Northern Catholic Calendar 2012
The 2012 Edition of the Northern Catholic Calendar is now available in the Pauline Books and Media Centre. The ring bound edition is £3.00 and the ordinary paperback edition is £2.50.

New Sunday Missals
The new CTS Sunday Missal which contains the recently revised English translation of the Mass and also the Sunday Readings for the three year cycle is available in the Pauline Books and Media Centre. Copies are £18.00 and there is also a white deluxe version at £25.00.

Sursum Corda Magazine
The latest issue (December – February) of Sursum Corda, the Cathedral magazine, is available at the back of church - please take a copy (free or £1 donation).

De Paul UK Christingle Service
A Christingle Service will take place in the Cathedral this Thursday 2 February at 1.30pm and will include involvement and contributions from young people in schools across the diocese. All are welcome.

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
A Mass to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day of Prayer for the Sick will take place in St. Mary's Cathedral at 11.00am on Saturday 11 February. Bishop Seamus Cunningham will be the principal celebrant and invites those who are sick, doctors, nurses, health and care workers, past Lourdes pilgrims and anyone who is interested to join him. During the Mass, there will be the opportunity to celebrate the Sacrament of the Sick. All are Welcome. N.B There will be no 10.00am Mass on Saturday 11 February.

Cathedral Walking Group
The next walk, a distance of 11 miles, will take place on Sunday 12 February. The journey is comprised of two shorter walks, commencing at Crimdon Dene to Castle Eden Dene (5.5 miles) and then the return journey which will follow the coastal path (5.5 miles). Please meet at Crimdon Dene Car Park at 10.00am for a 10.15am start.

Young Adults Prayer Group
The next meeting of The Young Adults’ Prayer Group (18 – 30) will take place on Monday 6 February at 7.00pm in the Cathedral. The Group meets for an hour of praise and worship before the Blessed Sacrament, followed by a visit to the pub. All are welcome.

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes
Booking Forms for those people wishing to go to Lourdes (27 July - 3 August 2012) who would need assistance and / or nursing care, are now available from Fr Peter at St Joseph's, North Shields. Lourdes is a tiring place even for carers; that is why the diocesan pilgrimage offers beds in the Accueil Marie St Frai, together with a team of doctors, nurses, carers and a team of about 150 young people to look after everyone. Two options of travel are available—by Air from Newcastle, or by Jumbulance. The cost is £743 + Insurance. Contact Fr Stott and forms will be sent out to you; or for further information; ring him on 0191 2575801.

Appeal for Nurses
The Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes once again needs nurses to assist with the elderly, sick and disabled pilgrims and those needing nursing care. Those who register and commit to travel before 31 January 2012, will receive a £100 discount on the cost of their booking with the pilgrimage. If you are a nurse and would like to participate or if you have any other queries, contact Fr Peter Stott: Telephone 0191 257 5801 or Email: handnlourdespilgrimage@btconnect.com.

Catholic Parliamentary and Public Policy Internships
For the last nine years, the Bishops Conference of England & Wales has organised Parliamentary and Public Policy Internships for recently graduated Catholics. This year they are looking to offer eight internships: Five interns will be placed with Christian MPs at Westminster; two in Public Policy with CAFOD and CARITAS Social Action Network; and one in a media internship at Archbishop's House, Westminster. All internships will run from September 2012 - July 2013 and include accommodation and subsistence allowances. Full details and application form are available from http://www.catholicnews.org.uk/interns.

Scripture Study Day
The Centre for Catholic Studies, in conjunction with the Newman Association, the Education Service of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, and the Catholic Biblical Association of Great Britain, is hosting a study day on 'The Uses of Scripture in Catholic Prayer, Practice and Theology' at Durham University. Speakers will include Prof. Lewis Ayres, Dr Richard Briggs, Dr Nicholas King, SJ, The Most Rev. Bernard Longley, Sr Dr Patricia McDonald, SHCJ, Fr Sean Maher and Sr Prof. Mary Mills. The event will be held on Saturday, 10th March 2012, from 9.30am - 5.00pm in the Department of Theology and Religion, Palace Green. There is a £50 flat fee for the day and lunch (£30 for students or those on lower income). Please make cheques payable to 'Durham University - Centre for Catholic Studies' and post them before 29th February 2012 to: Dr. Marcus Pound, Abbey House Palace Green, Durham DH1 3RS. For further information please see: www.centreforcatholicstudies.co.uk.

