HALLOWEEN: Every year, a debate rages among Catholics and other Christians: Is Halloween a satanic holiday or merely a secular one? Should Catholic children dress up like ghosts and goblins? Is it good for children to be scared?
The Christian Origins of Halloween: "Hallowe’en" is a contraction of "All Hallows Eve" - the vigil of All Saints or All Hallows Day, November 1st, a Holy Day of Obligation, celebrated in Rome since c.740 under Pope Gregory III.
There really are no pagan origins to Halloween. The first attempts to show some connection between the vigil of All Saints and the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain came over 1000 years after All Saints’ Day became a universal feast (c.840 AD).
In Celtic peasant culture, however, elements of the harvest festival survived, although Christianized - lighting bonfires, carving turnips or pumpkins etc. In medieval times children went from house to house, offering to say prayers for the family’s deceased relatives, being rewarded with soul-cakes – little spiced buns with dried fruit. One children’s song begins: “A soul! A soul! A soul-cake! Please good missis a soul-cake! An apple, a pear, a plum, or a cherry, Any good thing to make us all merry: One for Peter, two for Paul. Three for Him who made us all.”
Even the "occult" aspects of Halloween—ghosts and demons—actually reflect Catholic belief. Some still hold that, at certain times of the year the veil separating earth from Purgatory, Heaven, and even Hell becomes more thin, and the souls in Purgatory (ghosts) and demons can be more readily seen.
During the late 20th century, Halloween became highly commercialized under American influence. Pre-made costumes, decorations, and special sweets became big business, but Halloween’s Catholic origins were ignored. Various horror films contributed to Halloween's bad reputation, as did the claims of putative Satanists and Wiccans, who created a false mythology in which Halloween had been their festival, adopted by Christians.
God forbid that Hallowe’en be morphed into a celebration of the dark side, carried away on a current of occultism. Perhaps any Hallowe’en party should include angels and saints, and indeed prayers for the souls in purgatory, as well as a few ghouls and witches. …?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO FR MAYNE who celebrates his 87th birthday on 1st November. God bless you with health and strength and thank you very much for being with us at St Mary’s and assisting in the Thursday Rota supply Masses.
FRIENDS OF UGANDA: Coffee morning and sale of ladies wear – ‘new and nearly new’. Tuesday 8th November at 10.00am – 13.30 in our parish centre.
Fr Francis Marsden 01257 262537
and Deacon Norman Arrowsmith
E-mail address:
Parish website: www.stmarys-chorley.org
Office hours Tuesday - Friday 9.00-13.00 (except Mass), 14.00-16.00
Parish Centre: 270122 or 07971025 985 (Manager – Heather Roscoe)
LIVERPOOL ROMAN CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESAN TRUSTEES INC. Registered Charity No. 232709
St Mary’s Catholic Church Chorley
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
30th October 2016
Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance: he was one of the senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him: ‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ And he hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house’ they said. But Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.’
Sun 30th Oct THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Mbk p159 ?)
Sat 18.15 Mass – – Elizabeth Jane Firth (A)
08.00 Mass – Parishioners
10.30 Mass – – Bishop Joseph Srampickal (Episcopal Ordination)
11.45 Baptism – Florence May Lemon
Mon 31st Oct
08.40 Morning Prayer
09.00 Mass – Cyril Dawber (A)
19.30 Vigil Mass of All Saints
Tues 1st Nov ALL SAINTS - HOLYDAY OF OBLIGATION
08.40 Morning Prayer
09.00 Mass - Parishioners
09.45 – 11.50 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
12.00 Mass – Pious List
12.45 – 19.15 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
19.15 Benediction and Close of Exposition
Wed 2nd Nov ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED (ALL SOULS)
08.40 Morning Prayer
09.00 Mass – Parishioners
09.45 – 11.50 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
12.00 Mass – Pious List
12.45 – 19.15 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
13.30 Blessing of Graves in Chorley Cemetery
19.15 Benediction and Close of Exposition
19.30 Mass - Fr Mayne’s birthday (87)
Thurs 3rd Nov St Winifride, St Martin de Porres
12.00 Mass - Pious List
Fri 4th Nov St Charles Borromeo - First Friday
09.30 – 11.45 Morning Prayer and Exposition
11.30 Divine Mercy Chaplet
12.00 Mass – Pious List (Litany of the Sacred Heart after Mass)
Sat 5th Nov St Elizabeth
11.00 - 11.45 Confessions
12.00 Mass – Pious List
Sun 6th Nov THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (Mbk p.160 ?)
