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

Sunday, July 11th 2010

The 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

His word is near

The man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus: “And who is my neighbour?” The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the best-known stories of the Gospels. One of the points of it is that Jesus is telling us there should be no limits set by us as to who our neighbour is. For a married person the neighbour is a wife or husband who is to be loved and cared for with great affection. For parents, their family is their neighbour and every day they are called to love with great care. In our faith community our neighbour is the person we are with at any given point of time and our responsibility is to love to such an extent that the family of God becomes visible. And the surest sign that we are taking Christ’s word to heart is when we are growing in a deep reverence for every human person and expressing that reverence in action in our daily lives.

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.

Sunday, 11th July 2010

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Moses urges the people to obey God’s law, not as something imposed from outside them, but as something that springs up from inside themselves.

Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
Paul asserts the absolute supremacy of Christ.

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37
The immortal parable of the Good Samaritan.

Our Choirs Fall Silent

Our three parish choirs will now be taking a well-earned break for the summer. As we thank them for their music ministry during the year, we ask the members of our congregation to kindly join in the singing of the hymns printed below.

Entrance Hymn

Holy God, We Praise Thy Name

Holy God we praise thy name.
Lord of all we bow before thee.
All on earth thy sceptre own.
All in heaven above adore thee.
Endless is thy vast domain.
Everlasting is thy reign.

Recessional Hymn

When Creation Was Begun

1. When creation was begun,
God had chosen you to be
mother of his blessed Son,
Holy Mary full of grace.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

2. When creation was restored,
You were there beside the Lord
Whom you cherished and adored
Holy Mary, full of grace.
Ave, Ave, Ave Maria.

Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes

On Friday next Bishop Séamus Hegarty will lead the Derry Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes. Lourdes is one of the greatest centres of pilgrimage of modern times and certainly the best loved of Mary’s shrines. It was on 11th February 1858 that Our Lady first appeared to the 14 year old girl Bernadette Soubirous. At first the child did not know who the mysterious lady was; later she was to learn that it was the Blessed Virgin and to hear from her lips: ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.’ We offer our pilgrims our prayerful good wishes, and trust that they will have a safe journey there and back.

The Good Samaritan

The story of the Good Samaritan today is very reassuring to us who are trying to live lives that make sense. The Samaritan was kind to the man clubbed by the robbers, not because of some grudging sense of duty but for the simple reason that he was moved by pity. He took care of the victim at some trouble and cost to himself. He became involved.

We have seen neighbours gather around a cancer-stricken person for months on end, helping with cleaning, laundry and meals, loving and caring until the person is mercifully released from suffering. We have seen old persons cared for by faithful visitors. We have seen families receive orphans into their midst as foster children or as possible adoptees. We have seen community collections for destroyed churches or stricken families.

Lord, we thank you for allowing us to see so much of that kind of human goodness around us. We have seen so many cases of people feeling sorry for the people and doing something about it.

Lord, we thank you for making our salvation so dependent on that type of feeling within us. Indeed, as Moses said, the law “is something very near”
[Dt 30:14a]. It is in our loving, caring human hearts. Help us, Lord, to continue to act on our good impulses. You built them into us, and you want us to use them.

Last week’s Collection was £1,517.00. Many thanks.

Peter’s Pence Collection
The recent collection for the Pope and papal charities amounted to £1,059.00. On behalf on Pope Benedict, many thanks!

First Anniversary Mass
The first anniversary Mass for the late Mairead Harkin, Cloughcor will take place in the Sacred Heart Church on Friday
16th July at 7.00pm.

Beatitudes for Carers

The good Samaritan was someone who cared.
Blessed are those who care:
they will let people know they are loved.
Blessed are those who are gentle: they will help people to grow
as the sun helps the buds to unfold.
Blessed are those who listen: they will lighten many a burden.
Blessed are those, when nothing can be done or said,
do not walk away, but remain to provide a comforting and supportive presence.
And blessed are those who give without hope of return: they will give people an experience of God.