The new website is ready!

As I'm sure your all aware we are currently having a new website built with Xt3 Media. The even better news is the much anticipated website is now ready to go live, and shall be as of tomorrow evening (Please note some updates to the site shall be happening throughout the next week). We hope you like the new website, and please bear with us throughout the first few days while we put the finishing touches to the site. O and last but not least, you might want the website address, the new site web address shall be; www.sswulstanandedmund-fleetwood.org.uk

From this point the Blog is also joint with St Wulstan's, therefore the blog is now called St Wulstan and St Edmund, Catholic Parishes, Fleetwood.

Women together in the Diocese of Lancaster

All Women in the Diocese are invited to meet on Saturday 25th April 2009, 12.15 p.m. at St Peter's Cathedral, Lancaster to celebrate a farewell Mass with Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue on this retirement from the Diocese.

A Buffet lunch will be provided in the Cathedral Social Centre. Lunch (£3) can be ordered by contacting one of the following numbers: Preston 01772 715495. Fylde 01253 733985 Cumbria 01524 61809.

The day will conclude with Reflections by Sister Michaela, a Bernardine Sister from Hyning Hall.

Director of Catholic Youth Services for the Diocese of Lancaster, are you interested?

Following an extensive Review of Youth Service provision in the Diocese of Lancaster, The Diocese are now looking to expand their work among young people. Therefore the Trustees of the Diocese are looking to appoint an enthusiastic and energetic Director of Catholic Youth Services for the Diocese of Lancaster who will take up the renewed Diocesan vision and develop a service for young people of the diocese which is holistic, integrated and dynamic!

This post will be subject to an enhanced CRB check. Salary range from £26k per annum + benefits. Accommodation is provided with this position.
This exciting new Service - which will include Outreach and Residential provision - is to be based at a refurbished Castlerigg Manor, set in a stunning location in the heart of the English Lake District.

For an application pack, please contact:
The Bishop’s Secretary
Bishop’s Office
The Pastoral Centre
Balmoral Road
LANCASTER
LA1 3BT
robertbilling@yahoo.co.uk

Closing Date for Applications: 8 April 2009
Date for interviews: 21 April 2009

(from the Diocesan website)

Fifth Sunday of Lent

When some Greek-speaking Jews in today’s gospel, present in Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, asked to see Jesus it was a sign to him that his hour had finally come. Whenever Christ made mention of his hour in John’s gospel he was referring to the hour of his death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb. The Evangelist himself refers to the whole sequence of events we know as the passion, death and resurrection, as Christ’s hour of glorification. In accordance with John’s theological vision, the cross was the passage or “Passover” to glory. So for the request of the Greeks to be met, for Jesus to be acknowledged by a wider world symbolised by the Greeks, he had first to be glorified.

In a profound and deeply-felt interpretation of his approaching death on the cross, the Lord Jesus draws a parallel from nature. For a grain of wheat to mature and eventually reach harvest it must first lie in the earth and apparently die, before mysteriously re-awaking to life and harvest after winter. For the harvest of the Gentile world to take place, for the nations to be gathered into the Church of God, He must also die and be consigned to the earth. The splendour and power of his risen glorious body would then be life-giving for all nations.

Our familiarity with those great saving events of our Saviour’s life must not minimise the cost to him personally. Betrayal, humiliation, suffering and crucifixion were the cup he had to drink. In his passion he exemplified what he preached: if we really want to discover true life then we must first die to ourselves. Christ’s cry to his Father in our gospel reading to be saved from this hour show just how troubled within himself he was. Yet his Father’s will had to remain the supreme rule of his life. The short passage from the letter to the Hebrews sheds further light on the inner turmoil and distress which afflicted Christ as his passion and death drew near.

