St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Didsbury

St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, Didsbury You're welcome to join us in prayer, in witnessing to the Gospel, in service to those in need and in growing God's kingdom here in Didsbury.

We are an inclusive community, welcoming all. Community Centre: https://bit.ly/3WDtEya

SUNDAY 14 JUNE — 11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (DAY FOR LIFE)Today is the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Catho...
13/06/2026

SUNDAY 14 JUNE — 11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (DAY FOR LIFE)

Today is the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, and the Catholic Church in England and Wales keeps this Sunday as the Day for Life — a day to reflect on the sacredness of every human life, from conception to natural death.

We will have our Saturday Vigil Mass at 7pm, and at 8am, 9.30am and 11am. Children's Liturgy takes place during the 9.30am Mass, and there will be Tea and Toast in the Parish Centre afterwards. Please do join us.

Today's readings give us a beautiful thread to follow. God calls Israel his own treasured possession at Sinai; St Paul reminds us that Christ died for us while we were still sinners; and in the Gospel Jesus looks out at the crowd with deep compassion — and sends his disciples out to heal. On this Day for Life, we are reminded that every single person in that crowd matters infinitely to God. Not one is disposable. Not one is a burden. Each one is loved with a love that drove the Son of God to the cross. As we celebrate life today, let us ask for the grace to see others as Christ sees them — with that same overwhelming compassion — and to act accordingly.

SATURDAY 13th JUNE - THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY & ST ANTHONY OF PADUA Memorial (Immaculate Heart) | Memorial (St Antho...
13/06/2026

SATURDAY 13th JUNE - THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY & ST ANTHONY OF PADUA Memorial (Immaculate Heart) | Memorial (St Anthony)

Today we have a beautiful double celebration: the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, observed on the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, and the Memorial of St Anthony of Padua, Doctor of the Church - one of the most popular saints in the whole Church. And today is also our wonderful First Holy Communion day!

We will have Exposition at 11am, Confessions from 11am to 11.50am, and the 12noon Mass with the Rosary. Then, at 2pm and 3.30pm, we celebrate two First Holy Communion Masses - please pray especially for our children and their families as they receive Jesus in the Eucharist for the first time. What a perfect day to do so, on the feast of the Sacred Heart's closest companions.

St Anthony of Padua was born Fernando in Lisbon in 1195. He became first an Augustinian and then a Franciscan friar, inspired by the martyrdom of the first Franciscan missionaries. He became the greatest preacher of his age, combating heresy across France and Italy with a brilliance that earned him the title "Evangelical Doctor." Pope Gregory IX, who heard him preach, called him the "living treasury of Holy Scripture." He died in Padua in 1231 aged only 35 and was canonised within a year. He is the patron saint of the poor, of those seeking lost things, and of a great many other causes besides.

FRIDAY 12th JUNE - THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS SolemnityToday is the great Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesu...
12/06/2026

FRIDAY 12th JUNE - THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS Solemnity

Today is the great Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - one of the most beloved feasts in the Catholic calendar, and the climax of the month of June which is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

We will have Exposition at 11.30am, followed by the 12noon Mass and the Rosary. Young Christian Workers meet at 7pm in the Siena Room - all aged 18 and over are warmly welcome. There is also a Marian Procession at 12.45pm from St Vincent's, Altrincham.

The devotion to the Sacred Heart centres on the heart of Christ as the supreme symbol of his love for humanity. It was especially promoted through the visions of St Margaret Mary Alacoque in 17th-century France, to whom Jesus appeared showing her his heart, surrounded by thorns and crowned with a cross, burning with love. Today's Gospel (Matthew 11:25-30) gives us the heart of the feast in Jesus' own words: "Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest... for I am gentle and humble in heart." This is the Sacred Heart in scripture - not an image on a wall but an invitation. Come to him today.

THURSDAY 11th JUNE - ST BARNABAS, APOSTLE MemorialToday is the Memorial of St Barnabas, Apostle - one of the great figur...
11/06/2026

THURSDAY 11th JUNE - ST BARNABAS, APOSTLE Memorial

Today is the Memorial of St Barnabas, Apostle - one of the great figures of the early Church, whose name means "son of encouragement."

We will have the 10am Requiem Mass for Christopher Hayles. Please keep Christopher's family and loved ones in your prayers at this sad time. The usual morning Exposition and Mass do not take place today.

Barnabas was born Joseph on the island of Cyprus. He was an early disciple of Jesus and one of the most generous members of the Jerusalem community - he sold his land and gave the proceeds to the apostles. His greatest contribution was his open-heartedness: when Saul of Tarsus came to Jerusalem after his conversion, and nobody would go near him, it was Barnabas who vouched for him, took him by the hand and brought him to the apostles. Without Barnabas, there might have been no St Paul as we know him. He and Paul worked together on the first great missionary journey. Their names appear together in Eucharistic Prayer I at every Mass. Tradition says he was martyred in Cyprus around the year 61. His lesson for us is simple: be the person who believes in others when no one else does.

