• Newsletter: First Sunday of Lent
  • Newsletter: First Sunday of Lent

Newsletter: First Sunday of Lent

22nd February 2026

Newsletter: First Sunday of Lent

22nd February 2026

17.30 VIGIL MASS
Confession after Mass

9.00 MASS
Confession after Mass
10.30 MASS (& Coffee)
Confession after Mass
12.00 Baptisms

09.30 Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
10.00 Mass
10.30 Coffee Morning

10.00 Mass with School
17.00 Stations of the Cross and Benediction

12.00 Requiem Mass: Maureen Flatley
19.00 Lenten Station Mass

08.00 Early Mass
13.00 Funeral Service for Marjorie Rice, Agecroft Crematorium

17.30 VIGIL MASS
Confession after Mass

09.00 MASS
Confession after Mass

10.30 MASS (& Coffee)
Confession after Mass

 

OFFICE HOURS
Wednesday 9am-3pm
Friday 9am-3pm

STATIONS & BENEDICTION

Please note change of time to 5pm from 7pm on Wednesday.


CONGRATULATIONS TO FR. BRADY

We are delighted to share the wonderful news that Fr. Brady has won a NODA Award (National Association for Dramatic Arts) for his role as Monsignor O’Hara in the musical Sistre Act!


UCM

The next UCM meeting will take place on Wednesday 25th February at 2pm.


SECOND CHANCE RAFFLE

Raffle Tickets will be on sale after ALL Masses for the next two weekends. The raffle will be drawn at the end of February. Thank you for supporting our parish fundraising.


ST. PATRICK’S EVENING

At the recent social event, it was discussed and agreed to have a St. Patrick’s evening on Friday 27th March, to be held at St. Mary’s Social Club Pine Street, from 7.30pm.Tickets will be £5 per person, to include a pasty supper, and live music. If you would like to attend, please add your name to the list on the table in the Atrium. Place your money in an envelope with your name on the front. Once we receive your money, tickets will be available to collect from the table up to the weekend of 22nd March.


CONFIRMATION

Is your child in year 8 or above and attends St. Monica’s or St. Gabriel’s and has completed their Confirmation Catechesis with Sr. Linda. Your form needs to be handed in to Fr. Brady or the parish office as soon as possible. If you do not attend either school, and are in Year 8 or above, and have made your First Holy Communion and would like to be Confirmed please speak to Fr. Brady after Mass.


ONLINE GOSPEL READINGS DURING LENT

During the Lenten period, there will be a series of gospel readings taking place every Tuesday and delivered online by various speakers including Fr. Michael Deas, with the final reading to be given by Bishop John Arnold ahead of Palm Sunday. For more information:
visit >

LENTEN STATION MASSES

Lent is a journey, from Ashes to the Font at Easter. Along the way an ancient tradition of the Church is to stop at “stations” : in our Deanery we will be calling at five different “stations”-four Churches and a Sixth Form College-to celebrate Mass together as we journey through Lent. Everyone is very welcome!

Thursday 26th February – Saint Mary, Radcliffe M26 4DG
Thursday 5th March – Holy Cross Sixth Form College, Bury BL9 9BB
Thursday 12th March – Saint Michael, Whitefield, M45 8NN
Thursday 19th March – Sacred Heart, Rochdale OL16 5BX
Thursday 26th March – Saint Vincent, Norden OL12 7QL


WOMEN’S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER SERVICE

Friday 6th March 2026 2pm at the Bridge Methodist Church, Milltown Street, Radcliffe (behind the library). All are welcome.


LENTEN TALKS: SCHOOL OF PRAYER

During Lent, a series of talks and prayerful reflections will be taking place every Tuesday from 10.00am to 12.30pm, led by Mgr. Paul Sith, Sr. Joan Kerley and Maria Kidd. These will be held at Our Lady and Lancashire Martyrs Church, from 17th February to 24th March, and light refreshments will be served. For more information on how to book your place, please visit the diocesan website >


ADVICE AS ENERGY BILLS CONTINUE TO RISE

If you or those in your wider community are in need of support with rising energy bills, Caritas Salford has put together some helpful advice on their website. Find out more by: visiting >


HOLY FATHER’S INTENTION FOR FEBRUARY

Let us pray that children suffering from incurable diseases and their families receive the necessary medical care and support, never losing strength and hope.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‘In the wilderness of temptation, Christ shows us the strength that comes from trusting the Father.’

