Link to last weeks newsletter: https://clonleighparish.com/2022/03/19/parish-newsletter-for-sunday-20th-march-2022/
SUNDAY 27 MARCH 2022
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
Gospel: St Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
“Your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found”
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is Laetare Sunday. A Latin word, laetare means “rejoice.” We reach the point in our Lenten journey when hope and consolation are offered in abundance as we celebrate God’s merciful love for the lost, conveyed to us today in the parable of the Prodigal Son. In this parable, the father’s reaction to the homecoming of his ‘lost’ son mirrors the person of Jesus, reflecting the love, the welcome, mercy and hope that God provides to all of us when we return to Him to renew our relationship. As revealed in the parable, God does not distinguish between us when we turn or return to Him.
We pray today for all who suffer or feel isolated as a result of broken relationships in their families. We pray that, through the God of all hope and consolation, relationships can be renewed and restored, and families will rejoice.
MASS SCHEDULE FOR THIS WEEK:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: Mass at 10.00am. Tuesday: Mass at 9.30am
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
7.00am Mass is celebrated in Melmount and in Strabane, each morning of Lent (Monday – Friday).
Confessions, each Saturday, in the sacristy, 11.00am – 12.00noon.
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:
Sunday 3 April, 9.00am:
Tessie Melaugh, Gallows Lane, Celly Melaugh, Gallows Lane, Natasha Melaugh, Letterkenny.
ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for the following, whose anniversaries occur at this time:
Sarah Ann Hegarty, Coolatee; Desmond McDermott, Rossgier; Brian Devine, Main Street, Lifford
Daniel McGavigan, Coneyburrow; Jim Harte, Coolatee; Kathleen and Jim Brolly, Cloughfin
Tony Mc Ginley, Drumbuoy; Kathleen Carolan, The Common; Dominic McCloskey, Dungiven.
May they rest in peace.
COLLECTION:
THANK YOU as always for your generosity to the collection which, last week, amounted to €1,920.00
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.
CONGRATULATIONS to the boys and girls of our three schools, who received the Sacrament of Confirmation on Saturday. Well done to you all! Thank you to all who helped prepare the children for this day, which is such an important step in their faith journey, and all who supported them in any way, especially their teachers, parents, sponsors and grandparents. May God bless these children and may the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit guide their thoughts, words and actions in the months and years ahead. Sincere thanks to the choir for providing the singing and music, which added so much to the liturgy.
CONFESSIONS:
This Sunday (today), the Sacrament of Reconciliation is available in St Therese’s, Sion Mills, at 5.00pm. Again, the neighbouring priests will be available to hear individual Confessions.
On this Mothers’ Day, we celebrate and thank God for the love, joy and blessings that mothers bring to our families and homes. We pray, through the intercession of Mary, mother of God, for all mothers in our parish, and for expectant mothers.
Please remember, also, mothers who at this time are experiencing unimaginable suffering and pain because of war – those who are having to flee their homes and country and those who are forced to struggle through poverty and injustice to care and provide for their children.
In honouring all mothers in a special way today, we pray: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee………
PARISH FINANCE COUNCIL MEETING:
On Wednesday evening of this week we had a meeting of the Parish Financial Council. Matters discussed included:
- the current financial situation of the parish and the Parish Financial Statement for the year 2021;
- update on the costings in relation to the graveyard extension project, on which work will recommence in the coming week;
- the proposed indoor toilet facility in the church and enquiries that are being made about the possibility of grant assistance for this project;
- Gift Aid (Charitable Donations Scheme) – the financial benefit to the parish of implementing this scheme in 2021 and further promotion of it in 2022, so that it can reach its full potential;
- Boyagh School – process involved in leasing out the school premises, including checking title, obtaining Dept of Education permission and engaging parish Solicitor to draw up a Lease document.
The Parish Accounts for the year 2021 show that, despite the long periods of church closure once again in 2021, you remained incredibly generous and faithful to the weekly collection (envelopes, Standing Order and online payments). In its routine activities, the parish ran within its budget for the year, which is a fantastic achievement, given all the ‘Covid’ disruption. Well done and thank you very much for your loyalty and support. The graveyard extensionproject, as you know, is being funded from our parish reserves, but sincere thanks to those who gave donations towards it in 2021; these are greatly appreciated.
A Summary Income & Expenditure Account for 2021 is now displayed on the noticeboard of our church. You are invited to take the time to view it at your convenience. If you have any queries on it or anything you would like clarified in relation to the finances of the parish, please do contact me.
I am very grateful to the members of the Parish Finance Council for their support, advice and counsel. Sincere thanks also to Lorna in the parish office for her good attention to the administrative end of the financial matters of the parish.
BLESSING OF THE GRAVES:
Just to remind you that Blessing of the Graves in our parish will be on Monday 13 June, at 7.00pm. Please let your family members know. Further details will be published closer to the time.
THE NET:
The online March edition of The Net is now available on www.derrydiocese.org and on our parish Facebook. As always, it contains a wide range of interviews, photos and news from across the diocese.
PLEASE JOIN WITH US IN RESPONDING TO THE POPE’S INVITATION TO EVERY CATHOLIC TO WALK THE SYNODAL PATHWAY.
What does it mean to be on a Synodal pathway? Pope Francis has asked that every Catholic in every parish join in a new way of being Church – a Synodal Church. A synod is a gathering or a coming together, and a pathway indicates a journey; so, each parish is asked to invite all its parishioners to come together in joining in the synodal journey. Parishes have been asked to start the journey with Listening Events – listening to you! In recent weeks, representatives of our parish have attended a number of meetings to prepare them to lead the listening process in our parish. This will take place over two evenings next week, and everyone in the parish is warmly invited and encouraged to come along to one of them.
You are invited to come along to one of our two ‘Listening’ Evenings in
the Community Centre, Lifford:
Monday 28 March or Wednesday 30 March, at 8.00pm
Refreshments will be served.
We look forward to hearing you sharing your views. You will be guided on the evening by questions about the universal Church and Church at local parish level. Please walk with us on our synodal journey!
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