
Sunday 02 February 2025
Candlemas
For over a millennium, today’s feast marked the end of the Christmas season. The forty days of Christmas that began with Midnight Mass and extended to today, Candlemas, recalling the Presentation of the baby
Jesus in the Temple, echo the Law of Moses requiring that every first-born son be redeemed by the offering of sacrifice to God. The Masses this weekend begin with a special blessing of candles to signify that Jesus is
the Light of the Nations and the Glory of His people, Israel. Our outdoor Crib that has been in place right through to today’s older commemoration of the Christmas season is finally dismantled, and our minds begin to see
Lent on the horizon just a month away.
As we celebrate the baby Jesus being consecrated in the Temple in Jerusalem and we receive a blessed candle, let us ask that His light shine in and through us, with the prayers of our Lady and St Joseph, too.
Father Edmund
Outdoor Crib
The Crib will come down this coming week, as with the celebration of Candlemas, the
more ancient commemoration of
Christmastide concludes today
Holy Year 2025
Don’t forget the three promises for
2025: prayer every day, Mass every
week, Confession every month
Holy Family
Our February Catholic devotion is
to the Holy Family
Lourdes Roadshows
A message from Canon Christopher Matthews, the Director of the Diocesan Lourdes Pilgrimage:
​
In this Jubilee Year of 2025, Bishop Mark has asked that our
diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes will be our Jubilee Pilgrimage. To help raise the profile of the pilgrimage and to answer any questions your parishioners might have, we have organised a roadshow for those who are interested in joining our annual diocesan pilgrimage to Lourdes. Our roadshow will be on 15 February 2pm-4pm St Anthony, Wythenshawe. Information and register of interest cards will be available, and members of the Lourdes Management Team will be present to answer any questions.
Diocesan Job Vacancy
An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Diocese with the Shrewsbury Youth Mission Team. Further details can be found on the Diocesan website. Completed applications should be sent to Pauline McCulloch at: recruitment@dioceseofshrewsbury.org. Closing date 21 February 2025.
Charismatic Prayer Group
Meets this Sunday evening at 5pm - all welcome for praise, prayer, and intercession.
Mobile Living Well Service
Cheshire West and Chester Living Well Service has joined up with the NHS and CWP to offer a mobile Living Well Service providing various health checks, including immunisations, blood pressure and mental health support. The bus will be located at Sutton Beeches on Monday 3 February and no appointment is required. It will be open from 10.30am – 4pm.
St Werburgh
We send our prayerful best wishes to Fr Paul Shaw and his parish of St Werburgh in Chester as they celebrate their feast day tomorrow (Monday).
Adult Confirmation/Becoming Catholic
There may be some adults in our parish who have never been Confirmed. If there are any adults who have not yet been Confirmed but would like to receive this Sacrament, please let
me know. Likewise if anyone would like to consider becoming Catholic, I am always ready to support you; this is an invitation to those who may have thought a long time about it over the years, but need some encouragement to take the step forward.
First Communion
The BBC broadcast a programme that might be of interest, following first Holy Communion families in a parish. It is available on BBC iPlayer, called simply First Communion and it may give parishioners an insight into the complexities that helping children towards their first Holy Communion raises: families who don’t
believe, families who don’t come to Mass, families who love God and are at Mass every Sunday. An interesting ‘snapshot' of the
realities of pastoral care.
Talks on the Women of the Bible
Once the talks on Luke are concluded, likely by the end of February now, we can take up the next series in the first weeks of Lent to carry us through the whole of Lent and into early Summer. The next series is, as you may recall, on the Women of the Bible, hugely significant and heroic women from the pages of the
Scriptures, beginning with Eve and working our way through the Old and New Testaments. More details to follow.
Luke Talks
This coming week we will look at two accounts which are unique to the Gospel of Luke: The Good Thief who dies next to Christ on the Cross and the Road to Emmaus. No other Gospel contains these accounts, so why does Luke include them? All welcome - Wednesday 29 January at 6.30pm, Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish Centre.
Talks on the Women of the Bible
A reminder and an invitation to all those who might be considering joining the Rome pilgrimage later in the year. Places are going quite quickly now, so if you would like to know more details, please follow this link:
Or contact Tangney Tours directly