2 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 CONTACT US: The Catholic Voice of Lancaster is published on the last Sunday of the month previous to publication date. The Catholic Voice of Lancaster is published by its owners. The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster, a registered charity, (No. 234331), and is wholly independent of and separate from any previous newspaper published by or on behalf of the diocese. EDITOR: Edwina Gillett 01253 736630 / 07969 967268 edwinagillett@hotmail.co.uk ADVERTISING: Charlotte Rosbrooke / CathCom Ltd. 01440 730399 / 07932 248225 charlotter@cathcom.org www.cathcom.org DESIGN &, LAYOUT: Rob Hotchkiss / Hot Creative 01253 730343 rob@hot-creative.co.uk www.hot-creative.co.uk PUBLISHED BY: CathCom Ltd. N2 Blois Meadow Business Centre, Blois Road, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Su昀,olk CB9 7BN 020 7112 6710 www.cathcom.org Articles to: voicenews@hotmail.co.uk Letters to: voiceletters@hotmail.co.uk POSTAL ADDRESS: FAO Edwina Gillett 99 Commonside, Ansdell, Lytham St. Annes FY8 4DJ Please send articles for publication on CD or by email, supplying any photos separate to the text (i.e. in jpeg format). Otherwise please type double spacing or write very clearly. Last date for copy is the LAST DAY of the month prior to publication. Photographs will be returned if you remember to put your name and address on the back of each and enclose suitable stamped and self- addressed packaging. O n Friday 17 March, St Joseph’,s Catholic Primary school in Preston, celebrated our patron St Joseph. Each year we attend Mass in church and sing our special ‘,St Joseph was a carpenter’, song and then continue the celebrations in school with learning activities about St Joseph and Hot Cross buns for all the children. This year was made particularly special as we were kindly donated a beautiful statue of St Joseph’,s by the Carmelites Nuns in Preston. The statue was placed in church and Blessed by Father Simon Hawksworth. It is always such a wonderful day and the children respond with reverence and prayer. We would like to send a special thank you to the Carmelite Nuns for their generosity and service to Preston. The statue will be a reminder to the children for many years to come and the children who attended the service will always remember being part of such a special celebration. Catherine Monaghan, Headteacher Feast of St Joseph Celebrated The prayer to St Joseph resonates with all who work in our school: Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labour, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my many sins, to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honour to employ and develop, by means of labour, the gifts received from God, to work with order, peace, prudence and patience, never surrendering to weariness or di

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 3 Mark F H Rae Funeral Directors Dip FD MBIFD Incorporating Rawcliffe and Rae Independent Family Firm A Caring and Personal Service with over 40 years experience Funerals conducted by Mark and Helen Rae Consultant Funeral Director Paddy Keogh Tel: 01253 789000/01253 735269 Wood Street, St Annes on Sea, Lancashrie FY8 1QS Website: www.markraefunerals.co.uk K&,M Maintenance Heating - Electrical - Drainage Established 25 years Telephone: 01772 704530 Fax 01722 798801 Heating, Electrical and Drainage and Plumbing services across the North West of England Gas •, Emergency Boiler Repairs for all makes •, Boiler Installations &, servicing •, Central Heating System repairs/upgrades/leaks •, New fitted Central Heating Systems •, Landlord Gas Safety Certificates (CP12) Electrical •, New consumer units supplied and fitted •, All emergency breakdowns •, Power tripping •, New lighting •, Additional sockets •, Faulty sockets •, Rewiring •, Outdoor lighting/sockets •, EICR - electrial safey certificates Drainage and Plumbing •, Blocked drains, internal and external •, Leaks •, New taps •, Camera surveys Prices Boiler Service - £,49 + VAT plus £,10 for every additional appliance. Tel No: 01772 704530 Mobile: 07941 554730 Fax No: 01772 798801 Address: K &, M Maintenance Services Ltd, Unit 8A, Electron Mill, Brook Street, Preston PR1 7NH More information: www.kmmaintenance.co.uk

