Fr Paul Farren,

Fr Gerard Mongan, Fr Daniel McFaul, Fr Joseph Varghese

Deacon: Rev Brendan Collins

Sunday, 25th December 2011 - The Nativity of Our Lord

A Saviour has been born to you

The angel said: “I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” The message of Christmas is a message of joy. Many of us experience it as such but we very soon go back to our ordinary ways of living. As Christians the joy of Christmas is given to us in faith so that others may experience joy also because of us. We cannot afford to go back to joyless living. We need to stretch ourselves to let the joy of this very special time grow and develop in our daily lives so that the world can be filled with the radiance of Christ. We do this through the quality of joy that we develop in marriage and family life. We do it also through the sense of joy that we work at in our faith community. This week we can practice joy in our lives so that it will become infectious for all those around us.

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.

Sunday 25th November 2011

The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

First Reading: Isaiah 52:7-10
All the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God

Second Reading: Hebrews 1:1-6
God has spoken to us through his Son

Gospel: John 1:1-18
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us

The God Who Is Revealed in Christmas

‘Christmas is God’s answer to human longing, God’s response to the centuries of prayers that lay hidden in our groaning, our sighs, our frustrations, and our religious efforts, each of them a plea, mostly silent, for a divine intervention, all of them asking God to come and rid the world of injustice and our hearts of loneliness and heartache.

‘But God’s answer didn’t exactly meet our expectations, even as it surpassed them. What was born with Jesus’ birth and what still lies seemingly helpless in mangers all around the world wasn’t exactly what the world expected. Why? Why would God choose to be born into the world in this way?

‘The power of God revealed in Christmas is the power of a baby, nothing more, nothing less: innocence, gentleness, helplessness, a vulnerability that can soften hearts, invite in, have us hush our voices, teach us patience, and call forth what’s best in us.

‘We have always been slow to understand this; we want our messiahs to possess more immediate power. But that’s not the Christmas story, nor the power revealed in it. An infant lying in the straw in Bethlehem didn’t outgun anyone. He just lay there, waiting for anyone, good or bad, to come to him, see his helplessness, feel a tug at his or her heart strings, and then gently try to coax a smile or a word out of him. That’s still how God meets us.’

Fr Ron Rolheiser

The priests of the Parish wish everyone

a happy, peaceful Christmas and New Year

‘Do It In Memory’ - First Communion preparation:

GLORIA: The Gloria is a very old prayer of praise and thanksgiving. The first few lines will sound familiar because it was the song sung by the angels when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. We do not pray the Gloria during the seasons of Advent and Lent.

Opening Prayer: After the Gloria the priest will invite us to pray. The prayer begins in silence. This gives us time to talk to God in our hearts. We might want to thank God for something good that has happened or we might want to ask God to take care of something that we are worried about. Then the priest takes all our prayers and offers them to God. The words of the Opening Prayer differ from Sunday to Sunday and reflect the theme of the Mass. We respond by saying ‘Amen’. Amen means that we believe that whatever God does is OK with us.

MASS TIMES AFTER CHRISTMAS

 
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 26th to 30th December inclusive – Masses at 12.00 noon and 7.30 pm.

Saturday, 31st December (New Year’s Eve) – Mass at 12.00 noon, Vigil Masses at 6.15 and 7.30 pm.

*Eucharistic Exposition immediately after 7.30 pm Mass concluding with Rosary and Benediction at 11.45 pm to welcome the New Year (*weather permitting).

Sunday, 1st January – Usual Masses – 7.00, 9.30, 11.00 and 12.30 pm.

Normal weekday Mass times resume on Monday, 2nd January - 8.00, 10.00 am and 7.30 pm.

Thursday, 5th January – Masses at 8.00, 10.00 am and Vigil Masses at 6.15 pm and 7.30 pm.

Friday, 6th January – Feast of the Epiphany: Mass times at 7.00, 9.30, 11.00 am, 12.30 pm and 7.30 pm.

Sympathy

We offer our sympathy to the family and friends of:

Christopher Farrell, 20 Lawrence Hill.

Mona McLaughlin, 20 Joseph Place.

Jeannie Deeney, 39 Westland Avenue,

Richie Gallagher, 6 Creggan Street.

May they rest in peace.

Anniversaries

We remember the anniversaries of:

Mard McCourt, Johnny Coyle, Matt & Kathleen McColgan, Gladys McColgan, Hugh & Jane Brady,

Mary Brady, James Robinson, Peter Brendan O’Donnell, Peter Griffin, Danny Duffy, Sylvia Page,

John O’Donnell, Alice Devine, Gerry Carlin, Micky McKinney,

Charles Gallagher and Maureen Horner.

May they rest in peace.

Baptism

We welcome as a member of the Christian community:

Harley Layne O’Doherty McConnell, 99 The Meadows.

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

Readers - Weekday Readers

12.00 noon Jimmy Doyle
07.30 pm Adele McCauley

Readers on duty next weekend
06.15 pm Garvin Kerr
07.30 pm Christine McDevitt
09.30 am Terry Willman-Gallagher
11.00 am Eugene McClintock
12.30 pm Ciara McDevitt

Fr Farren acknowledges with thanks: Trócaire: £200, £100. Cathedral Funds: £50. St Vincent de Paul: £200, £200. Renovations: £20, £100. Christmas Flowers: £20, £20, £5. East Africa: £20. Parish Missionaries Overseas: £10.

Last week’s Collection amounted to £3,380.

Renovations Collection amounted to £864.

The Christmas Box Collection will be taken up

at Midnight Mass and at all Masses on Christmas Day.

Feast of the Epiphany, Friday, 6th January 2012

Holyday of Obligation - Friday, 6th January is the feast of the Epiphany, It is a Holyday of Obligation. The Epiphany tells the story of the Wise Men (Magi) from the East who followed the star until it led them to Bethlehem where they adored the new born, Jesus. The word “epiphany” means “appearance” or “manifestation”.

Mission is at the very heart of the feast of the Epiphany because it reveals how those who do not know Christ can be moved, compelled and convinced by the gospel to bow down and worship. In fact, every effort we make at mission - sharing our faith and giving witness by deeds - is nothing less than an epiphany. Why? Because when we do this, God’s work is manifested and fulfilled in the world.

Masses for the Feast of the Epiphany are as follows:

Thursday: Vigil Masses at 6.15 pm and 7.30 pm.

Friday: Masses at 7.00 am, 9.30 am, 11.00 am, 12.30 pm and 7.30 pm.

There will be a collection for Parish Missionaries Overseas at all Masses on the Feast of the Epiphany. There are a number of priests and nuns from the parish who are in Africa, South America and different parts of the world. This collection will be used to support them in their missionary work. If you wish to nominate a priest or nun who have family connections in the Parish for financial support please email their name and contact details to steugenes@btconnect.com.

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