SUNDAY 23 JANUARY 2022
THIRD SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME (YEAR C)
GOSPEL: ST LUKE 1:1-4; 4:14-21 – JESUS THE TEACHER
Jesus’ religious beliefs were based on the Word of God in the Old Testament; it was the foundation of the message He would teach and preach to His listeners, when His time came. We hear this in today’s Gospel, when He quotes the prophet Isaiah. His beliefs grew on what He heard and saw on His visits to the synagogue with His family, and on His experiences of prayer, trust and example in family life at home.
Today, we celebrate Sunday of the Word of God. This week too, we celebrate Catholic Schools Week (23 Jan-30 Jan), when the teaching and learning in our schools, centred on the foundation of our Catholic faith values, is celebrated. We pray today for all who teach – in the home and in school – that the message of the Gospel may always be at the centre of their words, actions and example.
MASS SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK:The Rosary will commence 20 minutes before Mass each weekday.
Monday, Wednesday (for our three school communities), Thursday & Friday: 10.00am. Tuesday: 9.30am.
Friday, 7.00pm: Month’s Mind Mass – Patrick Dooher.
The Rosary will commence 20 minutes before Mass each weekday.
Sunday Masses: Vigil, 6.30pm, Morning, 9.00am and 11.00am
For those who are unable to come out to church, all our Masses continue to be available on our parish webcam:
and our 11.00am Mass is also broadcast live each Sunday on Finn Valley Radio, FM95.8.
†
Margaret (Peggy) Lafferty (nee Ward), late of Shannon, Ballindrait
As a parish faith community, we offer our sympathy and our prayerful support to Gerard, Carmel, Maureen,
Seamus and Sean, to the grandchildren, great-grandchildren and wider family circle and friends of Peggy, whose Funeral Mass took place in St Patrick’s on Friday. May she rest in peace.
MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK:
Friday 28 January at 7.00pm: Months Mind Mass for Patrick Dooher, The Fields
Sunday 30 January, 9.00am: First Anniversary Mass for Robbie White, Drumbuoy.
ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for the following, whose anniversaries occur at this time:
Denis McGranaghan, Tober;
Joe Colhoun, Coneyburrow; Theresa Lynch, Ballinabreen; Frances Friel, Braide Maureen Maguire, Tober; Desmond Maguire, Scotland; John Doherty, Block Five; Tommy Doherty, Block Five; Tim Boyle, Rossgier.
May they rest in peace.
COLLECTION:
THANK YOU as always for your generosity to the collection which, last week, amounted to €1,679.00
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.
THE NET:
January edition is available on https://www.derrydiocese.org/publications/the-net/the-net-january-2022.pdf
FOLK CHOIR:
I am delighted to announce that our new Folk Choir will provide music and singing at our Vigil Masses as from Sat 5 February. We very much look forward to that. Music ministry is integral to and greatly enhances our liturgies and I am most grateful to all who are giving so willingly and generously of their time and talents to this ministry, in our two choirs. New members are always welcome and, if you would like to join one of the choirs, please let me know and I will be more than happy to point you in the right direction and let you know when the practices take place.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2022 – 23 -30 JANUARY:
Theme – Catholic Schools: Living Life to the Full’.
For school communities the past two years have been incredibly challenging and, while there is still a lot of uncertainty, the theme for Catholic Schools Week this year is one of hope. We commend our three school communities here in the parish – the staff, children and parents – for their resilience, patience, determination and, simply, for doing their very best for the children of our schools in very difficult circumstances.
In return, we offer them our prayerful support. On Wednesday, 26 January, I will offer our 10.00am Mass for the intentions of everyone who is part of our school communities – the children, teachers, ancillary staff, and the parents, grandparents and family members who support the children in so many ways, especially during these past two years. Our three schools will be represented at this Mass and I invite parents, grandparents and family members to come along, if at all possible. All parishioners are welcome.
The Wednesday of Catholic Schools Week is traditionally Grandparents Day and, during our Mass a special prayer will be offered for all grandparents. The Mass will, of course, be livestreamed on our webcam.
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD:
In 2019, Pope Francis declared the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time each year as Sunday of the Word of God, to encourage amongst us a better understanding, knowledge and love of the message of the Bible.