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4 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 I started last month’,s notes by saying that the was a lot going on in the Youth Service. Last month that was true. Right now though... well, let’,s just say that Easter is almost always one of the quietest times of the year. Some nice stu昀, happened during Holy Week and the 昀,rst few weeks of the Easter Season though, which are worth a few words... It’,s Easter Alleluia! For quite a while now, we have run our annual Easter Retreat every year during Holy Week (okay, apart from that year where everyone wasn’,t allowed out) and this year was no exception. A total of 15 people journeyed together from Holy Thursday through to Easter Sunday and we got some great feedback afterwards. We were fortunate enough to have three Friars from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal join us for the retreat –, two priests and one brother. Having them with us meant that we were able to celebrate the Sacraments at Castlerigg, which isn’,t always something we can guarantee these days! People started arriving on Thursday afternoon and we had a bit of time to get to know each other before the retreat began in earnest. After having some time to get used to our groups, we then went into the Maundy Thursday Mass –, the 昀,rst major liturgy of the Easter Triduum. Everyone present had their feet washed and Father Isaac preached about the need to let Jesus reach every part of our lives –, even those parts of us that are more uncomfortable –, hence the link to the washing of feet. After the Mass, we all went upstairs to our altar of repose for a time of watching. The next day started with morning prayer and the main focus of the day was the Good Friday service, preceded by our Stations of the Cross right through the middle of Keswick. We walked with our rather large cross through the town centre, along the Lakeside and then back home via Castlehead, stopping at various points for re昀,ections on the di昀,erent stations. We got quite the reaction from shoppers and tourists –, a nice witness which will hopefully move a few hearts! On Saturday we had a re昀,ection in the morning followed by a more chilled out afternoon. We headed to Workington in the evening for the climax of the Easter Retreat –, the vigil. We tried to get across to the young people that the Easter Retreat, for Catholics, is the biggest party of the year –, okay, not quite liturgical or theological language, but hopefully it made some sense! We were very grateful to the Fr Philip and the parish for letting us join their vigil and it was a lovely occasion. It was especially nice seeing two people (not from our group, alas) getting received into the Church and Con昀,rmed. God is good! We then headed back to Castlerigg for Easter Eggs and a bit of a party to celebrate the resurrection, before everybody went home tired but happy the next day. Easter Sunday was also the last day of term for our sta昀, who headed back to their families for a well- earned holiday. These were some of the comments we received after the retreat: “,I enjoyed how the retreat made me think of things in a di昀,erent way, and I also enjoyed how relaxed it was.”, “,I enjoyed the talks in the main room, Paddie’,s morning prayer re昀,ection, and I enjoyed the walk with the cross especially, but it was all good”, Our next open retreat –, for anyone aged 15+ - will be our Advent Retreat this December. Check our website or social media (or indeed these pages) for more information on that later in the year. After the Easter Retreat ended those of us who stayed behind at Castlerigg enjoyed another (albeit more recent) annual tradition at Castlerigg –, the visit of the CFRs. The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (of whom three were already with us for the Easter Retreat) usually stay with us during Easter Week and Low Week for their annual retreat and conference –, and that’,s all of the Friars from the UK and Ireland, around 30 in total. It’,s always wonderful having them in the house. It’,s nice to see them relaxing and enjoying one another’,s company, and they bring so much to us! All in all, it’,s been a nice few weeks. We are now gearing up for a very busy term of school retreats –, equally nice but probably not quite as relaxing! And Talking of Retreats... We recently did a bit of a tally to see how many schools are currently using Castlerigg. The answer is that in 2022- 23 we will be dealing with 43 separate schools. Of those, 30 are high schools and 13 are primary. 16 come from our own Diocese and 27 from beyond. 6 schools are joining us for the 昀,rst time this year (or after a long break) and at present we have two additional schools booked in for 2023-24 with a handful more enquiring! In other words, we are proving popular at the minute! What’,s Coming up? Lourdes Youth The Youth Section of the Lourdes Pilgrimage are still looking for people, so if you’,re interested, contact Joe Walsh Tours on 0808 1890458 Advent Retreat 2023 The next open retreat for young people at Castlerigg will be our Advent Retreat. We’,re not taking bookings just yet, but put the (provisional) date in your diary –, December 8-10th 2023. A Few More Things ... Sponsor a Youth Minister As we mentioned last month we have recently launched a new scheme to help support our gap year volunteers. It’,s just £,10 a month and it gives people the chance to get directly involved with the work of Castlerigg and the Youth Service. More details on our website. MATTERS YOUTH

