Parish News for Sunday 15th August 2010

Vol.37 No.32

The Feast of the Assumption

PRIESTS OF THE PARISH
Very Rev Michael Canny Adm
Fr Peter Raftery CSSp
Rev Daniel McFaul CC
Fr Joseph Varghese

The Assumption

I recently saw The Nativity Story which gives a very human account of the terror and persecution Mary must have endured on account of her pregnancy. This reality is something that we can lose sight of when we read the glorified account in Revelation of Mary’s favour with God and then, in the Gospel, Luke’s account of Mary’s deep joy. It is likely that Mary fled to the anonymity of Elizabeth’s house to escape the village talk and the threat of stoning because they knew she had not yet come to live with Joseph. We sometimes also forget how young she was in bearing so great a burden.

Despite the difficulties that threatened her, Mary’s eyes remained firmly fixed on the will of God. In every biblical account of Mary, God is seen to protect her and honour her. Today we celebrate the assumption into heaven of the blessed body that bore our salvation. It is fitting that the body which bore the son of God and which bore the instrument of our salvation is assumed to Heaven, the place towards which Mary constantly gazed and the place she constantly served.

She is the first tabernacle and she is indeed the Cause of our Joy. Without Mary’s ‘yes’, it would be impossible for us to achieve eternity in Heaven. It has been imagined that in the moment between the angel Gabriel’s request and Mary’s answer at the Visitation, that the whole of Heaven held its breath.

What great reward has been given such a great sacrifice! Sitting at the right hand of Jesus, Mary constantly intercedes for us. We believe that Jesus can refuse his mother nothing, because their wills are so entwined. We thank God for so holy and gracious an intercessor and we joyfully celebrate the just reward of her Assumption.

The Assumption

Who is she that ascends so high,
Next to the Heavenly King.
Round about whom Angels fly
And her praises sing?

Who is she that, adorned with light,
Makes the sun her robe,
At whose feet the queen of night
Lays her changing globe?

This is she in whose pure womb
Heaven’s Prince remained;
Therefore in no earthly tomb
Can she be contained.

She that did so clearly shine
When our day begun,
See how bright her beams decline
Now sits with the Sun.

Sir John Beaumont

Rosary will be said at the Grotto

after Exposition today (Sunday) at 6.00pm.(weather permitting).

Sympathy

We offer our sympathy to the family and friends of

Annie Hutton, 5 Forest Park.

May she rest in peace.

Anniversaries

We remember the anniversaries of:

Mary & Josephine Hegarty, Sarah & Maggie Casey and Sybil Sharkey.

May they rest in peace.

Baptism

We welcome as members of the Christian community:

Thomas James Ferris, 2 Northland Villas.

Farrah Mary McFeely, 14 Foxhill.

Emma Claire McGeady, 44 Glenowen Park.

Readers - Weekdays

10.00 am Jimmy Doyle
07.30 pm Anna Peake

Readers on duty next Weekend
06.15 pm Garvin Kerr
07.30 pm Mona Tracey
09.30 am Piaras O Meallain
11.00 am Terry Willman-Gallagher
12.30 pm Kieran Kehoe

Eucharistic Ministers
Team *C* begins its rota
at the 6.15 pm Vigil Mass
next weekend.

Mass for the Sick with Eucharistic Blessing
will take place in Termonbacca on Tuesday at 8.00 pm. All welcome.

Mass in honour of Blessed Alexandrina Maria Da Costa
on Sunday next at 7.30 pm in Termonbacca.

Fr Canny acknowledges with thanks donations for: Pakistan Disaster:
£1960. St Pio: £10. Altar Flowers: £20, £10, £5. Eucharistic Congress: £20.

Last Week’s Collection amounted to £3,472.

Renovations Collection amounted to £994.

P.S. You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.

National Church Collection for Pakistan:

A collection will take place on the weekend of 21/22nd August in response to the crisis in Pakistan. The collection will be chanelled through Trocaire. Anyone wishing to make a donation by cheque should make it payable to St. Eugene’s Cathedral.

Forthcoming Courses for Adult Faith Development at Thornhill Centre include:
The Church? (Monday night - starts 4th October) 12 -session course to consider different aspects of Church through theology, spirituality and engagement with some of the questions of our time.

Dreams Workshop (Thursday night - starts 16th September) 7-session workshop that explores the Dream-World from the Christian Perspective.

Carol Ann Duffy Poetry (Wednesday night - starts 8th September) 4-week Course that helps us appreciate the gift of life from the everyday experience to the rich world of the imagination.
Contact thornhillcentre@derrydiocese.org. Phone (028)71351233.

CLICK HERE FOR BULLETIN NEWS