Your Parish Newsletter for Sunday 4th July 2021:
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)
GOSPEL: ST MARK 6:1-6
The Gospel story of Jesus coming back to preach in His own home town of Nazareth is a familiar one. The Nazarenes have difficulty taking Jesus’ teaching and preaching seriously, remembering all too well His humble origins – a local carpenter, Mary and Joseph’s son. Despite being astonished by what He said and did, we are told that, because of their ‘blindness’, Jesus was not able to do any of His great works there.
This is not just some historical story that enables us to dwell on the Nazarenes rejecting Jesus in His hometown. This story is about the here and now – about how we too let things get in the way of God working within us, about how we too tend to judge others on what we know of them and fail to see God’s goodness in them. Each of us, through baptism, is called to be a prophet. God calls us to be fearless in spreading the message of the Gospel, through what we do and say, and to see the face of Christ in others – those in our families, our neighbourhoods, our places of work, among our friends and in society – in those we encounter every day. ‘Lord, open our eyes and ears to You’.
Mass Schedule for the Parish this Week:
For those who are unable to come out to church, all our Masses will continue to be available on our parish webcam, and our 11.00am Mass is also broadcast live each Sunday on Finn Valley Radio: 95.8FM
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: Mass at 10.00am
Tuesday: Mass at 9.30am
Saturday, Vigil Mass: 6.30pm Sunday: Masses at 9.00am and 11.00am
The Rosary will be recited Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 9.40am, before Mass.
The Rosary will be recited on Tuesday at 9.10am, before Mass.
Everyone attending church is asked to wear a face covering, use the hand sanitiser that is available and maintain social distancing. Please enter the church by one of the back doors and leave by the side door that is closest to you. It is important that everyone attending feels safe and welcome in our church. The church continues to be ‘fogged’ and cleaned each day, after use. Thank you very much for your co-operation.
MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK:
Wednesday 7 July, 10.00am: George Doherty, Sydney (formerly The Fields)
Saturday 10 July, 6.30pm: Liam Colhoun, Chestnut Grove
Sunday 11 July, 9.00am: Olive Mc Connell Tober; 11.00am: James McBrearty, The Common.
ANNIVERSARIES:
We remember in prayer the souls of those whose anniversaries occur at this time….
Rosemary Mc Carthy, Ballyduff Park; Maisie Rodgers, Carrigans; Karen Doherty, Cloughfin;
Peter McBrearty, The Common; Sean O Brien, Townparks; Paddy O’Connor, The Roughan;
Siobhan O’Connor, The Roughan; Robert Mc Clay, Coneyburrow; Dr Martin Coyne Snr, St Judes.
May they rest in peace.
COLLECTION:
THANK YOU for your generosity to the collection last week, which amounted to €2,210. Standing Orders and online payments for the month of June amounted to €488. Envelopes / weekly contributions can be left in the baskets inside the doors any morning of the week at Mass time. For those unable to attend Mass you can drop your envelope into the Parochial House letter box at any time. Your ongoing generosity to the weekly collection is very much appreciated.
Download our Standing Order Form here.
You can also request envelopes by simply clicking on this link: ‘Get in Touch‘ and then select Parish Envelopes from the drop-down menu.
SACRAMENTAL DATES:
Confirmations will take place the weekend of 4 and 5 September.
First Holy Communion will take place on Saturday 11 September.
(Classes will be informed of the times in due course).
PARISH OFFICE – TEMPORARY CHANGE FOR SUMMER MONTHS:
Please note that, for the months of July and August, the parish office will be closed on Mondays but will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays as normal.
FOR ATTENTION OF THE PARENTS OF THE SACRAMENTAL CHILDREN:
Dear Parents of the Sacramental Children,
As part of the children’s preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation, I encourage you to bring the children along each week to one of our three Sunday Masses. The children are preparing for very important milestones in their faith journey, and all of us who teach and encourage them in the faith have a responsibility to ensure that the children are very familiar with the church and the celebration of Mass, and are adequately prepared to receive the sacraments. I very much look forward to seeing and welcoming the children and their families at one of our Sunday Masses each week over the summer. Many thanks. Fr Colm.
