All Saints Day

Sat 31^st                  6:00 pm Bridgie & Michael Johnston &

son Michael (M)

Sun 1^st                    10:00 am              Thomas Brennan, Powellsborough (M)

Mon 2^nd                 All Souls Day

10:00 am        Holy Souls (M)

Tues 3^rd                 St Malachy (bishop)

10:00 am        Holy Souls (M)

Wed 4^th                  St Charles Borromeo (bishop)

10:00 am        Mary Josephine Judge (M)

Thurs 5^th               St Martin de Porres (religious)

10:00 am        Desmond Armstrong & his parents

                                         Madeline & James, & sisters Claire

Madeline & Frances (M)

Fri          6^th                           All the Saints of Ireland

10:00 am        Holy Souls (M)

Sat 7^th                     St Willibrord (bishop & missionary)

10:00 am        Padraig Coleman, Achonry (M)

All Saints Day

Sat 7^th                    6:00 pm Peadar Gorman, Cawwowmore (M)

Sun 8^th                   10:00 am              Pat & Bea Kennedy, daughter Kathleen

& sons-in-law John, Peter & Terry (M)

Saturday 7^th Nov 6pm …. (M)
Readers of the Word

Sunday 8^th Nov 10am: …… (M)

1^st Reading Wis 6:12-16. Psalm Ps 62.

2^nd Reading 1 Th 4:13-18. Gospel Mt 25:1-13.

SATURDAY EVENING VIGIL MASS: On Sunday 25^th October Daylight Saving Time ends, the Clocks go back one hour. From Saturday 31^st October until March 2021 the Saturday Vigil Mass will be celebrated at 6pm. Due to other circumstances it can’t be celebrated at 7pm, hence the 6pm time.

All Saints Day 1^st Nov: Focus: We are all called to be saints. – When we gather at Mass, we are like the crowd in today’s Gospel, sitting at the feet of Jesus & seeking direction through his Word & spiritual nourishment through the Eucharist. Placing our hope in God & striving to lead virtuous lives, we look toward salvation & eternal life, & are reminded that we are called to be saints. 

November 1^st, at 3pm, there will be a short Prayer Service held in all Cathedrals throughout the country in remembrance of the dead.  This will mark the very difficult year it has been for so many families who have lost a loved one as a result of COVID 19 & also the countless families who were unable to have the “normal” funeral ritual for a loved one who has died.  Please feel free to join in via webcam to St. Nathy’s Cathedral at 3pm on the 1^st Nov.

The Rosary will be live on Facebook from Achonry & Courtabbey Cemeteries during the month of November.

Lough Derg November MEMORIAL SERVICE for deceased pilgrims & benefactors. Live via webcam from St. Mary's Church, Pettigo, Sunday 22^nd Nov 7pm www.churchservices.tv/pettigo To enrol a DEPARTED LOVED ONE email: info@loughderg.org or Tel: 0(0353) 719861518. Write to: Fr La Flynn, Prior, Lough Derg, Pettigo, Co Donegal F94 YC60

WORLD MISSION SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18^th

If you have contributed to the World Mission Sunday Collection THANK YOU.

If not, you can still offer a gift by calling Fiona on 01 497 2035 or donating online at www.wmi.ie/mission People can donate €4.00 right now, by texting the word MISSION to 50300. World Missions Ireland will receive a minimum of €3.60

Solemnity – All Saints November 1.

“Rejoice & be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” How are you called to use your talents? If Christ may be inviting you to faithful, rewarding service as a priest or consecrated religious, speak to your local priest, or call your Diocesan Vocation’s Director, or email the National Vocations Office on info@vocations.ie

Priesthood in Achonry Diocese – It is worth saying “yes” to God

6 residential weekends in Mullaghmore over the coming months for men who are exploring a call to priesthood. For more info contact Vocations Director, Fr Paul Kivlehan, Ballaghaderreen. 094-9860011, or 087- 3683535, E-mail pkivlehan@achonrydiocese.org  

Trócaire kindly acknowledge the sum total of €39,686.82 from the parishes of the Diocese of Achonry towards this year's Lenten Campaign for 2020. Your donations have made a great difference at a time when it is most needed by some of the world's most vulnerable communities. Thank you for your generosity.

