SUNDAY 5th FEBRUARY 2023
FIFTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME:
St Matthew’s Gospel 5: 13-16
In His teaching and preaching, Jesus attracted large crowds of followers, but Jesus calls disciples, not just followers. A life of discipleship is not just something Jesus himself taught about, it was something that he lived. In today’s Gospel, part of the Sermon on the Mount, we hear Jesus use familiar metaphors, salt and light, to describe the life of discipleship. His call to us, the disciples of today, to be salt of the earth and light of the world powerfully defines for us our vocation and purpose in life. We pray:
Heavenly Father, You have called us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
Help us to be authentic disciples, luminous in our witness, seasoning the world with Your Word and,
with all our works, giving glory and praise to You. This we ask, through Christ, our Lord, Amen.
MASS SCHEDULE & LITURGIES THIS WEEK:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 10.00am. Tuesday: 9.30am.
Monday: 10.00am. Tuesday: 9.30am
Rosary commences 20 minutes before morning Mass.
Sunday Masses: Vigil, 6.30pm; Sunday, 9.00am and 11.00am.
All Masses are livestreamed on our webcam; 11.00am Mass on Sunday is broadcast by Finn Valley Radio, 95.8FM
MASS INTENTIONS:
Monday 6 February, 10.00am: Bridie Canny, Galway
Tuesday 7 February, 9.30am: Mass for those enrolled in the Derry Diocesan Society
Sunday 10 February, 10.00am: Edmund Devenney, Tober
Saturday 11 February, 6.30pm: Madeline McMenamin, Cloughfin, & Marie Laird, Cloughfin.
We pray for the souls of those who were recently enrolled in the Derry Diocesan Society:
Rosemary Martin, Gwen Crawford, Danny Coyle, Jimmy Lawrence, Christopher Lawrence, Kevin Martin
Billy McGavigan, Seamus Gallen, Kitty Kelly, John Devine, Conleth Tourish, Bobby Porter. Charlie Dolan.
ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for those whose anniversaries occur at this time. May they rest in peace:
John Harte, Ballyduff; Geraldine Melaugh-McGarrigle, Dublin/Ballindrait; Olive McCullagh, Ballinabreen.
DO THIS IN MEMORY PROGRAMME:
Our next Do This In Memory Mass is next Sunday, 12 February, at 11.00am. I hope all the children and their families are checking out what is in Grapevine ahead of this Mass and, as always, checking out the activities in Thumb. Parents are asked to encourage and support their children in using Grapevine and Thumb. The children are asked to draw a picture this week of something that, in their eyes, represents peace and happiness, and bring it with them to next Sunday’s Mass: this might be a picture of a family having fun, a drawing of the words Peace and Joy, a picture of two people shaking hands in peace, or a picture of friends playing together. I have no doubt that the children will show much more imagination in their images of peace and happiness that any of us could think of. The pictures will be displayed on a display board on the sanctuary. We look forward to full attendance, as it is important that all the children have the opportunity to participate in the programme. Many thanks, as always, to the co-ordinators and to the parents who help.
CONFIRMATION PREPARATION:
It was lovely to see such a great turnout at our Parents’ Evening last Monday. It was indeed most encouraging, and I hope you found it helpful. It is very important that you continue to support your child in preparation for the Sacrament by bringing him/her to one of our Masses each weekend. It is important for the children that they all have the opportunity to be familiar with our church and with the Mass. We look forward to welcoming Bishop McKeown, who will administer the Sacrament of Confirmation in St Patrick’s on Saturday 11 March, at 11.00am.
THANK YOU, as always, for your generosity in last week’s collection, which amounted to €2,720. Sincere thanks to those who contribute by Standing Order.
CLOUGHFIN NATIONAL SCHOOL will accept applications for admission for the 2023/24 school year from 1 February to 28 February. See www.cloughfinns.com for an online enrolment form. Phone 074-9145705 for more information or to organise a visit.
