St. Patrick's, Greenock, Scotland
Parish Priest: Very Rev G.J.Gallagher
Welcome!
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We are called, through our Baptism, to live in and by the Presence of Christ in Word and Sacrament. Through His call we live, gratefully, the life God has given us and proclaim the Good News through our word and deed.
WEEKDAY MASS @10:00am
Tuesday-Saturday
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to follow our Masses.
SUNDAY MASS: Saturday Vigil; 5.30pm Sunday: 9.30am & 11.00am
Sunday Readings: 23rd. SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME: Year A
WEEKDAY MASS: Tuesday-Saturday: 10.00am
Weekday Readings: 23rd. Week of Ordinary Time: Year 1
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament: Tuesday-Friday: 9.00-9.30am
PENANCE & RECONCILIATION: Saturday: 10.30am & 4.45-5.15pm (in the Cry Chapel)
Divine Office: 23rd. Week of Ordinary Time Psalms: Week 3
Baptism: Sunday after 11.00am Mass by prior arrangement
Marriage: Please give at least 6 month’s notice of Marriage.
TODAY'S LITURGY: Sermon four of the five in Matthew’s Gospel (the “Community Sermon”) provides our reading today. This is directed to the community. What is to be done regarding a wrongdoer? We can almost hear echoes of an early Christian debate! Jesus teaches that on the one hand the community must be saved from damage at the hands of wrongdoers, but on the other, every compassionate effort must be made to help the wrongdoer undergo a change of mind and behaviour.
YEAR A: The Year of Matthew
Matthew’s gospel was written after the Gospel of Mark, sometime before AD 110 (it was known to St. Ignatius of Antioch). He combines the whole of Mark’s gospel with an early collection of the sayings of Jesus known as “Q” which is also used in the Gospel of Luke. So the likeliest date is AD 75-90, probably towards AD 90. The gospel is addressed primarily to the Jewish-Christians who had been expelled from Judaism for being Christians.
The purpose of the Gospel
Matthew has a number of reasons for writing:
To instruct and encourage members of his community
To provide liturgical reading and sermon material
To offer a missionary address to outsiders of good will
To defend the community against hostile critics and rivals.
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He has two main kinds of material:
Narrative (The Story & Events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection)
Teaching (Discourses or Speeches)
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Matthew’s gospel has gathered the teaching of Jesus into five great discourses or sermons which are:
1. The Sermon on the Mount
2. The Missionary Discourse
3. The Parable Discourse
4. The Community Discourse
5. The Last Judgement Discourses (also sometimes called the Eschatological Discourse).
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Matthew was writing a handbook for Church leaders to assist them in preaching, teaching, mission and argument. However he has set his handbook within the story of a living person, Jesus Christ, to keep it focussed on Christ and his kingdom as the good news of salvation.
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The great themes of Matthew’s Gospel
1. The Kingdom of Heaven
2. The Church
3. Jesus is the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than the other Synoptic gospels. He is also convinced that the key to understanding these events (especially for the Jewish people) lies in the Old Testament.
We remind you NOT to attend Mass or Liturgies if you are carrying an infection or have the symptoms of Covid.
We encourage you to continue to be aware of those around about you, especially those who may be more vulnerable.
CRY CHAPEL: Please do not sit in the cry chapel for Mass as it is a restricted space. If a baby is crying at Mass, you might take the baby to the cry chapel to settle down, but otherwise, please sit in the main church.