| Sunday
22nd March 2009
4th
Sunday in Lent
Christ,
the Redeemer
"God
sent his Son so that through him the
world might be saved."
We can become so familiar with a sentence
like this that we miss the profound
truth in it of how much God loves
us and longs for us. We think of faith
as meaning our belief in God. It is
much more about God's intense belief
in us and in our goodness and beauty
and he wants us to come to a knowledge
of that too. We have a serious responsibility
to one another of constantly bringing
that knowledge to one another in every
way we can. One of the major tasks
for every married couple is to help
each other to know how much they are
loved and treasured. This is done
through affirmation and affection.
Parents have this same responsibility
towards their children. They can help
each one be a truly successful human
being by building up their goodness.
And in the parish community we help
one another by looking out for each
other.
Fr. Johnny
Doherty, C.Ss.R.
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O
let my tongue cleave to my mouth
if I remember you not!
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Today’s
Readings
1st [2 Chron. 36: 14-16] After punishing
his faithless people with exile God
will bring them home;
[Ps. 136] In exile
we sing about our homeland –
the city of God;
2nd [Eph. 2: 4-10]
Even to people who had destroyed themselves
by sin God has given new life in Jesus;
Gospel [Jn. 3: 14-21]
God loved the world so much that he
sent his Son through whom we might
be saved.
MASS
TIMES
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday , Friday & Saturday,
10 am
Wedding Mass
on Friday at 1 pm.
Stations of
the Cross, Wednesday, 7.30
pm.
Saturday, Vigil, 8
pm;
Sunday, 8.30 am &
11 am.
Confessions
Saturday, 7.15 pm-7.45 pm.
Memorial Mass
Sunday, 11 am: Memorial Mass for John
Michael McKenna, USA [son of Grace
McCann formerly of Ballyharry].
Priests
Collection: €1,725; Development
Collection: €960; Clerical Students
Collection €1,050. Thank you
for your generosity.
Station Mass
– Thursday, 26th March
at 8 pm
[Dunross & Cloncha] In the home
of Joe & Gina Crossan.
Rewiring
of St Mary’s Church, Bocan
Any registered electrical contractor
interested in tendering for the work
please inform the Parish Council in
writing c/o Parochial House, Bocan.
Whist
1st: Annie McColgan,
Carn
2nd Margaret McGilloway,
Malin
3rd Michael Doherty,
Urris
Tickets:
Seamus Harkin, Gleneely, Eamon Donaghy,
Effishmore & Phyllis Lloyd, Gleneely.
Other Winners:
Betty Houten, Culdaff, Patricia Harkin,
Culdaff & Paddy McLaughlin, Gleneely.
Whist every Friday
night at 8.45 pm in Bocan Hall. Snowball
€70 for 186 or less.
Confirmation
Sunday, 29th March at 11 am.
N.B. Parents of children
in 5th Class please attend a meeting
on Monday night at 8 pm in Bocan Hall
to arrange refreshments for the Confirmation.
Uganda Appeal
A church gate collection will be taken
up at all Masses next weekend for
the Uganda Appeal – please give
as generously as you can.
Ladies, want
to get fit for summer?
Then come along to the Ladies Badminton
night every Thursday at 9 pm in Bocan
Hall.
Car Boot Sale
Sunday 7th June at Bocan
Hall. If you have anything
saleable that you would
like to donate then please
contact Angela on 087 9028930.
Culdaff /
Gleneely Football Clubs
Youth Football: Registration
Day at Caratra Park on Saturday, 28th
March from 10 am – 12 noon for
all under age players [U 12- U 18].
If you are interested in playing then
come along on that day and meet the
managers. Parents are also welcome
to come along as they have to sign
the forms of all under age players.
N.B The u10 training
will commence in a few weeks.
Serenity
House
Chiropodist : Deirdre
Britton will be in Serenity House
on Friday, 27th March at 9.30 am.
Appointments to : 0860666538 / 9360363.
Children’s Chess
: A few places remain for this activity
– contact 9382945 for more details.
Active Retirement
: An evening of Dance in Caiseal Mara
Hotel, Moville on Friday 27th March
from 9 pm- midnight. Admission €5.
Blood
Donations
1st April at CCS – 3 pm -4.45
pm & 7 pm-9.30 pm;
2nd April 2 pm-4.45 pm & 7 pm-9.30
pm. Donors urgently needed.
Inishowen Gardening Club
Next Meeting on Monday, 23rd March
at 8 pm in Wesley Hall, Carndonagh.
Talk by Brendan Little on the ‘Gardens
of Ireland’– all welcome
Youth Club-
AGM on 24th March at 8 pm.
UMBRA Clothes
Collection at Bocan Chapel
car park on Tuesday, 24th March at
12 noon.
The
Deep End – Our Twilight Zones
In his book, Sophie’s World,
author Jostein Gaarder writes, ‘The
most subversive people are those who
ask questions. Giving answers is not
nearly as threatening. Any one question
can be more explosive than a thousand
answers.’ Why so?
Perhaps a quote from another author
may provide a partial answer. In Kissing
the Dark, Mark Patrick Hederman writes,
‘Fixation upon any one particular
aspect of the total mystery is missing
the point, is swapping the glory for
the gore, trading our birthright for
a mess of pottage . The crucifixion
is not a fact. It cannot be nailed
down to one explanation, labelled
with one easy heading. It is an event.’
Today’s Gospel reading [Jn.
3:14-21] tells us that some people
just don’t prefer the darkness
they love it [v. 19]. They are the
ones fixated on the gore, not the
glory.
John makes no excuses for these people.
There is no attempt to explain away
their evil deeds or mitigate their
guilt. It’s either or. Either
you’re for the light, or for
the dark. Faith has no twilight zones.
Lent is a time for discovery; for
facing fact not fiction, for honesty
about twilight zones we may frequent,
or long to: haunts of unreality, dead
end traps that stunt our growth, imprison
us in addiction, and alienate us from
each other, and from God. Lent is
a time for lingering in the light,
for letting its rays do their healthy
work. It’s a time for asking
the subversive question: Where does
my heart lie, in darkness or in light?
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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