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St
Mary’s Church Bocan 4th November
2007—No 48
31st
Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Reflection
The Gospel for this weekend puts before
us the example of Zacchaeus, the wealthy
tax collector, whose encounter with
Jesus transforms his life. Climbing
up a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse
of Jesus as he passes, Zacchaeus finds
himself being singled out by Jesus:
‘Zacchaeus, hurry down, because
I must stay at your house’.
In this moment the tax collector experiences
the joy of a new life in Christ. But
it is a joy not shared by everyone.
Some bystanders grumble that Jesus
is willing to stay ‘at a sinner’s
house’. His retort to them is
a direct challenge to the limitations
we so often place on God’s universal
love and his desire that all may be
saved – ‘The Son of Man,’
he tells them, ‘has come to
seek out and save what was lost.’
Responsorial
Psalm
I will bless your name forever, O
God my King.
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‘The
Son of Man,’ he tells
them, ‘has come to seek
out and save what was lost.’
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Today’s
Readings
First Reading
Wisdom 11: 22 – 12.2
Lord you are merciful to all.
Second Reading Thessalonians
1: 11 – 2:2
The name of Christ will be glorified
in you and you in him.
Gospel Luke 19: 1-10
The Son of Man has come to seek out
and save what was lost.
Money
Matters:
Weekly Offering €1,500;
Mission Collection
€2,020. Thank you
for your generosity.
All the sick of the parish
will be attended on Wednesday &
Thursday at the usual times.
Bocan Hall Committee
Meeting on Monday night at 9 pm in
the lower hall. All members please
attend.
Whist Winners
1st Fr McGonagle,
Parochial House;
2nd Tina
Doherty, Carndonagh;
3rd Margaret
McGilloway, Malin & Betty Houten,
Culdaff.
Lowest Score:
Dylan Doherty, Carndonagh;
Highest Score,
Seamus Harkin, Gleneely.
Draw Winners:
[1st] James McConalogue, Cashel; [2nd]
Eamon Donaghy, Effishmore [3rd] Dylan
Doherty, Carndonagh.
The Whist is on every Friday night
at 8.45 pm in Bocan Hall.
Snowball €65 for a score of 183
or better.
Bocan Youth Club Rota
Friday, 9th November – Seamus
Doherty, Patricia Davenport, Wendy
Smith, Annmarie O’Connor.
Culdaff Care of the Aged
Committee meeting on Tuesday, 6th
November at 8 pm in Bocan Old School.
All members are asked to attend and
new members welcome.
Carndonagh Community School
Annual Mass for the Dead
Thursday 8th November in the Aras
Building at 8 pm. Everyone welcome.
AWARE
A support group for the relatives
of people suffering from depression
meets on the 1st Monday of every month
in the “Create a Link”
building at 4a Pearse Road, Letterkenny.
For more information contact 9735030.
Serenity House
Women’s Bible Study:
Meet on Monday, 12th November at 10.30
am. All women welcome.
Asperger Support Group: Meet
in Serenity House on Monday, 5th November
at 8 pm. All welcome.
Book Club: Meet on Tuesday, 13th
November at 7.30 pm in Serenity House.
This month’s book is: “The
Remains of the Day” by Kazuo
Ishigoro.
Moville Family Resource Centre:
The Resource Centre are running a
course for parents of national school
children about alcohol and drugs.
The course starts on 8th November
and lasts from 8 pm – 10 pm
in the Moville Day Centre [below the
Moville health centre].
The course is free and is run by the
HSE. To book a place or for more information
contact Mary McKinney on 9385548.
ECDL: There a few places remaining
in the Advanced Word Course beginning
on Tuesday, 6th November at 7 pm.
Contact 9382945 for more details.
Carmelite Centre
Monthly Devotions in honour
of Our Lady on Tuesday, 6th November
commencing at 7.30 pm. All welcome
to attend.
Day Retreat for senior citizens and
their friends on Thursday 15th November.
It costs €18 and can be paid
on the day. For more details contact
04871262512 during office hours
Derry Well Woman
Information Evening for families and
friends of those whop suffer from
an eating disorder. It is on over
4 evenings commencing on Tuesday 13th
November from 7.30 pm – 9 pm
in Derry Well Woman Centre. For more
details contact Karen or Patricia
on 048 71360777.
Feasts This Week
Tuesday, 6th November: All
the Saints of Ireland. Today we celebrate
the holy lives of Irish men and women
through the ages, giving thanks to
God for the witness of their faith.
Friday, 9th November: The
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.
This church in Rome is known as ‘the
Mother and head of all the churches
in the city and the world’.
It is the cathedral church of the
Bishop of Rome.
Saturday 10th November: St
Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of
the Church.
Coping with God
Coping with God is difficult. The
problem is: he’s too loving
– by human standards, that is.
We’re all for love when its
to our advantage. We’re all
for love for those we like. But that’s
not good enough. God created those
we hate, fear, despise, and avoid.
He created them just as he created
us. He called them too by name from
their mother’s womb.
Today’s reading from the Book
of Wisdom [11:22 – 12:2] tells
us as much: For you love all things
that exist, and detest none of the
things you have made [11:24]. If God
loves some of the ‘things’
that we hate, one of us must be wrong.
That ‘awe-ful’ reading
goes further. Incredibly, it tells
us that God overlooks our sins so
that we may repent [11:23]. He turns
a blind eye to sin! Is that the God
you were taught to believe in? Was
it not God the Punisher? The One who
keeps his eye on you, rather than
the One who takes his eyes off you
for sheer love?
Let us bask in God’s love. Soak
up his mercy. Then face life as he
does: with total love.
Fr Tom Cahill SVD
The
Dead
The dead are always looking down on
us, they say, while we are putting
on our shoes or making a sandwich,
they are looking down through the
glass-bottom boats of heaven
as they row themselves slowly through
eternity.
They watch the tops
of our heads moving below on earth,
and when we lie down in a field or
on a couch,
drugged perhaps by the hum of a warm
afternoon,
they think we are looking back at
them,
which makes them lift
their oars and fall silent
and wait, like parents, for us to
close our eyes.
Billy Collins
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