While many Catholic families own a Bible, traditionally, we are not known to be avid Scripture readers or, in general, to spend much time praying with Scripture. It may be that the sometimes-cryptic language and translations used in the Bible seem irrelevant to our lives today; we may look on the Bible as a ‘Sunday morning’ book from which the priest reads passages at Mass, not thought about again till the next time we are back at Mass. In trying to change the thinking on the Bible and its relevance to our lives, Pope Francis reminds us that, “The Bible is not just a beautiful book to keep on a shelf. It is the Word of life to be sown, a gift that the Risen Jesus asks us to accept in order to have life in His name”. The Pope invites us never to take God’s Word for granted but, instead, to “let ourselves be nourished by it, in order to acknowledge and live fully our relationship with Him and with our brothers and sisters.”
So, on this Sunday of the Word of God, we are invited to get to know Jesus through deepening our understanding and knowledge of the Bible. We familiarise ourselves today with some general information on it:
What is the Bible?
The Bible was written over many centuries by many different human authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the written expression of the Word of God. While it appears as one book, it actually contains seventy-three books, but it is a unified whole, in that all its books together reveal God’s plan of salvation. The books are grouped under two headings – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word ‘testament’ can be translated as covenant.
What does the Old Testament of the Bible contain?
The Old Testament contains 46 of the 73 books of the Bible. These are made up of: The Books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy (these first five books are called the Torah, or Pentateuch); Historical books (eg, Judges, Kings); Wisdom books (eg, Psalms, Ecclesiastes); Prophets (eg, Isaiah, Jeremiah). The Old Testament tells how God made a series of ‘covenants’ (binding oaths) with His people Israel, in which He promised blessing in return for loving obedience. At our Sunday Mass the First Reading is usually taken from the Old Testament. There is usually a strong link between the First Reading and the Gospel.
What does the New Testament of the Bible contain?
The New Testament comprises 27 of the 73 books of the Bible. These are made up of: the four Gospels (Sts Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the Acts of the Apostles (written by St Luke); St Paul’s letters (epistles) to the early Christian churches (eg, to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians); ‘Pastoral Letters’ (eg, Timothy; Hebrews); ‘Catholic letters’ (eg, James, Peter, John); the Book of Revelation. The New Testament tells how God fulfilled His promise of blessing through a new and everlasting covenant in His Son, Jesus Christ. The Second Reading at our Sunday Mass is taken from the New Testament.
What do the Scripture references at the top of Scripture Readings mean?
Each book of the Bible is divided into chapters, and each chapter is made up of a series of numbered verses: eg, Genesis 1:1 means The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, Verse 1; Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21 (today’s Gospel) means St Luke’s Gospel, Chapter 1, verses 1 to 4 and Chapter 4, verses 14 to 21.
“Not to know the Scriptures is not to know Christ”. St Jerome.
UPCOMING DATES IN THE CHURCH CALENDAR:
Tuesday 1 February is the Feast of St Brigid, Patroness of Ireland. For those who make St Brigid’s crosses, you should bring them along to the 9.30am Mass on that morning, to be blessed.
Wednesday, 2 February is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple – Candlemas Day: At our 10.00am Mass on that day, candles will be blessed.
World Day of Prayer for Consecrate Life is also celebrated on 2 February. This Day of Prayer for women and men in Consecrated Life was instituted by Pope St John Paul II in 1997.
Thursday 3 February is the Feast of St Blaise, Patron Saint of throat ailments. While blessing of throats can not take place in the usual manner, there will be a general blessing ceremony at our 10.00am Mass on that day.
Friday 11 February is the Feast of our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of Prayer for the Sick. As always, the Friday morning Mass will be offered for the sick of the parish and there will be special prayers during that Mass for the sick and those who care for them.
Please continue to pray our 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.
SACRAMENTAL DATES – 2022:
The proposed Confirmation and First Holy Communion dates for the coming year are:
Sacrament of Confirmation – Saturday 26 March 2022
Sacrament of First Holy Communion – Saturday 21 May 2022
God willing, we will be able to adhere to the proposed dates in 2022. I will be working closely with our three schools in the coming weeks and months as the children prepare for these important steps in their faith. Please keep the children, their teachers and their families in your prayer.
You can access the Readings on our parish website:
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.
CHURCH 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: 0044 7596 500 793