Catholic pic feb 2014

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20p from each sale goes to your parish Issue 113 FEBRUARY 2014

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ARCHDIOCESE OF LIVERPOOL

Mass in Gaza

INSIDE THIS ISSUE ‘I thank God for saving me’ Philippines typhoon

Celebrating Catholics in Healthcare

Cardinal Designate Vincent Nichols

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contents Welcome Congratulations to the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Designate Vincent Nichols. It was with great joy that many people in our own Archdiocese greeted the news as Pope Francis announced it at the Angelus on Sunday 12 January. Although Archbishop Vincent has worked outside the Archdiocese in London and Birmingham since 1984 he was born in Crosby and there are many memories of his ministry among us in Liverpool, Wigan and at the Upholland Northern Institute. He will be created Cardinal at the Consistory to be held on Saturday 22 February, the Feast of the See of Peter the Apostle. Our prayers will be with him on that day and in the years ahead.

Prayers too for the Holy Land, very much in our thoughts and prayers during Christmas but the visit of the Bishops who form the Holy Land Co-ordination reminds us of the harsh realities of life for many people in those lands.

‘I thank God for saving me’ words of 18 year old Edzil, a survivor of the typhoon which devasted the Philippines. Cafod’s Nick Harrop tells Edzil’s story and gives an update on the relief work, a reminder to update our prayers for that region.

Contents

From the Bishop’s desk

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Main Feature Holy Land Co-ordination Bishops call for action in Gaza

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News From around the Archdiocese

With Energy and a Sense of Purpose On visiting one of our high schools recently, I witnessed a PE lesson. A full class of 14/15 year olds were playing table tennis. I’m sure the scene is repeated in every school, no matter what the sport, but my first thought was, ‘well none of these will ever play for England, nor even represent the school in what they were doing’. ‘Passing time in a non-enthusiastic or over-exerting way’ was phrase that came to mind. ‘God help the teacher’, I thought.

What was missing was Passion and Enthusiasm. It appeared that no-one wanted to win, or to be the best, just another lesson to pass the time.

My instinct, as a teacher, was to think of ways of making what they were doing more interesting. ‘How can I spark their enthusiasm, how can I fire them up to want to be as good as they possibly can be?’...not just in ‘ping pong’, of course, but in their hearts and in who they are. We can all be asked the same questions...whether as Pope, Bishop, Priest or Parishioner.

I cannot rest comparing this ‘Passionate Approach’ to our Faith with the way football supporters approach their team. They expect the players to earn their respect and support with dedication, enthusiasm and skill, a team is only as good as its weakest link, but also, rather than complain from the side-lines, a sense of belonging and identity is also essential.

I am really proud of being a Priest, and a member of the Catholic Church.

I want us all to be the best that we can be, but only the Good Lord can judge that. Most people are the best they can be, except when they’re playing ping-pong.

Editor Peter Heneghan Editorial Catholic Pictorial Magazine Liverpool Archdiocesan Centre for Evangelisation, Croxteth Drive, Liverpool L17 1AA Tel: 0151 522 1007 Email: catholicpictorial@rcaol.co.uk Pictures: Cover and main feature: © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk Advertising Andrew Rogers 0151 709 7567 Publisher 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS

Copy deadline March issue 7 February 2014 CPMM Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced copied or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in any information storage or retrieval system without the publishers written permission. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published, Catholic Pictorial Ltd. can accept no responsibility for the veracity of the claims made by advertisers.

14 Spotlight The gentle art of being done good to 15 Sunday Reflections Liturgy and Life 16 What’s On Whats happening in the Archdiocese 18 Animate Youth Ministry Life in the Animate community 19 Profile Archbishop Vincent Nichols Cardinal Designate 25 Justice and Peace Globalisation of indifference?

25 Cathedral Record February without Lent 26 Pic Extras Mums the word News from the KSC 28 Pic Life There is always light at the end of the tunnel 29 Join In Family Fun More Mullarkey

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Bishops call for action in Gaza Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Kelly joins Bishops meeting in Holy Land

By Ann Todd ‘The best noise in church is the crying of a baby.’ Those were Archbishop Emeritus Patrick Kelly’s words in a moving episode on his visit to the Holy Land in January. He was speaking during the baptism of two children in Nablus in Palestine and little did he know – as he found out later – that Pope Francis was saying exactly the same thing as he baptised more than 30 infants in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

It was not the only memorable coincidence during a trip made by Archbishop Kelly with Father Mark Madden, parish priest of St Patrick’s in Southport.

It was on their journey to visit the well of Samaria – Jacob’s Well, as it is otherwise known – that they heard that Archbishop Vincent Nichols had been made a cardinal.

Fr Madden takes up the story: ‘The well is very sacred, and is where Jesus met the Samaritan woman so we were able to pray for Archbishop Nichols at this sacred place. It was wonderful.’ The well, he added, is in the cellar of a Greek Orthodox church with no ornate surroundings. ‘It is a well, and it is still used. Archbishop Patrick and I both drank from it after praying for Archbishop Nichols.’

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The pair made their trip to Nablus to show their continuing support for the local Christian community, which has strong links with Fr Madden’s former parishes in Liverpool, St Oswald’s and St Cecilia’s.

During their stay they were able to celebrate a private Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and visit St Martha’s House, a daycare centre for elderly Christian widows, which churches in Liverpool Archdiocese have supported for some time.

Amid the coincidences, the timing of their trip was planned precisely to fit in with the annual Holy Land Coordination, the yearly visit to the Holy Land by bishops from Europe, North America and South Africa.

Fr Madden explained how they gained fresh insight into the difficulties facing local Christians when they visited Bethlehem. ‘We were with the other bishops on a visit to Cremisan Valley, in a suburb of Bethlehem, the only green part of Bethlehem,’ he recounted. ‘We listened as the people of the area, 90 per cent of whom are Christians, told us how their land of olive groves and apricot trees and vineyards is set to be destroyed, so that the Israelis can build a wall to give security to a nearby Israeli settlement.

‘We stood among the trees as the

people told us their story of how the land had been in their 58 families for generations and how the trees were regarded as part of the families. Then we stood in a circle and prayed the Our Father.’

Archbishop Kelly and Fr Madden had joined up with the 12-strong party of bishops after they returned from Gaza, whose Christian community provided the focal point of this year’s meeting. Indeed by the end of their five-day visit, the bishops would describe the situation in Gaza as ‘a shocking scandal’.

The Bishops Conference of England and Wales has organised the annual Holy Land Co-ordination since 1998. Mandated by the Holy See, it meets every January for prayer, pilgrimage and persuasion, with the aim of acting in solidarity with the Christian community in the Holy Land and sharing in the pastoral life of the local Church.

This year’s five-day programme included meetings with Israeli and Palestinian civic society and policy makers, briefings with diplomats, and a visit to the Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem.

