SUNDAY 21st January 2024:
THIRD SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME
‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men’ . The invitation of Jesus to the disciples is addressed to each one of us. In our case, the call does not mean leaving our jobs or families, but the call of the Lord always opens us up to God’s perspective on life; it involves allowing our own limited horizons to be stretched to accept God’s vision for our lives. Are we ready and willing, like those first disciples, to follow Jesus’ ways, to give up the habits that leave us tangled in nets and limit our freedom to follow? Are our hearts and minds open to change?
MASS SCHEDULE THIS WEEK:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, 10.00am
Tuesday, 9.30am
(The Rosary is normally recited by the congregation 20 minutes prior to the midweek morning Mass). As always, you are invited to come along to this special time of parish prayer
and blessing in our church.
Saturday: Vigil Mass, 6.30pm.
Sunday: Mass at 10.00am
All Masses are livestreamed on our webcam; 10.00am Mass on Sunday is broadcast by Finn Valley Radio, 95.8FM
†
ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for those whose anniversaries occur at this time. May they rest in peace:
Tim Boyle, Rossgier Close; Denis McGranaghan, Tober; Peggy Lafferty, Shannon;
Frances Friel, Coolatee; Tommy Doherty, Block Five; John Doherty, Block Five; Geraldine McBride, Galway.
MASS INTENTIONS:
Saturday 27 January, 6.30pm: Month’s Mind Mass for James Woods, Ballymonaster.
THANK YOU for your generosity in last week’s collection, which amounted to £1,913. Thank you, as always, to those who contribute by Standing Order. If you do not contribute to the weekly collection but are now in a financial position to contribute something each week, please contact Lorna in the parish office for an envelope box / SO Mandate.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK 2024:
This annual celebration takes place this week – Sunday 21 to Saturday 27 January, with the theme Catholic Schools as Communities of Service. Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus showed what it means to serve others, especially those on the margins of society. Every Catholic school is called to be a community that serves and invites pupils to use and develop their gifts and talents at the service of others. This is best reflected in the ways our schools are called to be places of love, kindness and care towards the pupils, others, God, and creation. In this way, our Catholic schools are communities of service. In the week ahead we will reflect at Masses and in our school classroom prayer-time on the following themes, to help us focus on our call to service in our schools:
Monday: Service in our Community of Friends Tuesday: Service in our School Community
Wednesday: Service in our Family Community Thursday: Service in our Local Community
Friday: Service in our Faith Community (Vocations)
May the Lord bless us and guide our schools in being communities of faith, hope and love. May He bless our teachers and staffs as they help our young people to grow in their understanding of their faith, and what it means to be part of a community of service every day.
This Wednesday, 24th, to celebrate the gift of grandparents in our lives, our 10.00am Mass and our Rosary beforehand, at 9.40am, will be offered for all the grandparents of our parish, those who are alive and those gone before us in faith. The children of our schools have been asked to submit the names of their grandparents (whether alive or dead) and all be prayed for during our Mass on Wednesday morning. All grandparents are invited to attend this Mass, if possible. Some of the children of our schools will attend.
DERRY DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES 2024:
Monday 1 July to Friday 5 July, from City of Derry Airport. Led by Bishop Donal McKeown. Full board £799, single room supplement £150. The pilgrimage office will open 11am to 1pm on Thursdays and Saturdays, starting Saturday 10 February. Tel 048 71260293, email derrypilgrim@outlook.com
As part of our Parish Jubilee celebrations 2024, it is hoped that a number of people from our parish will participate in the Diocesan Pilgrimage and, as part of that, we will hold our own parish celebrations while participating in the diocesan pilgrimage in Lourdes. I will be honoured to guide and lead parishioners in making it a very special time for us as a parish in our Jubilee year. If you have any queries at all (over and above booking arrangements above), please contact me.
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD – THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME:
The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (today) was established by Pope Francis in 2019 as Sunday of the Word of God, to ‘reawaken’ our awareness of the centrality of God’s Word to our lives, and to remind us of our need to get to know Jesus better through deepening our understanding, knowledge and love of the Bible. The pope chose the memorial of St Jerome (30 September), to institute Sunday of the Word of God, through his Apostolic Letter, “Aperuit illis”. The timing of the document was significant, given St Jerome’s famous quotations on Scripture, amongst them: “Not to know the Scriptures is not to know Christ.”
