fIFth sunday of lent (a)
READINGS FOR THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT (A)
First Reading – (Ezekiel 37:12-14) – Here the exile of the people of Babylon is described in terms of death. And their return home is described in terms of resurrection and spiritual renewal.
Responsorial Psalm – With the Lord there is mercy, in him is plentiful redemption.
Second Reading – (Romans 8:8-11) – It was the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. If this same Spirit lives in us, then we have no need to be afraid of death.
Gospel Reading – (John 11:1-45) –By raising his friend Lazarus from the dead, Jesus shows that he is Lord not only of life but of death too.
* * * * * * * * * *
PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL
INTROUCTION: Dear brothers and sisters, with the faith of Martha in Jesus, the Son of the Living God, let us now pray through him, the Resurrection and the Life, to God the Father for our own needs, the needs of the Church and of all humankind.
The response is… Lord graciously hear us.
╬ We pray for the Church: that we may embrace the paschal mystery and allow God to bring us through the little deaths of life and raise us to new and fresh beginnings. Lord, hear us; Lord graciously hear us.
╬ We continue to pray for an immediate end to violence and warfare in the Middle East: that a just solution to the ongoing conflicts may be found and peace, security and dignity be restored for all the people. Lord, hear us; Lord graciously hear us.
╬ We pray for our young people from the parish communities of St. Bride’s and St. Cadoc’s attending St. Charles’ Primary School who will be receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation in St. Cadoc’s Church, during the week: that the Holy Spirit may give them the courage to witness to Christ by lives built on faith and love. Lord, hear us, hear us; Lord graciously hear us.
╬ We pray for SCIAF’s partners who work in poor communities overseas, strengthening those who struggle for justice: that they may walk more closely with them in the years ahead. Lord, hear us; Lord graciously hear us.
╬ We pray for all the sick of our families and our parish, those in hospital, in hospice or nursing home and those for whom we are asked to pray: that God may give them strength and fortitude, and bless those who care for them. Lord, hear us; Lord graciously hear us.
╬ We pray for the souls of all those whose anniversaries, months mind and birthday remembrances we are asked to recall, as well as those who have recently died: that they may receive the reward of their faith and enjoy the happiness of heaven. Lord, hear us; Lord graciously hear us.
CONCLUSION: God our Father, receive our prayers we pray, and fill our hearts with your mercy, so that safeguarding the gifts received through your goodness, we may walk in newness of life. We make this prayer and all our prayers through Christ our Lord. Amen
* * * * * * * * * *
PLEASE REMEMBER THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE
IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK
SICK –Baby Archie Thomson, Alex McLeod, Thérèse McKeand, Martin McGuire & James Hannaway.
I also ask your prayers for the sick and housebound
– those at home in our parish community, those in hospital,
and those in local nursing and care homes in Cambuslang, Halfway
& Blantyre and elsewhere. Our prayers for them
not only help in their suffering and pain but also reassure them
that they are not forgotten by our community of faith.
Our prayers help relieve their feelings of isolation and loneliness.
To be remembered before the Altar of God
brings them comfort and consolation.
Almighty and Eternal God, you are the everlasting health
of those who believe in you.
Hear us for your sick servants
for whom we implore the aid of your tender mercy,
that being restored to bodily health,
they may give thanks to you in your Church.
Through Christ our Lord.
Our Lady, Help of the Sick, pray for them.
* * * * * * * * * *
RECENTLY DEAD – Rona McPhee, Flora Quinn, Rose Gallagher & Margaret Quigley.
MONTHS MIND – David O’Hare (Jnr).
ANNIVERSARIES – Maria Wilson (2nd Anniversary), Margaret Curley (4th Anniversary), Theresa McLaughlin (7th Anniversary), Bella O’Donnell (30th Anniversary) & Edward O’Donnell, Elizabeth Gregson, Sarah Connelly & Moira McLaughlin.
BIRTHDAY REMEMBRACE – Josephine Curley.
Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let Perpetual Light shine upon them.
May they Rest in Peace. Amen.
CLERGY ANNIVERSARIES - MARCH
Rev. Alexander McBride 10/03/1955
Rev. John Roger 09/03/1958
Canon Patrick McCarthy 15/03/1959
Rev. Michael Little 19/03/1960
Rev. James Walsh 05/03/1965
Rev. Hugh Mahon 05/03/1971
Archbishop James Donald Scanlan 25/03/1976
Rev. Sean Mannion 10/03/1982
Rev. James McGill 12/03/1982
Rev. James Dooley 21/03/1988
Mgr. John O’Donnell 03/03/1989
Canon Patrick Kelly 29/03/1989
Rev. Patrick Kilcoyne 07/03/1990
Rev. Denis Garrity 09/03/1993
Rev. Robert Healey 13/03/1994
Rev. Patrick Brosnan 26/03/1995
Rev. John Givens 19/03/2006
Rev. William Sproule 22/03/2010
Canon Kieran O’Farrell 17/03/2014
Canon Patrick O’Hare 30/03/2016
Rev. Deacon Angus McKinnon 09/03/2018
Fr Timothy Brosnan 13/03/2018
Canon Denis Keane 29/03/2020
Monsignor Thomas O’Hare 10/03/2022
May the Lord who chose them to serve him as priests,
number them among his chosen in heaven.
