| Sunday
25th January
3rd
Sunday of the Year
The
Ways of the Lord.
“Follow me
and I will make you into fishers of
people.” Those words of Jesus,
which are given to us for this week,
are usually thought of as being addressed
to people with a vocation to the priesthood
or religious life. They are about
vocation certainly but are addressed
to each of us. The four great vocations
in the Church are single life, married
life, religious life and priesthood.
All of us who are baptised are living
one of those and each of us is vital
to the health of the whole body, the
Church. We live our vocations in different
ways but to the same end, the salvation
of the world. Our task is to discover
how to live our own vocation to the
full. This means discovering how to
make our love radiate out to those
around us. We begin in our homes with
those who are closest to us. Then
we can reach out to the world around
us. When we are with Christ and following
him love will be the characteristic
of our lives.
Fr. Johnny
Doherty, C.Ss.R.
Sunday 25th
January 2009
3rd Sunday
of the Year
First Reading
Jonah 3: 1-5.10
The people of Nineveh respond to God’s
call to repentance.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 7: 29-31
We should have our hearts and minds
set on spiritual things.
Gospel Mark
1: 14-20
Jesus calls his disciples to repent
and believe the Good News.
MASS
TIMES
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday & Saturday, 10
am.
Saturday, Vigil, 8 pm;
Sunday, 8.30 am & 11 am.
Confessions
Saturday, 7.15 pm-7.45 pm.
Anniversary
Masses
Tonight’s Vigil Mass:
Nellie O’Donnell, Ballyharry
[1st Anniversary]
Sun 11 am: Hubert Doherty, Culdaff
[1st Anniversary]
Next Week
Saturday Vigil: Stephen Miller, Moneydarragh
Sun 11 am: Betty Ruddy, Dunross.
Weekly
Offering: €1,400; Development
Collection: €855. Thank you for
your generosity.
Parish Council
Meeting of the Parish Council on Monday,
26th January at 8 pm in Bocan Old
School. All members please attend.
Youth Club
Rota: 30/01/09 Steve Canning,
Ika McDermott, Patricia Davenport,
Shauna Doherty, Jane Doherty, Denise
Cunningham
1st: John Doherty,
Malin Hd
2nd: Vera Deeny, Terawee
3rd: Ellen Ann Lafferty, Glengad &
Betty Houten, Culdaff
Tickets
Ernie McLucas, Carn, Phyllis Lloyd,
Gleneely, John Duffy, Derry.
Other Winners
Dolores O’Donnell, Carn, Gerard
Doherty Ourt & Mickey Doherty,
Urris
Whist every Friday at 8.45pm in Bocan
Hall. Snowball : €150 for 178
or more.
Serenity
House
Active Retirement Group –
evening o dancing in Caiseal Mara
Hotel, Moville on 30th January from
9 pm – midnight. Music by Ed
Sweeney and there will be raffle prizes
on offer. Admission is €5.
Chess Club
– in Serenity House on Thursday
29 January at 3.30 pm. More information
from 9382945.
Cancer Support Group
– Meeting on Monday 26th January
at 7.30 pm. Everyone welcome.
Chiropodist in Serenity
House on 30 January at 9.30 am. Appointments
to 086 0666 538 / 9360363.
Arthritis Support Group-
Meeting on Thursday 29th January at
7.30 pm. Maria Stevens will give a
talk on how homeopathy remedies could
help arthritis sufferers.
Bocan Defibrillator
Would all members please note that
a training night will take place on
Thursday, 29th January at 9 pm.
Epilepsy Ireland would like to thank
all those who contributed and helped
with their recent church-gate collection
– it realised €247.
Vocations
Information Day
In Thornhill Retreat Centre on Saturday,
14th February from 11 am – 4
pm. More information from Fr Paul
Farren on 04871264087 Fr Colm O’Doherty,
048 81661475.
Carmelite
Retreat Centre Derry
Sr Josephine Walsh Weekend with emphasis
on forgiving, healing and making a
new start takes place from Friday
6th Feb – Sun 8th Feb. More
details from 048 71262512.
Plaza Buncrana
Dance every Sunday from 9pm –
11.30 pm. All kinds of dancing tastes
catered for. Admission is €5
and music is by Peter Mack.
The
Deep End – Revolutionary
Paul makes more strange
statements this week. Take today’s
Second Reading, ‘Let those who
have wives be as though they had none,
and those who mourn as though they
were not mourning’ [1 Cor 7:
29-31]. He’s convinced that
the age in which he lives is ending.
He’s right in one sense, and
wrong in another.
He’s wrong
if he means the end of the world in
terms of chronological time. He’s
right if he means the end of this
world for the Christian in terms of
its ways and values. That has a ring
to it that needs to be heard every
bit as urgently today as it did in
Paul’s time in Corinth.
In fact, in today’s
Gospel reading [Mark 1:14-20] we have
Jesus preaching just that as his first
public proclamation in the Gospel
of Mark: ‘The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe the good news.’
Note the sequence here. Repent first;
then believe. Clearly, acceptance
of the news that Jesus brings as good
is not possible without a change of
heart and mind. And what is that news?
Well, at this stage it’s the
fact that the kingdom of God is at
hand. Later, in the light of Jesus’
resurrection it becomes clear that
entry into the kingdom brings resurrected
life: new, full and everlasting.
When, like Paul, we believe that such
a destiny can be ours then we’ll
look on this present world as passing,
and act accordingly. Counter-cultural
is what some people call it. Revolutionary
is what I’d say it is!
Fr Tom
Cahill SVD
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