Sat 18.15 Mass – Štefan Gič (LD)
08.00 Mass – Parishioners
10.30 Mass – Pious List
11.45 Baptism – Lawrence Philip Walsh
14.00 Msza Święta po polsku
Please pray for the sick and the housebound: Lelia Addy, Roland Anderton, Emily
Atkins, Frances Bond, Emma Beatty, Pauline Bennett, Margaret Bower, Brigid Cain, Marie Cannon, Michael Carter, Michael Collins, Jill Connor, Melville Coombes, Hughie Daly, John Daniels, Monica Donalds, Joan Doran, Sr Frances, Sr Paschal, Mavis Entwistle, Yvonne Finlayson, John Green, Gerry Harrison, Martin Henry, Simon Holcroft, John Johnson, Joan Jones, Doreen Lang, Julie Lowe, Richard Lowe, Tusia Lynch, Debbie MacFarlane, Jude Mack, Kevin McCarrick, Frances McHale, Kathleen Mitchell, Veronica Mobbs, Catherine O’Donoghue, Anthony O’Malia, Kathleen Rae, Kathleen Reynolds, Margaret Rice, Samuel Round, Paul Tiffin, Terry Tingey, Frank Waring, Marie Worden, Agnes Young and parishioners in The Adelphi, The Gables, Westwood, Gillibrand Hall etc.
ANNIVERSARIES. Elizabeth Jane Firth, Cyril Dawber, Catherine McCarrick.
OFFERTORY COLLECTION last week was £927 of which £468 was gift aided. Mission Sunday raised £195. Thank you very much for your great generosity.
READERS: 29/30 Oct 18.15: Ian McLelland, 08.00: Volunteer, 10.30: Caty Cross. 5/6th Nov: 18.15: Robert Langford, 08.00: Monica Wilcock 10.30: Simon Eccles.
MASS COUNT: the last time this weekend. Collectors please remember.
CHORLEY HOSPITAL: Please contact St Joseph’s, Harper’s Lane (262713) if you are scheduled for an operation and would like to receive the Sacraments while in hospital. In an emergency, the ward staff will bleep the on-call priest via switchboard.
BAPTISM PREPARATION COURSE: Would parents please contact Fr Marsden or Deacon Norman personally, after one of the weekend Masses, if they wish to enquire about baptism arrangements.
NOVEMBER is traditionally the month of prayer for the Holy Souls, the deceased who are on their way to heaven, but undergoing purification and expiating their sins in purgatory for a while. "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."(2 Macc.12, 46). NOVEMBER PIOUS LIST forms and envelopes can be found at the back of church. Please complete your list, put in your offering and seal the envelope and give it in at the Sunday collections or at the Parish Office. Thank you.
INDULGENCES FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY (1st – 8th November)
The faithful can gain a plenary indulgence applicable only to the souls in purgatory subject to the usual conditions of a recent Confession, Holy Communion on the day, and freedom from all sin or sinful intentions, by --
1. Visiting a church or chapel and saying the Our Father, Creed and prayers for the Pope's intentions. This indulgence may be gained from midday of All Saints’ Day (1st November) to midnight of All Souls (23.59 on 2nd).
2. Visiting a cemetery and praying, even mentally only, for the dead. This indulgence may be gained (once per day only) on each of the first eight days of November. In either case 1 or 2 if the conditions are not completely fulfilled then the indulgence is partial.
BLESSING OF GRAVES – CHORLEY CEMETERY: If you would like to have a grave blessed on the Feast of All Souls, then please join Dcn. Norman at the Cemetery gates on 2nd November at 13.30 (prompt start). Thank you.
QUARANT’ORE: Tues 1st and Wed 2nd November. Solemn Annual Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, coinciding with the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls. There is a watching list available in the porch. Please consider your availability. We need someone to be with the Lord at all times. If you would also like to honour Our Lord in the Eucharist by a donation for candles or flowers, to glorify Him truly present in the Sacrament in the monstrance, please use the envelopes in the Narthex. Every donation is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
FRIDAY FILM SESSIONS: Friday 4th at 14.00 in the presbytery dining room - The Agony and the Ecstasy – the dramatized story of Michelangelo’s pain and triumph in painting the Sistine Chapel, driven on by Pope Julius II.
ST ANNE’S GUILD: meets on 1st Nov. Bingo as usual at 19.45 in the parish centre.
MID-TERM WEEK FOR SCHOOL: Have a good and safe break and remember to create a little space in your hearts for God on All Saints Day (Holyday of Obligation in attending Mass) and Sundays.
ROYAL BRITISH LEGION CRAFT & GIFT FAIR: Sunday 6th November in our parish centre 11.00 am – 15.00.