The bishops’ stay began on Sunday 12 January, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, with a Eucharistic celebration in Gaza’s Holy Family parish – a Mass that began two hours late due to the slow transition through the Erex checkpoint.

Two further visits were organised by the heads of Catholic Relief Services – the first to a school of crafts for children from the refugee camps run by the Near East Council of Churches. The second was to Rafah, on the border with Egypt, to see the famous smuggling tunnels, now closed.

The Rafah Tunnel offered a means, in some cases the only means, of getting products into Gaza from Egypt. Owing to the economic siege on Gaza, the alternative, as people there explain, is to be without such basics as food and medicine.

On Monday morning, the Bishops

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feature ‘We stood among the trees as the people told us their story of how the land had been in their 58 families for generations ’

celebrated Mass with the priests of Gaza. The Christian community in Gaza is made up of 2,500 people, of whom Catholics number around 300, in a total population of more than 1.5million.

The local religious sisters were present and the delegation got to see, at close quarters, the work of the Sisters of Mother Teresa, who provide help and support for children with problems and the elderly living alone.

Padre Mario Cornioli, an Italian priest based in Palestine, said: ‘If this visit will not bring changes for Gazans, it will definitely remain vividly in the hearts of the bishops and other members of the delegation. When one comes to Gaza and sees the situation first hand, one cannot remain indifferent upon returning home.’

The objectives of the delegation are to understand the social, political and ecclesial realities of the Holy Land and to advocate more effectively for justice and peace, to support the efforts of the local Church, especially through the work of Catholic Agencies, and to

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feature

support the mission of the Apostolic Nuncio.

economic development, and freedom of movement.

The Bishops released a joint statement at the end of their trip in which they addressed the plight of the people in Gaza and ‘the courageous presence of the small and vulnerable Christian communities there’.

‘In the seemingly hopeless situation of Gaza, we met people of hope. We were encouraged by our visit to tiny Christian communities, which day after day, through many institutions, reach out with compassion to the poorest of the poor - both Muslim and Christian.

The statement went on: ‘Gaza is a man-made disaster, a shocking scandal, an injustice that cries out to the human community for a resolution.

We call upon political leaders to improve the humanitarian situation of the people of Gaza, assuring access to the basic necessities for a dignified human life, the possibilities for

‘Gaza is a man-made disaster, a shocking scandal, an injustice that cries out to the human community for a resolution’ 6

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‘The resumption of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians is a positive sign and we hope that both parties will resolve, with the support of the international community, to take courageous decisions aimed at finding a just and lasting solution to a conflict which urgently needs to end.’

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News diary If you’ve got any news from your parish that you’d like featured e-mail us with the details at: post@merseymirror.com

Archbishop Nichols to be a Cardinal

During the Angelus in St Peters Square on Sunday 12 January Pope Francis, announced that the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, will be made a Cardinal at the next consistory to be held on Saturday 22 February, the Feast of the See of Peter the Apostle.

Following the announcement Archbishop Vincent said, ‘I am deeply moved by the honour conferred upon the Catholic Church in England and Wales and on the Diocese of Westminster in my appointment as Cardinal by His Holiness Pope Francis. The Catholic Church in our countries has always had a profound and loving loyalty to the Holy Father, the Successor of St Peter.

This appointment enables me, on behalf of all, to serve the Pope in a direct and prolonged way. Personally, this is a humbling moment when I am asked to take a place in this service of the Holy See and in the line of much loved Cardinal Archbishops of Westminster. I seek the blessing of Almighty God for these new responsibilities and I ask for the prayers of all people of faith that I may fulfill them with energy and devotion.’

Archbishop Nichols is the 11th Archbishop of Westminster to be named as Cardinal. At the February Consistory Pope Francis will create fifteen more Cardinal electors and three non-elector Cardinals.

Voices of the Valley in Speke The Fron Male Voice Choir, known as the ‘Voices of the Valley’ will be taking part in the next Mersey Wave Music Concert at St Ambrose church in Speke on Friday 14 February.

The ‘Fron’ Choir were formed in 1947 and have established themselves internationally as one of the leading Welsh male voice choirs. In 2006 they were signed to the Universal Music label and their album ‘Voices of the Valley’ went Gold just a week after its launch and was nominated for a Classical Brit Award. Since then they have released a total of five hit albums.

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The St. Valentine's Day Concert begins at 7.30 pm on Friday 14th February at St. Ambrose church, Heathgate Avenue, Speke, L24 7RS. The Fron Choir will be joined by opera singer, mezzo soprano, Kathryn Rudge and there will also be performances by the Mersey Wave Choir with a programme of romantic songs from opera, musical theatre and popular classics. Tickets are £10, concessions available, contact 0151-558-1255.

Right: Mezzo Soprano Kathryn Rudge.

Credit: Sussie Ahlburg

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news diary

Silver for Sophie

There was a special celebration at St Vincent de Paul church in Liverpool during Mass on the Feast of the Holy Family, when Father Liam Collister presented Sophie Farrell with her Guild of St Stephen Silver Medal, to mark her

thirteen years as an altar server.

Sophie's family and the parish community shared in the celebration, together with the two young altar servers Sophie is training: Erin McKenna and Laura Williams.

Songs of Praise BBC Songs of Praise is looking for a church family to take part in some filming over the Summer. They are searching for a family that is open minded, game for a laugh, happy to try out new activities, open about their faith and happy to be filmed as part of their church community.

Ideally, a family with a mixture of ages: for example, grandparents, parents, and teenage children. The filming will involve members of the family getting involved with a variety of wide-ranging pursuits, for example, from a bike ride to going on an afternoon retreat.

Filming, which may be done at home or in church, will take approximately six days, although not all members of the family will be required for every filming day. It will take place between March and May but dates

can be flexible.

Interested families should contact Amy Ryninks from Songs of Praise, email: amy.ryninks@bbc.co.uk or Tel: 0161 335 8427. In your email please give your full name, contact details, and, if possible, a photograph of the family.

After initial contact by interested families, a member of the ‘Songs of Praise’ team may ask for further information about your family (either by phone or email) if they think you may be suitable. Following this, they will then make a final decision about which family is featured in the programme.

Obituary of Rev Luke Dumbill

Former Parish Priest of St Aidan’s, Winstanley and St Bartholomew’s, Rainhill, Father Luke Dumbill, died on 16 December 2013 at the age of 77.

Luke Dumbill was born in Woolston, Warrington, on 23 June 1936, the son of Joseph and Bertha Dumbill. He attended St Peter’s Primary School, in Woolston, before completing his ecclesiastical studies at St Joseph’s College, Upholland and the Venerable English College, Rome. He was ordained priest in the Chapel of the English College, Rome, on 9 July 1961.

Following ordination he pursued further studies at St Edmund’s House, Cambridge. Between 1965 and 1973 he taught modern languages, mainly French, firstly at Upholland College and subsequently at Loreto Convent Grammar School, Altrincham.

