The House of Formation - Priestly Vocations

The House of Formation at Cleator was founded by Bishop O'Donoghue to provide a place where those not yet ready for major seminary can discern and experience priestly life on a parish setting. The programme is tailored according to the individual needs of the student, however spirituality, prayer, study and pastoral ministry form the core of all the student's development.

The house also functions as the Diocesan Vocations Centre – offering hospitality and welcome to all who are interested in training for the priesthood.

Anyone interested in a vocation to the priesthood or religious life should contact Fr Gribben on 01946 810324 or via e-mail to e.gribben@merseymail.com. The role of the Vocations Director is to assist an enquirer in the discernment of the Lord's call and guide them through the process of selection for seminary.

Links to sites to help with your vocation:
Lancaster Diocese Vocations section
St Wulstans and St Edmunds Vocations section
Lancaster Vocations Blog
UK Priest
National Office for Vocation

(from the Diocesan website)

Maura Houghton R.I.P

Many of you will of heard about the sad death of Maura Houghton. Maura’s funeral will be on Thursday 27th August at 11:30am in St Wulstan’s. Maura’s body will be received into St Edmunds Church at 6:00pm on Wednesday 26th August. Maura had a strong link to the Parish of St Edmunds where she was book-keeper for many years. May she rest in peace!

Pope's cast removed; wrist healing well

Pope Benedict XVI is recovering well from a fractured wrist that he suffered a month ago, the Vatican has announced. On August 21, doctors removed a cast from the Pope’s wrist, and after taking a new X-ray, reported that the healing “can be described as excellent.” The Pope will be given physical therapy to strengthen the wrist, and is expected quickly to regain full mobility of his arm and hand.

The Pope broke his wrist on July 17 when he tripped and fell in the dark in the unfamiliar surroundings of his bedroom in the chalet where he was spending his vacation in the Italian Alps.

Westminster diocese rebukes Tablet for negative approach extraordinary form

After the British Catholic publication The Tablet ran an editorial suggesting that Archbishop Vincent Nichols wanted to discourage use of the extraordinary form of the Latin rite in order to "nip a potential schism in the bud,' Bishop Alan Hopes, an auxiliary of the Westminster diocese, said that the Tablet was mistaken about both the archbishop's intentions and the proper role of the Tridentine Mass.

(CWN)

Pope announces new Catholic Bishop of the Forces

Pope Benedict XVI has announced that Monsignor Richard Moth, currently Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Southwark, will be the next Bishop of the Forces.

Richard Moth served for five years as a Territorial Army chaplain attached to 217 General Hospital RAMC (V).

Bishop-elect Richard will be ordained bishop on Tuesday 29 September 2009.

The Administrator of the Bishopric, Monsignor John Walsh said: “We are delighted at the news that Monsignor Richard is to become our next bishop. On behalf of clergy, servicemen and women and their families, I bid him welcome. We are looking forward to his leadership and to working with him in the years to come. He has our congratulations, our very best wishes and most of all, our prayers”.

The Bishopric of the Forces is a diocese without geographical boundaries, consisting of Service personnel and their dependants, served by over 40 full-time Catholic Chaplains and a number of TA and Officiating Chaplains. The Chaplains are drawn from dioceses in England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Gibraltar and from religious orders. They are seconded to the Bishopric during their military service.

Chaplains are currently serving in the UK including Northern Ireland, Germany, Cyprus as well as Afghanistan and Iraq. Chaplains are also serving at sea with the Royal Navy.

In addition to his responsibility for service chaplaincy, the Bishop-elect will also become Apostolic Visitor for the Prefecture of the Falkland Islands, which also includes St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Ascension Island, and South Georgia.

Bishop Tom Burns, Bishop of Menevia who was the previous Bishop of the Forces said: “This is great news for the Bishopric. I wish Bishop-elect Richard every happiness as he takes on my former role. He is very experienced and his service as a Territorial Army chaplain will give him a good idea of what lies ahead. He has my best wishes and prayers”.

CLERGY APPOINTMENTS – effective from 1 October 2009

Grateful for the cooperation of his priests and mindful of the needs of the whole Diocese, His Lordship, the Bishop of Lancaster, Rt Rev Michael G Campbell OSA has made the following appointments:

Retirements:
- Father Patrick McMahon (from Our Lady & St Edward, Preston).
- Father Bernard Hearty (from St Joseph, Frizington).
- Father John Marsh (from St Mary, Newhouse).