The prophet Jeremiah speaks of a new and final covenant which God one day would enter into with his people. The mediator of that covenant would be none other than God’s own Son, and he would seal it by the sacrifice of himself on the cross. We belong to the people of that new covenant, privileged and blessed to share in the Church’s sacred and life-giving mysteries bequeathed to her by the Saviour. As we enter the season of Passiontide let us recall with reverence and gratitude the infinite sacrificial love of the Saviour which made our redemption possible.

(from the Diocesan website)

+Michael Campbell OSA
Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster

Bulletin by e-mail

Would you like to recieve the bulletin by e-mail every week? If you would please send your e-mail address to stedmundsparish@googlemail.com ( Subject: Bulletin List). This way if you dont always make it to Mass at St Edmund's you can still know whats going on.

Youth Party for Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue

As you will be aware Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue will be retiring and Bishop Michael Campbell will be inaugurated on 1st May. There will be a Youth Farewell Party for Bishop Patrick on the 19th April 7-9pm at Ladywell Shrine, Fernyhalgh Lane, Preston.
If you are interested in going please e-mail the Youth Office at youth@lancasterrcdiocese.org.uk or phone 01524 596063.

Bishop Patrick Said;
Persevere in getting to know Jesus our Lord and His teaching more and more. Demand your place in the Church of today. Offer yourself to the Lord in prayer and ask him to guide and sustain you – and all of us – in the days ahead – that we may be faithful to what He is calling us to be.
+Patrick O'Donoghue, Bishop of Lancaster

Also the Youth Service are hoping to be able to present Bishop Patrick with a farewell memorial book with memory's that the youth have of Bishop Patrick, If you have any memory's of Bishop Patrick please send them by e-mail to the youth office or post them on the Youth Service Blog.
Please help make it 300

Inauguration of Bishop Michael Campbell OSA & Diocesan Farewell for Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue

We have been allocated three tickets for the installation of Bishop Michael Campbell OSA & Diocesan Farewell for Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue in the Cathedral on Friday May 1st at 6pm. If you wish to attend please put your name on the list at the back of church. Should there be more that six, then names will be picked from a hat. A meal will be included.

Presentation of Bene Merenti Medals

Looking thew some old news clippings from The Voice i came accross the following:

It was a case of Surprise, Surprise, with Cilla Black nowhere to be seen, when Bene Merenti Medals were presented to Peter and Cynthia 0'Connor, husband and wife parishioners of St. Edmund of Canterbury parish Fleetwood. The joint presentation was made by Father Edmund Gomall, Parish Priest of St. Edmunds at the end of Mass on Saturday evening 16th April to a very surprised couple, as the presentation had been kept a secret from them. Gerald Vandome, Chairman of the Lancaster Lourdes Committee helped Father Gomall with the presentation. It was a coincidence that the certificates had been signed in Rome on 11th February the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and were presented to Peter and Cynthia on the 16th April the feast of St.
Bemadette. The medals were given for their devotion to caring for the sick and the handicapped over many years in various different ways. Peter has been a Brancardier on the Diocesan Pilgrimage for over 30 years and held the position of Chief Brancardier taking over from Bert Osbaldeston. A sprightly and well fit man for his age, just 79, Peter will be taking a rest from his Brancardier duties this year but no doubt he will be back. Cynthia cannot match Peter's record for length of service on the Diocesan Pilgrimage but she has been in Lourdes as a Handmaid for many, many years. Lourdes is a very special place for both of them and there is a very special place in their hearts for the sick people that they have cared for over the years and have made many friends with whom they still keep in touch.

Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI, For the 43rd World Communications Day

"New Technologies, New Relationships.
Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."

May 24, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

In anticipation of the forthcoming World Communications Day, I would like to address to you some reflections on the theme chosen for this year - New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship. The new digital technologies are, indeed, bringing about fundamental shifts in patterns of communication and human relationships. These changes are particularly evident among those young people who have grown up with the new technologies and are at home in a digital world that often seems quite foreign to those of us who, as adults, have had to learn to understand and appreciate the opportunities it has to offer for communications. In this year’s message, I am conscious of those who constitute the so-called digital generation and I would like to share with them, in particular, some ideas concerning the extraordinary potential of the new technologies, if they are used to promote human understanding and solidarity. These technologies are truly a gift to humanity and we must endeavour to ensure that the benefits they offer are put at the service of all human individuals and communities, especially those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable.