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 5 SPONSOR a Youth Minister! To advertise please contact Charlotte on 07932 248225 or email charlotter@cathcom.org Independent Catholic Funeral Director Arranging and conducting funerals in the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster since 1986 Lytham Funeral Service Ltd. 42 Clifton Street, Lytham FY8 5EW Tel. (01253) 733909 www.lythamfuneralservice.co.uk David Pope dip FD MBIFD

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6 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 B ishop Tom Neylon made the visit to Pakistan in his capacity as Lead Bishop for Asia for the Catholic Bishops’, Conference of England and Wales at the invitation of Aid to the Church in Need who organised the visit. ACN UK’,s website can be found at: acnuk.org Visiting from 9-16 March, Bishop Neylon visited a number of projects funded by the charity and met with the faithful, priests and bishops in the major cities of Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Faisalabad. Making reference to the fact that Church attendance in Pakistan is very strong, Bishop Neylon received a warm welcome and explained how, at one Friday afternoon Mass in Rawalpindi, there were over 1,000 worshipers in the cathedral with many more outside unable to get in. “,The Church is very strong. It’,s very much a minority –, between one and two percent of the population would be Christian/Catholic and there are other minority faiths and religions in the country as well. Even though there are a small number of Catholics, in terms of the attendance at church –, the place was full…, “,The evidence we saw, without any kind of prodding or probing, was the number of people who would turn up for prayer or for Mass –, there’,s something like a 70% practice rate among the local Catholic population. So, given the environment in which they live, where there can be discrimination of minorities, and well- documented cases where there’,s been violence or even killings associated with places of worship, people make a deliberate choice to say, ‘,yes, I want to live my faith. I want to practise my faith. I want to share my faith with my children.’,”, Speaking on our Catholic News podcast strand, Bishop Neylon discusses how education is a key priority in the dioceses he visited. “,The education for young people, for young adults as well, [is very important] to try and lift them out of poverty, to seek quali昀,cations to get them into the civil service, so they’,re able then to join the wider community in serving Pakistan’,s society through the civil service network.”, He also praised the Catholic Church for delivering education and healthcare services that provide for wider society and not just their own community. “,We heard stories that there are Catholic schools and Catholic hospitals, but they serve the wider community as well. They’,re not just in an enclave or a ghetto, but they’,re there really to serve the wider society. I think in terms of education, there’,s something like 300 Catholic schools across the whole of Pakistan, and very often some of the schools are well subscribed by people not of Christian or Catholic faith, but the majority of people in the population.”, CBEW Bishop encounters vibrant Catholic Church in Pakistan punching above its weight At the Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy Trust, our mission is for all of our Catholic schools to work together to: Develop excellence by providing the best possible opportunities for every child through consistently delivering a high-quality education. Build strong communities by providing a support and service to our families, parishes and wider communities, with an unrelenting focus on those most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our society. With Gospel values at the heart of all we do we will invest in the ongoing professional training and development for the whole Trust community, with Christ as the centre. We teach our children and young people to ‘,belong, engage and become’, so that they reach their full potential and we celebrate their unique talents and their achievements. We do this by never losing sight of our core values of Trust, Respect, Faith, Hope, Service Come and join us: If you have a child ready to start school or Nursery in September, come and be part of our family! We have a few spaces left in the following schools: Reception class: Nursery class: Sacred Heart Christ the King Catholic Academy St. Mary’,s Catholic Primary School (2,3, 4 year olds) Great Eccleston St. Cuthbert’,s Catholic Academy St. Teresa’,s Catholic Primary School (2,3, 4 year olds) St. Wulstan &, St. Edmund’,s Catholic St. Teresa’,s Catholic Primary School Academy (3-4 year olds) St. Wulstan &, St. Edmund’,s Catholic Academy (3-4 year olds)