His first parish appointment came in August 1973, when he was appointed Assistant Priest at St Vincent, Derbyshire Hill, St Helens. However, after just two years in parish life he returned to teach modern languages at Upholland College.

In September 1982 he took up his first appointment as Parish Priest at St Aidan’s, Winstanley. Eleven years later he moved to St Bartholomew’s, Rainhill, as Parish Priest. After his retirement in December 2004 he continued to live at St Bartholomew’s and to help in the parish. He later moved to live in Southport and in 2010 he moved to Ince Blundell Hall, where he lived until his death.

His Funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Tom Williams at St Bartholomew’s, before burial in the churchyard there.

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‘I thank God for saving me’ Nick Harrop recently returned from the Philippines, where he was monitoring the impact of Cafod’s response to the recent typhoon. He writes: I was in the town of Palo in the Philippines, standing by a water bladder, an inflatable tank that can hold 10 cubic metres of drinking water, watching it being filled from a truck. More and more people were arriving with jerry cans and buckets, waiting to collect drinking water from the six attached taps.

‘I am a survivor of the typhoon’ said a young man standing next to me. ‘I am a good swimmer.’ He smiled and mimed a breast-stroke. He told me in broken English that his name was Edzil and he was 18 years old.

Towards the sea, to our left, there were no buildings standing, just haphazard piles of wood, collapsed coconut trees, and debris. All the buildings had been destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the area on 8 November last year.

200 mph winds dragged roofs off, and sent glass windows hurtling through the air. But most of the damage was caused by the storm surge: a 12-foot wall of fast-moving, debris-filled water that obliterated everything in its path.

I asked Edzil where he was when the typhoon struck, and I was astonished by his answer. ‘On a boat,’ he said. ‘At sea. I am a fisherman. There were many people on that boat. All the others died.’

He still had a smile on his face, and it took me a moment to take in what he’d said. Everyone he was with had died?

‘There were big waves,’ he said. He indicated how high the waves were by raising his arm at full stretch above his head and then saying the word “more”.

He described the noise by making a revving sound and putting his hands over his ears. ‘There were big waves, the boat rocked and…’ He made a downward gesture with his right hand.

‘I held on,’ he said. ‘I held onto the boat. I held onto anything. I swam for three hours.’ I asked him how he felt.

He shrugged. ‘The water was cold. Your

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mind is confused. You do not know how you can keep swimming. The Lord gave me the strength to swim.’

I tried to tell him how sorry I was to hear what happened, but he changed the subject. ‘This is a dirty area,’ he said.

All the houses were destroyed.

Everything needs to be cleaned up. It is hard to breathe. Chemicals, trees, dead bodies. They have side effects. You do not feel well. Many people have been sick.’

Edzil pointed to the water bladder.

‘Many thanks for the water,’ he said.

‘It is important to us. This water is purified. We have enough now.’

‘I have a mission,’ he said, ‘to have a good future. I want a new house, a new job. I don’t want to be a fisherman, I can’t forget my memories. There are dead people in the sea. I want to go

back to school and become an engineer.

He was silent for a moment. ‘I thank God for saving me,’ he said. ‘It was not my time to die.’

Thanks to the extremely generous donations of Catholics in England and Wales, Cafod has been working with its local partner Catholic Relief Services to provide clean water and sanitation for more than 100,000 people around Palo who lost their water supply because of the typhoon.

Catholics in England and Wales have donated more than £4.5 million to Cafod’s Philippines Typhoon Haiyan appeal. Cafod is providing water, sanitation, food, shelter and emergency supply to tens of thousands of people who lost everything in the typhoon.

Find out more at www.cafod.org.uk/typhoon

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MBE for sporting stalwart A former Knowsley teacher received the MBE in the New Year’s Honours list.

Mike Dooling has contributed to athletics in Knowsley for more than four decades as an official, coach, volunteer and teacher. He also plays a vital role in Liverpool Harriers AC. He has also been an active member of the English Schools’ Athletics Association for nearly 30 years and is currently Chairman. He is an Active Merseyside AA committee member, a qualified track judge and continues to be involved in schools athletics from grassroots to national level. He was also very proud to be an Olympic torchbearer in the run up to London 2012.

Mike said: ‘I feel very humble about this honour and was very surprised when I heard about it. I am really pleased to be singled out like this and there are so many people to thank, especially my wife, Eryl and two sons Gareth and Matthew, it was really difficult trying to keep the news from them. I have met some great people over the years and gained so many great experiences, too many to mention.’

Mike has supported athletics in a variety of ways including as an athlete, club administrator, event organiser, team

manager and official. He became involved in athletics whilst he was at teacher training college before taking up a teaching appointment in Kirkby.

Having already acquired coaching and administration skills, at school and training college, it was while training with Liverpool Harriers at Kirkby Stadium that he got involved with the Catholic Schools Athletics organisation.

He progressed to form the Knowsley Schools Athletic Association.

His English Schools commitments star ted back in 1981, when he was

assistant secretar y of the English Schools at Kirkby, and in the same year was elected to the English Schools Executive Committee, and the following year became Assistant Meeting Manager for the ESAU Annual Athletics Championships.

Having been the ESSA Team Manager for over 25 years, he was elected Vice Chairman of the ESAU in 2008. The top honour arrived in 2009, when he was appointed Chairman - a move which saw him retire from teaching after 38 years.

Danielle’s solo performance A former student of Sacred Heart high School, Crosby, has helped to raise money for a cancer charity by singing at a concert in the Crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Now 23, Danielle Louise Thomas, pictured at the concert, gave a solo performance to help North West Cancer Research (NWCR).

The singer, who was a runner-up in the Merseyside Young Singer of the Year competition in 2004, was part of a regional line-up of talent that included opera groups.

At the age of 11, Danielle appeared on television when she was asked to perform on BBC’s Songs of Praise and sang Cat Steven's version of ‘Morning Has Broken’. She later studied voice and piano at the Junior School of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

Chief Executive of NWCR, Anne Jackson, said: ‘We couldn’t have wished for the concert to have gone any better and it was a fantastic afternoon.’

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news diary Carmel College and the Catenians The winner of the annual public speaking competition for students of Carmel College St Helens was Michael Sheridan-Warburton.

The event was held at Eccleston Park Golf Club and Michael was judged the winner after delivering an impassioned speech entitled ‘The EU - in or out?’ He received an Amazon voucher and the annual trophy and will now move on to a regional competition. These are all part of a national competition for sixthformers organised by the Catenian Association.

The local St Helens circle of the Catenians has organised this heat of the competition for a number of years and the aim is to provide young people with a chance to improve their communication skills.

Second place went to Thomas Mulvanny and third place to Thomas Stokes, who also received Amazon vouchers from circle President Roger Mullin.

UCM charity cheques presented The Priests’ Training Fund, the Lyndale Centre, a Knowsleybased cancer support centre, and the Walton Neuro Centre were all beneficiaries of the UCM Charity Fund. As is traditional cheques were presented at the UCM January

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Mass celebrated by Father Stephen Maloney at Christ the King and Our Lady’s church.

