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St
Mary’s Church Bocan 30th December
2007—No 5
The
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Focus on family
Albert Einstein once
said that there are only two ways
to live one’s life: as though
nothing is a miracle, or as though
everything is. Better play safe and
take the second option especially
when it comes to family.
Family is where we most readily experience
the miracle that life is. It’s
where we fashion ourselves , and are
fashioned, as human beings. It’s
where we learn the art of living ,
the beauty of words such as ‘please’
and ‘thank you’. It’s
where we learn to brush teeth, wash
hands, and of course to flush. It’s
where we learn to be on time for meals
we haven’t had to prepare ourselves,
and to help with the wash-up instead
of running off to play. In short,
it’s where we learn to think
of others and not just ourselves.
It’s where we learn eventually
what Okakura Kakuzo notes in The Book
of Tea, that those who cannot feel
the littleness of great things in
themselves are apt to overlook the
greatness of little things in others
(p.6).
Most of these important lessons come
courtesy of parents . No wonder then
the word of God speaks so highly of
them today in Ben Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14.
Where would we be
without them?
Fr Tom Cahill SVD
Responsorial
Psalm
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
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‘Are you the one who
is to come, or have we to
wait for someone else?’
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Today’s
Readings
First Reading
Ecclesiasticus 3: 2-6.12-14
Respect for parents is never out of
date.
Second Reading Colossians
3: 12-21
St Paul stresses the importance of
living in harmony with one another.
Gospel Matthew 2: 13-15
The Gospel introduces us to the family
life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
Money
Matters:
Weekly Offering, €1,810;
Development Collection, €1,075.
Thank you for your generosity.
Fr McGonagle wishes to thank everyone
for their very generous Christmas
Collection.
Weekly Envelopes
The Weekly Offering & Development
Fund Envelopes are to be delivered
this week. The Collections each week
are most generous. Many thanks. Anyone
requiring envelopes please ask.
Moll
Carn Drama Club are presenting John
B Keane’s “Moll”
in Bocan Hall on Sunday, 6th January
2008. Doors open at 8 pm and the Play
commences at 8.30 pm sharp.
Whist Winners
1st (€20) Mary McDermott
Falmore
2nd (€15) Father McGonagle,
Parochial House.
3rd (€10) Vera Deeny,
Terawee & Dylan Doherty, Gleneely.
Highest Score (€5) Dylan
Doherty, Gleneely:
Lowest Score: (€5) Carrie
McLaughlin, Culdaff, John Doherty,
Malin Head & John Duffy, Derry.
Draw Winners: [1st] €10
Eddie Ruddy, Culdaff [2nd] (€5)
Seamus Harkin, [3rd] €5 Mary
McDermott, Falmore [4th] James McConalogue,
Cashel.
The Whist is on every Friday night
at 8.45 pm. Snowball this week: €35
for a score of 185 or better Everyone
welcome
Culdaff Football Club
Culdaff FC are introducing a new yearly
Lotto membership where people can
ensure their entry is in every draw
at a reduced rate of €80 for
the year. Special envelopes are available
from players and committee members
and this offer will commence on the
weekend of 14th January 2008.
Jobseekers
New Job Seeking Programme for Buncrana,
Carndonagh and Moville beginning in
the New Year. If you wish to apply
for jobs and gain great interview
skills contact the Job Centre on 9361376.
Today’s Psalm
The family is the basic unit of society.
A stable society cannot exist without
the security afforded by good family
life. Much of the violence, anger
and restlessness which are tearing
society apart stems from family instability.
Today’s psalm begins with the
statement of an ideal just as relevant
today as it was in the past. O Blessed
are those who fear the Lord and walk
in his ways. The virtue of fear of
God does not mean servile fear of
a punitive God but a deep respect
for God. One takes God seriously and
is reverential in attitude and word.
Perhaps nothing shows up the shallowness
of faith today as the disrespectful
us of God’s name.
Respect for God’s laws will
generate an atmosphere of faith in
the home. It is said that faith is
not taught it is caught. It is breathed
in from the surrounding atmosphere.
Good family life is the right of every
child. It is a blessing not to be
underestimated.
Indeed thus shall be blessed the
one who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life.
Fr Silvester O’Flynn,
OFMCap
Wise Words
“For all that has been –
thanks.
To all that shall be – Yes!”
Dag Hammarskjöld
‘Dogs, Would You Live
Forever?’
(Frederick the Great)
Bernard O’Donoghue
She’s bent at stool, as the
saying is,
Next to her deathbed. Her arched back
Is like white fish
That has been too long in the fridge,
Greyed at the spine bones.
Crying, she says,
‘this is the worst now.’
I say, ‘Of course it’s
not.
You did as much for children
Often enough.’
But of course it was:
the scene
Comes back, untriggered, more
Rather than less often,
Oddly enough.
I’d prefer you
to wait outside.
What I like about
this poem is that it is all so real.
A son tenderly caring for his mother
in the indignity of her final illness.
I love its honesty. The title is a
wee bit off-putting—makes the
point that all earthly life is limited.
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