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St
Mary’s Church Bocan - 27th
January 2008—No 9
3rd
Sunday In Ordinary Time
The
Mystery
Translated by Douglas
Hyde ( first president of the Republic
of Ireland)
I am the wind
which breathes upon the sea,
I am the wave of the ocean,
I am the murmur of the billows,
I am the ox of the seven combats,
I am the vulture upon the rocks,
I am a beam of the sun,
I am the fairest of plants,
I am a wild boar in valor,
I am a salmon in the water,
I am a lake in the plain,
I am a word of science,
I am the point of the lance of battle,
I am the God who created in the head
the fire.
Who is it who throws light into the
meeting on the mountain?
Who announces the ages of the moon?
Who teaches the place where couches
the sun? (If not I)
Parish Missal: Readings (Year
A) p 63 & Proper p 1010
First Reading
Isaiah 8: 23. 9:3
The people that walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
Second Reading
Corinthians 1: 10-13.17
Make up differences between you instead
of disagreeing among yourselves.
Gospel Matthew
4: 12-23
Follow me and I will make you fishers
of men.
Responsorial
Psalm
The Lord is my light and my help.
Feasts this
week
Friday, 1st February –
Feast of St Brigid [St Brigid’s
Crosses will be blessed at the First
Friday Mass at 8 pm];
Saturday, 2nd February
– Feast of the Presentation
of the Lord [Candles will be blessed
at the 9.30 am Mass].
Money Matters
:
Priests Collection,
€1,602;
Development Collection, €1,045.
Thank you for your generosity.
Youth Club
Rota
Friday, 1st February: Greta Doherty,
Rosalie O’Connor, Jane Conroy,
Noleen Ruddy.
N.B. The Youth Club AGM will take
place on 30th January.
A big
thank you to all those who contributed
to the recent church gate collection
for Epilepsy. It realised €378
for this worthy cause.
Scoil Mhuire
Gleneely
Proceeds from the recent sponsored
cycle in aid of the school will be
presented in Carrick’s Bar,
Gleneely this Sunday at 5 pm. Many
thanks to all those who sponsored
and to those brave souls who cycled.
Pilgrimage
to Medjugorgje June 7th 2008
- This is a combined tour with 4 nights
in Medjugorje and 3 nights in Gradac
on the Adriatic coast. Flights from
Belfast to Dubrovnik. The cost is
€734 [fully inclusive] and is
on a half-board basis [breakfast and
evening meal]. For more details contact
Esther Porter on 9374566 / 086 8475971
Carmelite
Retreat Centre
Monthly Devotions in Honour of Our
Lady take place on Tuesday, 5th February.
Beginning with confessions at 7.30
pm, followed by the Rosary and Mass
and concludes at 10 pm. All are welcome
to attend.
St Brigid
– is renowned for her hospitality,
almsgiving and care of the sick. She
was born c.454. she founded a double
monastery in Kildare with the assistance
of Bishop Conleth. She died in 524
and remains a much loved saint in
Ireland and several other European
countries.
Inishowen
Gardening Club : The Gardening
Club will meet on Monday, 28th January
in Wesley Hall, Carndonagh at 8 pm.
Guest Speaker: Sean O’Gaothain
[head gardener at Glenveagh National
Park] who will present “Gardens
in Donegal”. Everyone welcome.
Today’s
Psalm
The Lord is my
light and my help.
The theme of light links up with the
words of Isaiah, repeated in the gospel:
‘The people that walked in darkness
has seen a great light.’ When
Jesus began to preach, the light of
God’s revelation shone into
the darkness of soul and mind. ‘On
those who dwell in the land and shadow
of death a light has dawned.’
Jesus is the light that vanquishes
spiritual, moral and emotional darkness,
banishing all fear and depression.
The Lord is my light and my help;
whom shall I fear?
There is one thing
that the psalmist longs for…a
lasting experience of the presence
of the Lord all his days. The first
disciples were called by Jesus to
leave family and work to follow him.
The temple of his presence is no longer
a building of stones but every part
of life illuminated by faith. Yet
faith is but a dim anticipation of
the full beatific vision. Our hope
is that we shall one day see the Lord’s
goodness in the land of eternal life.
In his light we travel forward in
hope.
Fr Silvester
O’Flynn OFM CAP
All For One
M.Scott Peck wrote
in The Different Drum: Pseudo community
is conflict-avoiding; true community
is conflict resolving. In today’s
second reading [1 Cor 1:10-13, 17]
Paul would seem to hold a similar
view. He appeals to the Corinthians
to remember in whose name they were
baptised. Respecting their common
baptism in Jesus name creates unity.
As Paul asks them collectively and
not individually about their baptism,
they must answer collectively. Thy
can do that only by talking constructively
together first. Respect for Jesus
name is the springboard to that desired
exchange.
Two things are clear here: baptism
unifies; it’s not automatic.
Those baptised have to work with their
baptism to allow it to have its effect.
This doesn’t mean that as soon
as we recall our common baptism in
Jesus name everything is hunky dory.
No more bickering, short-sighted self-interest,
or breaking up into groups, gangs
or factions . Call them what you will.
But what it does mean is that we’ll
have to do some heavy-duty thinking
about whey we want to be called Christian
in the first place and follow with
behaviour that shows that why.
Today more than ever conflict resolution,
at all levels, is direly needed today
being Holocaust Memorial Day.
Fr Tom
Cahill SVD
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