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St
Mary’s Church Bocan
23rd
March 2008
Easter
Sunday
The Resurrection of the Lord
New
Life
As long as the
sun comes over the hills,
scatters the darkness, and fills the
world with light;
as long as the fields get green again,
and the primroses and violets return;
as long as the trees fill up again
with leaves,
there is hope for us and the world.
So come, let us follow the footsteps
of spring,
for the snow has melted,
and life is awakening from its sleep
and wander through the hills and valleys.
Come, let us ascend the heights
and gaze upon the waving greenness
of the plains below.
O come, let us rejoice on this Easter
Day,
for death has folded up his tent and
gone away
Responsorial
Psalm
Send forth your spirit, O Lord, and
renew the face of the earth
Collection.
Weekly Offering €1,610
Development Collection, €1,000;
Clerical Collection, €1,108.
Thank you for your generosity.
Today’s
Readings
1st Peter regales his listeners
with the events that have taken place
in Galilee;
2nd
St Paul tells us that we should aspire
to the things of heaven ;
Gospel
Mary of Magdala is the first to discover
that Jesus is no longer in the tomb.
Simon Peter and the other disciple
join her and see the linen cloths
on the ground. Till this moment they
had failed to understand the teaching
of scripture, that he must rise from
the dead.
Uganda Collection
St Vincent de Paul are taking up their
annual collection next weekend, 29th/30th
March, for Uganda. Please support
this worthy appeal.
Badminton
Success
Congratulations to Michelle Ruddy
and William Gourley on winning the
Junior Mixed Title at the Raphoe Tournament
last week.
Culdaff Football
Club / Gleneely Colts
Under 12 and Under 14 training commences
next Friday, 28th March, at 6 pm in
Caratra Park.
Whist
Whist resumes on Friday 28th March
night in Bocan Hall at 8.45 pm.
Snowball on the 28th March: €40
for 188 or more
TEACH Laptop
Project - FETAC Level 4
Inishowen Development Partnership
are currently recruiting participants
who have previously completed the
TEACH Programme to complete FETAC
Level 4 [Computer Applications] from
the comfort of their own homes. It
will involve learning 3 new packages
: Excel, Databases and PowerPoint
as well as recapping the skills already
learnt. The course will run for 15
weeks have 4-6 participants per group
and involves 2-3 hours per week. If
you are interested contact Sinead
McDaid on 086 821 6306 or 9362218.
Podiatrist
[Chiropodist]
Diagnosis/treatment/professional advice.
Home visits by appointment.
To book an appointment with Sue Rowlands
contact 086 346 5817
Resurrection
A young man approached his pastor
one day and asked him to explain the
Resurrection. The pastor took him
to a graveyard and picked a grave
at random. The headstone indicated
that a man named Daniel was buried
there. What, the pastor asked the
young man, do we know about Daniel?
The young man shrugged. We know, said
the pastor, that Daniel is dead; that
his body is inert, his mind a void;
that, even if we were to bring 20
dancing girls and have them cavort
around his grave, Daniel would continue
to display a radical disinterest in
reality.
On the evening of that first Good
Friday, he went on, this is how it
was with Jesus. But then 40 hours
later, something happened that would
change everything. Jesus came back
to life. Let us be clear, he emphasised,
Jesus began to breathe again, grew
warm, started to move, re-engaged
with reality became interested in
the things around Him. Having been
as dead as Daniel, he became once
again as alive as we are.
This is both the meaning of the Resurrection
and the central idea of Christianity:
that death has no dominion, that beyond
the end there is a new beginning.
Christianity, he said, is the announcement
of the death of death.
John Waters.
The
Deep End – Boldly Going
Believing that someone has risen from
the dead is quite an achievement.
It means that you have freed your
mind from the limitations of reason.
Human reason is limited, is it not?
So, is it not desirable to boldly
go where reason alone cannot take
you? If we never take that step into
what is seen as in a glass darkly
we will not develop fully. We will
be so fearful of appearing gullible,
or stupid; so fearful of derision
from those considered more ‘enlightened’
and intelligent, so afraid of drifting
into insanity, that we will imprison
our mind in shallowness and limit
our ability to mature spiritually.
As people of faith we have staked
our life on what we believe. If Jesus
has not risen then what’s the
point in seeking ‘the things
that are above?’ [Colossians
3:1-4]. What’s the point in
being a Christian if the highpoint
of Jesus’ life was a lie, a
non-event, a con-artist’s ruse?
Then our faith would be a sham, our
values mere delusion.
Look into the eyes of your loved ones:
wife, husband, son, daughter, and
tell them they have no lasting value.
Then see if you can ever look them
in the eye again
Splinters
from the Cross
Little headaches, little heartaches,
Little griefs of every day.
Little trials and vexations
How they throng around our way.
One great cross, immense and heavy
So it seems to our weak will,
Might be borne with resignation
But these small ones kill.
Yet all life is formed of small things.
Little leaves make up the trees,
Many tiny drops of water
Blending, make the mighty seas.
Let us not then by impatience
Mar the beauty of the whole,
But for the love of Jesus bear all
In the silence of the soul.
Asking him for grace sufficient
To sustain us through each loss,
And to treasure each small offering
As a splinter from his Cross.
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