“Without the Lord who opens our minds to them, it is impossible to understand the Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scriptures, the events of the mission of Jesus and of his Church in this world would remain incomprehensible.” Excerpt from Pope Francis’ ‘Aperuit Illis.’
Familiarising ourselves with the Word of God before we hear it at Sunday Mass is a great way of gaining a better understanding of what God is saying to us in the Scriptures. I encourage you to commit to devoting some sacred time and space each week to taking a look through the Readings each week this coming year, in advance of Sunday Mass. The Readings for the following Sunday (and, indeed, the weekday Readings) can be found on www.catholihbishops.ie or on www.catholicireland.net
CLOUGHFIN NS will be accepting applications for admission for the 2024/2025 school year from 1 February to 28 February. Please contact the school on 074 9145705 for more information or to organise a visit. Online application forms will be available on www.cloughfinns.com.
SCOIL MHUIRE GAN SMÁL / LIFFORD NS: Enrolment is now open for September 2024. We will be holding an Open Day on Friday 9 February, at 2.00pm, where you will get an opportunity to see our infant classroom and meet our teachers. For Applications and further information, tel 074 9141269 or Email: liffordns@gmail.com.
MURLOG NS – ENROLMENT: Applications for enrolment to Junior Infants for September 2024 are being accepted from Thursday 1 February to 29 February. Enrolment forms are available through the school office or by visiting www.murlogns.scoilnet.ie Please include a copy of your child’s birth certificate. Tel 074 9141450 for further information.
STRABANE HISTORY SOCIETY meets this Thursday, 25 January, at 7.30pm, in The Music Rooms, John Wesley Street, Strabane (opposite Library, close to back gate of PO). This month’s talk will be “Places and Place names” – including the meanings of place names. Speaker: well-known historian, Roddy Hegarty, Armagh Library. All welcome!
NAOMH PADRAIG LEIFEAR:
Reserve Team Manager needed. If interested, please contact Gary Bogle (Chairperson) on 0868625358. Closing date 31 January.
JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS 2024:
The key moments for our celebrations this Jubilee year in our parish are as follows:
St Patrick’s Day, Sunday 17 March: This is the official launch of our Year of Jubilee;
Sunday 5 May: To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of the Church, Bishop McKeown will celebrate Mass,
and will join us for refreshments in the school afterwards;
Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, 1 – 5 July: Hopefully a number of parishioners will join with me on for the Lourdes pilgrimage, during which we can have our own parish times of prayer andcelebration;
Saturday 3 August: Parish Jubilee Pilgrimage to Knock;
Sunday 11th August: Parish Family Jubilee Picnic and Barbecue;
Sunday 25 August: Mass to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of our parish. Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland; refreshments afterwards;
Saturday 2 November, All Souls Day – 12.00noon Mass for all the deceased our parish, with special remembrance throughout the month of those who died in the sixty years since our church was opened;
Sunday 15 December: Jubilee Nativity Celebrations, with Carol Service;
Dates to be confirmed:
School celebrations
Mass for Defence Forces to mark their service in Lifford and Overseas.
SACRAMENTAL DATES – CONFIRMATION AND FIRST HOLY COMMUNION:
Confirmation: Lifford N S and Murlog N S: Saturday 20 April 2024, at 11.00am
First Holy Communion: Cloughfin N S and Lifford N S: Saturday 11 May 2024, at 11.00am
Murlog N S: Saturday 18 May 2024, at 11.00am
Please keep the children and their families in your prayer as they prepare
to receive the sacraments.
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 X: @clonleighparish
Find us on Facebook:. Clonleigh Parish
SAFEGUARDING NOTICE:
If you have any concerns about safeguarding children or adults in need of protection within the Church, please contact Marie Gormley, the Diocesan Designated Liaison Person, on 07596 500793 or by email on marie.gormley@derrydiocese.org