No. 1976 ~ FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
PARISH CONTACT DETAILS
Fr. Peter Madden PP VF
31 Sixtowns Road
Telephone: 79628376
Fr Dermot McGirr CC
50 Tobermore Road, Desertmartin
Telephone: 79632196
Fr John Downey Priest In Residence Moneyneena
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, Keenaught: 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
DAILY MASS TIMES
Monday July 17: Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Tuesday July 18: St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am
Wednesday July 19: Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Thursday July 20: Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am (No Mass in St. Mary's, Coolcalm)
Friday July 21: St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am & Holy Rosary Church ~ 7.30 pm.
FEASTS OF THE WEEK
Thursday 20: St Apollinaris, bishop and martyr.
Friday 21: St Lawrence of Brindisi.
Saturday 22: St Mary Magdalene.
D.D.S. MASS
The Anniversary Mass on Friday 21 July at 7.30 pm in Holy Rosary Church will also be offered for the deceased members of the Derry Diocesan Society.
BALLINASCREEN PARISH SUMMER DRAW
The first draw (Week 1) is being deferred until Saturday July 29 in order to allow parishioners more time to buy a ticket. We encourage as many as possible to please actively promote this draw around your family and friends who live outside the parish.
Week 1: First Prize £1,000, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100.
Week 2: First Prize £1,000, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100.
Week 3: First Prize £1,000, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100.
Week 4: First Prize £1,000, Second Prize £200, Third Prize £100.
Week 5: First Prize £2,000, Second Prize £500, Third Prize £300.
Winners will be announced every Saturday at the 6.00 p.m. Vigil Mass in Holy Rosary Church.
Tickets only £20 each are now available to buy from:
Parish Draw Promoters;
Heron’s Gift Shop;
Moneyneena Post Office;
Fr Madden’s and Fr McGirr’s Parochial Houses;
Ballinascreen and Desertmartin Parish Offices;
Ballinascreen and Desertmartin Credit Union Offices.
PARISH GRAVEYARDS
Respect for the dead and for those who have been bereaved is not something we should ever have to question. There isn't a family in the parish who has not lost a loved one and whose regular visits to their place of rest is a sacred duty undertaken week in week out. Lately, it has been brought to our attention that flowers and their containers have been removed from a family grave, causing great distress to the family concerned. It is a deeply offensive act to disturb a person’s place of rest. Please keep a look out in our parish cemeteries for anything untoward.
DEATHS
We extend our prayerful sympathy to the family and relatives of:
Joseph Layden, Downpatrick;
Esther Cassidy, Ballymaguigan.
ANNIVERSARIES
First Anniversary:
Keith Myler.
Anniversaries:
Mary Crilly;
Michael McKee;
Denis Casey;
Joseph Hegarty;
Colm McWilliams.
BAPTISM
We welcome into God’s family through the Sacrament of Baptism:
Senan Michael McWilliams, Fivemilestraight.
WEDDING
Congratulations and best wishes for the future to:
Kelly-Marie Hegarty and Éoighan McGuigan who were married recently in St Columba’s Church Straw.
PARISH COLLECTIONS
Priests’ Collection: £2517
Renovation Collection: £1390
Thank you for your generous support which is greatly appreciated.
SVP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Volunteers needed to help with weekly collections after each Saturday Vigil and Sunday Masses. If you can help please contact 07710 838050.
NETBALL
The Theresa Lanigan netball training resumes on Wednesday 19 July from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm in Backrow Hall. No netball experience necessary.
Come along for the craic and the exercise. All welcome from ages 18 to 80!
FOYLE HOSPICE ~ GARDEN ROOM
The family of the late Dr Cyril and Rita Harkin are fundraising to provide a Garden Room within the grounds of Foyle Hospice, where children who are losing or have lost their parents can go for counselling and support. If you wish to make a donation to their fundraising appeal click on this link: FOYLE HOSPICE GARDEN ROOM DONATION PAGE
Any donation, however small will be received with huge thanks and appreciation from the Harkin family.
PILGRIMAGE TO KNOCK FOR GRANDPARENTS
World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on next Sunday 23 July. Rosary 2.00 pm, Anointing of the Sick 2.30 pm, Mass 3.00 pm followed by Benediction and Rosary Procession. Dana will sing 'Lady of Knock' and her new hymn 'Light the Flame'.
Children's Prayer Appeal:
Children are invited to write a prayer for their grandparents and send it to Knock Shrine Museum. If unable to join the pilgrimage in person you can participate online at www.knockshrine.ie/watch
SPERRIN FOODBANK ~ NEW OPENING HOURS
Foodbank now operates Monday – Friday from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm. If you or someone you know requires assistance please call 07543 420639. No questions asked or criteria to meet. Follow them on facebook at Sperrinfoodbank or email
LOUGH DERG ~ THREE DAY PILGRIMAGE
Continues until Monday 15 August (Saturday 13 August is the final day for pilgrims to begin the Three Day Pilgrimage). Admission €80 Concessions available. See www.lough.org for all details.
WORKSPACE RECREATION CENTRE
Nuala’s Keep Fit Circuit Classes Mondays 7.15 pm and Thursdays 6.45 pm. £3.50 per class.
Beginner Exercise Classes Tuesdays 8.00 pm. Cost £3.50.
Birthday parties are half price at weekends, now only £15 per hour.
3G slots still available to book
For more information please call Workspace on 028 7962 8113
GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS
Is gambling affecting your life? Perhaps Gamblers Anonymous can help. Phone 028 71351329.
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 they may be printed in the Bulletin the weekend before the Anniversary Mass.
KNOCKNAGIN HALL
Knit & Natter will now continue during summer, Tuesdays 7.30 pm.
Read Yourself Well. An initiative by Northern Health and Social Care Trust. Books by wellness experts, doctors and bestselling authors are available to borrow for free at the Parish Hall. All books to be returned please within one month of borrowing.
Sarsfield’s Band & Div. 30
Band practice on Thursday 20 July at 7.30pm. All members are asked to attend in preparation for Feast of the Assumption celebrations in Carnlough on Sunday 13 August.
PRAYER FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY
I thank You, Lord, for the comfort of Your presence: even in times of loneliness,
You are my hope and my confidence, You have been my rock and my fortress since my youth!
I thank You for having given me a family and for having blessed me with a long life.
I thank You for moments of joy and difficulty, for the dreams that have already come true in my life and for those that are still ahead of me.
I thank You for this time of renewed fruitfulness to which You call me. Increase, O Lord, my faith, make me a channel of your peace, teach me to embrace those who suffer more than me, to never stop dreaming and to tell of your wonders to new generations. Protect and guide Pope Francis and the Church, that the light of the Gospel might reach the ends of the earth.
Sustain me in weakness and help me to live life to the full in each moment that You give me, in the certainty that you are with me every day, even until the end of the age. Amen.
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