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No. 1997 ~ SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
PARISH CONTACT DETAILS
Fr. Peter Madden PP VF
31 Sixtowns Road
Telephone: 79628376
Fr Dermot McGirr CC
50 Tobermore Road, Desertmartin
Telephone: 79632196
PARISH OFFICE
OPENING HOURS: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9.00 am to 3.00 pm.
9 High Street
Phone: (028)79628248
NOTICES FOR THE BULLETIN
Notices for the Bulletin should be received by 1.00 pm on Wednesday, preferably by email.
SAFEGUARDING
The Diocesan Designated Liaison Person (DLP) is Marie Gormley. To contact Marie Tel: 07596500793, or Email: mariegormley@derrydiocese.org
SVP HELPLINE
Helpline telephone number: 07710838050
SPERRIN FOODBANK
Tel: 07543420639
BALLINASCREEN COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUP
Please click the link https://www.parishofballinascreen.com/ballinascreen-community-support-gro for full details of Ballinascreen Community Support Group.
SUNDAY VIGIL MASSES
Holy Rosary: 6.00 pm
St Patrick’s, Kenaught: 7.30 pm
SUNDAY MASSES
St Columba’s Straw 9.00 am
St Mary’s Coolcalm 10.00 am
St Patrick’s Sixtowns 11.00 am
St Eugene’s Moneyneena 12 noon
MASS TIMES FOR THIS WEEK
Monday December 11:
Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Tuesday December 12:
St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am
Wednesday December 13:
St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am
Holy Rosary Church ~ 7.30 pm. This is the Pioneer Mass for both parishes
Thursday December 14:
St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am
Friday December 15:
St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am
Holy Rosary Church ~ 7.30 pm.
FEASTS OF THE WEEK
Wednesday 13: St Lucy.
Thursday 14: St John of the Cross.
SVP CHRISTMAS COLLECTION
Blue Envelopes are now available in all Church porches, please take one if you wish to contribute to this year’s SVP Christmas Collection. Envelopes may be returned at any Mass this weekend or next weekend or to the Parish Office during the week. All donations will be directly used for Ballinascreen parishioners. Thank you for your generous support which is needed and greatly appreciated.
PARISH CAROL SERVICE
Annual Parish Carol Service next Sunday December 17 at 6.00 pm in Holy Rosary Church. During the Carol Service a collection of non-perishable food items and toys will be taken up on behalf of the St Vincent de Paul Society and Sperrin Food Bank. This year’s appeal is more important than in previous years as the demand is much greater. Please remember this appeal when shopping this week. Thank you.
BLESSING OF THE 'BAMBINELLI'
At the 6.00 pm Mass in Holy Rosary on Saturday 16 December there will be a blessing of the Baby Jesus from home cribs. The beautiful Advent tradition, Bambinelli Sunday, was instituted by St Pope John Paul II during his Papacy. All are invited to bring the Baby Jesus figure from their homes to be blessed. Families can make their own if they wish.
DO THIS IN MEMORY MASS
Vigil Mass in Holy Rosary on Saturday December 16 will be a D.T.I.M. Mass for children preparing for their First Holy Communion in 2024.
MONTH’S MIND MASS
Marie Mullan, Glenshane Park, on Friday 15 December in Holy Rosary Church at 7.30 pm.
DEATHS
We extend our prayerful sympathy to the family and relatives of:
Sean O’Neill, Tobermore Road;
Mary Trainor Tobermore Road;
Bridget Kearney Swatragh.
ANNIVERSARIES
First Anniversaries:
Shane McGregor;
Keith Meyler.
Anniversaries:
Sean Kelly;
James Kelly;
Helen Heron;
Patrick Leyden.
BAPTISMS
We welcome into God’s family through the Sacrament of Baptism:
Saoirse Ellen O'Kane, Derrynoid Road;
Fodhla Cait Cleary, Cahore Road.