The accessibility of mobile telephones and computers, combined with the global reach and penetration of the internet, has opened up a range of means of communication that permit the almost instantaneous communication of words and images across enormous distances and to some of the most isolated corners of the world; something that would have been unthinkable for previous generations. Young people, in particular, have grasped the enormous capacity of the new media to foster connectedness, communication and understanding between individuals and communities, and they are turning to them as means of communicating with existing friends, of meeting new friends, of forming communities and networks, of seeking information and news, and of sharing their ideas and opinions. Many benefits flow from this new culture of communication: families are able to maintain contact across great distances; students and researchers have more immediate and easier access to documents, sources and scientific discoveries, hence they can work collaboratively from different locations; moreover, the interactive nature of many of the new media facilitates more dynamic forms of learning and communication, thereby contributing to social progress.

While the speed with which the new technologies have evolved in terms of their efficiency and reliability is rightly a source of wonder, their popularity with users should not surprise us, as they respond to a fundamental desire of people to communicate and to relate to each other. This desire for communication and friendship is rooted in our very nature as human beings and cannot be adequately understood as a response to technical innovations. In the light of the biblical message, it should be seen primarily as a reflection of our participation in the communicative and unifying Love of God, who desires to make of all humanity one family. When we find ourselves drawn towards other people, when we want to know more about them and make ourselves known to them, we are responding to God’s call - a call that is imprinted in our nature as beings created in the image and likeness of God, the God of communication and communion.

The desire for connectedness and the instinct for communication that are so obvious in contemporary culture are best understood as modern manifestations of the basic and enduring propensity of humans to reach beyond themselves and to seek communion with others. In reality, when we open ourselves to others, we are fulfilling our deepest need and becoming more fully human. Loving is, in fact, what we are designed for by our Creator. Naturally, I am not talking about fleeting, shallow relationships, I am talking about the real love that is at the very heart of Jesus’ moral teaching: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength" and "You must love your neighbour as yourself" (cf. Mk 12:30-31). In this light, reflecting on the significance of the new technologies, it is important to focus not just on their undoubted capacity to foster contact between people, but on the quality of the content that is put into circulation using these means. I would encourage all people of good will who are active in the emerging environment of digital communication to commit themselves to promoting a culture of respect, dialogue and friendship.

Those who are active in the production and dissemination of new media content, therefore, should strive to respect the dignity and worth of the human person. If the new technologies are to serve the good of individuals and of society, all users will avoid the sharing of words and images that are degrading of human beings, that promote hatred and intolerance, that debase the goodness and intimacy of human sexuality or that exploit the weak and vulnerable.

The new technologies have also opened the way for dialogue between people from different countries, cultures and religions. The new digital arena, the so-called cyberspace, allows them to encounter and to know each other’s traditions and values. Such encounters, if they are to be fruitful, require honest and appropriate forms of expression together with attentive and respectful listening. The dialogue must be rooted in a genuine and mutual searching for truth if it is to realize its potential to promote growth in understanding and tolerance. Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this - in truth, in goodness, and in beauty - that we find happiness and joy. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.

The concept of friendship has enjoyed a renewed prominence in the vocabulary of the new digital social networks that have emerged in the last few years. The concept is one of the noblest achievements of human culture. It is in and through our friendships that we grow and develop as humans. For this reason, true friendship has always been seen as one of the greatest goods any human person can experience. We should be careful, therefore, never to trivialize the concept or the experience of friendship. It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop on-line friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation. If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development.