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 7 We would like to thank these schools for always supporting the paper Our Lady’,s Catholic High School St Anthony’,s Drive, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire PR2 3SQ Headteacher: Mr Charnock Tel: 01772 326900 Email: admin@olchs.lancs.sch.uk Web: http://www.olchs.lancs.sch.uk Teacher Training with the Catholic Teaching Alliance The Catholic Teaching Alliance (CTA) is a partnership between 70 Catholic primary and secondary schools, and a post-16 college, led by Our Lady`s Catholic High School with a shared vision and commitment to providing PGCE with QTS (Qualified Teacher Status) courses in partnership with the University of Cumbria. Contact: 01772 326931 Email: CTAschooldirect@olchs.lancs.sch.uk Website: www.catholic-teaching-alliance.org To advertise please contact Charlotte on 07932 248225 or email charlotte@ cathcom.org The Mater Christi Trust would like to thank all pupils and staff for their hard work in preparing for their exams. We are very pleased that our family of schools is growing. Our Trust is now 13 schools, 11 Primaries and 2 Secondaries across North Lancashire and Cumbria. Tel: 01228 210903 Email: jacky.kennedy@mater-christi.com Chief Executive Officer : Miss Jacky Kennedy

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8 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 W hen I was 昀,rst ordained priest in 1990, I was appointed to St Joseph’,s parish in Preston. Amongst other things we had a thriving parish club. In the summer of 1991 then parish priest, Mgr. Paddy O’,Dea took his usual summer holiday trip to Limerick. Before he left, he told me that the bishop would soon move him to another parish, but couldn’,t say where, or who would replace him. A week of so later I was in the parish club, and a parishioner came up to me to and said that he thought that the new parish priest was an excellent choice and asked whether I thought so too. I confessed that I didn’,t know, and a bit like the story of the journey to Emmaus, it was as if I was the only person in Jerusalem who hadn’,t heard of the happenings of the last three days. And thus, I found out that Frank would be my new PP. Now, one of Saint Joseph’,s club’,s claims to fame was that it was one of only a small number of Catholic clubs in the Preston area which had the luxury of possessing its own bowling green. For some reason unbeknown to most of us, the bowling season always opened on Good Friday, and Father Frank decided it was time to tackle this issue head-on and so went to a club committee meeting where he challenged the practice, pointing out that, given its solemnity, Good Friday was perhaps not the most appropriate day to begin the bowling season and to be swigging beer. He suggested that it could quite easily be accommodated by moving it one day either way. However, the committee had been forewarned and had prepared their counter argument. No sooner had Frank 昀,nished, than they retorted back “,but Father you know it’,s called Good Friday - it’,s not a day to be miserable and sad, this is a day when we should be rejoicing and being happy at what Jesus did for us.”, The matter was eventually resolved in Frank’,s favour, and the bowls were rolled away on Holy Saturday morning. In a sense however the committee were right. The Easter story is good news, not just for us but for the whole of humanity past present and future. It is also intrinsically linked to the priesthood - speci昀,cally to the one priesthood of Jesus Fr Frank Flynn RIP Requiem Mass Homily Christ which is shared with those people we call ministerial ordained priests. A week or so ago, many of us gathered around our Bishop for the Chrism Mass. Not only are the holy oils for the coming year blessed, but the priests also renew their promises. During his homily the bishop reminded us that the renewal of those promises and the easter triduum services are linked. He said “,The obvious 昀,rst image for us to note is that this evening, at the Mass of the Lord’,s Supper, Our Blessed Lord instituted the Sacred Priesthood. It is the anniversary therefore of our ordination as His priests. The striking posture we adopted on the day of our ordination - our prostration - will be repeated tomorrow afternoon at the beginning of the celebration of the Lord’,s Passion.”, And of course, at that Passion, we honour and recall the sacri昀,cial death of Jesus on the Cross for the sins of the world, including our own. The Lord who the night before took bread and said, “,This is my body which will be given up for you”, , now freely and literally gives that body for us. If anyone asks what the job of a priest is, the most obvious answer is to say Mass. We might put that a slightly di昀,erent way and say that the job of the priest is to do just what Jesus told us to do, remembering that as part of the words of consecration over the chalice, six 