WEDDINGS
Congratulations and best wishes for the future to:
Caroline Kelly and Gareth Lunney who were married recently in St Patrick’s Church, Sixtowns;
Mary Hegarty and Johnny McCullagh who were married recently in St Columba’s Church, Straw.
PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP
The Padre Pio Committee acknowledge the sum of £1,420 collected for the Capuchin Day Centre for the Homeless in Dublin. Thank you for your generosity.
LIVE CRIB 2023 ~ OPEN INVITIATION TO ALL
Everyone is very welcome to come and discover the true meaning of Christmas at St Eugene’s Church Moneyneena on Saturday December 30. The day will commence with Mass at 10.00 am at which Bishop McKeown will be chief celebrant. Following this Mass, the Live Crib will be operational all day in the Church grounds until the closing candlelit Mass and Benediction at 6.00 pm. Refreshments will be served all day. This is a free event but voluntary donations to necessary repair work on St Eugene’s Church are welcome.
LIVE CRIB VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
As part of this special parish event, Eucharistic Adoration, will take place within the Church. It will commence after 10.00 am Mass and conclude at 5.30 pm. If you are willing to commit to at least 30 minutes of Adoration please email your name and your chosen half-hour or hour for Adoration, to the Parish Office this week: Email: ballinascreenparish@gmail.com
If you are willing to help in any way with this community event either as a steward, or with the serving of refreshments or providing food such as traybakes, shortbread, biscuits cakes or buns etc. for serving with the tea and coffee, please email the Parish Office this week Email: ballinascreenparish@gmail.com
PARISH COLLECTIONS
Weekly Collection: £2761.50
Renovation Collection: £1056
Furter donation for Retired Priests: £72.
Thank you for your generous support which is greatly appreciated.
ST VINCENT de PAUL SOCIETY
If you, or anyone you know, needs assistance leading up to Christmas, please contact us on our help line. Helpline telephone number: 07710838050
DATES FOR BAPTISMS 2024
Baptisms in Ballinascreen will be held on the dates listed below. All baptisms will take place on Sundays at 3.00pm and bookings are to be made via the Parish Office, by phone 028 79628248 or Email: ballinascreenparish@gmail.com
If you email a request please leave a telephone number for contact.
January 7 ~ Holy Rosary Church
January 21 ~ St Eugene’s Moneyneena
February 4 ~ St Columba’s Straw
February 18 ~ St Patrick’s Sixtowns
March 3 ~ Holy Rosary Church
March 10 ~ St Eugene’s Moneyneena
March 24 ~ St Columba’s Straw
April 7 ~ St Columba’s Straw
April 14 ~ St Patrick’s Sixtowns
April 21 ~ Holy Rosary Church
May 5 ~ St Eugene’s Moneyneena
May 19 ~ St Columba’s Straw
June 2 ~ St Patrick’s Sixtowns.
ST MARY’S PRIMARY SCHOOL
P1 and P2 Christmas Play will take place on Monday 11 December at 1.15 pm in the School Hall.
P3 - P7 Christmas Carol Service will take place in Holy Rosary Church on Tuesday 12 December at 6.00 pm. Everyone is very welcome to attend.
ADVENT PRAYER BOOKLET
Advent family prayer booklet can be downloaded from this website: www.derrydiocese.org/advent
CHRISTMAS DRAW 2023
Desertmartin Parish Christmas Draw will have draws every day for the 12 days between Christmas Day and Friday 5 January 2024. All tickets will be in for all the draws, so you have 33 chances to win. Total prize fund £5000. Tickets £20 each are available to buy at:
Holy Rosary, Coolcalm & Keenaught Churches before and after Masses
Both Parish Offices
Fr. McGirr’s Parochial House,
Heron’s Gift Shop,
Moneyneena Post Office
A ticket would make a nice Christmas gift to send inside your Christmas cards to members of your family and friends.
COMMUNITY HUB NOTICE
Health Matters Session, Wednesday 13 December from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm in Workspace Community Hub. Winter Wellness & Multi-Vitamins information session with Aine from O’Kane’s Pharmacy at 11.30 am followed by Chair Exercise Session with Thomasina. Places limited so booking is essential. Call Workspace on 028 79628113 to book.