Friendship is a great human good, but it would be emptied of its ultimate value if it were to be understood as an end in itself. Friends should support and encourage each other in developing their gifts and talents and in putting them at the service of the human community. In this context, it is gratifying to note the emergence of new digital networks that seek to promote human solidarity, peace and justice, human rights and respect for human life and the good of creation. These networks can facilitate forms of co-operation between people from different geographical and cultural contexts that enable them to deepen their common humanity and their sense of shared responsibility for the good of all. We must, therefore, strive to ensure that the digital world, where such networks can be established, is a world that is truly open to all. It would be a tragedy for the future of humanity if the new instruments of communication, which permit the sharing of knowledge and information in a more rapid and effective manner, were not made accessible to those who are already economically and socially marginalized, or if it should contribute only to increasing the gap separating the poor from the new networks that are developing at the service of human socialization and information.

I would like to conclude this message by addressing myself, in particular, to young Catholic believers: to encourage them to bring the witness of their faith to the digital world. Dear Brothers and Sisters, I ask you to introduce into the culture of this new environment of communications and information technology the values on which you have built your lives. In the early life of the Church, the great Apostles and their disciples brought the Good News of Jesus to the Greek and Roman world. Just as, at that time, a fruitful evangelization required that careful attention be given to understanding the culture and customs of those pagan peoples so that the truth of the gospel would touch their hearts and minds, so also today, the proclamation of Christ in the world of new technologies requires a profound knowledge of this world if the technologies are to serve our mission adequately. It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this "digital continent". Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the "Good News" of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. Our faith can respond to these expectations: may you become its heralds! The Pope accompanies you with his prayers and his blessing.

From the Vatican.

BENEDICTUS XVI

Fourth Sunday of Lent

We are taught by the authority of Holy Scripture, under which the Church lives, that such was God’s love for us that he gave us his only-begotten Son. This is an utterly astonishing truth, and one which the human mind can only imperfectly grasp. That the eternal, all-powerful God should so concern himself with humanity out of love, that his Son became one of us, shared our common lot to the extent of suffering and dying on a cross is the message which the Church must consistently proclaim from one age to the next. That proclamation of God’s love is central to our liturgy on this Lenten Sunday. We are invited to ponder the mystery and to respond in faith.

In his dialogue with the Jewish teacher, Nicodemus, Jesus outlines 4_20_nicodemus.jpgmagnificently the mystery of our faith. He, the Son of Man, must be raised on high as a saving sign to all the nations. The elevated bronze serpent of Moses brought healing and hope to the Israelites in the wilderness. Now the figure of Christ on the cross will be the source of God’s salvation to the whole world. Nicodemus had difficulty grasping the significance of Jesus’ words; faith alone can permit the necessary insight. The apostle Paul in our second reading is at pains to stress just how free and unmerited on our part is this gift of God’s love in Christ. With good reason Paul names it grace, a favourite word in the Apostle’s vocabulary, for God has given it to us freely. We are all debtors before God but, as St. Augustine notes, what a One to be indebted to!

The passage from the second book of Chronicles contrasts God’s faithfulness with the wilful and wayward behaviour of his chosen people. Despite humanity’s sinful lapses, God never gives up and will ensure that this plan of salvation triumphs in the end. Out of the ashes of exile and destruction a new future opened up for his people Israel, thanks to his divine providence. From the desolation and victory of evil and death in the crucifixion of Jesus new life and a new creation would emerge. God has indeed so loved the world that no power would thwart the full realization of that divine love. The trials and tribulations of history, notwithstanding, the Church will always be an Easter Church, for the Lord of life has indeed risen. Even in these Lenten days we remain an Easter people. Let us embrace in faith the wonder of God’s love.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster

Parish Walk

Our next walk will be on Saturday March 28th 2009, departing St Wulstan’s at 08:30 and St Edmunds (Broadwater - co-op) at 08:35 as usual. The destination will be Grange-over-sands and there will be a short and long walk available, both with stunning views.
Further details from Sue Gow on 01253 779621

The Rt Rev Seamus Cunningham ordained and installed the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

The two‐hour service and ceremony took place on Friday, 20 March at midday at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne.