The recipients are pictured with UCM President, Angela Moore.

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spotlight

The Gentle Art of Being Done Good To

by Sister Marie Tighe SND Many years ago at a Nursing Conference I heard about ‘The Gentle Art of Being Done Good To.’ The speaker said that nurses are so busy trying to help others that they forget that they too have needs, and that other people might want to be good to them.

On Grand National Day this year as I waited for the Liverpool train the platform was crowded with gorgeously dressed race goers. I felt like a sparrow that had accidently landed in a cage full of tropical birds.

Then one of the birds said to me ‘Don’t worry about your case Luv, I’ll put it on the train for you.’ There was a lot of banter and good humour as my case was handed over heads and they tried to find me a seat. In their company I knew I was ‘Being Done Good To’.

I was on my way to our Province Gathering in Liverpool and the feeling of ‘being done good to’ continued as I was welcomed and hugged by so many Sisters. At the Meeting, we Sisters looked together at the way some of our diminishments are becoming more apparent as we age.

One of the Sisters said that we should look on our diminishments as challenges to new growth in our lives. I resolved there and then that in the future I would try to do this.

Little did I know then what the future held in store.

Two weeks later I had a hear t attack. At that time I was the Parish Sister on the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides so I had to be flown to hospital in Glasgow. I was only too glad to let the nurses be good to me. I returned home to Barra. Then the God of Surprises pulled another trick out of His hat.

The medication for the hear t attack caused a tumour to haemorrhage and for the second time in four weeks I had to be flown to hospital in Glasgow. The tumour put such pressure on the optic ner ves that I became totally blind. While in the Neurosurgical Unit I was cer tainly

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‘done good to’. I was treated with such dignity, compassion and love. I recovered a little sight. I could distinguish between black and white and I discovered that I had a little tunnel of vision that enables me to read large black print on white paper.

I was no longer able to return to Barra. Instead I have now joined our Community for Sisters who need to be cared for at Parbold. As a Sister of Notre Dame my thoughts are drawn to our Foundress, St Julie. For 23 years Julie was an invalid and totally dependent on the goodness of others. She had to let others help her.

There must have been many times when people thought that they were being good to Julie, and maybe it was not at all what she wanted or needed. All her life Julie’s constant and oft repeated words were ‘Ah qu’il est bon, le bon Dieu: ‘Isn’t God Good’. We have those words on the back of the crosses that we wear to identify ourselves as SNDs. In our Constitutions we read ‘Our aim is to express in our time as Julie did in hers, that God is good’.

Surely this means that as well as actively trying to be good to others, we must, like Julie, allow others to be good to us. In the Gospel we see how Jesus shared his love and goodness with the people of his time. We hear a Leper say to Jesus ‘Lord, if you want to, you can cure me’. Jesus’ answer is an emphatic ‘of course I want to’. We see his own vulnerability and his need for others to be good to him in the Garden of Gethsemane. He needed the love and support of his friends most of all then.

We, each one of us, need love and support from others, but most of all we need the loving kindness of the heart of our God. St John in his first letter says ‘This is the love I mean, not our love for God, but God’s love for us’. Perhaps letting God love us and be good to us is the essence of prayer Thank you Edwina Gately for putting into words how all that really matters is for us to practice ‘The Gentle Art of Being Done Good To’.

‘Let Your God Love You’

by Edwina Gateley Be silent.

Be still.

Alone.

Empty Before your God. Say nothing.

Ask nothing.

Be silent.

Be still.

Let your God look upon you.

That is all.

God knows.

God understands.

God loves you With an enormous love, And only wants To look upon you With that love.

Quiet.

Still.

Be. Let your God Love you.

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sunday reflections On a liturgical note “A light to enlighten the Gentiles.”

The greeting of Simeon which is recounted by Saint Luke on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which we celebrate today, gathers together all the hopes and promises of the Old Testament as ‘the watcher in the Temple’, Simeon, recognises in the person of the child Jesus a fulfilment and a revealing (Epiphany) of what God had promised to his people – that he would be ‘Emmanuel’, God-with-us.

Simeon’s life is now literally ‘fullfilled’; it has reached its climax and its goal “for my eyes have seen the salvation you have prepared for all peoples, the light to enlighten the Gentiles and be the glory of Israel, your people.”

Simeon can now welcome even death itself because he has experienced the fidelity and love of God: “At last all powerful Master, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise.”

These words are used by the Church each day of the year as part of the night prayer known as Compline – from the Latin suggesting something which completes, perfects or brings to a close – for in the life of the Church, in word and in sacrament, we

Sunday thoughts The journalist Bernard Levin wrote: ‘If you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool’s paradise – why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare.’ And he goes on and on…

I thought of this when reading from

Canon Philip Gillespie

too share Simeon’s delight in recognising the fulfilment of God’s promises.

Previously it was only on the Feast of the Presentation (known sometimes as the ‘Purification’ or the ‘Encounter’) that Christmastide ended. The revision of the Liturgy after the Second Vatican Council fixed the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord as the conclusion of Christmas, leaving 2 February as a Feast of Light in the midst of the Ordinary Time of the Year.

The theme of light, so present during Advent and Christmastide, is one which recurs frequently in the Scriptures and in our Liturgy. It speaks powerfully of the presence and action of God in our lives – scattering darkness and guiding the way. But also it speaks of our own role and mission for the world and society in whose life we share – we are called to bring to others the light of the Good News, preaching perhaps at times with words, but at all times through our actions.

Mgr John Devine OBE

the Sermon of the Mount in St Matthew’s Gospel readings for February. Jesus speaks of the salt of the earth; of virtue being no more that skin deep; of going the extra mile.

Words of wisdom from the Bible are so imbedded in everyday conversation that we are unaware of it. But the Gospel is more than sage advice. It is Good News. We know what virtuous behaviour looks like but we repeatedly fail to put it into practice. We appreciate wisdom whatever its source but the message of the Gospel is redemption rather than advice. The will is there but the performance is not. We are redeemed by the love of God revealed to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is the mystery we celebrate in the Eucharist.

The glory of God is everywhere One of the most wonderful men I have ever met was a Buddhist. His mother was an alcoholic who over the years led him a merry dance. She would often disappear for days on end. When she was at home he never quite knew what she would do or what state she would be in. She embarrassed him on many occasions by turning up drunk at important occasions.

Never once did I see him angry. Never once did I see him despair of his situation. Never once did he say anything about his mother. He carried on his life with great dignity and with a compassion towards her that I do not recall ever witnessing anywhere else. I asked him once how he managed and he smiled and said, ‘Only with the good God do I cope’.

