SUNDAY 20 MARCH 2022
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
GOSPEL OF ST LUKE 13:1-9 THE LORD OF COMPASSION AND LOVE
One of the recurring themes during the Lenten season is God’s compassion and mercy. Our lifestyles and choices in life do not always mirror the teachings and values of the Gospel and sometimes, especially when we know that we have drifted off on our own path, we tend to doubt the depth of God’s love for us. In the parable of the fig tree that we hear today, we are told that Jesus suggested giving it another opportunity to grow – fertilising it to see the change that might make to it. Similarly, Jesus asks us to nourish our faith and give it opportunities to grow: we can do this through prayer, through the Eucharist, through Scripture, and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we seek to grow in relationship with God, we will find His love and mercy always awaits us.
MASS SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK:
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday: Mass at 10.00am
Tuesday: Mass at 9.30am
Friday: Masses at 10.00am and 7.00pm (Month’s Mind Mass for Seamus Devenney)
The Rosary starts 20 minutes before weekday Masses. Please come along for the Rosary, if you can.
Sunday Masses: Vigil, 6.30pm, Morning, 9.00am and 11.00am
Saturday: Sacrament of Confirmation, 10.30am and 1.00pm
(No Confessions next Saturday)
7.00am Mass is celebrated in Melmount and in Strabane, each morning of Lent (Monday – Friday).
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.
MASS INTENTIONS THIS WEEK:
Friday 25 March, 7.00pm: Month’s Mind for Seamus Devenney, Porthall
Saturday 26 March, 6.30pm: Month’s Mind for Billy Brown, Coolatee.
ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for the following, whose anniversaries occur at this time:
Hugo Hannigan, Letterkenny Road; Ethna Duffy, Liskey; Pat Gibbons, Tironeill
Neily Doherty, Gortgrannagh; John Friel, Coolatee; Hugh and Margaret Crossan, Porthall
Kathleen Keeney, Legandara; Josephine Reily, Co Cavan; Phonsie Quinn, Lifford; John McNelis, Cavan Hill.
May they rest in peace.
COLLECTION:
THANK YOU as always for your generosity to the collection which, last week, amounted to €1,948.
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.
CONFESSIONS:
I was delighted that so many people availed of the opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation last Sunday evening in our church. Thank you so much for coming along. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is an important part of our Lenten renewal, in preparation for Holy Week and Easter, so it was lovely to see so many taking up the opportunity. This Sunday (today), the Sacrament of Reconciliation is available in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Strabane, at 5.00pm. Again, the neighbouring priests will be available to hear individual Confessions. Further opportunities for Confessions will also be available in the remaining Sundays of Lent – further details next week.
CANDLE SHRINES:
Please note that, due to a significant increase in the cost of the various types of candles that we purchase for use in the church, including our shrine (votive) candles, the cost to light a candle at our candle shrines is now increased from 30 cents to 50 cents. I regret this increase in cost but trust that you will understand the reason behind it. The lighting of candles for special prayer intentions remains a very important part of our prayer tradition and it is always very encouraging to see lighted candles in our church. I encourage you to keep up this prayerful practice and, in particular, to hand it on to our young people and children.
PARISH WEBCAM:
Please note that, while all our Masses are live-streamed, they are no longer routinely recorded. If a family wishes a particular Mass to be recorded, eg a Funeral Mass, Wedding Mass, Month’s Mind or Anniversary Mass, please let me know at least 24 hours in advance, if possible, so that I can make suitable arrangements with our provider, MCN. I will do my best to facilitate you. Thank you.
PLEASE KEEP IN YOUR PRAYER the children of our parish who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in just under two weeks’ time (Saturday 26 March). As they make the final preparations for this very important step in their faith journey, we ask God’s blessing on them and their families.
LOUGH DERG PILGRIMAGE SEASON:
Lough Derg is delighted to announce that it is opening up its Pilgrimages and Day Retreats again. Poster with dates of Retreats and Pilgrimages is located at the back of the church.
MASTERS IN CATHOLIC SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: The Derry Diocesan Catechetical Centre, working in Partnership with Saint Mary’s University, Twickenham, offers this post-graduate degree, dedicated to the professional development and spiritual formation of Catholic school leaders. It is a great opportunity for those currently in leadership roles and those who aspire to, or have an interest in, leadership roles within the Catholic School system. Applications for the Autumn intake close 30th September 2022. If you require any further information, please contact the Derry Diocesan Catechetical Centre on 028 71264 087 or email tferry@derrydiocese.org.
For a Synodal Church: Communion – Participation – Mission: – In 2021, Pope Francis took the unusual step of asking that the entire Catholic Church participate in the next Synod of Bishops, calling the entire People of God to journey together in a synodal process. The words synod or synodality are not part of our everyday vocabulary, but synod is a Greek word (synodos), meaning meeting or coming together; the synodal process for which the Pope has called is one of journeying together, listening to each other, talking to each other, praying together, discerning together and making decisions together for the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel, ie the mission to which we are all called as baptised Catholics. In recent weeks, representatives of our parish have attended a number of meetings to prepare them to lead the initial part of the process – the listening process – in our parish. Everyone in the parish is invited to take part in the listening process. You will be hearing much more about this in the next couple of weeks and on how you can participate. We look forward to your participation and thank you to those who have given so willingly of their time and energy in recent weeks in the learning and preparation process.
THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE LORD:
Friday 25 March is the Solemnity of The Annunciation. With trust in God’s will for her, Mary said ‘Yes’ to God: ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord; let what You have said be done to me’. In our diocese, for this coming year, all parishes are asked to include prayers at our Masses for more vocations to priesthood and Religious life. On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, we are asked to pray that more young men will be open to saying ‘Yes’ to God’s call to priesthood and that young men and women will be open to considering God’s call to Religious or Consecrated life.
PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS:
Lord Jesus Christ, gentle Shepherd,
You know Your sheep, and You know how to reach their hearts.
Give to the people of our parish and our diocese hearts that are open to the call of the Holy Spirit.
Speak especially to the hearts of young men,
so that they may hear and respond generously to Your call
to follow You and serve Your people as priests.
Give all of us the courage to answer: ‘Here I am, Lord, I come to do Your will’,
so that we will be true witnesses to our vocation in life, whatever that might be.
St John Vianney, pray for us. St Patrick, pray for us.
UPCOMING DATES OF NOTE:
Saturday 26 March: Sacrament of Confirmation in our parish
Saturday 21 May: First Holy Communion in our parish
Monday 13 June, at 7.00pm: Blessing of Graves in our parish
Sunday 19 June, Feast of Corpus Christi:
Corpus Christi Procession for the First Holy Communion Children of our parish.
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