People from every town and rural community in the region joined the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales and more than 20 regional and civic guests, 200 priests, deacons and members of religious orders, 19 representatives of North East Christian Churches and other faiths – plus 105 of Bishop Cunningham’s close family from Ireland to pack the Cathedral to its great West Door.

Bishop Cunningham, 66, was ordained Bishop by Liverpool’s Archbishop – the Most Rev Patrick Kelly – and supported by the Rt Rev Ambrose Griffiths – the 11th Bishop of Hexham & Newcastle until his retirement in 2004 – and Bishop Michael Campbell from Lancaster. Both concelebrated the Ordination Mass with Archbishop Kelly.

Present on the sanctuary of the Cathedral were Cardinal Cormac Murphy‐O’Connor of Westminster, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and the Pope’s personal representative Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz, who brought with him the official Proclamation from Rome, written in Latin.The two Cardinals and the Nuncio will be in Lancaster for Bishop O'Donoghue's retirement and Bishop Campbell's inauguration on 1st May.

The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle covers the North East from Berwick‐upon‐Tweed to Stockton‐on‐Tees

New wesbite underway

The new wesbite is now underway thanks to Xt3 Media. All the documents have been sent off after being signed by Fr Alf. Only 21days untill we take it over. and we hope to be able to go live soon after that. As i mentioned in a previous post, if anyone has anything to include on the website please send it to stedmundsparish@googlemail.com (Subject: Attn - Tomas). But for know please use the current website www.stedmundsparish.uk.tp

Another Joint Parish Council meeting

Yesterday there was another joint Parish Council meeting held in St Edmund's Presbytery. The meeting was very successful and covered many areas including, the new joint parish website, the new joint parish bulletin & the changes to Mass times.

Minutes of the meeting should be available for everyone to take home this Sunday.

A Prayer for Bishop Patrick

Looking through some past record's i came across this prayer, as this is Bishop Patrick's last few months in the Diocese of Lancaster before he retires please keep him in your prayers.

Lord God,
You have chosen you servant Patrick
to be Shepperd of your flock
in the tradition of the apostles.

Give him a spirit of courage and a right judgement
a spirit of knowledge and love.
by governing with fidelity
those entrusted to his care,
may this prayer and discernment
help him to rebuild your church
as a sign of salvation for all the world

We make our prayer through Christ our Lord,
Amen.

Importance of Prayer

Prayer is the respiration of the soul, the intimate bond with one's Creator and Savior...

It's a little like a plant needing water and fertilizer to grow and develop: the divine life sowed in our soul at baptism can only grow and mature in its own unique way (i.e. to attain maturity with the fullness of Christ himself for each and every one of us), with the bread of the sacraments and... the water of prayers! Therefore, whatever our state of life (lay or consecrated) and occupations - personal, professional or public - the interior recollection in silence before God is the most important attitude of prayer, putting us in contact with the One who is our source, the Source.

As for the various forms of prayer, they differ along with the very variety of every individual soul in its intimate dialogue with the Lord.

However, personal prayer neither replaces nor suppresses the different prayer of the Church, for instance the different liturgical offices, the "Our Father" that Jesus Himself taught us, the "Hail Mary" or the "Angel's Salutation to Mary", the fundamental Christian prayers, or the prayers in groups (i.e. of intercession).

Some people think - erroneously - that if laudatory prayer is something positive, intercessory prayer is somewhat inferior, since "one cannot change God' heart, He who knows our needs better than we do"... Of course, we cannot change God's heart through prayer, but it is God Himself who changes our hearts as well as those for whom we pray... That is why in the Gospel Christ so insists:

"Ask, and it will be given to you;
search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened to you..."
(Matthew 7:7)

For if prayer cannot change God's heart, without prayer the door of our soul remains closed and the power of God will not go in by force.

