Parish Newsletter 3rd October 2021 Print this page Print this page
 

2
Oct
Sat, 2021
 

Parish of Achonry/Mullinabreena

Church of St Nathy & St Brigid, Achonry F91 X998

Church of the Sacred Heart Mullinabreena F56 C864

Fr Peter Gallagher 071 9184002 / 087 2221244,   F56 CY23

e-mail: pgallagher@achonrydiocese.org

2021 Sunday Cycle B Weekday Cycle I  

 

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sat 2nd                    8:00 pm Patrick & Bridget Brennan

& Margaret & Noel Mooney (A)

Sun 3rd                   10:00 am                      People of the Community (M)

Mon 4th                  St Francis of Assisi (stigmatist)

                 10:00 am              Private Intention (M)

Tues 5th                 St Faustina  

10:00 am        Private Intention (M)

Wed 6th                  St Bruno (priest)

10:00 am        Breege Rogan McCaul (A)

Thurs 7th               Our Lady of the Rosary

10:00 am        Private Intention (M)

Fri          8th           10:00 am              Kathleen Scully (A)

Sat 9th           St John Henry Newman, St Denis & Companions

                                                10:00 am              Private Intention (M)

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sat 9th                    8:00 pm Fr Patrick Henry, Achonry & Leeds (A)

Sun 10th                 10:00 am                      Peter Quinn, Shanaghy, Ballina (M)

 
   


         

Readers of the Word

Saturday 9th Oct 8 pm …. (A)

Sunday 10th Oct 10am: …… (M)

1st Reading Wis 7:7-11. Psalm Ps 89.

2nd Reading Heb 4:12-13. Gospel Mk 10:17-30.

 

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 3rd Oct: Focus: God has joined us to one another & to himself. – When we bring our questions, doubts, & concerns to God, even when we try to challenge him with the letter of the law, he responds in love, by revealing his plan of salvation. This plan is lived out in the sacrament of marriage, & in joining ourselves in faith & love to God no matter our state in life.

“The Family that Prays together stays together”

SYMPATHY: We remember in our prayers at this time: Peter Quinn, Shanaghy, Ballina (nephew of the late Pat Quinn, Mary & Noel Henry’s, Tounavoultry).

May the Souls of the faithful departed rest in peace

 

Priesthood in Achonry Diocese – It is worth saying “yes” to God: For more information contact Achonry Diocesan Vocations Director, Fr Paul Kivlehan, 094-9860011, or 087- 3683535, E-mail pkivlehan@achonrydiocese.org  

Important Notice

Parish Safeguarding

Safeguarding Children is subject to the Legislative requirements of the National Vetting Bureau (Children & Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 to 2016. Section 20 of this Act will soon be passed into law. This will place a legal requirement on every Parish to conduct garda vetting on a number of personnel & parish Volunteers, areas to be vetted for include "Supervising in the Sacristy, Sacristans, Choir Masters, & Eucharistic Minister bringing Host to VP." Thank you to all who have volunteered to be garda vetted & returned the necessary documents enabling our parish to comply with legal requirements. I would ask that all outstanding forms & documents be returned to Parochial House ASAP, & I will forward them to director of safeguarding.  

 

World Mission Sunday – weekend of 23/24 October

World Mission Sunday is the Holy Father’s annual appeal for spiritual & financial support so that the life-giving work of overseas mission & missionaries can continue. It always falls on the second last Sunday in October, & like the Good Friday collection for the Holy Land & Peter’s Pence, it is one of three yearly universal Church collections. More info at mission.ie

World Mission Sunday collections take place in every single parish where the Church is present. This includes not only Ireland & Europe, but also in poorer parishes in developing countries. It is a moment of universal solidarity when each member of the Church family, regardless of location or background, play their part in supporting each other. This is what makes it such a special celebration.

