Water does three things.
The most obvious thing it does is to wet.
Whatever water comes into contact with, it changes. The sound of children
squealing with delight at the end of a hosepipe is a familiar one. So is the
groan of someone 
caught in
the rain without an umbrella. If water gets on you, then you’re no longer the
same. For better or worse!
Water also cleans. We use it to wash in since
it is one of the best agents we know of for taking away stains and dirt.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that when Christians think of water they often
associate it with baptism’s role in cleansing us from original sin. The psalms
too speak frequently about being washed from sin and made whiter than snow.
Yet it’s not this aspect of water that Jesus
emphasises in today’s gospel. It’s the third function of water: water refreshes
and brings life.
All over the world today there are men and
women standing in our churches who are asking to be admitted to the Church
community, to be baptised, to become Christians. And the gospel addressed to
them on this day is about the gift which Jesus promises: water to take away
your thirst and lead you on to eternal life.
If you are to be a Christian, then it’s
because you find the message of Jesus so attractive that no other drink will
satisfy you. The promise of Jesus reaches the parts that no other drink can
reach. And what a promise this is! Jesus tells us that our deepest yearnings
and longings will be satisfied. In him life begins to make sense, priorities
start to change, the will of God becomes our only goal.
So as thousands of would-be Christians stand
before congregations today and ask to be given this living water, we use the
opportunity to count our own blessings and to thank God for the gift of faith
which we often take for granted but which we know is a well from which we can
draw water in times of drought, and a spring that offers us eternal life.
This weekend:
Sunday: Coffee morning after 9.30 am Mass. Proceeds to Butterflies.
Sunday after 11.00 am Mass: Tea and coffee in the Church Hall.
This week:
Monday: Exposition
of the Blessed Sacrament at St
Marie’s at 2.00 pm.
Monday: Lenten
meeting in St. Marie's Church Hall at 7.30 pm. All welcome.
Tuesday: Ladies Section meeting in St Marie’s Church Hall at 8.00 pm. Talk
on Origami. Coach fare (£6) for trip to Skipton on Wednesday 13 April due.
Coach leaves Market Street, Standish at 10.00 am and then St Marie’s Church.
Contact Marjorie 424332 or Monica 400558.
Wednesday: Stations of the Cross at St Marie’s at 6.30 pm.
Thursday: Stations of the Cross at St Bernadette’s at 7.00 pm, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at
7.30 pm.
Next Weekend:
Saturday: Knights of St Columba Charity Concert at the Unity Club, Standish at
7.30 pm. Tickets £6 from John Melarkey, 01942 244030, Tom Dickens, 404038 or
Parish Office.
Sunday after 11.00 am Mass: Tea and coffee in the Church Hall.
Thank you for your offerings
£1,592.42.
Bonus Ball
No.17 - John
Braddock - £39.
Sanctuary
Lamp intention
Special Intention.
Church
Development
Fund
Subs can be paid at the back of Church next weekend.
200 Club – March
results
1st: £50, No 207, R
Astley; 2nd: £20, No 136, P
Cunliffe; 3rd: £15, No 217, K
Draper; 4th: £10, No 37, G & M
Hill. Cheques are available in the sacristy.
Butterflies
St Bernadette’s parishioners, Chris Burke and Steve Grimes are to
run the Liverpool half marathon this Sunday in aid of Butterflies Children’s
charity. Sponsorship forms are at the back of Church.
Questions of faith and liturgy
Q. What is the font?
A. The font is the
large vessel holding water for baptisms.
CAFOD
Thank you to all who took part in the Lenten Self Denial collections.
At St Bernadette’s, £733.61 was raised, of which £376 was gift aided, making an
extra £94 and a grand total of £827.61. At St Marie’s £531.06 was raised, plus
£122.08 from 31 gift aid declarations.
Annual CAFOD sponsored walk will take place on Saturday 25 June.