Third Sunday of Lent

The gospel passage for this third Sunday of Lent depicts Christ driving out the traders and money-changers from the Temple in Jerusalem. This startling gesture on the part of Christ has often surprised many people since it does not fit the picture they have of him. By acting in this manner, however, Christ was standing firmly in the tradition of the ancient prophets of Israel. These prophets often performed dramatic deeds to catch the people's attention and cause them to reflect on the meaning of what was taking place. The reaction of the crowd when Jesus acted in such a startling manner in the Temple was to demand an explanation for such audacious behaviour.

As is so often the case in John's gospel, the bystanders misunderstood what Jesus was saying. Aware that such an audacious deed within the Temple was putting his life in jeopardy, and in reply to their demand that he justify his actions, Jesus made the remarkable claim that if the Temple were destroyed he would raise it up in three days. While his audience took him to be referring to the Temple building, the Lord was in fact referring to coming death and resurrection. Through his paschal mystery he would replace the Temple as the place of God's presence, the holy place where God encountered his people. In the new saving order which he came to inaugurate, and which would become a reality through the events of Holy Week and Easter, Jesus Christ would now be the One in whom we come into contact with the living God. In him, heaven and earth would meet. With very good reason therefore, the Church concludes all her prayers with the words, "through Christ our Lord."

It was only later, post Easter in fact, that the disciples of Jesus fully grasped the meaning of the words and deeds of the Master, and they needed time and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to enter more deeply into the mystery of who Christ was. The Lenten call to the Church also remains the same: to ponder prayerfully the life and especially the death of Jesus, and gain some insight into how almighty God turned such apparent defeat and destruction of the human life of Jesus into his greatest saving act. The apostle Paul in our second reading captures it neatly: For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster

New Website ! ! ! And were joining forces.

Yesterday there was a meeting held of St Edmund's Parish Council, at this meeting it was decided that we should have a joint Parish website. We shall be joining with St Wulstan's for our new Parish Website and blog ! The Blog shall be changing it name, as of next week ( More details shall be posted then ).Also our current website shall no longer exist as of 19th April 2009. The new website address shall also be posted nearer the time. Our new website shall be build and hosted by Xt3 Media, but ill be doing all the updating.If you have anything you would like to contribute to the new website please send it to stedmundsparish@googlemail.com (Subject: Attn - Tomas) or post it to Tomas Walsh, St Edmund's Parish Office, 4 Melbourne Avenue, Fleetwood, Lancashire, FY7 8AY.

*Please could i ask that anyone sending correspondence to tomas.walsh@btconnect.com please temporally send it to stedmundsparish@googlemail.com (Subject: Attn - Tomas) because that e-mail address shall also cease to exist as of 19th April, my new Parish e-mail address shall be posted nearer the time also.

** Also if you would like to be a contributor to the Blog please contact me.

Successor to the See of Westminster; Who shall it be?

The Independent has suggested that the Vatican is due to announce Cardinal Cormac's Murphy-O'Connor's successor to the See of Westminster this week and perhaps, as they suggest, as early as today! The three front runners still seem to be Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff and Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP of Nottingham. The Independent then lists numerous other possible outside candidates who the Vatican may be more in favour of.

Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham:
Nichols, a football-mad 64-year-old, was passed over by the Vatican last time around, largely because Rome considered him too liberal. Since then, he has emerged as a more orthodox defender of the Church, regularly appearing on TV to answer criticism of clerical paedophile abuse, as well as supporting adoption agencies that refuse to place children with same-sex couples. Some suggest he is the obvious front-runner but he is not the bookies favourite.

Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff: Formerly the bookies' favourite, Battersea-born Smith was the Papal nuncio's first choice but many in the Vatican may regard him as being too liberal. Pope John Paul II made Smith the Bishop of East Anglia in 1995. The 65-year-old was sent to Cardiff in 2001 following the resignation of his predecessor amid a controversy about paedophile priests in the archdiocese. He is widely thought to have done a good job there.

Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of Nottingham: A left-wing Dominican in favour of the Latin Mass, McMahon was recently summoned to Rome and, alongside Smith and Nichols, is thought to be one of the three names on the "terna" list drawn up for the Papal nuncio. Courted controversy last year when he suggested there was no doctrinal reason why Catholic priests should not marry. In January Paddy Power suspended betting on McMahon after a surge of late bets.

How to address the Catholic Clergy

Identify the clergyman's rank: Pope, Bishop, Priest, or Deacon.
Be aware of additional titles like "Doctor" or honorary titles, like "Monsignor."
Identify the form of address to be verbal or written.
Address Deacons verbally as "Mr. Last Name". If you are addressing a letter to a transitional deacon, use "Rev. Mr. Full Name". A transitional deacon is one who will be ordained a priest. Permanent deacons are addressed as "Mr. Last Name". Sometimes, a Deacon can be addressed, simply: "Deacon Last Name."
Address Western Church Priests verbally as "Father First Name". Some persons who are not Catholic and also certain Catholics prefer to address Catholic priests as "Reverend". In some parts of Europe,for example, in Italy, it is common even for Catholics to address a priest as "Reverendo" especially in the absence of any other title. "Reverend", while not originally a title, has become a title with usage and has been common in the U.S.A. for at least 40 years. It is only necessary to say the last name once, if at all, depending on the circumstances. After that, simply call him "Father". In writing a letter, address the letter to "The Reverend Full Name" and append any doctoral degree (like Ph.D. or D.D.) if the priest has such a degree. Do not address letters to priests as "Reverend Father". In the address field write "The Reverend Full Name, Doctoral Degrees only," if any. Begin your letter with "Dear Reverend Last Name" or "Reverend Last Name" for a greater degree of formality; or "Dear Father Last Name." (NB: This advice differs from that offered by Debretts, who suggest that a formal salutation is "Dear Reverend Father". It is incorrect to write Dear Reverend Smith, as "reverend" is an adjective and should be prefixed by "The" when using the priest's name; as you would do in the address, i.e. "The Reverend John Smith" and not Reverend John Smith. Indeed, on that point the preceding advice is contradictory.)
Address Bishops verbally as "Bishop Last Name". It is optional to add his last name. If you say the Bishop's last name, do so only once. After that, simply address him as "Bishop". Address letters to "The Most Reverend Full Name, D.D.", then add any other doctoral degrees, if he has any. In conversation, a bishop may be addressed "Bishop" without name. It is preferable to use no name than to call the Bishop by his first name. Simply address him as "Bishop". In some cases, the most formal way to address a Bishop is "Your Excellency". The equivalent for Archbishops is "Your Grace". However, many senior clergy find this form of address embarrassing, and are extremely unlikely to insist upon it.
Address Cardinals verbally as "Cardinal Last Name" or "Your Eminence" without name. If you address the Cardinal as "Cardinal Last Name", do so only once. After that, address him as "Your Eminence". Address letters to "His Eminence, First Name Cardinal Last Name." If the Cardinal is a Bishop, add "D.D." and any other doctoral degrees he may have, after his last name.
Address the Pope verbally as "Holy Father" or "Your Holiness". Never say the Pope's name in a conversation with him. Address letters to "His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI."

Second Sunday of Lent

The episode we know as the Lord’s Transfiguration, described for us by Mark in today’s gospel, is both mysterious yet fascinating. Every word and deed of Christ recorded in the gospels have as their purpose our instruction and ultimately our salvation. The Transfiguration therefore provides us with ample material for prayer and reflection. To those familiar with Scripture, the mountain is a place of encounter with God, where he reveals himself and communicates his will to chosen individuals. Mount Sinai, overshadowed by clouds, was where God spoke to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments for his people Israel.