昀,nal words are included –, “,Do this in memory of me.”, And that of course is what the Church has faithfully done across the world and across the last 2000 years, and also what Father Frank has done for nearly 58 years since his ordination on 12th June 1965. He has lived out his priesthood for a long time. In fact, he was ordained before I was born –, just saying. Looking at the words of today’,s gospel reading, should perhaps recognise the signi昀,cance of these words of Peter in the opening lines of the gospel “,I am going 昀,shing.”, This isn’,t the desire of a man wanting to pass a bit of time pursuing his hobby, but perhaps rather someone going back to what he is familiar with –, turning the clock back, if you like. Once again, we 昀,nd ourselves listening to a story that occurs in the period between the resurrection of Jesus and the explosion of the Church onto the streets at Pentecost. These were probably very strange days, with the apostles not quite knowing what to do or even what was happening next. These must also have been days of uncertainty. The apostles did know and accept the truth that Jesus was risen –, they had seen him- but somehow, they failed to fully assimilate this or understand its real signi昀,cance –, this would take time. We have the bene昀,t of 20:20 hindsight and years of Church tradition, we should not, therefore, perhaps expect everything to haven fallen into place straightaway for the apostles. And there is perhaps a lesson for us here also. The apostles didn’,t really fully understand the resurrection and perhaps nor do we. As the meaning of what had happened eventually sank in, the resurrection was to completely transform the lives and outlook of the apostles, who then went to the ends of the earth to proclaim the good news. Peter could have gone back to the 昀,shing, to what he knew and was familiar with and what would earn him his daily bread, but he didn’,t, and I suppose the question to us is are we willing to let the power of the resurrection transform our outlook and our lives as we celebrate it during this Easter season? If the reading had moved on a few more verses, we would have heard the three- fold question of Jesus to Peter, “,Do you love me?”, and the associated “,Feed my sheep.”, What I think is important here during this encounter is the subtle shift that occurs in the focus on ‘,昀,sherman’, to ‘,shepherd’, . Jesus has already told some of his disciples that they will become 昀,shers-of-men, he has also told them that he is the Good Shepherd. What happens now with the command “,Feed my sheep”, is that mantle of good shepherd is also transferred to the disciples also so that they are both 昀,shers-of-men and shepherds. The good shepherd cares for his sheep. A 昀,sherman goes out to get a catch. These two roles, equal in weight represent two faces of the Church’,s life, and perhaps especially of priesthood. The shepherding role is that of caring for those who belong to the 昀,ock, whereas the role of 昀,shing represents the missionary activity of the Church as a community that reaches out into the world. Both should be equally represented in the life of the Church. Several years ago I was lucky enough to be part of a group who were given permission to visit the strict Carthusian monastery at Parkminster West Sussex. The monks there spend most of their lives in prayer, silence and in simplicity. The monastery is remote, has thick imposing walls and no TV or radios –, only a daily newspaper come in. One of our party asked if the monks felt isolated behind such walls and got the reply that although the walls are indeed high and solid, nevertheless the monks like to imagine them as walls of glass that let them see out into the world, so that they can understand the needs of others and pray for them. The point of the story is that if a community which of its nature is so isolated, can try to reach out into the world, then those of us who do live in the world should be able and willing to do this all the more. We too need to balance in our spirituality these two facets of Church life. Those who desire to be 昀,shermen need to remember the nourishment of the sheep, and those who like to be nourished, also need to remember that we have a mission to go out, and that the Church does not simply exist for itself. Throughout the Easter season we re昀,ect on the resurrection and also on the nature and consequences of our baptism, particularly the Christian vocation we all have. In a few weeks’, time the 4th Sunday of Easter, is a worldwide day of prayer for vocations to priesthood, diaconate and the consecrated life. As we pray, we ask the Lord not only to call people to serve him in consecrated life in the Church, but also that despite the noise of a busy world, those whom he calls will hear his voice and be willing to respond with generosity, rather than simply choosing to go 昀,shing. Canon Paul Embery VG

