WORSHIP, PRAYER, SACRAMENTS From Sunday February 4th the Mass times on a Sunday morning at St. Joseph’s will be 9.30am and 11am. Would readers and Eucharistic Ministers (from both churches) kindly let Fr. Paul know which of the two Masses they will minister at, by mid-January?

Następna Sw. Msza w niedzielę 7 stycznia o 16:00 w kosciele Sw. Jozefa. Po Bozego Narodezenia w sprawie kolędy proszę telefonować do Księdza Pawła lub wysyłać email do paul.daly@dioceseofsalford.org.uk lub telefonowac 0776 4791889

WELFARE; HELPING THE NEEDY

NEAR & FAR Thank you to everyone who has donated

money and food to help at our own Food Bank

in Heywood. We do not take your help for

granted and it is through your donations that

we continue to help the many disadvantaged

families in our town. The response has been

phenomenal. Thank you so much.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society, which

works to relieve poverty in our local com-

munity, next meets on Wednesday 10th

January at 6.30pm, in St. Joseph’s Presby-

tery

Together with time, talent, treasure;

being the Body of Christ for Heywood and beyond

Thank you for your kind support of your parish: Gift Aid: £673.05, Loose: £441.02, £101 Developing World Fund. The collection from the Christmas Masses will be divided between the SVP (including the Foodbank), the Developing World Fund (including Fr. Raymond’s parish which has suffered recently from Boku Haram) and the costs of maintaining our busy parish.

NEXT SUNDAY’S (31/1/17) MINISTERS

6.30pm (St J) 9.30am (St. J) 11.00am OLSP)

Reader 1 S Gibson M Wrigley P Greenalll

Reader 2 B Brown M Schofield K Czujko

E.M. 1. S Fitzsimons J Horrocks S Skinner

E.M 2 J Matthews G Casey P Greenall

E.M. 3 M O’Neill C Williams L Graham

E.M. 4 M Payne D Tierney

E.M.5 P Hunt J Wildman

E.M. 6 R Windle

Our parish story: From the Our Lady and St. Paul’s Log Book November 1977 Some months ago a group in the parish asked to produce a Parish Magazine. After much hard work the first publication made its appearance on Sunday 6th November, entitled ‘The Mustard Seed’. The magazine received good support from the parishioners. December 16th 1977 Bishop Burke visited the parish. He spoke to the children of the Primary School and to the Confirmandi. He also spoke very impressively to the teaching staff on the vocation to teaching. 1978 The SVP have organised a group of car owners in the parish who volunteer to bring parishioners to visit sick relatives in hospital. April 19th 1978 The Mayor and Mayoress of the Borough of Rochdale (Cllr John Connell and Mrs Connell) were present at 11.30am Mass. Also present wer the Rt Hon Joel Barnett (MP for Heywood and Royton) and Mr John Towey (Chief Executive of Rochdale Borough Council).

WORD: GROWING IN FAITH; KNOWING

OUR FAITH

RCIA/Journey in Faith continues on WEDNESDAY 3rd January at 7pm. IF GOD IS CALLING YOU TO THE CHURCH, or you wish to grow in understanding the Faith, speak to Fr. Paul or Fr. Michael. The next Baptism meeting is on Sunday 21st January at 6pm in St. Joseph’s Presbytery.

CAFOD CORNER This Christmas Prayer was written by a student at St. Fran-cis of Assisi Catholic College, West Midlands.

God of hope, help us to focus on you today, remembering that the gift of

Christ is the most treasured gift. Let us celebrate his birth, life,

death and resurrection. Allow us to refocus our heart

and remember why we celebrate this wonderful day.

We ask you to grant us peace. Peace in our homes, in our

churches, and in our hearts, when the world all around us

spins out-of-control. Help us to stay focused on you,

this Christmas and always. Thank You for loving the whole

world enough to send the great-est gift, your son.

Help us to simplify our activities and traditions

so we can focus our celebration on your birth.

Thank you for being the Prince of Peace, and we ask you for your

peace to reign in our hearts. Thank you for the simple but life-

changing message of your love for us.

Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

This week’s Feasts: Tue: Stephen, one of the first

seven ‘deacons’ in the Acts of the Apostles, was the

first to shed his blood for Christ.

Wed: St. John, to whom is attributed the Fourth Gos-

pel, was the last surviving of the Twelve Apostles.

Thu: The feast of The Holy Innocents commemo-

rates the male children under 2 years of age killed by

King Herod.

Fri: St Thomas of Canterbury, born in London in

1118, became Chancellor and in 1162 Archbishop of

Canterbury. In that position he strenuously defended

the rights of the Church and made an enemy of King

Henry II, who exiled him to France. On his return the

followers of the King murdered him in 1170. Bl Wil-

liam Howard, Viscount Stafford, executed in the

reign of Charles II for his faith.

