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

Sunday 21st February 2010

First Sunday of Lent

“Jesus was led by the spirit through the wilderness and was tempted there by the devil for forty days.” As we begin Lent, we are put in touch with the basic temptations of human life that can lead us to disaster. The first of these is pride. This does not mean thinking well of ourselves but rather thinking of ourselves as the only and most important thing in our lives. During this time we are invited to sort out our priorities once again. The second temptation is to power that makes us want to prove that we are better than others. The only power we should exercise as followers of Christ is the power of love through which we forget ourselves, die to ourselves so that others may have life. And Lent is also a time to change our ways of life that are not in accordance with God’s ways as the third temptation is presumption. God does respect our choices and rewards and punishes us accordingly.

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.

The temptation of Jesus.

Victory by means of prayer and the bible.

Luke 4, 1-13

Sunday, 21st February 2010

1st Sunday of Lent

First Reading : Deuteronomy 26: 4-10
The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression.

Second Reading: Romans 10: 8-13
If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved.

Gospel: Luke 4: 1-13
You must worship the Lord your God, and serve God alone.

Tempted Like Us

It is well to begin this Lent thinking and praying about temptation. We certainly have enough of it in our lives, and so we are comforted when we read that the Lord himself underwent this same unsettling experience. The difference between him and us is that he said no to temptation; sometimes we do not. But his temptations were as real as ours. If we think that Jesus had the easiest time in the world defeating the Evil One, we deny the Incarnation.

Lord, you did indeed struggle with temptation – in the desert, at Gethsemane, and most powerfully in the loneliness of the cross where your sense of having been forsaken made you cry out to the Father.

Lord Jesus, we must remember that temptation is never sin. Temptation is an invitation to sin. But that does not mean that it cannot frighten and upset us until we wonder whether your Father has left us alone against the malevolence of all that is not good. Any contact with real evil is horrifying, Lord, even when it comes smiling and beckoning us to a god we know we must not have. Lord, we know too that temptation has its allies in our own hearts. Lord, save us from ourselves.

Last Sunday’s collection was £1,329.00. Many Thanks!

30th Anniversary Dinner

IHCPT Derry Group 30th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Dance to celebrate 30 years of taking young people with special needs on their annual Easter Pilgrimage to Lourdes, Group 110 of the Irish Pilgrimage Trust [The ‘Derry’ Group] will be holding a celebration dinner dance in the City Hotel on Saturday 27th February 2010, music by the Odyssey band. The group would like to invite anyone who has travelled with us over the years, young people or group carers, their families and all those who have supported and helped us in any way to join us in what should be great evening to meet old friends and relive memories of some very special times. Tickets will cost £25 and can be obtained from Stephen Browne at 07912500195.

Taizé

Join us for an hour of meditative prayer and Taizé chant this Wednesday night,
24th February 2010 at 7.30pm in

St. Colman’s Chapel behind St. Mary’s Church, Melmount. Everyone is welcome.

Loreto House, Buncrana

Holy Week Retreat from 28th March until 3rd April. To book a place please telephone [00353] 749362204 or email info@loretolinsfort.com. Cost €380 residential or €200 non-residential.

Prayer Meetings every Monday in Lent. Beginning 22nd February from 8.00pm until 9.00pm.

Knock Marriage Introductions Bureau

The aim of the Bureau is to introduce people considering marriage to a suitable marriage partner. Over 800 marriages have taken place as a result of these introductions. If you are searching for a suitable partner, why not consider applying? For further information contact the Bureau at Knock, Co. Mayo. Phone 094-9375960 or visit our website at www.knockmarriagebureau.com and read about the workings of the Bureau.

Carmelite Retreat Centre, Termonbacca

A one day retreat for Senior Citizens and theirs friends from Derry and surrounding areas will take place on Tuesday 23rd February. Registration from 10.30am with the retreat finishing at around 5.00pm. Cost £15stg includes a four-course lunch. Payment at the Centre on the day. To book please telephone [028] 71262512 during office hours only.

Solemn Annual Exposition

Solemn Annual Exposition will begin in the Sacred Heart Church today [Sunday] directly after the 11.30am Mass, and will end with a Eucharistic Service at 5.00pm. Solemn Annual Exposition will take place in St. Joseph’s Church, Glenmornan next Sunday.

Sick and Housebound

The sick and housebound will be attended on the morning and afternoon of Tuesday 23rd February.

Lent – Springtime of the Spirit

Each year the trees give us a lesson in renewal.
First the bud, then the blossom, and finally the shoot.
Spring dresses the trees in a new robe,
and makes them young again.
But this is possible only because in autumn they let go of their old leaves.
Lent is in the springtime of the spirit.
Lord, help us not to be afraid to let go of old habits,
and to face our spiritual poverty,
in order that you may renew us,
and so at Easter

To Parents of a New Born Child

• Baptisms are normally celebrated in Leckpatrick on Saturday at 7.45pm or on Sunday at 12.15pm.

• Each sponsor must not be less than sixteen years of age and must be a practising Catholic.

• Please bring a baptismal garment to the ceremony. The infant should not be wearing it coming to the church, but will be clothed in it by the priest at the appropriate point in the ceremony.

• Please bring a reasonably substantial candle to the ceremony. It is preferable that each child in the family should have his or her own baptismal candle.

• Note that Canon Law states that ‘parents, sponsors and parish priests are to take care that a name is not given which is foreign to Christian sentiment.’

• Please make arrangements with the priest in good time, and see that the baptismal card is completed three or four days before the ceremony at the latest.

• Kindly remember that the church is a sacred space, and is worthy of reverence and respect at all times, including the period when photographs are being taken after the ceremony.

• Finally, congratulations on the birth of your child! Your child’s baptism will be a special occasion for you and your family. It will also be a special occasion for our parish as we welcome your new born baby into the Christian community.