SUNDAY 10th March 2024:
FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT
The Fourth Sunday of Lent is Laetare Sunday. The Latin word laetare means “rejoice”. (Laetare Sunday parallels with Gaudete Sunday in Advent). Laetare Sunday is the point in our Lenten journey where, while we continue to observe our Lenten sacrifices and disciplines, we are called to rejoice in the knowledge that the penitential season of Lent will culminate with the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus.
We look forward with hope and we rejoice in anticipation of the Risen Lord.
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
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ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for those whose anniversaries occur at this time. May they rest in peace:
Liam Tourish, Curraghalane; Pat Gibbons, Tironeill; Maise Matthewson, Lurganshannagh
Gary McGinley, Moneen; Johnny Rushe, Ballybun; Joe Rushe, Ballybun; Rachael Brennan, Strabane
Annie McGranaghan, Tober; William Lynch, Ballinabreen; John F McDermott, Drumbuoy
Kathleen & George McBrearty, Gallows Lane; James Oates, Glasgow; John Tourish, Albert Terrace.
MASS INTENTIONS:
Monday 11 March, 10.00am: Brian Anderson, Balinabreen – . Month’s Mind Mass
Saturday 16 March, 6.30pm:
Vincent Doherty, Cloughfin – Month’s Mind Mass;
also remembering Neily Doherty, Gortgrannagh & John Friel, Lancaster.
THANK YOU for your generosity in last week’s collection, which amounted to €1,762. Thank you, as always, to those who contribute by Standing Order.
SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION FOR EASTER:
Confessions will be heard next Saturday, 16 March, Saturday 23 March and Saturday 30 March, in the sacristy of the church, from 11.00am – 12.00noon. It is hoped that many will take up the opportunity to receive the sacrament, ahead of the Easter celebrations.
FIRST CONFESSIONS in our parish will be on Wednesday 20 March, at 6.30pm. As the children continue to prepare to receive the sacrament for the first time, parents are asked to help them by spending some prayerful time with them each evening during Lent, at the family’s Sacred Prayer Space, reflecting on the ways in which everyone in the family might have distanced themselves from each other and from God that day through their words or actions, and praying together the Act of Sorrow from last month’s Grapevine:
O my God, I thank you for loving me.
I am sorry for all my sins, for not loving others and not loving You.
Help me to live like Jesus and not sin again. Amen.
OUR JUBILEE 2024 CELEBRATIONS will get under way next Sunday, St Patrick’s Day, at our 10.00am Mass. Our church and grounds will be suitably decorated and the sacramental children from our three schools are providing displays for our church. We will also have information / displays available on the history of the church and detail about the stained-glass windows. To help us celebrate, we will welcome next Sunday morning the Sion Mills Pipe Band and the Porter School of Dancing, Derry & Donegal.
It will be a very special occasion for our parish and I encourage as many parishioners and families to come along as we begin to celebrate sixty years since the opening of our beautiful church and fifty years as an independent parish.
To start our celebrations off, a little pot of shamrocks will be available for every family at our Masses this weekend. I invite each family to pick one up.
St Patrick, pray for us in this our Jubilee Year.
MOTHERING SUNDAY:
On this Mothers’ Day, we thank God for the gift of motherhood. We pray God’s blessing on all mothers. We pray for all expectant mothers. We pray for all deceased mothers, that God will reward them for the love, joy, care and unity that they brought to family life. We pray too for mothers who mourn the death of a child.
We pray especially today for mothers who are experiencing unimaginable suffering and pain, as they try to provide for their children, in the midst of war, injustice and poverty.
Mothers’ Day Prayer (from the Family Prayer Book)
Thank you, Lord, for all mothers.
On this day let us think of them,
whether they are with us or gone to their heavenly reward.
We think of their kindness, their compassion, their care for us and,
above all, their unconditional love.
We pray that you will watch over them and support them
in the joys and struggles of their daily lives.
This we ask through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
THE DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES takes place from Monday 1 July to Friday 5 July, leaving from City of Derry Airport. It will be led by Bishop Donal McKeown. Full board £799, single room supplement £150. The pilgrimage office is now open from 11am to 1pm on Thursdays and Saturdays. You can phone 048 71260293 or email derrypilgrim@outlook.com
I am delighted that some people from our parish have booked to go on the pilgrimage and that others are currently considering it. As part of the pilgrimage, 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.
Please let me know if you are intending to participate in the pilgrimage!
PARISH FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS 2023:
Following a meeting of our Parish Finance Committee on Thursday night, a Statement of Income & Expenditure for our parish for the year 2023 is now displayed on our church noticeboard. You are asked to take the time to look through it, at your convenience.
Our main source of income, as the Statement confirms, continues to be our weekly collection (including Standing Orders), greatly enhanced by Gift Aid. Individual donations to the church have also remained high.
In the ‘day-to-day’ financial activities of the parish in 2023, our energy costs (heating / lighting) were well down on those of 2022 but remain high and we are looking at effective ways of reducing these further.
In 2023, we completed our indoor-toilet block project which, I hope you agree, was money well spent and is a great facility to have within the church building.
We do our best to monitor costs at all times and to make the best possible use of the money which you so faithfully contribute. If you have any questions at all on the Financial Statement, please do not hesitate to ask me, or to ask Lorna, and we will be happy to provide any further information or clarification you may seek. I am grateful, as always, to Lorna in the parish office for the work that she does, so diligently, throughout the year, in managing our parish finances. Thank you also to our Parish Finance Committee for their support and guidance. It is much appreciated.
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