Covid 19: The number of deaths worldwide is now over 201,000 & Republic of Ireland deaths at 1,908. That’s 44,000 deaths this week.

Oiche Shamhna

(20 years ago Fr Colm Kilcoyne, from Cong, wrote this article for The Sunday Tribune on Halloween or on the dead in general. Colm himself died last week & I reprint this lovely essay here as a tribute to him.)

Four thousand years ago, our Celtic ancestors built Newgrange. It was “a house of eternity” for their royal dead. On the shortest day of the year, 21 December, a shaft of sunlight travels the length of the passage, from a roof box above the door. For 17 minutes the chamber has light. Then, darkness. Not for another 12 months will sunlight warm the spirits of the dead in the depths of Newgrange. In 1926, Howard Carter, the archaeologist, was working in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. He broke through to the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Inside the coffin he found the body of the king. On the forehead was a tiny garland of flowers, still coloured after 3,000 years. Pharaoh's young widow had put them there, as a gesture of belief in the afterlife. The year was 1342 BC. This weekend always reminds me of the room in Newgrange, and the flowers on a pharaoh’s forehead. 2 November is the Feast of All Souls. On that night the veil between life and beyond was drawn back and the dead mingled with the living. Normality was suspended. We could converse with our dead. In time, ease with the dead degenerated into fear of them and we filled the night with games to cover our fright. Halloween. The church reclaimed the night and created All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. The Christians began to bury their dead in separate graves, not in huge mounds, to show that each life has a destiny. Over the graves they placed Celtic crosses. The perspective changed. With the Celtic cross, the circle connecting the arms was there all day every day. Carved in stone. Signs of eternity. I love this season. It is Celtic. Half superstition, half Christian. Who knows which is which? Who cares? These are the days that feed the soul and imagination. They touch on the biggest question of all. What next? St. Paul gives the makings of an answer. He said we are people who live in a tent, until such time as we live in our real home. The tent we pitch where our heart and our ambitions and loves lead us. At some point, though, we fold the tent and take up residence in a home prepared for us by God. A place where the sun shines every day, where flowers don’t whither, where the birds of the air are known by name and the cross evaporates into the circle of God’s eternal love. - Colm Kilcoyne

Level 5 Restrictions: now until 1^st December – Bishop Paul

Religious Services Generally (Excl. Funerals & Weddings); Public attendance at mass is not permitted & all masses must be online only. Please be assured that I am very much aware of the huge efforts that are in place in parishes around stewarding, sanitising etc. This is very much appreciated. I know our churches are safe places for people to worship & the suspension of weekday/Sunday Mass is particularly difficult.

Baptisms; The Sacrament of Baptism may proceed with, in addition to the child & the priest, four people present, preferably from the child's household only. All necessary travel restrictions & health & safety precautions should be strictly adhered to. It may be necessary for godparents to be represented by proxy.

Funerals; Funeral services may proceed but with a maximum of 25 mourners. The burial service should be considered part of the funeral service, thus the lower limit of 15 people for “outdoor gatherings” should not apply to the burial service. The Funeral Undertaker should outline these restrictions to the family.

Marriage; Wedding ceremonies may proceed, but with a limit of 25 guests (irrespective of church size). Due to the restriction on travel outside the county (apart from essential purposes), it will not be possible for a guest to attend a wedding in another county. However, the guidance states that couples, resident in a particular county, but with existing plans to get married, can travel to get married outside that county.

Private Prayer in Places of Worship; Churches & places of worship should remain open for private prayer. It is important to continue an appropriate cleaning regime in your church.

Parish Meetings, etc; As organised indoor gatherings are not permitted under Level 5, all in-person parish meetings, board of management meetings, etc. should be suspended. Meetings may continue online.