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 9 W elcome Priests concelebrating with Fr Embery, family, friends, carers and former parishioners The Priests are wearing white vestments as we are in Easter Week –, Frank could not have arranged it better as it is also a tribute to his beloved PNE, the Lilywhites. Born in 1938 in Barrow –, in –, Furness in his grandma’,s house in Duncan Street where many an Irish family lived. He was taken home to Walney Island where mam and dad had bought 17 Latona Street. My dad had been born in the same back street at 10 NIOBE St and having moved a whole 6 houses away and one street lived there for 90 years. Frank loved Walney, St Gabriel’,s and its people. In 1965 he was ordained at St Columbas’,. He was the 昀,rst young man from the Parish to be ordained. If the truth be known we –, Frank and myself –, very nearly didn’,t make the occasion. The day before Father Joe Maley picked us up from Upholland College and drove us in a borrowed saloon –, Joe drove not just fast, but very fast up the M6. At Lancaster, a tyre blew out: our guardian angels saw us swerve across 3 lanes and land safely on the hard shoulder. The ordination was wonderful, and Frank’,s ministry began. He was a home bird. Every Monday on his day o昀, he left our Lady’,s &, St Edward’,s in Fulwood and went home to see his mam and dad. Mam would cook dinner, dad and our sister Kathleen would come in from work, and they would spend time together not just eating but catching up on news. I was due to start teaching in 1971 and Frank persuaded me to look for a job in Preston. I was appointed to the Catholic high school in Fulwood and Frank found me digs with one of his parishioners. Unfortunately, as I moved in, he moved out to become the Bishop’,s secretary. After 3 years with the Bishop he was appointed to the Diocesan Education department where he became director for education. In 1982 he served on the coordinating committee for the Pope’,s visit to England –, he helped organise the visit to Heaton Park. On the back of this, he was invited to go to Buckingham Palace - I can’,t see him enjoying cucumber sandwiches but I’,m sure there would have been plenty of black co昀,ee –, 2 sugars please! He served at Christ the King, Blackpool and St Joseph’,s in Preston. I met a prison o

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10 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 T he Philippines is a country of stark contrasts. On the one hand you witness extreme poverty with many people living in shanty towns and on the other huge shopping malls to rival those of any major city in the world. What both extremes share is a strong a

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 11 standards in every aspect of the Sisters’, life and work. Within the grounds of the Provincial House is a purpose built museum dating from 2004, to mark the centenary of the Sisters’, work in the Philippines. It charts the history of the order from its origins in France where, between 1694 and 1710, Father Louis Chauvet Pastor of Levesville-la-Chenard set about training young women to be good teachers and to care for the poor. This community grew into the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres. In the 19th century it 昀,ourished not only in France but also spread to many parts of Asia, notably Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, and Korea and then in 1904 to the Philippines. We visited the hospital in Iloilo where Sister Maria Dee ran the Social Services department for many years and met several of the sisters she worked with. In Manila we visited one of the High Schools run by the Sisters of St. Paul. Both were very impressive institutions. We took a trip to the far side of Manila where the Order run a Centre of Renewal, a retreat and training centre, which rivalled any of the conference centres I have attended in the UK. Wherever we went accompanied by Sister Maria Dee she was greeted warmly. People approached her to touch her forehead, a traditional sign of respect for religious. The Philippines is a poor country and poverty breeds crime and violence. Armed guards are very much in evidence and buildings, including the convent where we stayed, are protected by high fences and gates with security sta昀,. The country has had a chequered past, under Spanish rule for many years, then run by the Americans and the Japanese. It is now a democracy but faces many challenges, not least its transport system. The roads in and around Manila are heavily congested. A journey of 40km across the city took 4 hours and we were assured that this was the norm. There is little public transport and very few footpaths. Elementary Education is very well established but not all children complete secondary education to 16. Higher and Further Education remain out of the reach of many, and foreign travel is a dream for most. The Filipino people are warm and friendly. Their reputation for service in both hospitality and the caring professions is recognised worldwide. Poverty at home drives many of them abroad to seek better lives and to help support family members back home. Our two sisters are not escaping poverty, they have come to minister to us. Where once we sent missionaries to share our faith, they now come to support and enrich our faith communities. We are blessed to have the service of our two sisters. They have left their home and their communities and a very rich spiritual life to serve ours. Emma McGrath JILL GLENCROSS FUNERAL DIRECTORS An Independent Multi Award Winning Family Funeral Directors Female and Male Funeral Directors Private Chapels of Rest Nothing Is Ever Too Much Trouble 16 The Square, Dalston, Carlisle CA5 7PY Tel: 01228 317373 https://www.jillglencrossfuneral - director.co.uk/ Michael G Maddison Independent Funeral Director 57 –, 61 Newtown Road, Carlisle, Cumbria CA2 7JB Tel : 01228 317577 I offer a 24 hour 365 day a year Caring, Professional Service and have over 20 years experience Private Chapels of Rest and Memorials Pre Paid Funeral Plans Able to support you when needed Michael George Maddison holder of an Advanced Diploma in Funeral Directing email: mgm.funerals@outlook.com website: www. mgmfunerals.co.uk fb: Michael G Maddison Independent Funeral Director