Parish Priests:
- Fr Ed Gornall moves from St Gregory, Workington to St Benedict, Whitehaven.
- Fr Kevin Lowry moves from St Benedict, Whitehaven to Our Lady & St Edward, Preston.
- Fr Tim Sullivan moves from St Maria Goretti, Preston to St Mary, Newhouse.
- Fr Bernard Woods moves from St Cuthbert, Blackpool to St Columba with St Patrick, Walney and Sacred Heart, Barrow.
- Fr Feliks Sciborski to St Maria Goretti, Preston and the pastoral care of Polish Migrants.
Other Ministries:
- Fr Frank Osman from Sacred Heart, Barrow to St Cuthbert, Blackpool as Administrator.
- Fr Paul Harrison from St Columba, Walney to St John Vianney, Blackpool as assistant priest - also new Editor of the Diocesan Directory (from 2010) and Bishop’s Archivist.
- Fr Krzysztof Goralski to St Maria Goretti, Preston as assistant priest and the pastoral care of Polish Migrants.
- Fr Peter Stanton has now completed his term as Director of Castlerigg Manor to begin a period on sabbatical. We thank him for his work.
- Fr Peter Sharrock has now completed his term as Chaplain and Advisor at Castlerigg Manor. We thank him for his work.
- Fr Philip Conner (formerly Director of the Diocesan Youth Service) becomes Chaplain of the Diocesan Youth Service and resident at Castlerigg Manor.

(from the Diocesan website)

New Diocesan Chancellor Appointed

Fr Paul Embery is the new Diocesan Chancellor with immediate effect. Fr Paul shall carry out this office from Kendal parish and all requests for dispensations, permissions, etc should now be sent directly to:
The Rev P Embery, Diocesan Chancellor, The Presbytery, Holy Trinity & St George, 33 Blackhall Road, KENDAL, Cumbria, LA9 4BW, Tel: 01539 720063.
Fr Robert Billing, the Bishop’s Secretary will continue to process all nondiocesan priests who wish to minister in our Diocese. Sincere thanks go to Mgr Michael Tully for his work as Chancellor over the last 7 years – an effort deeply appreciated by so many in the Diocese. Mgr Michael will continue his invaluable work as Judicial Vicar for the
Diocese.

(from the Diocesan website)

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The gospel extract today from St. John relates how the enthusiastic crowd pursued Jesus, but for the wrong reasons. They had just enjoyed a wonderfully free meal of bread and fish and wanted to see and hear more of the One who provided such marvellous fare. In his dialogue with them, Christ tried to raise their minds from their purely material appetites to another kind of food which he alone could offer them. The Lord urged them not to be so immersed in the daily task of finding food that they neglect their spiritual needs and their relationship with God. The Father was offering the world the true food from heaven in the person of his Son. Unlike our earthly nourishment which constantly needs replenishing, what Jesus now brings comes from heaven and is eternal.
In order to have access to this heavenly food Jesus challenges the crowd to believe in him as the One whose acts with the full authority of God. They react by demanding that he perform a sign, similar to the manna which Moses provided for the people of Israel during their desert wandering on the way to the land of promise. That manna was only temporary however, but now God offers food of a higher order which only those with faith in Jesus can receive. In response to the crowd’s eager desire to have this heavenly manna, the Lord Jesus tells them that he himself is the bread of life. If they come to him and make the leap of faith then their deepest hunger and thirst will be satisfied.
Our world has often been described as materialistic. The very persuasive world of advertising has as its aim the purchase and acquisition of goods and possessions which, while good in themselves, do not and cannot satisfy those deeper longings of the human heart. We have spiritual appetites and wants and to neglect these does not help us to flourish as persons as God would wish. This gospel passage takes our minds back to how Jesus himself wrestled with the devil’s temptation to materialism after his forty days fasting in the desert. Christ is ever offering us a fresh start, a new way of looking at things, so that we do not become entrapped by daily preoccupations which are ultimately transitory. As Paul expresses it in his letter to the Church at
Ephesus, “we are to put on the new self which has been created in God’s way.”

+Michael Campbell OSA
Bishop of Lancaster

(from the Diocesan website)

Thank you

To Fr Peter Draper and Fr Chris Webb who are celebrating our Masses this weekend. Fr Draper at St Edmund’s, who is the parish priest of St Mary’s here in Fleetwood, and Fr Webb at St Wulstan’s, is an ex RAF chaplain. Our thanks for providing the Mass in Fr Alf’s absence on Army Cadet Camp.