STAY WITH US, LORD, ON OUR JOURNEY

Lenten Programme 2026

THIS WEEK’S GOSPEL

By putting this scene at the beginning of Lent, the Church shows that it sees Lent as a period of testing.

Matthew sees this period in the wilderness as the testing of God’s Son, just as the People of God (Israel – God’s son, whom he brought out of Egypt) was tested for forty years in the desert.

We may also see it as the time when Jesus reflected on the mode of his mission.

His mission was to bring the Kingship of God to a new realisation: how should he do this?

The Tempter suggests false ways, which Jesus rejects one after another, each time using a word from scripture, the Word of God.

He rejects the idea of the Messiah merely producing the luxury of the plenteous messianic banquet (stones into food).

He rejects the idea of a startling personal miracle which none could gainsay (the leap from the Temple).

He rejects the suggestion of entering into league with the Tempter’s own values of pride and dominion (rule over the world).

At the same time Jesus shows himself to be the Second Moses, the founder of a new People of God: like Moses, he spends forty days and forty nights fasting; like Moses he is taken up onto a high mountain, from where he can see not merely all the territory of the Holy Land, but all the kingdoms of the earth.

BAPTISMS Please see Fr. Brady after Mass if you would like your child to be baptised. A baptismal certificate for one of the parents must be provided as evidence of baptism in a Roman Catholic Church before a baptism date can be given. We welcome parents and children and by attending Masses at the weekend on Saturday at 5.30pm, Sunday at 9.00am or 10.00am which fulfil the Sunday obligation. All Catholics are OBLIGED to celebrate Mass on EVERY Sunday.

BAPTISM CERTIFICATE COPIES REQUESTS For those requesting copies of baptism certificate the office can be contacted initially and the certificate can be collected at any of the weekend Masses. This is also to encourage people to come to Mass.

SICK AND HOUSEBOUND If you know of anybody who would like Fr Brady to visit, could you please give him their name and address with postcode and a contact telephone number. Thank you.

MASS INTENTIONS, OUR LADY’S LAMP AND THE SANCTUARY LAMP  The practice of requesting a Mass to be offered for loved ones, living or deceased, is a beautiful and wonderful part of our Catholic Tradition. Continuing this long-standing practice, you can remember someone who has died recently or many years ago. The Mass can also make beautiful gifts for any special occasion: birthdays, anniversaries, in thanksgiving for a prayer answered etc. You can offer an intention for anybody who is struggling with a serious illness or other difficulties of life. There are Mass Intention Envelopes provided on the table in the Atrium. (Please ensure that you have the express consent of the sick or housebound person as the bulletin is posted on the parish website, therefore making that information available to the public at large. Please provide a contact number with Mass Intentions so that any discrepancies can be resolved. Our Lady’s Lamp and Sanctuary Lamp are £5.00 and burn for seven days. Please place any intentions in an envelope with your donation and give to Father Brady or place in the Mass offering Box in the Atrium. All newsletter items must be sent in by Thursday morning.

MASSES AND PRAYERS RECEIVED THIS WEEK

Lately Dead
Marjorie Rice, William Sherman, Brian Rushton, Mike Conlon, Maureen Flatley, Mike Page, Fr. Robert Morrow.


Anniversary
Mary Harlick, Joe Jordan, Patricia Boles.


Birthday Memories
Delia Conneely, Anne Nally, Gabrielle Barrett.


Sick
Andy Watson, Noel Moore, Paul Moore, Francis Loughran, Brian Hay, Kathy Spencer, Cara Heather, Raymond Gracey.


Lenten Masses
Masses for the repose of the soul of Elizabeth Livesey,
Albert Livesey, John Mc Glynn, Anne McGlynn,
Barbara McCann, Holy Souls in Purgatory


Other
For a Special Intention for All Holy Souls in Purgatory
(Throughout February), Special Intention.

This week, the Sanctuary Lamp burns for:

Ann Timothy
and
The Barrett Family.

This week, Our Lady’s Lamp burns for:

William Henry Sherman
and
Jim & Linda Cosgrove.

The Vatican

Please click on the red ‘Play’ button to watch Vatican Media Live.

Lourdes TV

Please click on the red ‘Play’ button to watch Lourdes TV.