A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning

It’s one year since the first official lockdown; what a year! There is so much to remember today - memories of so many sadnesses, of sheer dogged resiliences, of professionalisms beyond the call of duty, of quiet witness, of new found ingenuities, of surprising flexibilities, of constantly hoping and trusting in God and each other, of new ways of being Church in the world and discovering alternative ways of praying together and alone, of new ways of talking to each other bound up with the pain of not being able to see and hold those whom we love. And so it continues ….

Bishop John has asked that we share in the national Day of Reflection by joining the minute’s silence at midday when we might pray the Angelus.

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
R. And she conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, etc...

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy Word.
Hail Mary, etc...

V. And the Word was made flesh,
R. And dwelt amongst us.
Hail Mary, etc...

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord,
thy grace into our hearts;
that we to whom the incarnation of Christ,
thy Son was made known by the message of an angel,
may by his passion and cross
be brought to the glory of his Resurrection.
Through the same Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

There is also a recommended family prayer for before the doorstep vigil of light at the evening lighting of candles or even the switching on of the torch on your mobile telephone:

Blessed are you, O Lord our God, our shepherd,
who guided your people through the desert with a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night.
In this past year you have led us through the time of pandemic
and in these days of Lent you lead us on a pilgrimage of prayer
that time and again we might learn to be your people.
You open our eyes to your presence in the world
and you free our hands to be of service to others.
Refuge of the weary, healing for the sick, rest for the departed and comfort for those in grief,
blessed are you, O Lord and God, light in our darkness, stay with us on our journey.

Environmental Survey
The diocese would like to find out more about the views of anyone connected to the Diocese of Salford on the environment and so they would like to invite you to take part in a survey which will go on to shape the environmental strategy. You might go to the following link.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SalfordEnvironment

St Joseph, friend and companion, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John