GROWING MISSIONARY DISCIPLES—BUILDING A MISSIONARY PARISH As has already been announced, the Mass of Thanksgiving and Closure Mass for

Our Lady and St. Paul’s church building will take place at 7pm on Friday 2nd February, the Anniversary of its Consecration in 1985. Bishop John will preside at the Mass. After the Mass the Decree by which the building ceases to be a place of worship will take effect. This will be the final liturgical celebration in the church building. During term time, a weekly Mass will be held in Our Lady and St. Paul’s Primary School in a redecorated Sister Anne’s Sanctuary, to which parishioners will be in-vited. In addition plans are being drawn up for a covered and secure Prayer Garden at the School which will have at its heart the Baptismal Font. On Sunday 14th January, the anniversary of the deaths of Fr Ryan (2010) and Fr Duggan (2014), the 11am Mass will be offered for all deceased for-

mer parishioners of Our Lady and St. Paul’s. Please invite relatives and friends to come along. On Sunday 21st January, the 11am Mass at Our Lady and St. Paul’s will be

offered for all who have been baptised at Our Lady and St. Paul’s church, confirmed there or received their First Holy Communion there, as well as adults re-ceived into the church there. Please invite family members to come along. On Sunday 28th January, the 11am Mass at Our Lady and St. Paul’s will be

offered for all who have been married at Our Lady and St. Paul’s church. Please invite family members to come. At each of the above Masses, parishioners will be invited to bring up names, either their own names or of others, to be placed in baskets for the Closing Mass.

OUR LADY & ST. JOSEPH, HEYWOOD partner with St. Joseph’s, Numan, Nigeria Parish Priest: Fr. Paul Daly, paul.daly@dioceseofsalford.org.uk Assistant Priest: Fr. Michael Deas

michael.deas@dioceseofsalford.org.uk St. Joseph’s Presbytery, Mary St, OL10 1EG Tel: 369777 Chaplain - Fairfield Hospital: Fr. Andrew Starkie (Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham) Our Lady & St. Paul’s Presbytery, Argyle St, Heywood PARISH WEBSITE www.catholicheywood.com DIOCESE’s WEBSITE www.dioceseofsalford.org.uk

Requiem Mass for Bridget Boyer

Saturday

Date Mass, other Services and Parish Events Time

11am

10am

Church

St J

St J

All at St J

9.30am

11am

11:am

6pm

7.30pm

11.30pm

St J

OLSP

St J

OLSP

St J

St J

24th December 2017

FOURTH SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

Christmas Eve

THE NATIVITY OF THE

LORD

Annunciation, by Scott Cairns

Deep within the clay, and O my people very deep within the wholly earthen compound of our kind arrives of one clear, star-illumined evening a spark igniting once again the tinder of our lately banked noetic fire. She burns but she is not consumed. The dew lights gently, suffusing the pure fleece. The wall comes down. And—do you feel the pulse?—we all become the kindled kindred of a King whose birth thereafter bears to all a bright nativity.

Mass (of the Sunday)

Mass (of the Sunday)

Sung Mass (Ordinariate) (of the Sunday)

FIRST MASS OF CHRISTMAS

FIRST MASS OF CHRISTMAS

Midnight Mass (Ordinariate)

God our loving Father,

we thank you for blessing our parish with all that we need

to respond to our vocation to be a missionary parish in our locality.

We thank you for all our parish mem-

bers who, in response to your call, give of themselves so freely

to enrich our parish life in the ways of love and service.

We ask you now to pour out afresh

the gifts of your Spirit upon each one of us

that we may be inspired to serve you in new and creative ways as missionary disciples,

bringing your light to the world. We ask your blessing upon us

as we journey together in hope, through Christ our Lord, AMEN

8am

9.30am

11am

11am

Confessions

Mass

Confessions

First Mass of Sunday

11am

4pm

Pope Francis on the Environment (Laudato sii 179-80) In places, cooperatives are developed to exploit renewable sources of energy which ensure local self-sufficiency and the sale of surplus energy. This shows that, while the existing world order proves powerless to assume its responsibilities, local individuals and groups can make a real differ-ence. They are able to instil a greater sense of responsibility, strong sense of community, readiness to protect others, spirit of creativity and deep love for the land. They are concerned about what they will leave to their children and grandchildren. These values are deeply rooted in indigenous peoples. Because the enforcement of laws is at times inadequate due to corruption, public pressure has to be exerted to bring about decisive political action. Society, through non-governmental organizations and intermediate groups, must put pres-sure on governments to develop more rigorous regulations, proce-dures and controls. Unless citizens control political power – national, regional and municipal – it will not be possible to control damage to the environment. Local legislation can be more effective, too, if agree-ments exist between neighbouring communities to support the same environmental policies. There are no uniform recipes, because each country or region has its own problems and limitations. Political realism may call for transitional measures and technologies, so long as these are accompa-nied by the gradual framing and acceptance of binding commitments. On the national and local levels, much needs to be done, such as pro-moting ways of conserving energy. These include favouring forms of industrial production with maximum energy efficiency and diminished use of raw materials, removing from the market products less energy efficient or more polluting, improving transport systems, and encour-aging the construction and repair of buildings aimed at reducing their energy consumption and levels of pollution. Political activity on the lo-cal level could also be directed to modifying consumption, developing economy of waste disposal and recycling, protecting certain species and planning a diversified agriculture and the rotation of crops. Agri-culture in poorer regions can be improved through investment in rural infrastructures, better organization of local or national markets, sys-tems of irrigation, and development of techniques of sustainable agri-culture. New forms of cooperation and community organization can be encouraged in order to defend the interests of small producers and preserve local ecosystems from destruction. Truly, much can be done!