New Organ and Gallery 2011 - 2012
Thanks to the generosity of the late Martin Ballinger and the Ballinger Trust, work on the new three manual pipe organ and choir gallery to be constructed at the west end of the Cathedral is due to start on site next year. The gallery construction should begin some time after Easter and the installation of the organ from June with the whole project completed by October 2012. The proposed plans and designs can be found here. The architect for this exciting and much anticipated project is Kevin Doonanand the organ builder is Kenneth Tickell.

New Translation of the Missal
From Sunday 4 September, the Order of Mass in the new English translation will be used at Sunday and Weekday Masses throughout England & Wales. Copies of the Order of Mass will be made available at the back of church before each Mass – please do not take the Mass cards/sheets away with you afterwards! If you wish to buy a copy of the new translation or other resources associated with the new Missal, Pauline Books and Media will be happy to help. Mass cards are 50p each and the new edition of the Simple Prayer Book £1.95 each. The Weekday Missal is priced at £30.00 The Sunday Missal at £16.99, both available in blue or red covers. Information about the new Missal is also available on the diocesan website and on the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales Liturgy Office.

Friday Penance in England & Wales
The Bishops of England and Wales have looked again at the role of devotions and the practice of penance, both of which can help to weave the Catholic faith into the fabric of everyday life. Our regular worship at Holy Mass on Sunday, the day of the Lord's resurrection, is the most powerful outward sign and witness of our faith in Jesus Christ to our family, friends and neighbours. Sunday must always remain at the heart of our lives as Catholics. The Bishops also wish to remind us that every Friday is set aside as a special day of penitence, as it is the day of the suffering and death of the Lord. They believe it is important that all the faithful again be united in a common, identifiable act of Friday penance because they recognise that the virtue of penitence is best acquired as part of a common resolve and common witness.

The law of the Church requires Catholics on Fridays to abstain from meat, or some other form of food, or to observe some other form of penance. The Bishops have decided to re-establish the practice that this penance should be fulfilled simply by abstaining from meat and by uniting this to prayer. Those who cannot or choose not to eat meat as part of their normal diet should abstain from some other food of which they regularly partake. This decision comes in to effect from Friday 16 September. N.B. Failure to abstain from meat on a particular Friday does not constitute a sin.

The Worswick Centre
St Cuthbert's Care in association with St Andrew's Church, Worswick Street is developing a brand new project to help support people who are vulnerable because they are homeless, have no income or are living with substance misuse or addiction. The Worswick Centre is open every Friday between 10.00am and 2.00pm and will provide a place that:

• is safe and secure
• is warm and friendly
• offers hot food, tea and coffee
• has warm clothing available from the 5p Bus

For more information on The Worswick Centre, please contact Kathleen Urwin, email: kathleen.urwin@stcuthbertscare.org.uk.

Volunteers Needed
The Worswick Centre, based in St Andrew's Church, Worswick Street, are looking for some extra volunteers to help out at the Café style drop–in for people in desperate need of help and support. Since opening just over a year ago, the project has welcomed 2,300 who are homeless, living in poverty or who are struggling with substance use and addiction. Volunteers have prepared food and served nearly 7000 meals and more than twice as many hot drinks, as well as offering emotional and spiritual support. The 'Worswick Welcome' held weekly on Friday between 10.00am and 1.30pm and offers a variety of fulfilling opportunities for volunteers. If you are able to help or would like more information, please visit the project any Friday between 10.00am and 12.00 Noon or contact Kathleen Urwin, St Cuthbert's Care Tel: 0191 228 0111.

Bede House - Catholic Chaplaincy
Bede House - Catholic Chaplaincy serves Newcastle and Northumbria Universities. The Chaplains, Fr Dominic White OP and Mia Fox, are based at 14 Windsor Terrace, Jesmond. Details of Service Times and other activities organised by the Chaplaincy during Term are available at www.catholicchaplaincy.org.

Cathedral Choir
The Cathedral Choir is looking for new members: men and women who can sing in tune and are willing to turn up regularly for the weekly practice will be most welcome. You don't have to be able to read music to join. If you are at all interested, or just want to find out more, please speak to the choirmaster, Howard Baker, after the 10.00am or 11.30am Masses.

Going into Hospital?
Due to a new admissions system at the RVI, Newcastle General, the Freeman and Walkergate Hospitals Fr Corbett (Hospital Chaplain) does not receive any information on Catholic patients. Patients or relatives must therefore take responsibility to inform the Chaplain - Tel. 0191 232 1892 or email: me.corbett1@tiscali.co.uk. A phone call before 8.15am would be helpful, providing Fr Corbett with the name of the patient, the ward and the hospital.