The Lord God speaks again on the mount of Transfiguration, only this time to affirm that Jesus Christ is none other than his own beloved Son, someone greater than Moses and the prophets. Christ is now the One who speaks the words of God to us, and teaches us the path we must follow if we are to do God’s will and know his peace. “This is my Son the Beloved. Listen to him.” The presence of Moses and Elijah, representatives of the Law and the Prophets, show how Jesus brings to fulfilment and surpasses the revelation contained in the Old Testament. Christ is the final and supreme Word of God who took flesh and lived among us, as the Evangelist John would tell us in the prologue to his gospel.

The marvel of this truly wonderful scene on Mount Tabor is the truth about the identity of Jesus Christ. The faith of the three apostles will surely have been strengthened as a result. He is truly the Father’s Son with all that divine sonship implies. The Church in its Creeds would later declare about Jesus Christ that “He is God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.” The Church would have us see in the story of Abraham and Isaac’s sacrifice, our first reading, a hint or foreshadowing of another Father and Son, that of God himself, and a sacrifice which would express God’s love for the world.

The experience on the mountain proved all too much for Peter, James and John. Such was the beauty and bliss of the moment that Peter wanted it to continue indefinitely. When they came to their senses it was Jesus alone that they found. He instructed them to keep the vision to themselves until he had risen from the dead, words which puzzled them even more. But the sober truth was that the true and complete identity of Jesus would only become clear to them and to the world on Easter morning when he triumphed over the grave. They first had to learn the lessons of Calvary.

+Michael Campbell OSA
Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster

Celebrating Marriage

A Mass in Thanksgiving for the Sacrament of Marriage will be held in Lancaster Cathedral on Saturday 23 May at 3pm with Bishop Michael Campbell as Principal Celebrant. All are welcome, most especially married couples and families. Last year, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor celebrated such a Mass in Westminster Cathedral and this year, dioceses all over England Wales are holding similar events. For more information, contact Deacon Keith Armstrong email p.armstrong1@sky.com, tel. 01539 739806.

Seminarians share their faith stories in Lenten ‘Walk with Me’ podcasts

CJM Music in association with the Archdiocese of Birmingham have released a series of freely downloadable musical podcasts to guide worshippers through Lent and into the Easter Season.

In this year, which has been dedicated by Pope Benedict to St Paul, they take a closer look at Paul’s writings and the context in which they were written. They begin by looking at the dramatic conversion of St Paul and the conversion that is necessary in each of our lives.

This year there will be two different types of podcast – The first contains scripture readings and meditations written by the Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham and read for us by some of the students studying for the priesthood at Oscott College. They are intended to help us reconnect with the spirituality of this beautiful Season and to create for us a space in which we can contemplate and pray.

The second type will be more informal as we hear the same students reflecting on how they heard God’s call in their lives – the ‘conversion moments’ that led them to want to serve the church as priests and their own personal reflections on the Lenten readings.

Each of the podcasts will feature music from Joanne Boyce and Mike Stanley of CJM Music including tracks from their best-selling ‘Age to Age’ albums.

The series of podcasts is again introduced by the Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham and can be used alongside the ‘Walk with Me’ journey of prayer booklets for Lent 2009, which are published and available from Alive Publishing www.alivepublishing.co.uk, telephone: 01782 745 600, or as a stand alone pause for prayer and reflection in this busy time of the year.

‘Lent is a time of conversion’ Suggests Archbishop Nichols, 'During these weeks, my hope is that these recordings along with the prayer booklets will help us renew our faith, come to a fresh acceptance of the presence of Jesus in our lives and renew in us a readiness to be one with him in all things.’

These podcasts which have been produced by CJM Music are freely available from their website www.cjmmusic.co.uk/liturgy/walkwithme or via iTunes under the title ‘Walk with Me – a journey of prayer’

Deanery Mass

Tomorrow is St Edmund's turn to host the monthly Deanery Mass. Mass Shall begin at 7pm with refreshments afterwards.This is a chance to bring our deanery togeather, so please do try and come.

Everyone Welcome