Requiescant in Pace.
* * * * * * * * * *
pALM SUNDAY
Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. Each Mass will begin with a commemoration of Our Lord’s entrance into Jerusalem, the blessing of Palms, and the traditional procession leaving from the porch of the Church.
* * * * * * * * * *
LITURGIES FOR THE FIFTH WEEK OF LENT
q Daily Mass - Monday to Friday at 10am.
q Stations of the Cross – Wednesday at 9.30am, with Mass at 10am.
* * * * * * * * * *
calendar
Solemnity of the Annunciation of our Lord is celebrated on Wednesday of this week (25th March). The feast recalls how the angel Gabriel, sent by God, invited Mary to become the mother of his Son, and Mary’s ‘Yes’.
* * * * * * * * * *
SCIAF SUNDAY
This will be the last weekend if you would like to contribute for the work of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, which will go to help communities in Ethiopia, where decades of progress is being undone by conflict, droughts, floods and cuts to international aid. A box intended for the SCIAF SUNDAY COLLECTION is situated at the back of the church. I hope you will contribute with your usual generosity to this collection.
Millions are being pushed back into poverty, essential services are collapsing, children are going hungry, and clean water – the most vital resource for life – is becoming harder to access. Yet there is hope. Through SCIAF and our local Church partners, your generosity can make a real difference. Water sources bring life to communities, help young people receive an education, and support families recovering from conflict and disasters. Beyond water, SCIAF support families to grow food, rebuild homes and access healthcare. Pope Leo XIV reminds us that the poor are at the heart of the Church’s mission; that faith and love for the poor cannot be separated.
* * * * * * * * * *
confirmations
The Sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred on the upper-Primary parishioners from the parish communities of St. Cadoc’s and St. Bride’s attending St. Charles’ Primary School by Bishop Joseph Toal this year on Thursday 26th March 2026 at 7pm in St. Cadoc’s. Please pray that our young people, strengthened by the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation, will be true witnesses of Christ to others. May they spread and defend the faith by word and deed.
* * * * * * * * * *
CONFESSIONS FOR EASTER
Please find time to make a good Confession in preparation for Easter. Fr. Rodrigues will be available in the sacristy to hear confessions from Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday between 9.30am – 9.50am & Saturdays 4.15pm – 4.45pm during the remaining time of Lenten Season.
* * * * * * * * * *
gift-aid
For those using offertory gift-aid envelopes, the new envelopes for the 2026 - 2027 tax year, which commences on the weekend of (4th/5th April 2026), are now available for collection at the stall. Gift-Aid members should put the date on the building fund envelope as the printer has not done this. May I ask those who haven’t done so to collect them from the stall please?
Thanks are extended to all those who have answered our appeal and have committed to gift-aid their offerings. We are still looking for new members. If you pay tax on income/pension the church can claim back the tax through the Gift-Aid Scheme. Forms are available at the back of the church if anyone wishes to join the scheme. If you have any queries about the Gift Aid system, please contact the parish Gift Aid organiser, Mr. Jim Cunningham or Fr. Cirilo. Alternatively, you can contribute to the Sunday Mass collections via a direct debit or standing order arrangement with your bank. Thank you once again for your enduring generosity and support.
* * * * * * * * * *
CHILDREN’S LITURGY
Today will be the last session of the Children’s Liturgy before the Easter break. Thank you to the parents, guardians & carers who bring their children to our Sunday Mass on a regular basis. Thank you also to our Children’s Liturgy helpers (Elizabeth Gray, Marie Claire Faller, Anne-Frances McLaughlin, Bernadette Sheppard & Lucy Murdoch) for their valued help and support during the year.
As we approach Holy Week, I would encourage parents, grandparents, guardians and carers over the school holidays, to take time to reflect and to participate in the Holy Week and Easter liturgies, as a meaningful way to connect with the message of hope that is central to our Catholic faith. May the promise of the approaching Easter season fill your hearts and bring you peace, hope and joy. With the holidays on the horizon I wish each member of our community a safe and peaceful Easter break.
* * * * * * * * * *
FIRST HOLY COMMUNION
First Holy Communion will be celebrated on Saturday 25th April 2026 for St. Charles’' Primary School at 9.30am Mass and St. Cadoc’s Primary School at 11.30am Mass in St. Cadoc’s Church. The prayers of parishioners are requested for these young people and for their families that their first meeting with Jesus in the Eucharist may lead on to a life in his loyal service. Parents, guardians & carers of candidates for First Communion are reminded of the importance of attending the Sunday Mass faithfully each week.
