The Parish of Our Lady and St Patrick Oldham

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
(YEAR B)
WEEK: JULY 21ST - 27TH 2024

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

“…he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd...”

YOUR CHARITABLE PRAYERS are requested for our parishioners and friends, especially those whose names appear below.
SICK: John and Kath Green, Joan Killeen, Eileen Killeen, Cyril and Christine Clarke, Tony Kenny, Luke Burke, Amy Howard, Dominic Boardman, Connie Marrone, Pauline Howarth, Toni Patra, Alexander Loughlin
LATELY DEAD: Charmaine Mulryan, Mildred Winterbottom, John Wilson
ANNIVERSARIES: Herbert Hilton, Joseph McDermott, Margaret Miller

LAST WEEK'S COLLECTION: £862.45p

Standing Order: £674.00 a month

CHURCH BOXES / DONATIONS
Caritas (Homeless) £50.00
Many thanks for your kind generosity.

Our Bank: Barclays Bank - Account Name: TSDT, Our Lady and St. Patrick’s, Oldham; Sort Code 20 55 34; Account Number 90652504; Reference: Contr.
Please note that the bank account has changed because a fault was recurring in the old account which meant that direct debits from other companies were sometimes being set up without my authorisation. Thankfully, we noticed each attempt to do so and stopped the payments. The bank has suggested we should have a new account. If you already pay directly into the old account, don’t worry; we will keep both accounts going for a while and simply transfer everything to the new account over time.

THIS SUNDAY'S MISSALETTE

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Missalette

NOTICES:
All Masses will continue to be live streamed. A link is provided on the Parish website: www.smwsp.org.uk or via the Twitter App (@PhilipSumner13).

NEXT SUNDAY - There will be a baptism at the 10.00am Mass.

YCW EVENT 27TH JULY FROM 12NOON TILL 9PM AT PRIMROSE BANK COMMUNITY CENTRE.
Proceeds to the Terence O’Grady Social Club (a safe environment for people with learning difficulties).
All are welcome at the event.
Music genres: Afrobeat/Amapiano/RNB/House/Pop/80’s Dance Pop.
Entry £10.00

ROSARY BEFORE MORNING MASS ON SUNDAYS
One of the Catholic Mothers Association will lead the Rosary from 9.30am-9.45am.

SPECIAL DAYS THIS WEEK
Monday 22nd July – St. Mary Magdalene. She is a much-maligned saint. The Gospel readings that speak of a woman taken in sin, and the woman with a ‘bad name in the town ‘are often wrongly presumed to be Mary Magdalene. Yes, it is true that we are told that Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out of her, and she was certainly someone who knew she needed forgiveness. But she stayed with Jesus till the end, along with the Apostle John and a few other women. Her love at that time was surely the cause of Jesus making her the first apostle of the Resurrection. She was sent to tell the other disciples that Jesus had risen. She, therefore, holds a very special place in the Gospel story. Tuesday 23rd July – St Bridget of Sweden – She was born in 1303. She got married and had eight children But, after the death of her husband, she founded the Bridgettine Order. She died in Rome in 1373. Thursday 25th July – St. James the Apostle – He was born in Bethsaida and was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John. He was killed by Herod in Jerusalem in about the year 42. Friday 26th July – Ss Joachim and Anne (the parents of Mary)

THIS SUNDAY’S READINGS
The significance of the phrase, “He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” might pass many by. First, the use of the word ‘pity’ to translate the Greek word used in the text, does not do it justice. The Greek word suggests that all Jesus’ innards became churned up, so moved was he by the sight. It is a deep compassion that affected him physically as well as psychologically and emotionally. But the other element is that Mark is demonstrating, yet again, that Jesus is God, without stating it overtly. He did this in Chapter 2 of his Gospel when he talks about Jesus healing the paralytic. Then, Jesus had said, “Your sins are forgiven”, and the people questioned among themselves saying, “Who can forgive sins but God?” Then, in Chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel, he tells of Jesus calming the storm, leaving the disciples who were with him to ask, “Who is this, even the wind and the sea obey him?” Through both stories Mark is trying to show that Jesus is God, without stating it overtly. In today’s Gospel, Mark is alluding to the divinity of Jesus again. In the Book of Numbers (Chapter 27:15-17), we read, “May the Lord God that gives life to all living creatures, appoint a leader for this community…so that they may not be like a sheep without a shepherd.” Mark has Jesus deliberately quoting from the book of Numbers. Then, the Prophet Ezekiel says, “For this is what the Lord God says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them” (Ezekiel 34:11). The Prophet Ezekiel, like the 23rd psalm (numbered as 22nd in the missalette), reminds us that it is the Lord (God) who is the Shepherd. But Ezekiel also goes on to say that the shepherd he will appoint will be his servant David (34:.23). Clearly Ezekiel is writing long after King David had died. So, we are talking about the Son of David, the Messiah, who is also the Lord (God).
There’s also the element in today’s Gospel that recognises the need, occasionally, to step away from the treadmill, to take a break. The disciples had just returned from being sent out in pairs and they were full of enthusiasm for what had been achieved. There was a ‘buzz’ in the air. So, Jesus encourages them to step back for a while, perhaps because they had attributed the success to themselves rather than to the grace of God. They needed to step back for a while to appreciate what had really happened.

