Anderton St Joseph's        
                Newsletter

XXII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

31st AUGUST 2025


One Sabbath, when Jesus went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, 
they were watching him carefully.
Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honour, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honour, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 
Luke 14:1,7-14


Sat 30thSs Margaret Clitheroe, Anne Line and Margaret Ward, martyrs 

Sun 31stTWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 
11.00Mass – Maureen Hoole
12.10Baptism – Theodore Starbuck 

Mon. 1st Sept.World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation  

Tues. 2nd
10.00Mass – Fintan McPeake (ill) -with Perpetual Succour Novena 

Wed.3rdSt Gregory the Great 

Thurs. 4thSt Cuthbert of Lindisfarne  

Fri, 5th 
10.00Liturgy of the Word and Holy Communion 
(Fr Marsden has a funeral service at Sacred Heart Chorley) 

Sat. 6thSt Bega (Bees) 
17.00Vigil Mass at St Mary’s Chorley

Sun. 7thTWENTY -THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
09.30Mass at St Mary’s

11.00Mass – Edna Proctor

RETIRING COLLECTIONS:  31st August SVP 7th September Church Restoration Fund. 14th September: School Levy (Catholic Education) 

BAPTISM BOOKINGS DATES AVAILABLE:    28th Sept. Oct 26th. Nov. 30th Baptisms will take place at 12.00 Parents should collect a baptism booking form and an Order of Service from the Sacristy after Sunday Mass. Bring the booking form back one Sunday following so that any necessary preparation can be arranged.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE SICK AND THE HOUSEBOUND:  Joan Bailey, Francis Brennan, 
Mary Brophy, Anne Byrne, Mary Patricia Case, Ken Catterall, Gerard Clarke, Rita Denver, Leo Duffy, 
Pat Font, Tom Fraser, William Freeman, Bob Goulding, Rosemary Hough, Cathy Hull, Peter Hull, 
Mary Johnston, Abp Patrick Kelly, John Kerfoot, Bill King, Emma King, Val McGlade, Janet McGowan, Fintan McPeake, Teresa Martin, Fr Laurence Mayne, David Molloy, Ellen Morris, Irene O'Neill, 
Heidi O’Neill, Lauren O’Neill, Barrie Swift, Josette Walsh, Lorraine Waugh, Jean White, 
all at Grove House & Marley Court. 

PIERGIORGIO MICHELANGELO FRASSATI will be canonised along with Bd Carlo Acutis next Sunday 7th September. He was born in Turin, Italy on April 6, 1901. His mother, Adelaide Ametis, was a painter. His father Alfredo, was the founder and director of the newspaper, “La Stampa," and was influential in Italian politics, holding positions as an Italian Senator and Ambassador to Germany.
At an early age, Pier Giorgio joined the Marian Sodality and the Apostleship of Prayer, and obtained permission to receive daily Communion (which was rare at that time). 
He developed a deep spiritual life which he never hesitated to share with his friends. At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to serving the sick and the needy, caring for orphans, and assisting the demobilized servicemen returning from World War I.
He decided to become a mining engineer, studying at the Royal Polytechnic University of Turin, so he could “serve Christ better among the miners," as he told a friend. Although he considered his studies his first duty, they did not keep him from social and political activism. In 1919, he joined the Catholic Student Foundation and the organization known as Catholic Action. He became a very active member of the People’s Party, which promoted the Catholic Church’s social teaching based on the principles of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical letter, Rerum Novarum.  
What little he did have, Piergiorgio gave to help the poor, even using his bus fare for charity and then running home to be on time for meals.His charity did not simply involve giving something to others, but giving completely of himself. This was fed by daily communion with Christ in the Holy Eucharist and by frequent nocturnal adoration, by meditation on St. Paul’s “Hymn of Charity” (I Corinthians 13), and by the writings of St. Catherine of Siena. He often sacrificed vacations at the Frassati summer home in Pollone (outside of Turin) because, as he said, “If everybody leaves Turin, who will take care of the poor?” In 1921 he helped to organize the first convention of Pax Romana, a worldwide association for Catholic students working together for universal peace.
Mountain climbing was one of his favourite sports. Outings in the mountains, which he organized with his friends, also served as opportunities for his apostolic work. He never lost the chance to lead his friends to Mass, to the reading of Scripture, and to praying the rosary. He often went to the theatre, to the opera, and to museums. He loved art and music, and could quote whole passages of the poet Dante.
In 1922 he joined the Third Order of St. Dominic. Like his father, he was strongly anti-Fascist and did nothing to hide his political views. He physically defended the faith at times involved in fights, first with anticlerical Communists and later with Fascists
Just before receiving his university degree, Pier Giorgio contracted poliomyelitis, which doctors later speculated he caught from the sick whom he tended. After six days of terrible suffering Piergiorgio died at the age of 24 on July 4, 1925.
For Pier Giorgio’s funeral the city streets were lined with a multitude of mourners unknown to his family -- the poor and the needy whom he had served so unselfishly for seven years. Many of these people were surprised to learn that the young man they knew had actually been the heir of the influential Frassati family.
Pope John Paul II, after visiting his original tomb, said in 1989: “I wanted to pay homage to a young man who was able to witness to Christ with singular effectiveness in this century of ours. When I was a young man, I, too, felt the beneficial influence of his example and, as a student, I was impressed by the force of his testimony."  
His mortal remains were found completely intact and incorrupt upon their exhumation on March 31, 1981. They were transferred from the family tomb to Turin cathedral following his beatification in 1990. Many pilgrims, especially students and the young, come to the tomb of Blessed Piergeorgio to seek favours and the courage to follow his example. On May 20, 1990, the Pope beatified him, calling him the “the man of the Eight Beatitudes.”

