Sunday 24th August 2008

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

On this Rock I will build my Church

“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is the core of our faith as followers of Christ. A way of restating this is that Christ is the one above all others who can teach us the fullness of human life. And he teaches us that the only way to full human living is to love God with our whole heart and to love our neighbour as ourselves. Married couples are the great prophets of this way, as love is at the core of their existence. But this love has to be worked at every day. Love does not just mean how we feel but how we choose what is best for each other and for the marriage relationship. These choices have to be made every day and often during many days. The same is true within family life. As we acknowledge the family as the Domestic Church, we know that love is at the centre of it. And certainly if we are to build the parish as a community of faith these decisions to love, to make Christ present, are essential.

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R. - http://www.loveisforlife.com

 

 

Masses during the coming week

Monday & Tuesday 10.00am

Thursday & Friday 10.00am

Weekend Masses:

Vigil Mass Saturday evening 8.00 pm

Sunday morning 9.00 am & 11.00 am

Confession Times: There will be No Confessions after the Saturday Evening Vigil Mass

Mass Intentions for this week:

Monday 10.00am : Anv. Mass Gerard McHugh

Thursday 10.00am : Anv. Mass - Maureen McHugh

Saturday 8.00pm - Anv. Mass - Minnie McHugh

Derry Diocesan Society From July 2008 the contribution to enrol members to the Derry Diocesan Society has been increased to £20

Each day in the Derry Diocese we are asked to pray for our priests named on that particular day. THIS WEEK WE PRAY FOR:

Fr. Francis Murray Monday 25th August
Fr. Seamus O’Connell Tuesday 26th August
Fr. Joseph O’Conor Wednesday 27th August
Fr. Colm O’Doherty Thursday 28th August
Fr. Kieran O’Doherty Friday 29th August
Fr. Brian O’Donnell Saturday 30th August
Fr. Francis P. O’Hagan Sunday 31st August

This Week’s Calendar

Monday 25 - St Louis of France.

Wednesday 27 - St Monica, patron saint of mothers.

Thursday 28 - St Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church.

Friday 29 - The Beheading of John the Baptist, martyr.

Saturday 30 - St Fiacre, monk.

SAINT FOR AUGUST

St Teresa Benedict of the Cross (Edith Stein) 9 August Edith was born at Breslaw (now Wroclaw, Poland), the youngest of seven children of a Jewish family. A brilliant student, she gained her doctorate in philosophy at twenty-five. She became a Catholic in 1922 and a Carmelite nun. Both Jewish and Catholic, she fled to Holland when the Nazis came to power but she was captured and sent to Auschwitz where she died in a gas chamber on 9 August 1942

Legion of Mary Meeting as usual on Thursday at 8pm in the parish hall.

Hike to Croagh Padraig

Do you fancy a trip to Westport, Co. Mayo, combined with a hike on one of Ireland’s famous mountains, ‘Croagh Padraig’? The trip will on Saturday 13th September for those aged 16 – 35 and it will cost approximately £35. This fee will include transport from Derry, a guide and dinner in a hotel in Westport. You are invited to take part and join other young people for this day trip. For further details or to book, please contact 028 7126 4087 or email ddcc@derrydiocese.org. Places are limited so please book early.

SPUC has asked everyone in Northern Ireland to write to the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, urging him to prevent Labour MPs from extending the Abortion Act. It is vital that we take a public stand as it is impossible to over estimate the threat we face. For more information call SPUC’s Belfast Office on 028 9077 8018.

ST EUGENE’S HIGH SCHOOL - commences for pupils on
Monday 1st September 2008 - FIRST YEAR PUPILS ONLY
Tuesday 2nd September 2008 - ALL YEARS - 9 - 12

Holy Cross College New School Year
The dates for students returning to Holy Cross College in year groups are as follows:

Friday 29 August - Years 11, 12, 13 only - half day, no school meals

Friday 29 August - Year 14 - full day, no school meals

Monday 1 September - Year 9 and Year 10 only - full day

Tuesday 2 September - Year 8 and Year 14 only - full day

Wednesday 3 September - Full school return - full day

School begins each day 8.40am.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land - September 2009 Direct flight from Belfast. 11 Days just 1395 euro (Currently £975 stg) Spiritual directors. Fr. Miko Porter, Burt and Fr. Gerry Sweeney Killyclogher. Saving Scheme in operation. For further details: Contact Charlie Gillespie. Tel:07533330756

Questions people ask

Q. Was Jesus ever called Christ before St. Peter used that title? For instance, at home with Mary and Joseph was he known as Christ?
A. Jesus was his personal name, a name meaning Saviour, announced by an angel and given to him at birth. Christ was a title which identified him as the long-awaited Messiah. This title means the anointed one sent by God. Jesus told Simon Peter that it was only a special grace which enabled him to recognise Jesus as the Christ. I find it impossible to understand how any Christian could be insensitive to the sacred character of these sacred names.
Fr Silvester OFlynn OFM Cap
Email silvesteroflynn@gmail.com

The Deep End

Our Inscrutable God How do you make God laugh? Just tell him your plans! The hymn of praise that is today’s Second Reading (Rom 11:33-36) soaring on a loftier plane than that opening quip, nonetheless points to the same reality: the inscrutability of God. <br>
Down from the heady heights of Pauls vision of God, what does it mean for us in daily life that God is inscrutable? Well, let’s say first what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that we can’t know anything about God, so there’s no point in trying to. It means that we can’t know everything about him. Coming to terms with God in our life is our number one priority, or should be. Sadly, for many it isn’t.

And when we try to come to terms with God we find, as Thomas Merton points out in Love and Living (p. 111): There is a disconcerting aura of secularity about much of Gods activity as recorded in the Bible, and uneasiness with this has generally led certain types of philosophic religiosity to improve on the concept of God, seeking to make it more spiritual, more impressive to humans minds, in a word, more divine. Not only is that secularity found in the Bible, it’s found in real life too.

Compare the number of times were told in the Bible to pray to the number of times were told to love our neighbour. And showing that love is very down-to-earth stuff indeed the stuff of the Good Samaritan. The sleeves up, hands on approach.
God wants action not just intention. There’s nothing inscrutable about that.

 

Marriage Preparation Courses. 2008

October 24th & 25th. November 21st & 22nd. December 5th & 6th

Courses 2009 January 23rd & 24th, February 20th & 21st March 20th & 21st, April 24th , 25th, May 22nd & 23rd, June 19th & 20th.

Application forms are available from the parochial house or from the Accord Office 48 Brook Street,Omagh. Numbers on courses are limited. The fee of £100 per couple must be included with completed application form and forwarded to the Accord Office