The Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time 16th October 2022 Cycle C
St John the Evangelist
128 Bebington Road, New Ferry, CH62 5BJ
Diocese of Shrewsbury (reg. charity 234025)
Parish priest: Fr Mario Ashuikeka, and Fr Emmanuel Chukwujekwu
Deacon: Revd Michael Daly Phone: 0151 645 3314
Email stjohntheevangelist@gmail.com Websites http://ww.stjohntheevangelistnewferry.com www.lpa24.org
Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 16th October 2022. Cycle C
FAITH IN FOCUS: A GOD’S EYE VIEW
The story of the widow pestering the judge for justice in today’s gospel cannot fail to amuse. The poor woman (widows were on the bottom rung of society because of their economic status) must have worn the (important) judge down over time. Judges did not work in buildings; they set up their court in a tent that travelled around their region, rather like our Assizes. So every time he turned up at a new place and pitched his tent, there she was! Eventually he decided to do something just for a quiet life. And it’s her persistence in prayer that Jesus praises.
Being persistent in prayer is probably one of the greatest challenges facing us as Christians. It’s easy not to pray. We can claim we’re busy doing good and don’t have the time. We can say that we never seem to get an answer and so what’s the point? We can look back on things we asked for that never materialised and so wonder whether God is really bothered by our prayer at all.
Prayer isn’t words. Prayer is being constantly tuned into God so that we see and interpret our experiences from God’s point of view. If we can learn to appreciate God’s vantage point then we become less absorbed with our own demands for God to act in this way or that.
There is a difference between being persistent and being a pesterer. Being persistent in our prayer is a sign that we are being faithful to staying close to God. Barraging God with what we think should happen is a sign that we have probably not yet come close to wanting God’s will to reign.
Prayer is a sign that we want to become closer to God and to what God wants for his kingdom on earth. Perhaps it is not too much to say that that by praying we are expressing our desire to become like God. Yes, it is natural to tell God of our plans, our hopes and our fears. It’s natural to place others in God’s “mind” and ask for their wellbeing. But prayer is first and foremost about our relationship with God, our closeness, our gradual coming to know God’s will and his plan for salvation.
And while it is natural for us to see things in terms of the present, God’s perspective is that of eternity.
———————————————-
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON: To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect me.
RESPONSE TO THE PSALM: Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.
GOSPEL ACCLAIMATION: Alleluia, alleluia! May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our mind, so that we can see what hope his call holds for us. Alleluia!
COMMUNION ANTIPHON: Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who him, who hope in his merciful love, to rescue their souls from death, to keep them alive in famine.
——————————————————-
Devotions/Adoration: From now on, unless advised otherwise, Saturday Morning Devotions will be prayed in Church (the Rosary, Divine Mercy and Divine Praises) from 10:30am to 11:30am each Saturday morning. Fr Mario will be available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation during Saturday Morning Devotions at 10.30-11.00am. All most welcome.
Week day Masses at 9.15am Mon, Tues, Wed & Fri, with a 7pm Mass each Thurs evening. All most welcome.
Mass this Tuesday 18th October will be graced by the presence of the children of Year2 from St John’s Infant School. All are most welcome to this celebration.
If you have any queries or ideas, please continue to contact Deacon Mike Daly on 07542463319 or Carol Dalziel on 07808975011 on any Parish matters, or if you wish to arrange a Baptism, Wedding or Funeral.
Mass Intentions If you would like to have a Mass said for your own or someone else’s intentions please fill in one of the Mass offering envelopes at the back of Church, place a donation in it & put it through the presbytery letterbox. Thank you.
Please continue to keep all of our sick parishioners in your thoughts and prayers.
Children's Liturgy is now taking place during the 9.30am Mass, all are welcome.
Tea and Coffee after 9.30am Mass each Sunday, held in the Meeting Room through the Music Store Room. The exit is now be via the front door of the house. All are welcome.
Last Weeks’ Offertory Collection amounted to £311.16p, thank you. Please try to be as generous as you can to our parish in these difficult times.
Our Confirmation programme is well under way and is now closed to any further applicants. Please pray for the candidates and the Catechists who are working so hard to help them in their preparations for this sacrament.
If you know of any St John's parishioners, who would welcome a home visit by members of the S.V.P, please email St John's with details and we will pass on the information, which is treated confidentially, to Steve Bell, President of St John's SVP. Please ask the person or persons involved if they would like a visit before passing on their details. Many thanks stjohntheevangelist@gmail.com
October is Mary’s special month for praying the Rosary. Please try to say the Rosary as often as you can during the month of October.