CHRISTMAS DAY

THE NATIVITY OF THE

LORD

Dawn Mass (Ordinariate)

CHRISTMAS DAY MASS

CHRISTMAS DAY MASS

Mass of the Day (Ordinariate)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1302-9) The effect of Confirmation is full outpouring of the Spirit granted to the apostles at Pentecost. Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace; it roots us more deeply in the divine sonship which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!"; unites us more firmly to Christ; increases the gifts of the Spirit in us; renders our bond with the Church more perfect; gives us special strength to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, confess Christ boldly, and never be ashamed of the Cross: Recall

that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of right judgment and courage, of

knowledge and reverence, of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked

you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts. Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, "character," which is the sign that Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high that he may be his witness. This "character" perfects the common priesthood of the faithful, re-ceived in Baptism, and "the confirmed receives the power to profess faith in Christ publicly and as it were officially." Every baptized person not yet confirmed can and should receive Confirmation. Since Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist form a unity, "the faithful are obliged to receive this sacrament at the appropriate time," for without Confir-mation and Eucharist, Baptism is certainly valid and efficacious, but Christian initiation remains incomplete. The Latin tradition gives "the age of discretion" as the reference point for receiving Confirmation. But in danger of death children should be confirmed even if they have not yet attained the age of discretion. Although Confirmation is sometimes called the "sacrament of Christian maturity," we must not confuse adult faith with the adult age of natural growth, nor forget that baptismal grace is a grace of free, unmerited election and does not need "ratification" to become effective. St. Thomas reminds us of this: Age of body does not determine age of soul.

Even in childhood man can attain spiritual maturity: as the book of Wisdom says: "For old age is not honored for length

of time, or measured by number of years. "Many children, through the strength of the Holy Spirit they have received,

have bravely fought for Christ even to the shedding of their blood.

Preparation for Confirmation seeks to lead to more intimate union with Christ and more lively familiarity with the Holy Spirit, his actions, gifts, and biddings in order to assume the apostolic responsibilities of Christian life. Catechesis for Confirmation should strive to awaken a sense of belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ, the universal Church as well as the parish community. the latter bears special responsibility for the preparation of confirmands.

Pope Francis, writing on marriage (Amoris

Laetitia 123) After the love that unites us to God, conjugal love is the “greatest form of friendship”. It is a union possessing all the traits of a good friendship: concern for the good of the other, reciprocity, intimacy, warmth, sta-bility and the resemblance born of a shared life. Marriage joins to all this an indissoluble exclu-sivity expressed in the stable commitment to share and shape together the whole of life. Let us be honest and acknowledge the signs that this is the case. Lovers do not see their rela-tionship as merely temporary. Those who marry do not expect their excitement to fade. Those who witness the celebration of a loving union, however fragile, trust that it will pass the test of time. Children not only want their parents to love one another, but to be faithful and remain together. These and similar signs show that it is in the very nature of conjugal love to be defini-tive. The lasting union expressed by the mar-riage vows is more than a formality or a tradi-tional formula; it is rooted in the natural incli-nations of the human person. For believers, it is a covenant before God that calls for fidelity.

The Pope’s prayer for Decem-ber: That the elderly, sustained by families and Christian com-munities, apply their wisdom to spread the faith to form new generations. We pray for the parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption, Middleton, and Canon Tadgh Mullins, their parish priest. For all who live or work on Buckley St, Wild St and Adelaide St East. For Aidan Neary, Kenneth Bray, Tony Manock, Mary Cairns and all the sick For Bridie Boyer, Kath Hearne, Michael Kernyczuk, and all who died recently and Thomas Feerick, Annie Feerick, Paul Skinner, Michael Harker, Yvonne Morrison, John Schofield, Alice and Billy Thornton, Nicholas Doyle, John and Vera Navesey, Alice and Tom Gerrard, Margarey Armstrong, John Edward Armstrong, Nicholas Doyle, Kevin Noon, Paul Haymes, Peter Hoyle and all we re-member at this time.

Tuesday

ST. STEPHEN Mass

Wednesday

ST JOHN Mass

Nine Lessons and Carols

Thursday

THE HOLY INNOCENTS Mass

Legion of Mary meeting

Friday ST THOMAS OF CANTERBURY

No Abstinence!

SUNDAY THE HOLY

FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY

AND JOSEPH

Mass

Mass

Sung Mass

St J

St J

OLSP

St J

St J

OLSP

St J

St J Presbytery

11am

2pm

11am

12noon

6pm

6.30pm

9.30am

11am

11am

St J

OLSP

St J