PRIESTS OF THE PARISH
Rev John Doherty PP Tel: 028 7188 2274
Rev Paul Farren Tel: 028 7188 3247

Divine Mercy Sunday, 11th April 2010

Second Sunday of Easter

Thomas said: “Unless I see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe”. Thomas has gone down in history with the nickname Doubting Thomas and is often referred to in relation to those who are always questioning. And that is one of his roles, to assure us that questions and doubts are an important part of true faith. We can so easily look only for certainty and perfection and then we will believe and hope and love. Our call is to believe in the setting of uncertainty, to hope even though there is insecurity, to love in spite of a lack of perfection. And there can be no doubt that all of these are present in our lives and our Church today. It is often because we can see the gaping holes in the Body of Christ left there by so many scandals, or because we are asked to put our hands into his side opened by the sins of one another that we find it difficult to believe. And unfortunately many give up.

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.

Sunday, 11th April 2010

Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday

First Reading : Acts of the Apostles 5: 12-16
The success of the disciples’ mission.

Second Reading: Apocalypse 1: 9-13. 17-19
John has a vision of the Risen Christ.

Gospel: John 20: 19-31
The Risen Lord appears to his disciples.

"Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe!"

Faith and Doubt - You have doubts? Good!

But doubts can get you down. It’s hard feeling that you can’t trust those around you, and not knowing where to turn. It’s even more difficult when you have serious doubts about your faith; you’re worried that God isn’t there or doesn’t care. Doubt can cause confusion, it can affect your closest relationships, it can leave you full of fear – because you don’t know who or what to believe in.
When you doubt people and God, you need guidance, reassurance and courage.

Doubt and faith are two sides of the same coin. You need a balance of both, for your mental and spiritual health. Doubt isn’t the enemy of faith, it doesn’t point out a loss of faith. Doubt denotes a healthy faith, a faith that is open to growth. So doubting Thomas of today’s Gospel must be patron saint of doubters everywhere.

He couldn’t believe the other disciples until he had seen for himself the wounds in Jesus’ hands and feet. He was sceptical, but open to being convinced, and so was able to confess; ‘My Lord and my God’.

Last week’s Collection was £1,906.00. Many thanks.

We would be grateful if all remaining donations for Trócaire were to be handed in by next weekend at the latest.

Weekly Envelopes
This weekend you have the first opportunity of using your new weekly envelopes for the coming twelve months. If you have not been supplied with a box but wish to have one, please contact the Parish Office as soon as possible.

Gift Aid Scheme

Those who are paying tax and who receive parish envelopes may wish to join our Gift Aid Scheme – at no extra cost to you. The Parish Gift Aid Scheme means that if you pay through the envelope system in your parish, the Church can recoup 25 pence in every £1 that you contribute. This is a very simple way of gathering extra funds.

If interested please contact the parish office [028] 71882274. Many thanks for your co-operation.

What Faith Does

Some people think that if you have enough faith life will be plain sailing for you. But this is not so.

The fact that we can swim doesn’t prevent us from being knocked about by waves.

In the same way faith doesn’t shield us from the hard knocks of life or death.
What, then, does faith do?

It gives us bearings and thus enables us to live in a topsy-turvey world without getting lost or giving in to despair.

Just as swimmers trust that if they don’t panic, and if they do a few simple things, then the power of the sea will uphold them,

so believers entrust their lives to a power greater than us all.
This is the power of God, who brought his Son, Jesus, back from the dead.

Dates to Remember

Confirmation

Thursday 13th May 2010:

5.00pm in the Sacred Heart Church.

First Holy Communion - Saturday 22nd May 2010:

First Holy Communion for the children of
St. Mary’s Primary School in the Sacred Heart Church at 11.00am.
Sunday 23rd May 2010:

First Holy Communion for the children of
St. Joseph’s Primary School in Glenmornan Church at 10.15am
Saturday 29th May 2010: First Holy Communion for the children of Strabane Controlled Primary School in the Sacred Heart Church at 11.00am

Cemetery Sunday
The Blessing of the Graves will take place in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Cloughcor on Sunday 16th May at 3.00pm.

Close to Nature

April time means digging, sowing and planting. It’s a time of hope, a time of faith in the future – in a colourful summer and a fruitful autumn before the return of bare winter.
We Irish have always been conscious of the closeness of the Lord to us in the elements of creation and through the things of nature.
This insight is expressed in the beautiful words of the hymn Ag Criost an Siol. In translation it reads:
“Christ is the sowing, Christ is the fall.
Into God’s barn may he gather us all.
Christ’s is the waters,
and the fish of the sea;
Taken in God’s net may we be.
From youth to age, and to death until
Thy Hands, O Christ, be about us still;
At the end of life, when life will begin, in God’s Paradise may we rejoin.’