Your Parish Newsletter for Sunday 1st August 2021:
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR B)
GOSPEL: ST JOHN 6:24-35 ‘I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE’
God of everlasting life,
It is through Your Word in the Scriptures that You feed our hearts and minds.
It is through the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, that You satisfy our hunger.
It is through Your gift of belief that You quench our thirst.
Nourished with Word and the sacraments,
may the example of our words, our actions and our lives, reveal You to others.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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.
†
Humphrey Foley, late of Wishaw (Scotland) and formerly of Tober
As a parish faith community, we offer our sympathy and our prayerful support to Carol, James, Catherine and Bernadette, to the grandchildren, to Maurice and Alan and the wider family circle and friends of Humphrey, whose Funeral Mass took place in St Patrick’s on Friday. May he rest in peace.
†
Patrick (Paddy) Chaney, late of Gortin North, Ballindrait
As a parish faith community, we offer our sympathy and our prayerful support to Helena, to Michael, Patrick, John, Francis and David, to the grandchildren, to Doris and the wider family circle and friends of Paddy, whose Funeral Mass took place in St Patrick’s on Friday. May he rest in peace.
MASS INTENTION THIS WEEK:
Thursday 5 August, 10.00am: Joseph Gamble, Croaghan Heights – Month’s Mind Mass
Saturday 7 August: 6.30pm: Rita Tourish, Albert Terrace
Sunday 8 August, 9.00am: Gerry Crossan, Porthall
Sunday 8 August, 11.00am: Patsy Friel, Braide.
ANNIVERSARIES:
We remember in prayer the souls of those whose anniversaries occur at this time….
Joseph Colhoun, Beechwood; Edward O’Brien, Lifford; Bernard McDermott, Drumbuoy
Ella Doherty, Lifford Common; Willie Curran, Ballindrait; Susan Lafferty, Ballindrait
Emmet McGhee, Gortin North.
May they rest in peace.
COLLECTION:
THANK YOU for your generosity to the collection last week, which amounted to €1,704. 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.
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.
GRAVEYARD EXTENSION:
The works for the extension to the graveyard will begin this week. There will be some disruption in the grounds for the next few weeks but it is hoped to keep this to a minimum. I ask and thank you for your patience and understanding as this vital project is undertaken. A plan of the proposed works is available for viewing on the noticeboard at the entrance to the church.
SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION – SACRAMENTAL PREPARATION DAY:
Parents, please note, a special Preparation Afternoon for the Confirmation children will take place on Sunday 15 August, starting at 2.30pm and finishing at 4.30pm, in the parish community centre in Lifford (beside Lifford National School).
All children who are presenting for Confirmation are asked to attend this event. It will also be the time when they will be registered for the sacrament.
The children are asked to bring their own pen or pencil, as there will be some writing exercises to be undertaken. Due to Covid restrictions, the children are also asked to bring their own refreshments.
Please note: it will be essential that the children will already have chosen a name of a Saint as their Confirmation name, as this will form part of the afternoon exercises.
CONFIRMATION CEREMONIES: I propose that the two Confirmation ceremonies will take place on Saturday 4 September, as follows:
10.30am: Murlog NS
1.30pm: Cloughfin NS and Lifford NS
For the Confirmation ceremonies, Covid-19 protocols will mean that each family will be allocated one full pew. The maximum number will be 8, which includes the child for Confirmation and also the sponsor (if the sponsor is not one of the parents).
As an ongoing and integral part of the children’s preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation, I encourage the parents of the children to continue to bring them along each week to one of our three Sunday Masses or to weekday Mass. Many thanks. Fr Colm.
OUR PARISH – GROWING IN FAITH TOGETHER:
Last week I talked of the idea of setting up some Working Groups that we might consider to be relevant to the different aspects of the life of our parish and meeting our needs as we go forward.
In the past, parishes tended to set up ‘committees’ and then try to work out the role and responsibilities of these committees. Perhaps a more feasible option for us at this time might be to reverse the process, ie, to first establish, through dialogue, listening, prayer and discernment, the priorities and needs of our parish going forward, take on board the need for parishioners of different ages and areas of the parish to become actively involved in the parish and, from that process, form relevant working committees that will steer the parish and realise its vision, using the gifts, talents and experience of parishioners. A couple of suggested areas of parish life on which we could possibly set up working groups are:
Liturgical – eg, a Liturgy Working Group, which might include parishioners that would be interested in being part of an Altar Society (eg, looking after church flowers and decor), Ministers of the Word, Eucharistic Ministers and those involved in / interested in Music Ministry who, together, would plan ahead and appropriately prepare for the different liturgical seasons.
Administrative – this could possibly be a Working Group that might include members interested in the maintenance, care of and matters pertaining to our graveyards, grounds and church buildings (church, parochial house, hall, closed school).
Please pray for one another and for our parish. Please pray the Parish 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, 9 August, is the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B), with the readings continuing on the theme of ‘Jesus, the Living Bread which has come down from heaven’. 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/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