SCOIL MHUIRE GAN SMÁL / LIFFORD NATIONAL SCHOOL:
Enrolment is now open for September 2023. We will be holding an Open Day on Friday 10 February, at 2.00pm, where you will get an opportunity to see our infant classroom and meet our teachers. For Applications/further information tel 074 9141269 / Email: liffordns@gmail.com.
MURLOG NATIONAL SCHOOL:
Applications for enrolment to Junior Infants for September 2023 will be accepted from Wednesday 1 February until Friday 3 March. Enrolment forms are available through the school office or by visiting our website at www.murlogns.scoilnet.ie. Please include a copy or your child’s birth certificate. Contact the school on 074 91 41450 for further information.
DERRY DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES – 3 – 7 July 2023:
The Pilgrimage office at 164 Bishop Street, Derry, will be open to the public on Saturdays only from 11.00am until 1.00pm commencing on Saturday 11 February. Intending pilgrims can also leave a message on 048 7126 0293 with their full postal address and the number of booking forms required, or email this information to derrypilgrim@outlook.com. Regrettably, we not in a position to provide medical, nursing and personal care as was customary in the past. It is our earnest hope and prayer that we will be able to restore these services in 2024.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE SICK is next Saturday, 11 February, Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. The theme Pope Francis has chosen this year is, “Take care of him: Compassion as a synodal exercise of healing”, drawn from the Gospel of St Luke on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In his message, the Pope urges us to heed the example of the Good Samaritan, showing compassion and taking care of the sick in a world that discards the most vulnerable. As the Church journeys along the synodal path, Pope Francis is inviting the faithful to reflect on the fact that “it is especially through the experience of vulnerability and illness that we can learn to walk together according to the style of God, which is closeness, compassion, and tenderness”. The full text of the Pope’s Message for World Day of the Sick can be viewed on www.vatican.va and it will also be posted on our parish Facebook.
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. St Bernadette, pray for us.
Do This In Memory:
And so, boys and girls, our next Do This In Memory Mass is coming up next Sunday, 12 February. I very much look forward to seeing you. Kath and Qumen are now chatting about a very important part of the Mass, and we all need to listen carefully to what they are saying and to watch carefully at Mass to confirm for ourselves what Qumen is saying. Qumen has obviously been watching very carefully at Mass and has been spending loads of time reading Thumb.
For next Sunday, you are asked to draw a picture that represents peace and happiness: I very much look forward to seeing your creations. They will be displayed at the front of the church.
‘LEARNING ABOUT THE MASS’ CORNER:
‘LEARNING ABOUT THE MASS’ CORNER
KATH: So, Qumen, when we kneel after the Holy, Holy, is it time for the second part of the Eucharistic Prayer?
QUMEN: Yes, Kath. This is a very important part of the Mass, so we have to be very good and quiet, and watch carefully what is happening.
KATH: So what is happening?
QUMEN: Well, this part of the Eucharistic Prayer is really the start of the Consecration. The second part of the Eucharistic Prayer is a prayer that the priest says, asking God to send the Holy Spirit down upon the gifts of bread and wine. It tells us in Thumb that this prayer is called the Epiclesis, but nobody will get cross if we can’t remember that! If you watch carefully, Kath, you will see that, during this prayer, the priest puts his hands out, over the gifts. When he does that, listen out and you will hear the bell ringing.
KATH: Why does the bell ring? Who rings it?
QUMEN: My gran says a church bell ringing is always a ‘call to prayer’. The bell ringing is really to let us know that we have reached a very important part of the Mass, the Consecration. When we have altar servers, one of them rings the bell but, when we don’t, somebody in the congregation can ring the bell.
KATH & QUMEN: When we’re altar servers, after our First Holy Communion, we’ll take turns in ringing the bell.
Access the Readings on our parish website:
The Daily Mass Readings are also on our website: https://clonleighparish.com/todays-mass-readings/ . Alternatively, just google Clonleigh Parish readings.
The Daily Mass Readings are also on our website: https://clonleighparish.com/todays-mass-readings/ . Alternatively, just google Clonleigh Parish readings.
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
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