CARLO ACUTIS was born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Carlo was known for his exceptional faith from a young age. He had a profound devotion to the Eucharist and was inspired to create a website documenting Eucharistic miracles and Marian apparitions. Carlo is considered the first saint of the digital age, using his passion for technology and coding to evangelize and connect with others online. He died of leukaemia at the age of 15 in 2006, offering his sufferings for the Pope and the Church. He is remembered for his devotion to the Eucharist and his use of technology to spread faith. 
EWTN will broadcast the canonisations live at 08.00 next Sunday. Repeated at 23.00. We can ask for the intercession of these two new saints in times of need, perhaps especially asking them to guide youngsters who are going astray. 

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:
Our Lady’s Birthday - 8th September, Exaltation of the Cross - 14th September, St Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) – 23rd September, Our Lady of Walsingham – 24th September.

BENEDICTION AND EVENING PRAYER TO MARK THE CANONIZATIONS OF BL. CARLO ACUTIS AND BL. PIERGIORGIO FRASSATI at 15.00 on Sunday 7th September, at St Stephen’s Church, Sandy Lane, Orford, Warrington WA2 9HS – led by Bishop Tom Neylon.
There will also be an exhibit of Eucharistic Miracles designed by Bl. Carlo Acutis on display in the church. All are welcome.

CHORLEY AND DISTRICT AID FOR UKRAINE Can you help?
As well as the ongoing need for: Clothing, Shoes, Toiletries, Baby Products, Duvets, Blankets, Towels, Generators, Sanitary Items, Tinned Food (12 month life)…  
We are also collecting for:
“Soldier Appeal” Razors, Packet Soups, Wet Wipes, Socks, Soap, Heat Pads, Thermal Underwear, Sleeping Bags, Boiled Sweets, Plasters.
“Children Appeal” Colouring Books, Pens, Crayons, Sweets, Small Toys.
“Medical Appeal” Bandages, Plasters, Paracetamol, Ibuprofen, Joint Supports, Supplement Drinks, First Aid Kits, Crutches, Spectacles.
“On Yer Bike for Ukraine” Any Bicycle of any condition or parts, including tyre pumps.
“Candles for Ukraine” Candles & candle wax (including scraps) and also matches.
You can find us next to the Town Hall at: The ‘Ukraine Unit’, The White Hart, Mealhouse Lane, Chorley, Lancs, PR7 1DZ. Wednesdays 2-4pm & Saturdays 10am-12
You can also donate to our Bank Account “Chorley Support for Ukraine” (Natwest)
Account 29841186 Sort 01-01-94
(We also raise funds to buy MedEvac Vehicles for Ukraine)
Please check our social media channels for regular updates, new appeals, useful information, fundraisers, etc… Thank you for your continued support.

ITEMS LEFT IN THE BACK SACRISTY AND LABELLED “FOR UKRAINE” CAN BE TAKEN DOWN TO THE WHITE HART. 

CHORLEY AND PRESTON HOSPITALS: Please contact St Joseph's Chorley (262713) if any member of your family is admitted into Chorley Hospital and needs a visit. In urgent cases or emergency please ask the ward staff to call the duty Chaplain on his bleep/phone. For the chaplaincy service at Royal Preston Hospital Tel: 01772 522435. For the chaplaincy service at Wigan Infirmary Tel: 01942 822324. 


Parish Priest: Fr Francis Marsden
Secretary: Mr Frank Webster 
Parish Office: St Joseph’s Presbytery, 28 Bolton Road, Adlington, PR6 9NA
Wednesdays 10.00-13.00
Tel: all calls now to 01257- 262537 (St Mary’s Chorley)

E-mail: stjosephs.anderton@tiscali.co.uk
Parish Website: www.stjosephsanderton.com

ARCHDIOCESE OF LIVERPOOL Registered Charity No. 1199714
























​     

​