SUNDAY 22 JANUARY 2023
THIRD SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME:
The Gospel passage that we hear today marks the start of the journey of Jesus’ public ministry. At the heart of that ministry was His opening message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’ (Matthew 4:17). This message lays the foundations for everything that follows in the mission of Jesus. The ‘Repent’ in Jesus’ message is a call towards the future – a call to conversion of mind and heart, a call to listening to and living out the message of the Gospel, a call to prayer and, most essentially, a call to making the Eucharist the centre of everything we are, do and say: it is a call to us to build God’s kingdom by the way we live our lives.
MASS SCHEDULE & LITURGIES THIS WEEK:
Sunday Masses: Vigil, 21 Jan: 6.30pm; Sunday 22 Jan: 11.00am only (9.00am resumes next week!)
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday: 10.00am. Tuesday, 9.30am
Rosary commences 20 minutes before morning Mass
Please note: no 9.00am Mass on Sunday 22nd January.
All Masses are livestreamed on our webcam; 11.00am Mass on Sunday is broadcast by Finn Valley Radio, 95.8FM
MASS INTENTIONS:
Saturday 28 January, 6.30pm: Mary McIntyre, The Diamond (First Anniversary).
ANNIVERSARIES:
We pray for those whose anniversaries occur at this time. May they rest in peace:
Geraldine McBride, Galway/Ballindrait; Seamus Gallagher, Coneyburrow Road; John Doherty, Block 5;
Tommy Doherty, Block 5; Tim Boyle, Rossgier.
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD – TODAY, THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME:
It was Saint Jerome who famously said: “Not to know the Scriptures is not to know Christ”. It was not by coincidence, then, that Pope Francis chose the memorial of St Jerome (30 September – 2019), through his Apostolic Letter, “Aperuit illis” to establish Sunday of the Word of God. Pope Francis established this Day to ‘reawaken’ our awareness of the centrality of God’s Word for 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.
“ ‘He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures’ (Lk 24:45). This was one of the final acts of the risen Lord before his Ascension……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 our parish website, www.clonleighparish.com, under Prayers. We are very grateful to Shay for keeping this useful facility on our parish website up to date.
MASS FOR GRANDPARENTS: As part of the celebration of Catholic Schools Week, at our Wednesday morning Mass this week (25 January) prayerful recognition will be given to the role that grandparents play in families and in handing on the faith. All grandparents are invited to this Mass. The children from our three schools will be in attendance.
Bishop of Ossory:
Today we congratulate and send our best wishes to Fr Niall Coll, neighbour and friend of this parish, on the occasion of his ordination in Kilkenny as Bishop of Ossory. May God bless him as he commences his episcopal ministry. Please include Bishop Niall in your prayers in the days and weeks ahead.
WELCOME to our First Holy Communion children and their parents and family members to our Do This In Memory Mass (our 6.30pm Vigil Mass). Each child will be provided with a little bottle of Holy Water, which I will bless and which they can then bring home for their use and their family’s use.
We welcome Kath and Qumen back from their holidays this week; they will be helping us again to learn more about the Mass in our Learning about the Mass corner of our newsletter in the coming weeks.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL:
The St Patrick’s Conference, Murlog, wish to thank the parishioners most sincerely for their great generosity to the annual Christmas Appeal. They are delighted to announce that the appeal raised a huge €5,977.89. The members wish everyone a very happy and healthy 2023.
On your behalf, I wish to express our sincere appreciation to the members of SVP for the sterling work that they do, not just at Christmas but throughout the year, to support and reach out to people in need.
SVP provides an invaluable service in our community. It is, of course, because of your great generosity that they can provide the level of service that they do. Thank you so much for making the work of SVP in our community easier and, of course, for making the lives of those they help easier.
The SVP helpline number, 087 4647 991, is available at all times to take calls. Please know that all calls are in the strictest confidence. St Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
VISITATION OF THE SICK AND HOUSEBOUND will take place this week, starting each day at 11.00am:
Monday – Ballindrait, Tober & Cloughfin;
Wednesday – Rossgier, Coolatee, Porthall & Cavan Hill;
Thursday – Murlog, Lifford & Coneyburrow;
Friday – Letterkenny Road, Croaghan Heights & Drumboy.
Please let your family member or neighbour know. If there is anyone who is not normally visited but would like me to call, please do let me know, and I will be more than happy to bring you the Eucharist.
THANK YOU, as always, for your generosity in last week’s collection, which amounted to £2,225. Thank you also to those who contribute by Standing Order.
GARDA COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING:
Monday 23 January, 7.15pm, in Lifford-Clonleigh Resource Centre, Gallows Lane. Everyone is welcome to attend this open forum meeting, to discuss any local issues or concerns they may have with their local Community Gardaί. “Your feedback matters to us. We look forward to meeting you there.”
Do This In Memory:
Great to see you this evening, boys and girls, for our Do This In Memory Mass. Kath and Qumen are delighted to back with us this week again, after their holidays, to help us to learn more about the Mass. This week they’re talking about the Offertory.
Each of you will receive a little bottle of Holy Water today. I ask that you use this to bless yourself and to bless other family members each morning before you leave home and, again, each night before you go to bed.
May God bless and protect you and keep you safe.
‘LEARNING ABOUT THE MASS’ CORNER:
QUMEN: I was reading in Thumb this week about the Offertory.
KATH: I suppose I should be reading Thumb too. Then I’d be as smart as you. So, go on, how do we know when it’s the Offertory at Mass?
QUMEN: Well, the Offertory comes after the Liturgy of the Word. So, it will start after the Prayer of the Faithful. The Offertory is the first part of the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass. It takes place at the altar. Sometimes people bring the gifts forward to the altar from a table down the church, but sometimes they are already sitting on a little table beside the altar.
KATH: What are the gifts, Qumen?
QUMEN: The gifts, which are our Offerings, are the bread and wine. You might notice as well, Kath, that the collection baskets are passed round at the same time and the baskets, with the people’s money in them, are also left at the foot of the altar. The collection is also part of the Offerings of the people.
KATH & QUMEN: It would feel very special if it was our turn to carry the gifts forward to the altar some Sunday. And of course we could be very good and put some pocket-money into the collection basket at Mass too – after all, it’s good to share.
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
Find us on Facebook:. Clonleigh Parish