November Lists Please ensure that all names for the November List are handed into the presbytery by Sunday 23rd October. Please mark the envelope For The Attention of Ann Murray and please print all names clearly, Many thanks.
Traidcraft Stall - thank you to everyone who supported this good cause last weekend.
The Mission Sunday collection is to be extended to all Masses this weekend. Please try to be as generous as you can in these difficult times.
CAFOD Family Fast envelopes are available on the table at the back of church. They can be handed in during the month of October. Please be as generous as you can be to our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
Missio Red Box Collection : Thank you to all who contribute to Missio via the Red Boxes; please return the current contents of your boxes to St John's by the end of October. The latest Magazine is available at the back of Church. This year, World Mission Sunday is on 23 October.
The Loop System in the church is now fully operational. To benefit, please set your hearing aid to the "T" setting and adjust your volume as appropriate.
There is a Prayer Intention Book on the table at the back of the church. Please enter your intentions and the Book will be brought to the altar on the first Sunday of each month.
ST LUKE (October 18th) Luke is really a shorter version of Lucanas, a Latin name that seems to show that he was not of Jewish origin. He is credited with being the author of the third gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Unlike some of the other New Testament writers Luke has a fine command of Greek and this indicates that he was an educated man, probably a physician.
His gospel is at pains to show the compassionate nature of God (he is the one to report the Prodigal Son story) and he is sometimes referred to as the author of the social gospel since much of his material deals with the need for Christians to have a strong sense of justice, particularly to the underdog (as witnessed in the story of the Good Samaritan). Today, particularly, much emphasis is put on the prominence he gives to the women whom Jesus came into contact with, especially Mary.
Much of Luke’s material in his writings comes from his close association with Paul with whom he travelled and whose preaching he listened to. His gospel of forgiveness was a forerunner to the Acts of the Apostles where he gives an account of the early growth and development of the Church. He is patron saint of surgeons and physicians.
A special collection to thank Fr Paschal for his unstinting support & efforts over the last eight months will take place over the weekend of 22/33rd October. Fr Paschal’s express wish is that the collection goes to the people of Haiti. This will be via a marked basket at the back of church.
Mother’s Prayers- Please see the poster about this group of mothers from our parish who meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 7pm , to pray for their children and grandchildren and offer each other support. The next meeting will take place this Tuesday 18tth October, in the main Church ; all most welcome.
The Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday 16th
5.00pm Bernard McGuigan RIP
9.30am Eric Poyser RIP
11.00am Private Int for G McTernon
7.30pm Prayer Meeting
Monday 17th
9.15am Those Preparing for Sacraments
Tuesday 18th
9.15am Pat Bevan RIP
Wednesday 19th
9.15am For World Peace
Thursday 20th
7.00pm Daniel Brett RIP
Friday 21st
9.15am Laurence (Larry) O’Brien
Saturday 22nd
10:30am Devotions - Rosary, Divine Mercy & Divine Praises
The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday 23rd
5.00pm Teresa Young RIP
9.30am Bishop Brian Noble Annv RIP
11.00am Niel Keenan RIP
7.30pm Prayer Meeting
Wirral Foodbank: All donations need to be non-perishable, please refer to the list on the notice board of items urgently needed. Please continue to support this as much as you can in these difficult times.
Please take a copy of the Parish Newsletter for anyone else who would appreciate receiving a copy. Also, there is a selection of cards in the Card Rack; please put money in the box provided.
If you have a notice for the bulletin, please email it to the parish email address or put it through the presbytery letter box by 12 noon on Wednesdays. Many thanks.
WORDS FOR WORSHIP
Let us pray for those who like the widow in the gospel are denied their rights: for those whose labour is exploited for scant wages, for those who lack food and drink, those who suffer at the hands of dictators and those who are denied access to justice.
In your loving mercy, Lord: Hear and grant our prayer!
Let us pray for those who like the judge in the gospel oversee justice: for politicians who make our laws in parliament, for judges and lawyers who administer our statutes, for police who serve the law and defend citizens, and for those who guard and protect those in our prisons. In your loving…
Let us pray for those whose lives are one continual act of prayer: for monks in monasteries, for nuns in enclosed Orders, and for all those who offer their lives and work as an offering to the greater glory of God. In your loving…
Let us pray for ourselves that we may grow in our practice of prayer, never losing heart, trusting in God and deepening our understanding of God’s own will and our role in his Kingdom. In your loving…