My encounter with him made me realise that the grace of God is at work all over the world and not only within the petty limitations that we put on God. God is bigger than our understanding. God is always more and any attempts we make to put God in a box, any attempts we make to limit who God is and how God works means we are just playing at discovering the richness of God. When Jesus stood up in the temple at Nazareth and proclaimed the Lord's year of favour to all people, everyone thought he was wonderful until he started to put it into practice and lived a life where he did not distinguish between Jew and Gentile, where status held no sway and those who were outside the temple system were suddenly within the heart of God. We can be exactly the same, happy to embrace the Gospel until it pushes our narrow provincial hearts and minds, until we are pushed to be compassionate and loving and accepting of all people, until we are invited to expand our hearts and minds and see goodness everywhere.

So whatever there is within you that would make you look at another person or group of people and say God is not there, ignore it and remember the synagogue at Nazareth and face your prejudices and judgemental attitudes so that you will see the glory of God at work all over the world.

Fr Chris Thomas

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what’s on Sunday 2 February Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Various dates

Tuesday 4 February UCM Business Meeting.

7.30 pm in the Gibberd Room of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Wednesday 5 February Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills. Cost £5 per session including refreshments. Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

‘The Road to Rome.’

A Lecture for the Friends of the Cathedral given by Art Historian Joseph Sharples about his six week walk to Rome. 7.00 pm in the Gibberd Room of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

Tickets £8.00 from Cathedral House.

Thursday 6 February to Friday 7 February Crossroads Retreat at the Prayer centre St Josephs, Formby, Liverpool, L37 1PH. Details: www.crossroadsretreats.co.uk Email: info@crossroadsretreats.co.uk Saturday 8 February Car Boot Sale 8.00 am onwards in the Cathedral Car Park. Pitches £10. Details from Claire Hanlon 0151 709 9222.

‘Silk Painting for Beginners’ course in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King.

The course will cover the basics of painting on silk using specialist paints, and will teach the techniques of resist outlines, watercolour and salt effects.

World of Atherton

Cost £15 including tea and coffee.

Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

Sunday 9 February Loyola Day 10.00 am-4.00 pm at Loyola Hall, Warrington Road, Rainhill, L35 6NZ. A day of quiet with input including guidance in prayer and sharing on a theme, ending with Mass. Details from Loyola Hall Tel: 0151 426 4137. Email: mail@loyolahall.co.uk Website: www.loyolahall.co.uk ‘Let Your Light Shine’ Preparing for Lent

for Children’s Liturgy Leaders Led by Jo Boyce CJM Music. 2.00 pm at the Centre for Evangelisation, Croxteth Drive, Sefton Park Liverpool, L17 1AA. £10. Bookings: please send details to Mrs Julie Cassidy at LACE (cheque payable to RCAOL).

Tuesday 11 February World Day of Prayer for Sick People Ministry Day 10.00 am-4.00 pm at Loyola Hall, Warrington Road, Rainhill, L35 6NZ. A day for people in full-time or part-time ministry with input and sharing and time for quiet prayer and reflection. Details from Loyola Hall Tel: 0151 426 4137.

Email: mail@loyolahall.co.uk Website: www.loyolahall.co.uk Wednesday 12 February Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills. Cost £5 per session including refreshments. Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

Clergy Day at Loyola Hall, Warrington Road, Rainhill, L35 6NZ A short presentation, prayer and discussion including Exposition and an opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Details from Loyola Hall Tel: 0151 426 4137. Email: mail@loyolahall.co.uk Website: www.loyolahall.co.uk Saturday 15 February ‘Locus Iste’ – In God’s House Concert 7.30 pm in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Tickets and details Tel: 0151 707 3525 or www.cathedralconcerts.org.uk

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february Sunday 16 February Education Sunday Mass in celebration of Marriage and Family Life 11.00 am in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. Celebrant; Bishop Tom Williams.

Catholics in Healthcare Mass with and for Healthcare Workers 3.00 pm at Christ the King, Queens Drive, Liverpool, L15 6YQ. Celebrant: Bishop Tom Williams.

Tuesday 18 February Cursillo Ultreya 7.30 pm at St Michael and All Angels, Sydney Powell Avenue, Kirkby, L32 0TP. Wednesday 19 February Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would

like to learn new skills. Cost £5 per session including refreshments.

Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

Thursday 20 February

Thursday 20 February Newman Circle Talk: ‘Food and Faith’

by Steve Atherton 7.30 pm at St Helen's Parish Centre, Alexandra Road, Crosby. L23 7TQ. Wednesday 26 February Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills. Cost £5 per session including refreshments.

Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222

Looking ahead: March 2014 Wednesday 5 March Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills.

Cost £5 per session including refreshments. Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

Saturday 8 March ‘Goldwork for Beginners’ day course in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King All welcome to an introduction to the art of metal thread embroidery, as used on church vestments, and which has its origins in medieval times. Cost £15 including tea and coffee.

Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

Wednesday 12 March Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills.

Cost £5 per session including refreshments. Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

‘Pondering the Parables with Father Andrew Robinson’ A reflection taking an in-depth look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan. 7.45 pm at St Bede's Church, Appleton Village, Widnes, WA8 6EL Thursday 20 March Newman Circle Talk: ‘The Sunni Muslim Faith and the Spirit of Cordoba’ by Zia Chaudry 7.30 pm at St Helen's Parish Centre, Alexandra Road, Crosby.

L23 7TQ. Wednesday 26 March Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills.

Cost £5 per session including refreshments. Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

‘Pondering the Parables with Father Andrew Robinson’ A reflection taking an in-depth look at the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. 7.45 pm at St Bede's Church, Appleton Village, Widnes, WA8 6EL.

Wednesday 12 March

UCM Bi-monthly Mass 7.30 pm at St Teresa of the Child Jesus, Utting Avenue East, Norris Green, L11 3BW. ‘Pondering the Parables with Father Andrew Robinson’ A reflection taking an in-depth look at the Parable of the Good Samaritan. 7.45 pm at St Bede's Church, Appleton Village, Widnes, WA8 6EL Wednesday 19 March Embroidery for Pleasure Class 10.00 am-1.00 pm in the Art Studio at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King. All welcome from beginners to experienced embroiderers who would like to learn new skills.

Cost £5 per session including refreshments. Bookings and enquiries: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk or Tel: 0151 709 9222.

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profile

Archbishop Vincent Nichols

Cardinal Designate Vincent Nichols was born in Crosby on 8 November 1945. He attended St Mary’s College before studying for the priesthood at the Venerable English College in Rome from 1963 to 1970.

He gained licences in philosophy and theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and was ordained priest in Rome on 21 December 1969.

On his return to England he studied for an MA in Theology at Manchester University between 1970 and 1971. In 1971 he was appointed as Assistant Priest at St Mary’s in Wigan and as Chaplain to St John Rigby Sixth Form College and St Peter’s High School.

Three years later in 1974 he went to study at Loyola University in Chicago gaining an M Ed. In 1975 he returned to the Archdiocese of Liverpool and was appointed to St Anne’s parish, Overbury Street, with particular responsibility for education.

