Reflection
Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Presentation of the Lord which occurs forty days after the birth of Jesus and is also known as Candlemas day, since the blessing and procession of candles is included in today's liturgy. Before the revision of the General Roman Calendar this marked the end of the Christmas season.
The feast was first observed in the Eastern Church as "The Encounter." In the sixth century, it began to be observed in the West: in Rome with a more penitential character and in Gaul (France) with solemn blessings and processions of candles, popularly known as "Candlemas." The Presentation of the Lord concludes the celebration of the Nativity and with the offerings of the Virgin Mother and the prophecy of Simeon, the events now point toward Easter.
"In obedience to the Old Law, the Lord Jesus, the first-born, was presented in the Temple by his Blessed Mother and his foster father. This is another 'epiphany' celebration insofar as the Christ Child is revealed as the Messiah through the canticle and words of Simeon and the testimony of Anna the prophetess. Christ is the light of the nations, hence the blessing and procession of candles on this day. In the Middle Ages this feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or 'Candlemas,' was of great importance.
Celebration of the miraculous cure of Jack Traynor
The Archbishop of Liverpool, Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP invites you to a historic occasion for the Archdiocese of Liverpool as we celebrate the miraculous cure of Jack Traynor with Mass and a drinks reception on Tuesday 18th February at 7pm at the Metropolitan Cathedral.
If you would like to attend please fill in the form below. As we are expecting it to be a popular event, we need to know numbers in advance. We are looking into the prospect of sending free coaches from each deanery area If you are interested in this, please let us know on this form so we can gauge interest. Please include your contact details so we can get in touch with further details.
Youth Music Group
Anyone who likes to sing/plays an instrument and is interested in getting involved in a youth music group please see Harry or Sue. We plan to meet on Thursdays at 6pm.
We’d also welcome new members to join the Sunday music group. Please come over and join us.
Fundraiser for FLAME. Quiz and bingo night on 21st Feb in the Brunny. Tickets next week
Church Painting
Between Tuesday 4th and Friday 7th February workmen will be in Church to replaster and paint some areas of the walls in Church. This will involve scaffolding and cause a little bit of disruption. However, our 10am Mass will take place in Church as usual, with the workers taking a break.