DIOCESAN WORK TO REDUCE OUR CARBON FOOTPRINT
Schools across the diocese have saved an estimated 150 tonnes of carbon in less than a year as part of our strategy to become net zero by 2038. In early 2023, the diocese received in excess of £3 million from government allocation of an additional Devolved Formula Capital funding to address sustainability and carbon reduction in schools. This vital resource provided a key opportunity to help us on our decarbonisation pathway.
Since then, almost 70 schools across the diocese have had solar panels installed, a further 20 projects are planned, 4 installations will take place as part of bigger projects such as roof replacements, and 15 schools have opted for alternative sustainability projects, such as LED lighting, window replacements, or insulation upgrades.

PARISH TEAM MEETING
1. We once more discussed the possibility of using a screen at the front of the church for the words to hymns. Some people had been clear on not wanting a screen that would detract from the aesthetics of the sanctuary. One person had suggested the possibility of a fold-away screen that is available through the internet. We agreed to investigate further but we wanted to respect the aesthetic of the place. 2. Someone alerted us to the dangers around the servery area on a Sunday morning after Mass. It was agreed that we should encourage placing the stuff for children on one side of the servery and ask that families require their children to let the older adults be served first. 3. It was also asked if we could look for volunteers to do the tea and coffee on the third Sunday of the month. 4. Someone had asked if the flowers immediately in front of the altar could be lowered slightly so that people could see the altar better at the time of the offertory. This was agreed.
5. It was agreed that the International Music Festival this year would take place on Saturday, 30th November. The time of the event will be decided later. 6. Janet reported on the Synod, saying that the diocese had received 30,000 responses. The main themes were a. Nurturing a faith for tomorrow’s world, b. Building connections, c. Enabling access, d. fostering Christlike care.

VISIT OF BISHOP HA (the auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong)
Last week, the Greater Manchester Chinese Catholic Community had a visit from the auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong. This meant that, as their chaplain, I was invited to a meal at the home of the Bishop of Salford, along with the Bishop of Shrewsbury and the two Vicars General of the Salford Diocese. After the meal, Bishop Ha was taken around the Laudato Si Centre and shown the various elements of the project. The next day, about 400 members of the community celebrated Mass with Bishop Ha at St Mary’s Eccles. Then, about 80 members sat down for a Chinese banquet with the bishop and me in a Chinese restaurant. Being chaplain to the Chinese Catholic community does have some perks!

YCW AT AN INTERNATIONAL EVENT IN TURIN, ITALY
Last weekend, more than ten of our YCW group travelled to Turin in Italy for a European gathering of activists (Rassemblement Européen des Militantes et Militants). These meetings are for the equivalent of Young Christian Worker members across Europe. The theme of the event was “Migration, towards new horizons.’ More than 200 young people attended the event, over three days, to discuss and learn about the challenges faced by young migrants. Two of our young people, Celestino and Famous, were invited to speak at the event along with young people from France, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Celestino wrote, “It was amazing to hear what they do in their country and to have some inspiration to do something similar. But we also learnt from some of their mistakes…We’ve made so many friends and our group, from England and Wales, was voted the friendliest group by the hosting group (Italy).” Our young people were also asked to perform one of the songs that they sing in St. Patrick’s on their youth Sundays. They performed, ‘You are great’

SOLAR PANELS ON ROOVES
Solar Panels have now been installed on the rooves of 90 schools across the Diocese. This is producing a saving of £360,000 a year in cash terms but also a significant saving in terms of carbon usage. I have spoken to the Diocesan Property manager and the contractor re the installation of solar panels on the presbytery. It will be the second week in September when they will start.

WEEKLY SERVICES
SUNDAY:	10.00am. 12.30pm (Polish Mass) 6.00pm
MONDAY:	12 noon Mass
TUESDAY:	12 noon Mass
WEDNESDAY:	12 noon Mass
THURSDAY:	12 noon Mass
FRIDAY:	12 noon Mass
SATURDAY:	12 noon Mass