* * * * * * * * * *
LITURGIES OF HOLY WEEK
We are looking for volunteers who would help out as readers. A sign-up sheet has been left in the porch for the various liturgical needs of Holy Week. Please consider volunteering for our parish ministry opportunities during Holy Week. Thanks to Mrs Anne Moran for giving her time to prepare sign-up sheet. Those who have put down their names to read the Passion on Palm Sunday are asked to collect the book of readings from the sacristy next weekend.
* * * * * * * * * *
BULLETIN NOTICES
Please ensure that notices & Easter Remembrances for the Easter Sunday bulletin reach the sacristy or the church house by Wednesday of Holy Week.
* * * * * * * * * *
EASTER COLLECTION
Please support your parish’s ministry and help to maintain your Church and grounds by giving generously to our Easter collection. Special Easter Collection envelopes are situated at the back of the church. Gift-aid members should use the weekly offering envelope from the book of envelope. If they use special Easter collection envelope, they should have their number added on it.
* * * * * * * * * *
wellspring project
You will well remember that two years ago the Diocese of Motherwell launched a renewal project entitled ‘Wellspring” to encourage us respond with fervour to our baptismal calling by involving ourselves in the different ministries of our parish. The Parish needs your help to respond. Can you help us realise the vision of the wellspring project? I continue to encourage as many parishioners as possible to become involved in the day to day running of the parish. Current volunteering opportunities include Parish Pastoral Council, Finance Committee, laundering the altar linens, arranging flowers and decorating the church, as altar servers, sacristans, help in cleaning the church, readers at Mass, ministers to help distribute Holy Communion, SVDP, as pass keepers, offertory collection organisers, children’s liturgy helpers, safe-guarding co-ordinators, website co-ordinators, crib builders, volunteers to help maintain church grounds and open and close the church, etc. We are fortunate we are a parish community that lends itself to getting involved. However, opportunities exist for more parishioners to give of their time to participate in some aspect of parish life.
* * * * * * * * * *
financial assistance to help with rising energy bills (gas & electricity)
We are moving into the final month of winter until spring arrives. Keeping warm over the winter months is vital for our well-being and also to protect the fabric of church from both surface and interstitial condensation, no matter how full the pews. And that means high heating bills. I kindly appeal to your generosity to add an extra pound or two to your weekly contributions to help defray, in particular this winter, the high costs of energy bills. If I could remind you once again, please be mindful of closing the main door of the church to keep the heat in, and the cold out.
* * * * * * * * * *
DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE GIFT-AID SCHEME
AND HELP THE PARISH
It’s so simple. If you are a tax payer, normally come to Church, and are prepared to put your money offering in a confidential numbered envelope (or pay by Standing order) and sign a simple form, then the parish can (at no cost to yourself) reclaim the tax you have already paid on that offering. For every pound you give, your parish will get back an additional 25 pence from the Inland Revenue. Thanks are extended to all those who have answered our appeal and have committed to gift-aid their offerings. Anyone wishing to join the scheme, please contact Jim Cunningham, our parish Gift Aid organiser or Fr. Cirilo. Alternatively, you can contribute to the Sunday Mass collections via a direct debit or standing order arrangement with your bank. Thank you once again for your enduring generosity and support.
* * * * * * * * * *
NEW PARISHIONERS
We would ask those who are new to the parish, or who are moving house within the parish, to record their name, address and telephone number on the registration card provided in the porch of the church. I would greatly appreciate your involvement in the parish. If you have any spare time, talents, or skills to share, I rely on the kindness and support of parishioners like you to help us grow and serve our community better. It is also very helpful if those moving from the parish let us know, so that our statistics can be kept up to date. Please be assured that any data we have (including the parish survey I undertook in 2016) will be held in a secure way and will never be shared or given to anyone else.
* * * * * * * * * *
parking in the streets
surrounding the church
Unfortunately, parishioners of St. Cadocs’ who drive to church are in a situation where there is no private parking within the church grounds. The streets surrounding the church therefore invariably become congested with parked cars especially at weekend Mass times. Whilst acknowledging the limitations of parking in relation to the church, I would ask those drivers attending services to consider the needs of local residents to have unimpeded access to their properties when choosing where to responsibly park. You can also use our car park which is situated behind the church. It can accommodate 6 cars. Thank you for your kindness and cooperation.
* * * * * * * * * *
right to life uk: praying for the unborn
& women facing crisis pregnancies
Sunday 22nd March 2026 (Fifth Sunday of Lent) - “As we look forward to the Solemnity of the Annunciation on Wednesday, and celebrate Our Lord taking on human flesh and Our Lady saying ‘Yes’ to God, we pray for pregnant women who feel they are facing a difficult decision. We ask that they may be given hope, filled with the love of God, and guided away from a course of despair and onto one of love and acceptance of the gift of life.”
* * * * * * * * * *
Holy mary, mother of god,
st. Joseph,
st. Michael and holy angels,
ST. CADOC,
Pray for us