In January 1980 he became director of the Upholland Northern Institute, with responsibility for the in-service training of the clergy, and pastoral and religious education courses. He was appointed a member of Archbishop’s Council with responsibility for Pastoral Formation and development in the Archdiocese.

In January 1984, he was appointed General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

From 1989 to 1996 he was moderator

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of the Steering Committee of the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland.

He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Westminster, and Titular Bishop of Othona by Pope John Paul II on 24 January 1992. His predecessor as Titular Bishop of Othona had been Bishop Anthony Hitchen, formerly Auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool.

In Westminster Bishop Nichols was given responsibility for North London.

In 1994 he became a member of the Finance Advisory Committee of the National Catholic Fund of the Bishops’ Conference and the following year became a member of the Bishops’ Conference Committee for the Roman Colleges. In 1996 he was appointed Episcopal Liaison of the Bishops’ Conference for the National Conference of Diocesan Financial Secretaries.

In 1998 Bishop Nichols was appointed chair of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Catholic Education and Formation and also chair of the Catholic Education Service. He represented the European bishops at the November 1998 Synod of Bishops from Oceania and appointed by the Holy See to the Synod of Bishops for Europe in September 1999 as a special secretary.

In 2000 Bishop Nichols was appointed Archbishop of Birmingham. The following year he became Chair of the

management board of the Catholic Office for the Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults.

In 2005, he provided the commentary for the worldwide BBC coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II and the Installation of Pope Benedict XVI and in 2008 was appointed President of the Commission for Schools, Universities and Catechesis of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE).

Archbishop Nichols was appointed the eleventh Archbishop of Westminster by Pope Benedict XVI on 3 April 2009 in succession to Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor. He was elected President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales by unanimous acclamation on 30 April 2009 and was installed at Westminster Cathedral on 21 May 2009. He received the Pallium in Rome from Pope Benedict XVI on 29 June 2009, the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

In 2010 he received an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Birmingham University, and in 2011 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Liverpool Hope University.

He was appointed a member of the Congregation for Bishops on 16 December 2013 by Pope Francis who at the recitation of the Angelus on 12 January 2014 announced that Archbishop Nichols would be created Cardinal at the consistory in Rome on 22 February 2014.

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youth ministry

Life in the Animate community Amy Sewell reflects on the experience of working in youth ministry.

It seems hard to believe but we are already halfway through the year at Animate. As our work continues with young people from across the Archdiocese and further afield, I thought it would be good to explain how I ended up at Animate and involved in youth ministry.

This is my second gap year working in the field of youth ministry having spent 2012/13 in a similar role with the Youth Ministry Team (YMT) in my home diocese of Hexham and Newcastle. The reason I wanted to get into youth ministry work was because of a mission week by this same group, which I experienced

when I was 16. After I graduated from university in 2012, I joined YMT and spent a year living in community and working with thousands of young people. I thoroughly enjoyed my first experience of delivering sessions that made faith fun and interactive for young people and when I was coming towards the end of the year, I knew that I wanted to stay within youth ministry but wanted to move further away from home.

I saw an advert for Animate, had a look at their website and could see that the work they do was very similar to what I had been involved

in. So I got in touch with Father Simon, had an interview and this is how I have ended up with the team at Lowe House.

Our first term as a new team was pretty busy as we worked with a wide range of young people, from Year 7s, just at the beginning of their secondary school experiences, right up to Year 11s coming towards the end of their time in school. We looked at and explored different themes such as ‘Let your light shine’ and ‘Living life to the full’, allowing the young people to realise that through simple, everyday actions they can have a positive impact on those around them.

October brought our first mission at St Mary’s High School, Brownedge. This was my first experience of an Animate mission week and it was a great way to begin – the chance to work with all of the young people in the school and see the change in them over the course of the week as they stepped through their own personal door of faith was amazing. I really enjoyed seeing the young people explore how faith can become an active part of their lives, partly because of the impact that a mission week had on me when I was of a similar age.

Away from the retreat side of our work, we have had plenty of time to bond as a community and enjoy our lives together. Outside of retreats and missions there have been a variety of different activities, from celebrating team members’ birthdays to our themed evenings at Lowe House.

Working and living in community is not always the easiest thing to do, but the chance to spend time together outside of the house certainly makes it a whole lot easier! Working in youth ministry and living with like-minded people is one the best decisions I have ever made and it has given me skills and confidence that will carry over into my future.

If you are between 18 and 25 and are interested in taking a gap year with Animate, please get in touch with Fr Simon Gore at s.gore@animateyouth.co.uk or 01744 740 467 for further information.

• Keep up to date with our activities via Facebook (Ani Mate), Twitter (@animateyouth) or our website (www.animateyouth.org).

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justice & peace

Globalisation of indifference?

By Steve Atherton, Justice and Peace fieldworker Thanks to Father Philip Inch for his article in last month’s magazine about Pope Francis’s recent exhortation, ‘The Joy of the Gospel’.

It is a wonderful document that describes what follows after the initial Christian experience of a personal encounter with Jesus, explaining the implications that this meeting has on our behaviour as Catholic Christians.

The document holds a mirror up to us so that we can see how closely we conform to the ideal that Christ has set for us. This is not always comfortable. In fact, I found parts of the document downright uncomfortable.

‘How these Christians love one another’ has always been a mark of the Church. Since 1891 there has been a long tradition of social encyclicals where popes have analysed the political and economic situation of the world and offered guidance on how we should respond as Church. The second Vatican Council also reflected on these issues and produced two documents on the Church’s role in the world. At the end of the council, Pope Paul VI set up the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Pope Francis says explicitly that the letter ‘is not a social document’ (#189) even though it speaks out on many social evils. So what is it? It is an appeal to us to hear what he calls ‘the first proclamation’ (#177), over and over again. The ‘first proclamation’ is that ‘Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side everyday to enlighten, strengthen and free you’ (#164).

To know that ‘we are infinitely loved’ (#5) is the first and most important message of the Gospel. The Church we belong to is made up of individual people experiencing ‘personal encounter with Jesus Christ’ (#2), who because of this personal contact with Jesus are also in personal contact with each other. Having made clear that ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ is about evangelisation, about sharing with the world the good news of ‘the Gospel of mercy’ (#187), the Pope goes on to describe a Church where the faithful are full of God’s spirit and love for one another. He warns against looking ‘like someone who has just come back from a funeral!’ (#9).

Pope Francis makes a series of urgent pleas: ‘No to an economy of exclusion’ (#53);

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‘No to the new idolatry of money’ (#55); ‘No to a financial system which rules rather than serves’ (#57); ‘No to the inequality that spawns violence’ (#59); ‘Yes to the challenge of a missionary spirituality’ (#78); ‘No to selfishness and spiritual sloth’ (#81); ‘No to a sterile pessimism’ (#84); ‘Yes to the new relationships brought by Christ’ (#87); ‘No to spiritual worldliness’ (#93); ‘No to warring amongst ourselves’ (#98).

