The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time 20th September 2020
Hymns for Sunday 20th September 2020
Sunday Messages 20th September 2020
Look – Children’s Mass Sheet 20th September 2020
Saint Matthew, Apostle, Evangelist
Saint Matthew, you made the right decision at the right time and so changed your life and those of millions of others who know Christ because of you. Help us to recognize when a pivot point arrives in our own life, when we must change direction, and help us to choose that direction well.
Holy Hour 8pm Sunday 20th September
Live Streamed Holy Hour Sunday 8.00pm – 9.00pm: as last week Theo will lead a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration praying for all our intentions at this time and in particular for the people of Bolton. The service will be live streamed and will be a candlelit time of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament using scripture, prayers, music and silence.
Theo on Radio Bolton FM – 20th September
This Sunday evening at 6pm an interview with Theo about his journey to priesthood and the path leading ahead will be broadcast during “The Spirit of Bolton” on Bolton FM.
LATEST NEWS
There are so many things happening within our Parish at the moment both Spiritually and Socially. Please take time to visit our latest news page. Latest Parish Updates
Public Celebrations of Mass and Services in church
Update from Fr Chris
A Message from Fr Chris
Dear Parishioners,
It was a great joy to be able celebrate a public Mass on Thursday morning for the first time in over three months. This weekend we shall take our next steps forward with the public celebration of the vigil Mass at 5.30pm on Saturday and at 11.15am on Sunday. You will find a short video below to give you a foretaste of what to expect. Whilst, in principle all are welcome, I do ask you to consider the following points before deciding whether you should attend.
Attendance at Mass
Please do not come to Mass if you or someone you live with is suffering from or showing symptoms of COVID-19; you have been advised to self-isolate because you have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19; or you have been advised to remain shielded, you are clinically vulnerable or have cold or flu-like symptoms.
You are not under an obligation to attend Sunday Mass in current circumstances. Live streaming of the Mass will continue.
Keeping Each Other Safe
The social distancing requirements mean that the capacity of St Thomas of Canterbury church is limited to a maximum of 100. Numbers attending will be recorded, but not individual names.
Please maintain the 2 metre distance throughout; this means that the wearing of a face covering is optional.
Come in good time, use the hand sanitiser on entry.
Follow the guidance of the stewards with regard to the direction of movement within the church. The stewards have been instructed to fill benches starting from the front.
Family groups should sit together to maximise capacity. Parents or guardians are responsible for children; unaccompanied children will not be admitted. The aisles must be kept clear, so no baby buggies will be allowed in the body of the church.
The Liturgy
There will be no children’s liturgy.
There will be no missalettes available; you may wish to download the liturgy of the day from the website.
No singing, recorded music will be played, but please do not join in!
At this time remain seated throughout Mass.
Communion under one kind in the hand/blessing will be distributed at the end of Mass. Please move forward as directed by the stewards, beginning from the front.
Please leave the church directly after receiving communion.
If we all look after each other and are sensible about things we will be absolutely fine.
St Cuthbert, pray for us!
God bless
Fr Chris
What to Expect When Coming to Mass
Please watch this video with important information about what you can expect when you attend Public Mass. It contains useful information and please follow the guidelines carefully.
Welcome to the Parish of St Cuthbert and to our website
Father Chris Gorton
Welcome to our parish website and to the family of the Parish of St Cuthbert, Bolton.
Jesus promised that where two or three are gathered in his name he is present amongst them.
At a time when we cannot gather publicly it is more important than ever to remember that we can and must gather in prayer.
The live streaming of Mass means that we will be gathered as the parish family looking forward in hope for when we can physically gather again.
This time calls for us to make a Spiritual Communion giving the time that we would normally give for mass by watching the mass online if possible and make it our fervent prayer again and again:
‘Jesus I want to receive you into my life.’
This time calls us to action. We can all exercise a ministry of prayer for each other, for all those in need and our world. This is a very special opportunity for our parish to be a powerhouse of prayer.
Pray, pray, pray!
The churches will be open at different times during the week . And for those who are able to be out and about it is a very important time to look at every way possible to help other people.
Please check our Facebook page for updated information.
Above all we must build our lives on the solid rock of Christ. It is timely to reflect on the parable that Jesus told of the two house builders (Matthew Chapter 7). One built on sand, the other on rock. In both cases the storm came but the house built on rock stood.
We are in the middle of a storm now, let us make sure that our lives are built on the solid rock of faith in Christ and remember the words of St Teresa of Avila:
‘Let nothing disturb you, let nothing worry you, the one who has God lacks nothing.
Let nothing disturb you, let nothing worry you, God alone is enough.’
Amen.
God bless you,
Fr Chris.