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12 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 S t Joseph’,s church was the venue for our annual cluster Lenten service. St Augustine’,s Catholic Primary, St Ignatius’,s Catholic Primary, St Teresa’,s Catholic Primary, Christ the King Catholic High School and St Joseph’,s Catholic Primary all come together to sing, pray and watch. During the service each school portrays the Way of the Cross with song, drama and readings from Jesus’,s glorious entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Trial and 昀,nally to the Cruci昀,xion. The children were fantastic and led us through the service respectfully and as a worshipping community. It is an opportunity for the Parish and Schools to come together to celebrate the season of Lent. The schools value this service as an outward expression of and witness to our faith. Pope Francis has said that “,Catholic education is also evangelization: bearing witness to the joy of the Gospel and its power to renew our communities and provide hope and strength in facing wisely the challenges of the present time.”, Our Lenten service, so well received by the parents, sta昀, and pupils is living out the Pope’,s mission. Catherine Monaghan,Headteacher, St Joseph’,s RC Primary School St John XXIII Preston Cluster Lenten Service

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 13 I t is fascinating to wonder what Jesus might talk about in his parables if he was living in Cumbria or Lancashire today. Shepherds, perhaps, but probably not 昀,g trees, or even less of wine presses. Would he be talking instead about the unjust greed of energy companies? Would he be using speeding, drink driving and road rage in a parable on sel昀,shness? The messages of the parables are eternal. They are not stuck in Jesus’, time, although the stories are. We need to interpret them according to how we live today. We must read the signs of the times and live accordingly. One of the most powerful parables about justice is about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16, 19-31) . The rich man is condemned for his excess whilst Lazarus, covered in sor es, starves outside his gate. In his torment the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his 昀,ve brothers. Abraham replies “,They have Moses and the prophets, they should listen to them”, . A big part of the rich man’,s sin is indi昀,erence. The parable does not tell us whether it is intentional or not Lazarus today is a poor farmer watching his crops being destroyed by drought or 昀,oods. She is a sweatshop worker producing cheap products to support the throwaway culture. Lazarus is a child who will inherit a world that has been relentlessly plundered. And the rich man? We don’,t have to look far…,..It is us. We have feasted on the world’,s resources at the expense of the poor and at the expense of the other species which inhabit the planet. We have created and perpetuated a massive injustice against the poor through our own indi昀,erence. Perhaps Abraham would reply today “,They have Moses and the prophets and the scientists, they should listen to them. They should also read the signs of the times, the storms, the 昀,oods, the droughts, the rising sea levels, the deforestation and act accordingly”,. If Jesus was preaching today to the holidaymakers on Blackpool sands or the walkers on Scafell Pike, he would probably be telling us that our environmental and social problems have a common cause - that we have put ourselves before God. He might be outspoken about “,structural sin”, - the economic and political structures that make the rich richer and the poor poorer, where the rich man is a corporation or a system rather than an individual. He might speak out about what Pope Francis calls “,the globalisation of indi昀,erence”, where a