IRISH CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER is definitely available in the church this weekend for sale! The Irish Catholic offers apologies for the failure of their courier service in recent weeks, which they have now addressed.
ANNUAL CROAGH PATRICK PILGRIMAGE: – REEK SUNDAY:
This year, an extended version of Reek Sunday will be available for the month of July, from Wednesday to Saturday each week. Mass on the summit (weather permitting) Wednesday-Friday at 12.00noon and on Saturdays at 10.00am.
‘COME AND SEE’:
The Derry Diocesan Day for those interested in exploring the life and spirituality of a diocesan priest will take place in St Mary’s Church, Creggan, Derry City, on Saturday 10 July, from 10.00am-4.00pm, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Celebration of the Eucharist. ‘Come and See’ is open to those who are discerning a vocation to the diocesan priesthood and will include talks and discussions led by local priests and students studying for priesthood in the diocese. They will share from their own experiences and vocational journey. To reserve a place or find out more details, please contact: Fr Chris Ferguson by Tuesday 6 July, on 0797 3421 352 or chris_j_ferguson@hotmail.com Full details are available on derryvocations.org
OUR PARISH – GROWING IN FAITH TOGETHER:
There’s a famous poem by Brendan Kennelly entitled ‘Begin’. It is wonderful piece of writing in honour of the human spirit that never gives up. Few of us escape the challenge of making a fresh start at some stage in our lives, of beginning again – especially when something of significance has happened in our lives or in our family.
This is also true of the Church and of our parishes. The Covid-19 pandemic is a good example. It stopped all of us in our tracks, stopped all our routines. While many people took great comfort in their faith, there was great sadness at the extended closure of churches for public worship and the cessation of normal routines of the faith-life in parish communities.
In preparation for returning to some form of normality, I have in recent months availed of support and training that might assist me in leading us as a parish to ‘begin again’.
In the coming weeks, this section of the bulletin will include a short reflection aimed at helping us to start thinking about how we might all engage together in building and developing our parish – in beginning again.
I encourage us to pray for one another and our parish in these coming weeks. I invite you to make this Parish Prayer part of your daily prayer:
PARISH PRAYER
God our Father,
pour forth Your Holy Spirit on our parish.
Guide us in Your ways, grant us Your vision. Be our wisdom.
Open our hearts and minds to Your Holy Word,
strengthen us with the Holy Eucharist,
our food for the journey.
Help us to be people of prayer,
trusting in Your constant presence
in the challenges that we face.
With Your help,
may our parish always be a place where
Your love is known, Your light shines
and our parish families grow together in faith and mission.
We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
St Patrick, pray for us.
Next Sunday, 11 July, is the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), with our Scripture readings on the theme of ‘mission’. If you would like to have a look through the Readings in advance, you can access them on our parish website: https://clonleighparish.com/sundays-mass-readings/ I hope that having the Readings available on our parish website is also helpful to our Scripture readers, for the purpose of checking them out in advance. The Daily Mass Readings are also on our website.
https://clonleighparish.com/sundays-mass-readings/
The Daily Mass Readings can also be accessed on our parish website: https://clonleighparish.com/todays-mass-readings/ . Alternatively, just google Clonleigh Parish readings.
ONLINE CONTRIBUTIONS:
You can donate to the Church via The Parish Envelopes or by Standing Order. Download this easy to fill form: Standing Order Form – & send to or email the Parish Office: clonleighparish@derrydiocese.org
Parish Contact Details:
Parish Priest: Fr Colm O’Doherty Parochial House: 074-9142022
Mobile: 0833665530
Parish Office – Secretary: Lorna Porter @ 074-9142001
Email: clonleighparish@derrydiocese.org
Parish website: www.clonleighparish.com
Follow us on Twitter: @clonleighparish
Find us on Facebook:. Clonleigh Parish
Join our free Clonleigh Parish Text Service on WhatsApp. We will text you when we update our website with the Parish Newsletter etc. And you can link in to read the latest updates.
SAFEGUARDING:
The Derry Diocesan Liaison Person, to whom any safeguarding concerns or allegations should be
communicated is: Ms Marie Gormley, Email: marie.gormley@derrydiocese.org Tel: 07596 500 793