These heartfelt cries for renewal are directed outwards, away from ourselves and towards concern for other people: ‘I especially ask Christians in communities throughout the world to offer a radiant and attractive witness of fraternal communion’ (#99). This is not specifically social teaching. It is basic following of the Gospel.

The good news calls us to care for everyone: Christian conversion demands reviewing especially those areas of life ‘related to the social order and the pursuit of the common good’ (#182). To care for people is evangelisation: ‘All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the building of a better world’ (#183). Evangelisation is to care for people and to care for people is evangelisation.

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REMEMBER...

WW1 Commemoration The Duke of Westminster will be the guest if honour at a unique and memorable event taking place at the Anglican Cathedral at 7.30pm on Friday 28th March.

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Tickets: £20, £15, £10 from mavis@lwcu.freeserve.co.uk <mailto:mavis@lwcu.freeserve.co.uk> , 0151 652 6374 or at the Anglican Cathedral shop.

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cathedral

World Day of Prayer for the Sick Cathedral Record Canon Anthony O’Brien – Cathedral Dean

With Easter being late this year, unusually, we have a Lent free February and I’m not sure whether that will make the month feel as though it drags on longer or not without a penitential season to take our mind off the cold miserable weather.

On Tuesday 11 February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Church holds the 22nd World Day of Prayer for Sick People. The theme for this year is taken from the First Letter of St John: Faith and Charity: ‘We Ought to Lay Down Our Lives for One Another’ (1 John 3:16).

In our own Archdiocese there will be a celebration on the Following Sunday, 16 February, when Bishop Tom Williams will celebrate a Mass with and for Healthcare Workers at 3.00 pm at Christ the King and Our Lady’s church on Queens Drive.

Each year the Holy Father issues a message to mark the day and, in his first such message, Pope Francis is commending the day to the intercession of Mary, so that she will help sick people to live their own suffering in communion with Jesus Christ.

In his message Pope Francis turns his attention especially to sick people and all those who provide them with care and treatment. He begins by saying ‘the Church sees in you, dear sick people, the special presence of the suffering Christ’ going on to say ‘in the plan of God’s love even the night of pain yields to the light of Easter, and courage, which enables us to confront every hardship in his company, in union with him’.

Pope Francis underlines the fact that although the Son of God made man has not taken away human disease and suffering, he has taken them on to himself, transforming and reducing them because they no longer have the last word. He speaks of the true test of faith in Christ saying: ‘the proof of authentic faith in Christ is self-giving and the spreading of love for our neighbours, especially for those who do not merit it, for the suffering and for the marginalised’.

The Holy Father highlights that we should approach those who are in need of care with tenderness, ‘when we draw near with tender love to those in need of care, we bring hope and God’s smile to the contradictions of the world’ and goes on to offer Mary as a model of tenderness and sensitivity,’ who is always attentive to the voice of God and the needs and troubles of her children’.

In conclusion Pope Francis speaks of the figure of St. John, the disciple who was with Mary at the foot of the Cross. It is this Saint, he stresses, that takes us back to the source of faith and charity, ‘to the heart of the God who “is love”’.

All are welcome to attend the Mass on Sunday 16 February to pray for and support all who are sick and those who work in healthcare.

The Feast of the Presentation, 2nd February, is today which will give an opportunity to make more of the opening liturgy and procession that is proposed in the Missal but we certainly won’t be starting outside in February! Also this week the Friends of the Cathedral have organised a talk by Joseph Sharples on Thursday 6th entitled ‘From Canterbury to Rome’ which is not about a journey of conversion to Catholicism, but rather an account of a walking pilgrimage. Joseph is both an author and interesting speaker.

On Sunday 16th February the Marriage and Family Life group within the Diocese have chosen to hold their Annual service at the Cathedral and will be joining us for 11.00 am Solemn Mass with Bishop Williams presiding at the Mass. The annual Camra Beer Festival takes place in the Crypt Hall on a few of the evenings this week and for the first time in a few years I will be able to pop in to sample some liquid refreshment without feeling guilty due to Lent having already begun.

The Canons of the Diocese meet on 25th February for their Meeting and Chapter Mass. Depending upon what ensues between now and then the main topic will be either why hasn’t there been an announcement of our new Archbishop or arrangements for the installation of a new pastor for the Diocese. We shall wait and see.

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Pic extras Mums the Word Our first bi-monthly Mass of 2014 was held at Christ the King on 8 January. With our chaplain, Father Mark Madden, unable to be with us, Fr Stephen Maloney kindly agreed to officiate.

Knights backing international school meals movement

Christ the King always say a prayer for peace at their meetings and this was said at the Mass – ‘Holy Mother Queen of Peace hear our prayer that war will cease. Touch the hearts of violent men and teach them how to love again. Through the grace of Christ thy Son help the world to live as one.’

This prayer was written by Charles Blott, whose wife is a member of St Margaret Mary’s foundation.

Every two years the KSC selects and supports a major fundraising project and for the period 2013-15 the order will be raising funds nationally for the well-established international campaign to feed the hungry, Mary’s Meals.

Traditionally cheques from our charity fund are presented at this Mass. Our members submit details of charities they wish to support and these are then voted on, with fundraising events happening throughout the year. The total amount raised is then divided between the chosen charities. The Priests’ Training Fund is always number one and Fr Maloney accepted the cheque for the fund from our president, Angela Moore.

The founders of Mary’s Meals began with a vision that every child should receive one daily meal in their place of education. They believe there is no reason why that vision should not be realised. Children are at the core of their mission and the main beneficiaries of all their programmes. They also believe it is essential that children are protected from harm and are able to benefit from their programmes in a safe and healthy environment. From small beginnings, they now feed over 800,000 children daily.

Madelaine McDonald from St Margaret Mary’s foundation presented a cheque to Wyn Pickup, chair of the Lyndale Centre, a Knowsley-based cancer support centre. A third cheque, meanwhile, was presented by Terri Cameron of the Blessed Sacrament foundation to Kevin Byrne from the Walton Neuro Centre.

All our bi-monthly Masses are special but the January Mass is just that little bit more rewarding. Members are busy now thinking which charities we will support this coming year. The charity must be based within the Archdiocese of Liverpool and funds must go towards a specific project.

I look forward to seeing you at the business meeting in the Gibberd Room at the Metropolitan Cathedral on 4 February, starting at 7.30pm.

God Bless, Ann Hogg, Media Officer

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News from the Liverpool Province of the Knights of St Columba

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Mary’s Meals works in partnership with local communities. In Liberia, for example, the communities there build the simple kitchens needed to cook meals at school. In Malawi, over 60,000 volunteers – usually parents – cook and serve over half a million meals every school day.

Using volunteers wherever possible reduces costs and ensures that at least 93p in every pound donated is spent directly on the charitable work.

The average annual cost of feeding a child in these countries is just £10.70.