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14 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 A s the o

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June 2023 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + 15 all across the country to support Salina, a small-scale farmer and seed saver in Bangladesh. Without access to seeds, agriculture is not possible “,…,what peasants, 昀,sherman and farmers conserve in memory handed down through the generations and which is now derided and forgotten by a model of production that is entirely to the advantage of a limited group and a tiny portion of the world population. Let us remember that it is a model which, despite all its science, allows around eight hundred million people to continue to go hungry…,”, –, Pope Francis For generations, small-scale farmers have freely shared a wide variety of seeds to produce the food that feeds a signi昀,cant proportion of the world’,s population. However, laws are being introduced across the world which limit what they can do with their own seed varieties. As a result of these laws, small-scale farmers are facing increasing pressure to buy seeds from the limited selection produced by big corporations. But this is not good for people or the planet. CAFOD is inviting parishes across the country to stand in solidarity with small- scale farmers to ensure that they have free access to their own varieties of seeds. Salina, a seed saver from Bangladesh says “,…,The companies do not give good seeds. They put descriptions on their seed packets that are not true. It is very impractical information. And the main thing is, the seeds sold by the companies do not belong to the farmers. Farmers can grow the crops, but they cannot keep the seeds in their own hands. This is a very bad thing…, ”, Salina has written a letter to the World Bank - an institution with a lot of in昀,uence in food policies - calling for the protection of the rights of small-scale farmers like herself to use their own varieties of seeds. This summer, your parish has an opportunity to support Salina by adding your names to her letter. Find more about how your parish can support Salina at: cafod.org.uk/food Our faith-昀,lled actions are also like seeds, bearing fruits of change in our world PORTABLE DISPLAY BOARDS &, NOTICEBOARDS OFFICE P ARTITION SC REENS CHAIRS, DESKS &, STORAGE EQUIPMENT Please contact us on 0161 609 0262 quoting LV04 LEADING NORTHWEST MANUFACT URER VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.PANELWAREHOUSE.COM

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16 + The Catholic Voice of Lancaster + June 2023 Know Your Faith In what sense is the Blessed Virgin Mary the Mother of the Chur ch? The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Church in the order of grace because she gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God, the Head of the body which is the Church. When he was dying on the cross Jesus gave his mother to his disciple with the words, “,Behold your mother”, (John 19:27). Further reading: CCC 963-964, 973 How does the Virgin Mary help the Church? After the Ascension of her Son, the Virgin Mary aided the beginning of the Church with her prayers. Even after her Assumption into heaven, she continues to intercede for her children, to be a model of faith and charity for all, and to exercise over them a salutary in昀,uence deriving from the superabundant merits of Chr ist. The faithful see in Mary an image and an anticipation of the resurrection that awaits them and they invoke her as advocate, helper, benefactress and mediatrix. Further reading: CCC 965-970, 974-975 What kind of devotion is directed to the holy Virgin? It is a singular kind of devotion which di昀,ers essentially from the cult of adoration given only to the Most Holy Trinity. This special veneration di rected to Mary 昀,nds particular expression in the liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and in Marian prayers such as the holy Rosary which is a compendium of the whole Gospel. Further reading: CCC 971 In what way is the Blessed Virgin M ary the eschatological icon of the Church? Looking upon Mary, who is completely holy and already glori昀,ed in body and soul, the Church contemplates in her what she herself is called to be on earth and what she will be in the homeland of heaven. Further reading: CCC 972 Church Supplies –, serving Schools, Business and Homes Our advertisers are great supporters of the Lancaster Voice, so please help them by supporting their businesses To advertise please contact Charlotte on 07932 248225 or email charlotter@cathcom.org

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