'Past and
Present'
A social evening for the grown ups to celebrate St Bernadette's
School’s 40th anniversary on Friday 6 May featuring the Irish band, ‘Beware The
Pig’ and hot food. Tickets £10 from school office. 401125. Details will be
posted on the school website www.saintbernadettes.wigan.sch.uk.
Easter Chicken
Cards
Easter Chicken Cards will be on sale at each Mass this
weekend. The cost of £1 each will buy a
day old chicken for a mission run by the Sons of Divine Providence in Kaburugi,
Kenya helping to run a Day Centre for handicapped children.
Sanctuary
Lamp
Parishioners at St Marie’s can make requests for the Sanctuary
Lamp in church to burn for their intentions.
To make a request, please follow the instructions on the folder,
which has been placed on the baptismal font. Envelopes and cards are on the
notice board in the Church porch.
RCIA Support for Journey VI
An evening of three workshops (postponed from 24 February) at
Sacred Heart, Warrington on Wednesday, 6 April at 7.30 pm to explore different
approaches to prayer within RCIA groups. Contact Julie Cassidy, 0151 522 1040
or e-mail j.cassidy@rcaol.co.uk.
Stations of
the Cross
Stations of the Cross for Children will be held at St Marie’s on
Tuesday 12 April at 7.00 pm. Children wishing to read at the service should
contact Karen Bliss or Joanne Millington.
Bags 2
School collection
Time for spring clear out!! Please fill a plastic bag with
unwanted clothing, bedding, curtains, soft toys shoes, and drop it off at St
Bernadette's School on Thursday 5 May at 9.00 am. Proceeds to school funds.
Ladies Circle Raffle
Ladies Circle Easter Raffle takes place on Thursday 7 April.
Tickets will be sold after Masses this weekend and next. Proceeds to HCPT.
If you would like to donate an Easter egg or a Festive prize,
please give to Barbara or Margaret.
At the back
of church…
·
‘Living Faith’ booklets, April – June 2011;
·
Rotas for St
Marie’s Eucharistic Ministers and Readers;
· Mother's
Day, Easter and First Holy Communion cards and gifts;
· APF Mill
Hill Mission books;
· Offertory
envelopes for 2011/12 for St Marie’s parishioners. If any parishioner would
like a set of envelopes, please contact Fr John or Clare Farrell (253775).
Poverty Lunch
The Hill Family are joining forces with 1st Appley Bridge Cubs for
you to exchange your Sunday Roast for a bowl of home-made soup and a cuppa n
Palm Sunday, 17 April at Appley Bridge Community Centre (near the station) from
11.30 am until 1.00 pm. Cost: £3 per person / £10 per family. Book your bowl by
ringing Mary B, 253380 or text number required to 07790 964846. Proceeds to
Angela and Rod Price for their Nursery School Project in the Hambantota
District of Sri Lanka.
Funny Money
Proceeds from the ‘Funny Money’ collection this year will go to
the Wigan Lourdes Association.
‘Care for
the Family’ events
See notice in porch for ‘Care for the Family’ events in Liverpool
during May and June 2011.
Come &
See
The Iranaeus Project for Spirituality and Growth is organising the
2011 Come & See conference at Christ the King High School, Southport on 17
& 18 September, with Sr Helen Prejean, whose story was told in the film
‘Dead Man Walking’. For further details, contact the Iranaeus Project, 0151 949
1199 or e-mail jenny@iranaeus.co.uk.
Dates for your
diary
Thursday, 7 April: Joint
Parishes Working Group meeting at St Marie’s at 7.30 pm.
Saturday, 16
April: Service of Reconciliation at
the Metropolitan Cathedral led by Canon Anthony O’Brien at 3.00 pm. An
opportunity for reflection and private confession.
Wednesday, 20
April: Chrism Mass at the
Metropolitan Cathedral at 7.30 pm
Saturday, 25 June: Annual
CAFOD Sponsored Walk. More details at a later date.