Warm Welcome Wednesday Christmas Luncheon Club – offering FREE Christmas lunch for over 60s and the chance to meet and chat to others, on Wednesday 20 December in Workspace Community Hub from 11.00 am to 2.00 pm. Food served about 12.30 pm. Only 30 places available so booking is essential. To confirm your place contact Workspace on 028 79628113 by 12 noon on Monday 18 December.
LOUGH DERG ONLINE SHOP
Online Christmas Shop is now open at www.loughderg.live/shop for Mass bouquets, Christmas cards, Lough Derg Christmas candles, Nativity sets and other gifts. The Christmas shop provides much needed income to support the mission and ministry of Lough Derg outside of the Pilgrimage Season. Thank you.
TRÓCAIRE SCHOOL VOLUNTEERS
Are you a retired teacher or someone who has experience presenting to groups of school-children? Do you have a passion for making this world a better place, especially for the most vunerable? Trócaire is looking for volunteers to support its School Talks Programme for Lent 2024 in Derry Diocese parishes. If you think you have the right skills and experience and will have a few free hours during Lent then Trócaire would love to hear from you! For more information call Casey Schell on 028 90808033 or Email: casey.schell@trocaire.org
RADIO MARIA IRELAND
Christmas Fundraiser on Thursday 14 December in Drummond Hotel, Limavady. Doors open at 6.00 pm, four course meal, live music, learn about Radio Maria, enjoy a great night and help a Catholic charity. All welcome. To book a ticket (£65 per person) please contact phone +(00) 353 14123456.
ADOPTIVE PARENTS NEEDED
Family Care Adoption Services provides adoption services throughout Northern Ireland and works with Health and Social Care Trusts to place single children and sibling groups for adoption. These children are aged from babyhood to approximately 5 years. There are now more children waiting to be adopted in than families approved to adopt and there is an urgent need for new families to come forward. All sorts of people from all walks of life can be considered for adoption. So, if you think you could offer a child/ren a new life in a family of their own and would like an informal chat to discuss this and to find out more about adoption, please Email:
@familycareadoption.org or Tel: 906 91133 Website: familycareadoption.com
ST COLM’S ~ DRAW WINNERS
Week 5: £30 Ben Murray, £50 Michelle McKenna, £100 Caitlin Martin.
Week 6: £30 Maria McKenna, £50 Joe Heron, £100 Tracey Bradley.
SPERRIN FOODBANK
Foodbank operates from Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. If you or someone you know requires assistance please call 07543420639. No questions asked or criteria to meet. Facebook page is Sperrinfoodbank, Email: foodbank@theworkspacegroup.org
PARISH ANNIVERSARY AND MONTH’S MIND MASSES
If parishioners wish to have their loved one prayed for at any Anniversary Friday Mass, you MUST please email their name to Ballinascreen Parish Office by noon on Thursday of the relevant week.
Notices for First Anniversary and Month's Mind Masses should be received before the Wednesday of the previous week so that they may be printed in the Bulletin the weekend before the Anniversary Mass.
KNOCKNAGIN HALL
Boxing Night Social Dance from 9.00 pm to Midnight. Music by Country Sounds.
Flower arrangement on Sunday 17 and Monday 18 December. You will need to bring your own materials, (registration necessary).
Chair Exercises: Tuesday at 10.00 am followed by short walk. Admission £4.
Knit & Natter: Tuesdays at 7.30 pm.
Line Dancing: Wednesdays at 7:30 pm. Admission £4.
Yoga: Mondays at 10.00 am in January - numbers limited (registration necessary).
Please contact Olive 07887614094, Kathleen 07764277809 or Anne 028 79642711 to register.
Sarsfield’s Band: 2024 calendars are now on sale, cost £7. Monthly Draw for 2024, £1 a month, £12 for the year. Band Practice Thursdays at 7.30 pm. New and past members welcome.
