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Twenty Third Sunday Year A 10th September 23
Sunday Collections Second Collection this weekend: Vocations First Collection GA: £501.50 NGA: £824.27. Monthly Standing Orders: £5,194.50 St Anthony’s Box: £55.30 Pro-life GA: £20.00 /Sick & Retired Priests: £20.00 Building Fund GA: £529.87 NGA £436.49 Bishop John Pastoral Visit to Parish: Next weekend Bishop John will celebrate the Vigil and Sunday Masses with us here in St Johns. I am sure you will give him a very warm Barrhead welcome and he will join us for tea/coffee in the hall after the 10am Mass. Diocesan Vocations Mass: Please join Bishop John and our Diocesan family in praying for Vocations to the Priesthood, Diaconate and the Consecrated Life at St. Mirin’s Cathedral on Thursday 14th September 7.00pm. All welcome! Feast of St Pio (Padre Pio): Mass with relics of Padre Pio at 7pm in Our Lady & St George, Penilee on Friday 22nd of September. Main celebrant Fr Hayden Williams OFM (Cap) internationally renowned preacher from Malta. More details on poster in porch or call 07845 906 820. You can also email mail@padrepioevents.co.uk Safeguarding thought for the Month of September: We are committed to improving the culture of Safeguarding in order to rebuild trust and confidence in the ways in which we ensure that children and vulnerable adults are kept safe. Safeguarding Training: Dates and times: Sat 16th Sep (10am, St John’s church hall, Barrhead). and Tue 7th Nov (7pm, St John’s church hall, Barrhead). To book your place, email Sarah Jane at safeguardingadmin@rcdop.org.uk Retreat Day for Primary School Pupils: We are hosting a retreat for primary school pupils (P4-7) at St Mary’s in Paisley on Sunday 17th September from 2-5.30pm. The retreat will start in the church hall, and will include Holy Mass, activities and the chance to meet new friends. All participants must bring a signed consent form, which can be obtained from parishes and primary schools. For more info, contact Fr John Morrison by emailing vocations@rcdop.org.uk or by calling 0141 889 5056. Marriage Counsellor Sought: The Diocese of Paisley is looking for an experienced counsellor to assist its excellent marriage counselling team. visit: https://www.rcdop.org.uk/news/marriage-counsellor-wanted. Massive threat to Religious Freedom- please contact your MSPS: The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, tabled by Gillian Mc Kay, will soon be debated in Holyrood. The Bill will introduce so-called buffer zones around abortion clinics. It bans prayer in certain areas, a massive attack on religious freedom and removes a lifeline for women who want to keep their babies but feel they have no other choice than abortion. Please contact your Member of the Scottish Parliament to make your views known. You can go to https:// www.spuc.org.uk/nobufferzonesscotland . This webtool helps you edit the email template and submit to your MSP. Free 2 Pray Zoom We will be doing this with the Catholic Parliamentary Office on 3rd October. This is the link if the minutes go out in time: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/free-2-pray-tuesday-3rd-october-745pm-tickets-704627468727 Sacred Heart Prayer Group: Meeting in tearoom from 1pm-2pm this Tuesday 12th September. RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) . Meeting with Fr Joe for those enquiring about becoming Catholics on Tuesday 19th Sept in Church house at 7pm. 100 Club Winners for August: 1st Thomas Reilly No 49. 2nd M & I Campbell No 26. 3rd Margaret Cassidy No 10. 4th J & M Hallan No 158. 5th B. Melee No 40. Parish Hall: Teas & Coffees in the hall after the 10am Mass. We pray for those who have died recently: Albert Carberry, John Docherty, Joseph Finnigan, Cormac O’ Hara and for the Anniversaries of Edward Balmer, Agnes & William Brennan, Margaret & Michael Docherty, Susan Gillan, Annie Logue, Peter Mc Kenzie, Nancy Mc Laughlin, Catherine & Mary Reilly. DIOCESE OF PAISLEY Bishop John Keenan Diocesan Centre Cathedral Precincts Incle Street, Paisley PA1 1HR Tel: 0141 847 6130 Fax: 0141 847 6140 Vocations Awareness Week Twenty-Third Sunday of the Year Pastoral Letter To be read and/or distributed on Sunday, 10th September 2023 Dear brothers and sisters, This Sunday, we begin our celebration of Vocations Awareness Week in Scotland. It is a time when we are encouraged to pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and the consecrated life. Our Gospel this Sunday tackles the difficult issue of how a Christian community should deal with internal problems and disputes. At first, the answer seems a bit obtuse and legalistic, at least to our modern ears. A bit of reflection on the LORD’s advice to the community, however, opens up a horizon of love and compassion. At the heart of the LORD’s instruction is a reminder that we need to be a caring community; a community that cares for any person in difficulty and that cares for the truth that alone can set them free. A community that cares about the person and cares about the truth. Might I suggest that this simple maxim, drawn from our Gospel, is a concise yet powerful description of a life of service in the Church. Our priests, your priests, are called and chosen to care for each and every person, to respond to every human need wherever and however they encountered it. Following the example of Jesus Himself, our priests seek out the lost, offer guidance to the young, forgive sinners and offer comfort to the sick, the dying and the bereaved. From the beginning to the end of our lives they offer us direction, meaning and compassion. Our Priests are also called and chosen to care for the truth. In a time of uncertainty, confusion and anxiety, they are witnesses of GOD’s presence and His promise in our world. Faithful to a life of prayer, their priestly ministry reminds the world that GOD’s Word lasts forever, is always faithful and is ever inspiring of new ways of hope. Our Vocations Awareness Week is a precious opportunity for recalling the wonder of GOD’s call to serve His People, and of gratitude for all of those who said Yes down the years. This week I hope you and your parish communities will pray for vocations to the Priesthood, Diaconate and Religious life, and encourage all those engaged in ministry in your community, and finally that our young people may be given time and space to discern if they are called to these special vocations in the life of the Church. May the prayer that Pope Saint Paul VI composed for the first World Day of Prayer for Vocations accompany us on our journey: “O Jesus, Divine Shepherd of souls, You called the Apostles and made them fishers of men. Continue to draw to Yourself ardent and generous souls from among the young, in order to make them Your followers and Your ministers. Give them a share in Your thirst for the redemption of all… Open before them the horizons of the entire world. By responding to Your call, may they prolong Your mission here on earth, build up your Mystical Body, which is the Church, and be ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world”. May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and the Lady of Paisley watch over you and protect you. With the assurance of my prayers and blessings, Bishop John Keenan |
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