The Knights have given a commitment to raise funds to help

with this great mission and campaigning will be undertaken locally to support the national effort.

In a message to the KSC, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of the movement, said that he prays that before too long, with our help, we can bring Mary’s Meals to more of the world’s poorest communities and that outside many more schools there will be new queues of smiling children forming in anticipation of a good lunch. If you would like to know more, please visit their website, www.marysmeals.org.

• It is with sadness that we have learned of the death of Lionel Wood, the father of our chaplain, Rev Tom Wood. We extend our deepest sympathy to Fr Tom and his family.

Websites: www.ksc.org.uk and www.kscprov02.weebly.com Email: dpokeane@aol.com

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PIC Life There is always light at the end of the tunnel

By Moira Billinge My appalling sense of direction is legendary. If I have to drive into unfamiliar territory, despite modern technology and satellite navigation, I worry well in advance of the journey and still manage to record many lost miles on my dashboard. When my satnav informs me that ‘You have reached your destination’, I expect it to conclude with a relieved ‘Thank God!’.

Road maps and atlases might just as well be written in Chinese for all the use they are to me. My (selfdiagnosed) geographical dyslexia renders my brain incapable of translating the myriad of information into any logical order. In the past, direction-finding was not my only motoring-related problem. A phobia of tunnels – a theme of recurring nightmares – complicated matters. I could just about cope with being driven through them as long as I kept my eyes tightly shut, but the remotest possibility of my ever being in the driver’s seat for such a journey was completely out of the question, beyond consideration and not up for negotiation under any circumstances.

On New Year’s Eve, over a decade ago, I dropped some leaflets off at St Anthony’s Church on Scotland Road. It was starting to get dark and for some reason best appreciated by other directionally-challenged individuals, I took the wrong turning. This probably sounds as though it should have been easily rectified and most people would be undeterred by the unscheduled change of direction. Not on the occasion in question, though. Having reached the point of no return in the lane for the Mersey Tunnel – and thoroughly petrified of the dense, grey concrete tunnel walls towering above me, not to mention the prospect of 28

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ending up on the wrong side of the river – I slowed down to a snail’s pace, much to the understandable chagrin of other drivers as they noisily negotiated their way around me.

A sign saying ‘Large loads and slowmoving vehicles’ materialised to my left. My car fitted the ‘slow-moving’ category perfectly so I parked between an unlit Dr Who-like structure and a door embedded in the tunnel wall and I awaited the onset of doom.

As if from nowhere, a voice behind me barked: ‘Can I help you?’ I turned around and saw two policemen emerging from the ‘Tardis’ – a vantage point for observing the approaching traffic and obviously on the lookout for idiots like me. I was emotionally shredded and it became an easy task to convince them that it was in the best interests of all to end my unplanned path through the Mersey Tunnel immediately. One of the officers gave me a cup of tea (inside the ‘Tardis’) and promised to escort me to safety via an exit for ‘unsuitable traffic’ once I had calmed down.

Thankfully, I have largely succeeded in overcoming my tunnel phobia – though I retain an extremely cautious and healthy respect for the cavernous beasts. Whenever I successfully negotiate them, my great sense of achievement is always accompanied by my eternal gratitude for the kindness of the two policemen. Life’s journey can include apparently wrong choices and turnings which may take us on unintended and seemingly disastrous paths. Yet God uses our mistakes to our benefit. Writing ‘straight with crooked lines’, God’s help and the kindness of others can lead us towards a surer footing and newlydiscovered wisdom. Perhaps the ‘wrong’ path can actually be a blessing in disguise.

Prayer for February My dearest Lord Be thou a bright flame before me Be thou a smooth path beneath me Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me All of my life Please send your favourite prayer to: Barbara, Catholic Pictorial, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS Please include your contact number (not for publication) and which parish you are from.

Worth a visit

Don’t let the winter chill prevent you from embracing the outdoors – a trip to the coast combining the sea air and a historic manor house could be the per fect afternoon trip, writes Lucy Oliver. Lytham Hall is a fine specimen of Georgian architecture, near the Blackpool seafront and the market town of Lytham St Annes.

Readers of Jane Austen will appreciate the 18th century manor’s imposing façade overlooking 80 acres of parkland.

Historians, meanwhile, should note that the property resides on the site of a Benedictine abbey, Lytham Priory. The former church to St Cuthbert, built in the 12th century, was erected in thanksgiving for two miracles and remained in operation until the dissolution of the monasteries.

More recently the manor has served as a military convalescent home. If the gardens capture your imagination, try a photography workshop on 19 February (10am-1pm). Although the hall does not open officially to visitors until April, the grounds are free to explore between 10 and 4.30pm and on Sundays Lytham Hall welcomes visitors on guided tours at 12pm and 2pm, with the tea room open all afternoon. For more information about its photography and craft workshops, call Lytham Hall on 01253 736 652.

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join in Eating Out

Children’s word search

This Valentine’s day why not share a lovely meal out with the whole family. Be sure to book your table.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is celebrated on February 2.

There are clues in our word search for you to find out more about this wonderful feast day.

HOLY DAY

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LIGHT PURIFICATION PRESENTATION

REVELATION HOLY SPIRIT

The Cricketers Chapel Street, Ormskirk 01695 571123 Ashefield House Ashefield Park Drive, Standish, Wigan 01257 473500 51 Trattoria 51 Promanade, Southport 01704 510051 The Side Door Hope Street, Liverpool 1 0151 707 7888 Chung Ku Riverside Drive, Liverpool 3 0151 726 8191 Casa Italia Stanley Street, Liverpool 1 0151 227 5774

More Mullarkey From Johnny Kennedy Father Mullarkey was sitting in old Mrs Donnelly's kitchen having a cup of tea and a natter… and a chocolate biscuit.

The old girl was going on about her next door neighbour.

‘She’s a good neighbour, Father, and she comes in every day, but she doesn't half go on about her son Patrick,’ she said.

‘He’s an only child and she says he just pleases himself what he does. She found stubs of two cinema tickets in his pocket and she thinks he’s going out with a girl.’

‘Well, I suppose you can’t blame her for worrying,’ said Fr Mullarkey, ‘especially if he’s an only child.’

‘But he’s 46, Father!’

Easter cards from the Carmelite Monastery

Audio copy of the Pic out now An audio version of the ‘Catholic Pictorial’ is available free of charge, compiled by students, technicians and Chaplain, Helen Molyneux, at All Hallows RC High School, Penwortham Anyone interested in receiving the audio copy should contact Kevin Lonergan Tel: 01772 744148 or 01772 655433 (home).

In next month's Pic there will be a range of cards from Carmel for the combined sacraments of Confirmation & First Holy Communion The Carmelite Monastery Maryton Grange Allerton Road Liverpool L18 3NU Please contact the Monastery card office on 0151 724 7102.

Email: marytoncards@outlook.com

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ÂŁ50 per Will

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