey, a storm forced the ship to dock at the small port of Lavasina. The invalid woman heard about the Shrine of the Madonna. She wanted to be taken there, and then started to pray. She asked to be anointed with some of the oil from the lamp that burned in front of the image of the Virgin. Her ardent faith was rewarded on the spot. She was instantly and completely cured of her ten-year long illness. The sailors who had transported her to Genoa witnessed the miracle. Understandably, they were so moved that they spread the news of the miracle all over Corsica. The whole island was shaken by the news. The pilgrimage to Lavasina was born, and it still continues today. L. Cristiani, Mary Queen of Corsica in: Maria – études sur la Vierge Marie – under the direction d'Hubert du Manoir, S. J. - Volume IV, 1956.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of death. Amen.

Pentecost Sunday

This week is the great feast of Pentecost. Christ rules his Church from Heaven by sending his Spirit into the Church all over the world. We participate in the reign of Christ whenever we act in accordance with the Spirit.

Noah Briscoe's Baptism

Noah Sebastian Briscoe, surrounded by his parents, and sisters Emily and Jennifer, and brother Ethan, was baptised at the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Mary Magdalen's Penwortham. His mother Julie teaches at St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary School, and father, Rick,is a High School teacher.

HELP PENWORTHAM FOODBANK.

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The Joy of Being Sons and Daughters of God

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On the Work of the Holy Spirit

Money Has to Serve, Not to Rule

VATICAN CITY, May 16, 2013 (Zenit.org) - Pope Francis is emphasizing the predominance of ethics in economic and social matters and warning that "we have created new idols" with regard to money.
The Holy Father said this today when he received the credential letters of four new ambassadors to the Holy See: Bolot Iskovich Otunbaev from Kyrgyzstan; David Shoul from Antigua and Barbuda; Jean-Paul Senninger from Luxembourg; and Lameck Nthekela from Botswana. 
“Our human family,” the Pope said, “is presently experiencing something of a turning point in its own history, if we consider the advances made in various areas. We can only praise the positive achievements which contribute to the authentic welfare of mankind, in fields such as those of health, education and communications. At the same time, we must also acknowledge that the majority of the men and women of our time continue to live daily in situations of insecurity, with dire consequences. Certain pathologies are increasing, with their psychological consequences; fear and desperation grip the hearts of many people, even in the so-called rich countries; the joy of life is diminishing; indecency and violence are on the rise; poverty is becoming more and more evident. People have to struggle to live and, frequently, to live in an undignified way."
The Holy Father suggested that one cause of this is "our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society."
He said the financial crisis "makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in a profound human crisis. In the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.”
“The worldwide financial and economic crisis,” the Pontiff observed, “seems to highlight their distortions and above all the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces men and women to just one of their needs alone, namely, consumption. Worse yet, human beings themselves are nowadays considered as consumer goods which can be used and thrown away. We have started down the path of a disposable culture."
The Bishop of Rome said this tendency is at the individual and societal level, and "it is being promoted!"
"In circumstances like these, solidarity, which is the treasure of the poor, is often considered counterproductive, opposed to the logic of finance and the economy," he lamented. "While the income of a minority is increasing exponentially, that of the majority is crumbling. This imbalance results from ideologies which uphold the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation, and thus deny the right of control to States, which are themselves charged with providing for the common good. A new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rules. Moreover, indebtedness and credit distance countries from their real economy and citizens from their real buying power. Added to this, as if it were needed, is widespread corruption and selfish fiscal evasion which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The will to power and of possession has become limitless.”
“Concealed behind this attitude,” Francis warned, “is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like solidarity, is a nuisance! It is regarded as counterproductive: as something too human, because it relativizes money and power; as a threat, because it rejects manipulation and subjection of people: because ethics leads to God, who is situated outside the categories of the market."
The Pope said these economists and politicians consider God as dangerous because he is "unmanageable" and he "calls man to his full realization and to independence from any kind of slavery."
The Pope asserted that “there is a need for financial reform along ethical lines that would produce in its turn an economic reform to benefit everyone. This would nevertheless require a courageous change of attitude on the part of political leaders. I urge them to face this challenge with determination and farsightedness, taking account, naturally, of their particular situations. Money has to serve, not to rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but the Pope has the duty, in Christ’s name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to promote them. The Pope appeals for disinterested solidarity and for a return to person-centred ethics in the world of finance and economics.”