| Sunday
15th March 2009
3rd
Sunday in Lent
Christ,
the Wisdom of God
Jesus said: "Stop
turning my Father's house into a market."
Isn't it amazing how we human beings
can miss the point of even the things
we treasure most. The Jewish people
saw the Temple as the greatest treasure
they had in their life of faith and
yet they developed a system of abusing
that sacred place in the very name
of their religion. We do the same:
when we call marriage a Sacrament
and then have little care for the
couple relationship except when it
is in trouble; when we call our homes
the Domestic Church and treat them
as if Christ did not live there among
us; when we talk about our parish
as a community of faith but do very
little to build community; when we
are fed on the Body and Blood of Christ
and yet refuse to love and respect
many members of the Body of Christ.
Fr. Johnny
Doherty, C.Ss.R.
Sunday 15th
March 2009
3rd Sunday
of Lent
First Reading
Exodus 20: 1-17
The ten commandments are a map of
life for a people that has a special
relationship with God.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 1; 22-25
Paul preached a crucified Christ.
To some the idea made no sense. To
others it was a sign of the wisdom
and power of God.
Gospel John
2: 13-25
By chasing the money changers and
sellers of sacrificial animals out
of the temple, Jesus calls the people
to purity of worship in God’s
house.
MASS
TIMES
Monday 10 am;
Tuesday, Feast
of St Patrick [Holyday of Obligation]
Vigil Mass, Monday, 8 pm;
Tuesday, 8.30 am &
11 am;
Wednesday, Thursday,
Friday & Saturday, 10 am.
Stations of
the Cross,
Wednesday, 7.30 pm.
Saturday, Vigil, 8
pm;
Sunday, 8.30 am & 11 am.
Confessions
Monday, 7.15 pm-7.45 pm; Saturday,
7.15 pm-7.45 pm.
This Week's
Anniversaries:
Vigil Mass, 8 pm:
Gretta Ruddy, Dunross
11 am: Patrick McLaughlin, Drumley
Next Week:
Sunday, 11 am: Memorial Mass for John
Michael McKenna, USA [son of Grace
McCann formerly of Ballyharry].
Weekly
Offering: €1,520; Development
Collection: €800.
Thank
you for your generosity.
N.B Clerical Education Collection
will be taken up at all Masses for
St Patrick’s Day
Youth Club
Rota – 20 March 2009:-
Eilish Bell, Denise Cunningham, Cathy
Doherty, Stephanie O’Brien,
Eugene Morrison, Wendy Smith.
N.B. AGM
on 24th March at 8 pm.
Whist
1st: Margaret McGilloway, Malin
2nd Ernie McLucas, Carn
3rd James McLaughlin, Cashel
Tickets:
Patricia Harkin, Culdaff, Mary McDermott,
Falmore, Seamus Coyle, Buncrana, Phillip
McCool, Carn.
Other Winners:
Annie McBride, Carn; Mickey O’Donnell,
Carn;
Phyllis Lloyd, Gleneely & John
Duffy, Derry.
Whist
every Friday night at 8.45 pm in Bocan
Hall. Snowball €60 for 187 or
less.
North
West 10k & Alzheimer Society Donegal
Branch
Calling all runners, walkers and friends
to support the Alzheimer Society Donegal
Branch which is one of the nominated
charities for this year’s 10k
on Sunday, 3rd May in Letterkenny.
The money raised through the 10k will
be used entirely within Donegal. The
Donegal branch provides 75,000 hours
per year of home respite and day care,
helping some of the families of the
almost 2,000 Alzheimer sufferers in
Donegal. Approximately 40 families
are still awaiting help. Sponsor cards
are available from Mary Gillen [9373068]
or Gertie Monagle [9374247] or the
Alzheimer Office [9722795].
Bocan
Playgroup
Parents wishing to enrol
their child for the Playgroup in September
2009 should contact Vera on 087 9745381
as soon as possible to ensure a place.
Moville Community
College Information evening
Wednesday 18th March: Choosing subjects
for the leaving certificate. Also
for parents of transition year and
3rd year students intending to study
for the leaving certificate. Topics:
linking subject choice to career choice;
subject levels; Leaving Certificate
Vocational Programme; and, Points
system.
Serenity
House
Art and Craft Exhibition –
In Serenity House on St Patrick's
Day from 10 am – 5 pm. All welcome
to attend.
Active Retirement Meeting
In Serenity House on Wednesday, 18th
March at 7.30 pm. Guest Speaker will
be Maureen Kavanagh CEO Active Retirement
Ireland. All members are requested
to attend.
Computer Maintenance and Video
Editing: Names being taken
for this course which begins on Thursday
20th March from 7 pm – 9 pm.
Contact 9382945 for details.
Love and Land
In St Eugene’s Hall,
Moville on Friday, 20 March. Doors
open at 8 pm. Admission: €8 adults;
and €5 children.
Job
seeking Training Programme
A new programme will be commencing
in the Job Club, St Mary’s Road,
Buncrana soon. Why not come to the
Job Club and learn the skills that
will enable you to put the best application
forward. Course is free – call
Aisling on 9361376.
The
Deep End – Christ Crucified
Paul preaches ‘Christ Crucified’
[1 Cor 1:22] in today’s Second
Reading, not the Crucifixion. There’s
a huge difference between the two.
The one focuses on Christ; the other
on suffering. While the Gospels describe
his suffering and death, they don’t
dramatise them with lengthy and graphic
descriptions of flowing blood and
torn flesh. There’s an important
lesson to be learnt in the Gospel
accounts of Jesus’ suffering
and death that focusing on pain and
ripped flesh won’t provide.
Put simply the lesson
is: it was not Jesus’ suffering
that was the primary part of God’s
salvific plan, or even primary to
our redemption. No! It was the Spirit
that enabled him to suffer come what
may. That Spirit was his loving faithfulness
to his Father’s will. It was
this love in Jesus’ heart that
affected our redemption, not his suffering,
which would have had no value had
it not been endured because of love.
This view may be unacceptable to those
of a certain type of spirituality.
However, nothing should get in the
way of that understanding –
especially not a penance-promoting
spirituality that makes a ‘no-pain-no-gain’
claim where God is concerned.
For if suffering was the non-negotiable
part of God’s plan what sort
of an image does that present of him?
A Father, who would want his beloved
son in whom he was well pleased to
suffer cruelly and be killed –
and all to gratify at human sinfulness!
That would certainly be a stumbling
block, I’d say – and to
more than the Jews.
Fr Tom
Cahill, SVD
Why
Fear?
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your faithfulness.
In a changing world,
it is encouraging to know
that you are changeless;
In a fickle society,
it is reassuring to believe
that you can be trusted;
In a crumbling
community,
it is comforting to remember
that you are always near;
In a despairing
age,
it is exciting to recall
that you give hope for the future;
In my sin-scarred
life,
it is liberating to understand
that, through Jesus,
you have dealt once and for all with
my sin,
and made me clean – totally;
In my human weakness,
it is stimulating to know
that I am God’s workmanship,
and that I can do all good things
through Christ,
who died for me,
and rose again,
and now dwells within me
by his Spirit!
For all this,
I thank you, Lord,
for you are truly faithful.
Amen.
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