Why is World Mission Sunday important? All offerings & donations made for World Mission Sunday become part of the Holy Father’s Universal Solidarity Fund. This fund is a lifeline for struggling missionaries & the communities they serve across Africa, Asia & Latin America, where over 1,100 mission dioceses are found. As these dioceses form & grow, so do their needs. On top of this, mission dioceses are often in remote areas devastated by war & natural disasters, or where suppressed communities are just opening up to the life-saving message of Jesus Christ. This is why World Mission Sunday is so important. It offers young dioceses the financial & spiritual assistance they need to help their men, women, & children to survive & thrive.

Ceoltoiri Coleman will perform in concert on Sat October 16th at 8.30pm. A great night of song & music is guaranteed. Seating capacity is reduced so early booking is advisable. Call 9182599.

This year’s Day for Life is celebrated today, Sunday 3 Oct on the theme ‘The Good Samaritan: A Model of Compassion’.  In the context of the recent proposal to introduce assisted suicide, both in Ireland & the UK, this year's Day for Life message invites Catholics to consider a more positive & compassionate response to the care of people who are in the final stages of life. See www.councilforlife.ie for more info.

 

Achonry Farmers Market: Every Saturday from 10am to 1pm in Nace O'Dowd Park. Thank you to the large number of volunteers who make this happen. We are appealing to members of the community to support the market to ensure its continued success. Drop in for a cup of tea/coffee & meet the locals in this friendly environment. The market has a new & unused stall & if anyone has any items for the stall please drop them in to the market. Thank you

Foundation in Counselling course again this Autumn. It is a One-Year Part-time course which will begin 7th October and will run for 26 Thursday nights from 7pm to 10pm until 20th May 2022. There are also two Saturdays from 10am to 5pm to attend. Some people complete the course as a first step to train as a counsellor while others participate for their own self development or to help them to cope better in their workplace or family life.

The cost of the course is €1200 which can be paid in instalments. There is a deposit of €100 required to secure a place on the course and this will be deducted from the full price. Please email reception@newman.ie for enquiries or phone 096 72066 for further details. Please find attached copy of the application form for your attention & for further information on the course.

I would be most grateful if you could include this notice in your bulletin over the next six weeks and perhaps mention it at Mass over the coming weekends.

RADIO MARIA IRELAND

Thank God & sincere thanks also to our many listeners & supporters as RADIO MARIA IRELAND continues to grow. As an Irish-run Catholic Talk-Radio Station we enjoy commercial free broadcasting - Prayer, Catechesis, Uplifting music, Talks, Interviews & Testimonies - do join our growing faith family! Here's how you can listen: Via Digital TV - Saorview Channel 210. Download our FREE App "RADIO MARIA IRELAND" Streaming on our WEBSITE - www.radiomaria.ie (Subscribe & Donate here also) Via our 'Listen Live Radio' link on our Facebook Page. Via PHONE - get live radio feed by calling +353 (0) 1 437 3277 (no extra charges apply). Why not drop a line to our Priest Director, Fr. Eamonn McCarthy, or come & pay us a visit at Radio Maria Ireland, St. Anthony's Business Park, Ballymount Road, Dublin 22.

Covid 19: The number of deaths worldwide is now over 4,810,323. That’s 59,590 deaths last week. Republic of Ireland deaths 5,249. That’s 40 deaths in Ireland last week. The number of positive cases in Ireland is now 391,932, so 1 in every 12.8 has tested positive.

The Day for Life is celebrated annually by the Catholic Church in Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. It is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition. This year’s Day for Life will be celebrated in Ireland on Sunday 3 October on the theme 'The Good Samaritan: A Model of Compassion'. In the context of the recent proposal to introduce assisted suicide, both in Ireland and the UK, this year's message invites Catholics to consider a more positive and compassionate response to the care of people who are in the final stages of life. The Catholic Church's approach to end of life care is well articulated in the recent Vatican document Samaritanus bonus on the care of persons in the critical and terminal phases of life. In that document we are reminded that Jesus gave us the image of the good Samaritan as the model for our compassion and our solidarity with those who find themselves vulnerable and who fear being abandoned in their final illness. The Good Samaritan is one who “crosses over”, who “binds up wounds” and who, most important of all “stays with” the person for as long as is required.