SYNTHESIS REPORT FROM FIRST SESSION OF THE XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2023
The Participants in the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops have approved a Letter to the People of God. The text offers reflections and proposals on topics such as the role of women and the laity, the ministry of bishops, priesthood and the diaconate, the importance of the poor and migrants, digital mission, ecumenism, and abuse.
It is not a final document, but an “instrument at the service of ongoing discernment“.
The Synthesis Report is structured in three parts:
The first outlines “the face of the synodal Church”, presenting the practice and understanding of synodality and its theological underpinning.
The second part, entitled “All disciples, all missionaries”, deals with all those involved in the life and mission of the Church and their relationships with one another.
The third part bears the title “Weaving bonds, building community”.
Episcopal Conferences are now called to focus on the questions and proposals that are considered most urgent, all this sustained by a climate of mutual listening and sincere dialogue.
To read the report, please click link below:
NATIONAL SYNTHESIS OF THE SYNODAL PROCESS
The Irish Bishops' Conference has published the National Synthesis of the Synodal Process conducted across the Church in Ireland from Autumn 2021. The National Synthesis is the fruit of a wide-ranging process of listening and consultation and is based on the syntheses produced by the 26 dioceses in Ireland, as well as those submitted by religious congregations and other interested groups. The National Synthesis will be forwarded to Rome as part of the worldwide synodal process of listening and discernment launched by Pope Francis in October 2021 and which will culminate in the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023.
To view this document click HERE
SYNODALITY
Synodality is about seeking together to discover God’s way forward in a new time and place.
This is not just a time of change but a change of time.
It is about learning to journey in hope from the great figures of the Advent liturgy: Isaiah, John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph.
We are a pilgrim people, following the voice of God who calls us one step at a time.
We are moving beyond a Church where everything depends on ‘Father’.
Pope Francis has asked us to rediscover the Advent spirit of leaving our secure base and trusting that the Lord will guide our feet into the way of peace.
We aim to have a time of local listening to one another in January/February, building towards a diocesan submission to an Irish national response.
All national responses will be considered by the Vatican and a Working Document sent back for local reflection and comment in late 2022 – building towards the Synod of Bishops’ meeting in October 2023, and beyond.
This is the beginning of a new way of being Church. It is not just a passing initiative. It is facing the future together, open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Advent is not just a season of the year. It is a permanent part of our identity as Church.
PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts; Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen.
THE SYNOD PRAYER ~ IRISH TRANSLATION (Paidir an tSionaid)
Seasaimid i Do láthairse, a Spioraid Naoimh,
agus muid ag teacht le chéile i D’ainm
Agus Tusa amháin mar threoraí againn
socraigh Tú féin síos inár gcroíthe;
Múin dúinn an tslí a chaithfimid dul
agus conas is féidir linn leanúint di.
Táimid lag agus claonta chun peaca;
ná lig dúinn ainriail a chur chun cinn.
Ná lig don aineolas sinn a chur amú,
ná don chlaonpháirtíocht ár ngníomhartha a mhúnlú.
Lig dúinn teacht Ort inár n-aontacht
chun go dtriallfaimid le chéile chun na beatha síoraí
gan dul ar strae ó bhealach na fírinne ná ón cheart.
Iarraimid é seo uile Ort,
Tusa a bhíonn ag obair de shíor agus i ngach uile áit,
i gcomaoin an Athar agus an Mhic,
trí shaol na saol.
Amen.
To learn more about the Synodal Pathway for the Catholic Church in Ireland please visit:
To learn more about the worldwide Synod please visit: https://www.synod.va/en.html
Please say each day in your prayers the following prayer for the success of the Synodal Process which is both old and new.
PRAYERS FOR OUR PROTECTION
The Irish Catholic Bishops have asked for prayers for those affected by the Coronavirus. Placing all our trust in the Lord, and asking Our Lady to intercede for us, the bishops invite everyone to pray these prayers:
EXTRACT FROM SAINT PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.
MEMORARE
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly to you,
O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer. Amen
