| St
Mary’s Church Bocan - 14th
December 2008
3rd
Sunday of Advent.
The
World is Mine!
Today, upon the bus I saw a lovely
girl with golden hair,
I envied her, she seemed so gay, and
I wished I were so fair,
When suddenly she rose to leave, and
I saw her hobble down the aisle,
She had one leg, and wore a crutch,
and as she passed, a smile.
Oh God, forgive
me when I whine...
I have two legs. The world is mine.
And then I stopped
to buy some sweets, The lad who sold
them had such charm,
I talked with him: he seemed so glad...
if I were late 'twould do no harm,
And as I left he said to me :"Thank
you. You have been so kind.
It's nice to talk to folks like you.
You see," he said, "I'm
blind".
Oh God, forgive
me when I whine...
I have two eyes. The world is mine.
Later, walking
down the street, I saw a child with
eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play;
it seemed he knew not what to do.
I stopped a moment, then I said, "Why
don't you join the others, dear?"
He looked ahead without a word, and
then I knew he could not hear.
Oh God, forgive
me when I whine...
I have two ears. The world is mine.
With legs to take
me where I'd go,
With eyes to see the sunset glow,
Two ears to hear what I would know...
Oh God, forgive
me when I whine...
I'm blessed indeed. The world is mine.
 |
My
soul rejoices in my God |
 |
Gaudete Sunday
Parish Missal Readings
(Year 2) p 406 & Proper p 988
First Reading
Isaiah 61: 1-2.10-11
He has sent me to bring good news
to the poor, to bind up hearts that
are broken.
Second Reading
1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24
May you all be kept safe, spirit,
soul and body, for the coming of the
Lord.
Gospel John
1: 6-8.19-28
John the Baptist comes as a witness
to speak for the light.
MASS
TIMES
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, 10 am.
Wedding Mass on Saturday
at 1.30 pm
Saturday, Vigil, 8
pm;
Sunday, 8.30
am & 11 am.
Confessions
Saturday, 7.15 pm—7.45 pm.
St. Vincent
de Paul’s Annual Christmas Appeal
will be taken up this weekend. Please
support this worthy organisation as
they help the less fortunate among
us.
Wise
Words
Particularly apt in the difficult
times we are living through at present
Worry
Worry does not empty tomorrow
of its sorrow;
it empties today of its strength.
It does not enable us to escape evil;
it makes us unfit to face evil when
it comes;
it is the interest you pay on trouble
before it comes.
Whist
1st: Vera Deeny, Terrawee
2nd: Ernie McLucas, Carn;
3rd: Phyllis Lloyd, Gleneely
Tickets
Betty Houten & John Duffy.
Other Winners
Gerard Doherty, Ourt; Matthew Doherty-Davenport,
Carn; Mickey Hirrell, Carn; Seamus
Harkin, Gleneely; Tommy Doherty, Redcastle;
Mary Ellen Ruddy, Ballybawn; Paddy
McLaughlin, Gleneely.
Whist every Friday night
at 8.45 pm in Bocan Hall. Snowball
next week: €100 for 183 or more.
Serenity
House
Chiropodist Deirdre
Britton will be in Serenity House
on Friday, 19 December at 9.30 am.
Appointments to 0860666538 / 9360363.
Action Inishowen
FAS sponsored community employment
scheme are looking for participants
for the Employment Scheme due to start
in mid-January. Among the Vacancies
on offer are: Front Office Workers;
Environmental Workers; Caretaker /
Cleaner; Installers; Minibus Drivers
and Bus Attendants. Details of the
jobs on offer can be obtained from
Action Inishowen, Millbrae Carndonagh
[Name, Address and PPS Number are
required] or telephone 93 74529.
Happiness
The heart is rich when it is content,
and it is always content when its
desires are fixed on God. Nothing
can bring greater happiness than doing
God’s will for the Love of God.
Blessed
Miguel Febres Cordero-Munoz 1854-1910
The
Deep End – A Voice in the Wilderness
Recently I contacted a company on
behalf of my province. This company
could register me only as ‘Mr’,
‘Mrs’, or ‘Ms’.
‘Fr’ or ‘Rev’
was not a programmed option. I settled
for ‘Mr’. Then the members
of my Order, on whose behalf I had
approached the company, could enter
the company’s computer only
as ‘employees’. It was
not programmed to recognise ‘religious’
as a legitimate species.
Since then I’ve
developed a new empathy with John
the Baptist who in today’s Gospel
reading [John 1:6-8, 19-28], describes
himself as ‘the voice of one
crying out in the wilderness’.
In moments of disappointment, or gloom
that come and mercifully go –
it seems to me that society at large
is that wilderness. You wonder who’s
listening to you whether you’re
preaching in public or being published
in periodicals. But it’s not
listening to me that is the concern,
or indeed listening to anybody else
for that matter. The concern is people’s
level of attention to the word of
God.
The vociferous ones
who came to John the Baptist came
to confront him, not to listen to
him. Sent by those who pulled the
strings, i.e. the Pharisees, they
demanded that he give an account of
himself. As followers of Jesus, we
too must give an account of ourselves
for we make some extraordinary claims;
not least that the Creator of all
that is would want to be born a human
being, and could do no better than
start life in a manger!
Who in
their right mind would want to listen
to that!
Fr Tom
Cahill SVD
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