WEDNESDAY 10th JUNE - WEEKDAY IN ORDINARY TIMENo feast today - we continue in the rich green season of Ordinary Time, st...
10/06/2026

WEDNESDAY 10th JUNE - WEEKDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

No feast today - we continue in the rich green season of Ordinary Time, still glowing from last Sunday's Corpus Christi.

We will have Exposition at 8.45am, followed by the 9.15am Mass and the Rosary.

Paul's second letter to the Corinthians continues to offer us treasure this week. He writes of not losing heart even when the outward self is "wasting away," because the inner self is being renewed day by day. There is something deeply consoling about this for all of us who know what it is to feel tired, tested or worn down. The readings from Matthew's Gospel take us to Jesus commissioning the Twelve - sending them out with nothing but his authority and his message. We are reminded that the mission of the Church is not something done by a professional few but something entrusted to all the baptised. Today is a good day to ask: how am I responding to that call in my own life, in my own street, in my own family?

TUESDAY 9th JUNE - WEEKDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Optional: St Columba, Abbot)There is no obligatory feast today - the option...
09/06/2026

TUESDAY 9th JUNE - WEEKDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Optional: St Columba, Abbot)

There is no obligatory feast today - the optional memorial of St Columba, the great Irish-Scottish missionary, may be observed. Please note that Mass times are different today.

We will have Exposition at 6.30pm and Mass at 7pm (instead of the usual morning Mass, as Fr John has a clergy meeting in Bury). There will also be a study group looking at the Letter to the Hebrews (Chapters 3-8) after the 7pm Mass - all are very welcome.

St Columba was born in Ireland around 521 into a royal family and became a monk and priest. After causing a dispute over a manuscript that led - astonishingly - to a battle in which many lives were lost, he resolved to go into exile as a penance, to win for Christ as many souls as had been lost in the fighting. He sailed with twelve companions to the tiny Scottish island of Iona in 563 and founded a monastery that became one of the great centres of Celtic Christianity. From Iona the faith spread throughout Scotland and northern England. He is one of the most beloved saints of the British Isles - a man who allowed God to turn grief and failure into something extraordinary.

MONDAY 8th JUNE - WEEKDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Week 10, Year II)There is no feast day today, but we continue in the heart o...
08/06/2026

MONDAY 8th JUNE - WEEKDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Week 10, Year II)

There is no feast day today, but we continue in the heart of Ordinary Time - that long season of green which invites us to grow quietly in faith.

We will have Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at 8.45am, followed by the 9.15am Mass and the Rosary.

This week's weekday readings from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians are among the most moving he ever wrote. Paul speaks of carrying the treasure of the Gospel "in earthen vessels" - fragile, ordinary pots - so that the extraordinary power can be seen to come from God and not from us. He writes of being hard pressed but not crushed, persecuted but not abandoned. These are words for anyone who feels the weight of life but clings to faith. The weekday Mass is one of the great gifts of parish life - a quiet, faithful gathering around the altar, day after day, in good times and in hard ones. All are welcome.

Fr John's Thought for the Week for the Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is now available https://youtu.be...
07/06/2026

Fr John's Thought for the Week for the Feast of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is now available https://youtu.be/oqy8LaXBOzc

SUNDAY 7th JUNE - THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI) SolemnityToday is the great Solemnity of the M...
06/06/2026

SUNDAY 7th JUNE - THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI) Solemnity

Today is the great Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Corpus Christi - one of the most joyful feasts of the whole liturgical year, celebrating the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

We will have Mass tonight at the Vigil at 7pm, and on Sunday morning at 8am, 9.30am and 11am. Children's Liturgy takes place during the 9.30am Mass (term-time), and Tea & Toast follows in the Parish Centre. Mark Wiggins from the Friends of the Holy Land will speak at the end of all Masses today, and there will be a retiring collection. Also, the final First Holy Communion workshop takes place at 12noon today - please keep our children and their families in your prayers.

Corpus Christi invites us to contemplate the most extraordinary gift ever given: the Lord Jesus himself, present under the appearance of bread and wine. Today's readings draw us from the manna in the desert, through St Paul's words - "the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ" - to the great sixth chapter of John's Gospel: "I am the living bread which has come down from heaven." This is not symbol or memory alone. The Church proclaims with confidence what our eyes cannot see: he is truly here. Come to him today with open hands and a hungry heart.

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School Lane, Didsbury
Manchester
M206HS

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