This year's Day for Life Message is available online on www.catholicbishops.ie & on www.councilforlife.ie.

The fragility of life and the reality of death have been brought into sharp focus during the Covid-19 pandemic. In Ireland alone, more than 8,000 people have died with Covid-19. Each of these lives is precious and every life matters. With a most amazing spirit of solidarity, the energies of our society - in hospitals, test centres, vaccination clinics, schools, churches, supermarkets and in so many other places - have been directed towards protecting those who were most vulnerable to disease. We have begun to see the fruits of those efforts. While all of this was going on, the Oireachtas was being asked to discuss legislation to provide for assisted suicide. That particular piece of legislation, thank God, has been rejected by the Oireachtas Committee for Justice on the grounds that it was deeply flawed. The surprising and disappointing thing is that the Oireachtas Committee did not reject the principle of Assisted Suicide and has proposed that Assisted Suicide be discussed further by a special committee, which would report within a specified timeframe. Compassion is often presented as a justification for assisted suicide, but having compassion means “suffering with” someone. Assisted suicide reflects a failure of compassion on the part of society. It is a failure to respond to the challenge of caring for people who are terminally ill, or who have disabilities or dementia, as they approach the end of their lives. Those who assist with a suicide, whatever their motives, co-operate with the self-destruction of another person. It is one thing when life is allowed to take its natural course, with appropriate management of pain and stress, but is not artificially prolonged by burdensome treatment. It is something else entirely, when one person actively and deliberately participates in ending the life of another.

One feature of the legalisation of Assisted Suicide in other jurisdictions is that, once it becomes lawful, it is then presented and perceived as something good to do. Instead of being surrounded by love and care, people who are already vulnerable and dependent on others due to their illness, are made to feel that assisted suicide would be “the decent thing to do”. Assisted suicide presumes that there will be somebody with the required skills who is prepared to “assist” in bringing about the death of another person. Wherever assisted suicide is legalised, healthcare professionals are assumed to be the “suitably qualified persons” because they are already licensed to use drugs. It is important to be clear that healthcare professionals are given privileged access to the human body and to drugs for the express purpose of healing and alleviating pain. Any suggestion that they should be expected to assist and, under certain circumstances, actually perform the act that ends the life of another person, is seriously damaging to the ethos and the credibility of the healthcare professions. Jesus gave us the image of the good Samaritan as the model for our compassion and our solidarity with those who find themselves vulnerable and who fear being abandoned in their final illness. The Good Samaritan is one who “crosses over”, who “binds up wounds” and who, most important of all “stays with” the person for as long as is required. There is much that we can do to foster a culture of life. We can begin by overcoming our fear of talking honestly about death and dying. Dying is as natural and universal as living and breathing yet our society can make it difficult for people to talk about it. As Christians, of course, our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus will stand to us. For some, if not for all, the support of prayer, and the opportunity to share faith can be of great help.

The Hospice Care Movement fosters a culture of living well until the end. By doing normal things with people who are terminally ill, we can contribute to fostering their sense of being “normal”, which can often be undermined by the “routine of illness”. The experience of presence, companionship and even the acceptance of limitation and dependency, when we take time to appreciate them, can greatly enrich the later stages of life. The attitude of Jesus towards the sick and towards those who are in any way marginalised, has much to teach us about the value of time spent caring for one another. Many of us, at times, are called to be carers in our own circle of family and friends. Others may find it possible to care for the carers. The bonds of friendship and solidarity that are developed and strengthened in caring relationships, extend beyond the carer and the one who is cared for to the whole of society. For more material on this theme, please see www.councilforlife.ie.
Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light (Matthew 11:28-30).

"A world at prayer is a world at peace"

“The Family that Prays together stays together”