No. 2002 ~ SECOND 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
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 January 15:
Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Tuesday January 16:
Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Wednesday January 17:
Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Thursday January 18:
Holy Rosary Church ~ 10.00 am
Friday January 19:
St Mary’s Coolcalm ~ 10.00 am
Holy Rosary Church ~ 7.30 pm
FEASTS OF THE WEEK
Monday 15; St Ita, virgin.
Wednesday 17: St Anthony, abbot
STRAW CEMETERY
In recent weeks it has become evident to anyone who visits Straw Cemetery to pay their respects to their loved ones who have died that some drivers are not driving with care and respect. This clearly cannot be allowed to continue. The paths in Straw Cemetery are to allow access for the few who because of age and infirmity cannot walk from the church to their family grave. Other visitors are asked to park at the church and make their way on foot. Over the coming weeks procedures will be put in place to ensure drivers keep to the paths. However, if these fail, then a total and permanent ban on vehicles will have to be considered. The dignity and the respect for those who rest in peace at Straw will require no less a response.
DEATHS
We extend our prayerful sympathy to the family and relatives of:
Leon Toner, Glenelly Villas;
Brigid Loane, Desertmartin.
MONTH’S MIND MASS
Elizabeth O'Connor, Boveagh, in Holy Rosary Church on Friday 19 January at 7.30 pm.
Hugh McGuckin, Cranny in Holy Rosary Church on Friday 19 January at 7.30 pm.
ANNIVERSARIES
Frank Kelly;
Seamus McGuigan;
Paul McCloskey;
John Donnelly;
Pat Bradley.
BAPTISMS
We welcome into God’s family through the Sacrament of Baptism:
Osian Patrick McSorley Evans, Sixtowns Road;
Annie Siobhan McGregor, Tonagh Road;
Rose Eire McSorley, Sixtowns Road;
Cathaoir Anthony Convery, Dunlogan Road.
ST VINCENT de PAUL
Ballinascreen Saint Vincent de Paul Society would like offer their sincere gratitude to everyone that donated money, food, clothing, furniture and toys throughout the year. They also deeply appreciate your recent generous food and money donations for their Annual Christmas Appeal. Your kindness and caring commitment gives hope to many individuals and families in our parish. A special thank you to St Colm’s High School Pope John Paul Award pupils who assist with weekly collections. If you or someone you know is alone, a visit from SVP could mean the world to someone who is going through a difficult time. Please contact SVP 07710838050 if you need any assistance to get back on your feet. Thank you.
LOURDES DIOCESAN PILGRIMAGE 2024
From Monday 1 to Friday 5 July, ex City of Derry Airport. Led by Bishop Donal McKeown. Full board £799, single room supplement £150. Pilgrimage Office at 164 Bishop Street, Derry, will open to the public 11.00 am to 1.00 pm on Thursdays and Saturdays, starting Saturday 10 February. Phone 028 7126029 or Email derrypilgrim@outlook.com
MEDJUGORJE YOUTH PILGRIMAGE
We are inviting young people aged 16 + to join us on pilgrimage to Medjugorje for 9 nights from 30 July to 8 August. This will be a unique experience for young people and an opportunity to engage with peers from around the world, in a faith context. Up to 50,000 young people attend the Medjugorje Youth Festival each year. Cost is £800 and there will be a budget plan to help with this. Names and deposit of £100 are required as soon as possible to secure a place. For more details or to book please Email lizzie.rea@derrydiocese.org or phone 028 71264087.
DATES FOR BAPTISMS
Baptisms in Ballinascreen will be held on the dates listed below. All baptisms will take place on Sundays at 3.00 pm 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.
Jan 21 ~ St Eugene’s Moneyneena
February 4 ~ St Columba’s Straw
February 18 ~ St Patrick’s Sixtowns
March 3 ~ Holy Rosary Church
Mar 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.
PARISH COLLECTIONS
Priests’ Collection: £2080
Renovation Collection: £.2047.
Thank you for your generous support which is greatly appreciated.
FREE PRE-SCHOOL PLACES
EA Connect Portal opens on Tuesday 9 January at 12 noon. If your child was born between 2 July 2020 and 1 July 2021 they will be eligible for a funded preschool place from September 2024 - June 2025.
MEDJUGORJE YOUTH PILGRIMAGE
Nuala’s Keep Fit Classes – 6 week block of classes have started back again, Monday and Thursday from 6.45pm you can sign up anytime! Cost only £3.50 per class. Call Workspace for more details or to book a place Tel: 02879628113.
NAÍSCOIL NA SPEIRÍNÍ
Naíscoil na Speiríní's Pre-Pre Program has now started, for more details please Email: naiscoilnaspeirini@gmail.com
GLENSHANE HOUSE DUNGIVEN
OCN L2 Award in Managing Challenging Behaviour in Children course starting soon. (6 weeks x 2 hrs) Few spaces available. To register phone 028 777 42494.
ST. IGNATIAN SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR MEN
Led by Fr Stephen Kennedy, IVE, Friday February 2 - Monday February 5 in De La Salle Retreat Centre, Castletown, Laois. Cost €200 - includes all meals and en-suite single rooms. To book call Sr. Constancy 0892152307 or Email: c.puertadelaauroral@gmail.com
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS’ WEEK
The Mass to launch Catholic Schools Week will be celebrated on Tuesday January 16 at 10.00 am in St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry.
HEALTH MATTERS SESSION
On Wednesday 17 January in Workspace Community Hub. Getting a Healthy Heart information session with Aine from O’Kane’s Pharmacy, commencing at 12 noon. No need to book, just drop in.
WOMEN’S HEALTH EVENING
Women's Health and Wellbeing Evening on Menopause with guest speaker Dr. Frances Stewart, on Friday 19 January from 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm in The Community Hub.
Limited tickets are available to purchase in store at O'Kane’s Pharmacy or by phoning 79628209.
COAT FOUND
A pink puffer coat was found in the tea tent at the Live Crib Event. Please call at the Parish Office to claim it.
FOSTER CARERS NEEDED
Foster carers are ordinary people who make an extraordinary difference to the lives of those children and young people who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to live with their birth families. There are many challenges and reasons leading to children and young people requiring foster care: sometimes material poverty and hardship; sometimes parental struggles due to relationship difficulties or addictions. We pray for foster carers, and that more people will consider fostering as an option, to generously opening their hearts and their homes to provide care, support and love to children in need.
Unfortunately, there are times when there are no available spaces for foster care placements. The HSC NI Foster Team is urgently seeking more people to think seriously about fostering. Do you think you can make that extraordinary difference to a child’s life? If you think you can help or if you have any questions in relation to fostering, please contact the team by phone 08000720137 or by email info@fostering.hscni.net
SPERRIN FOODBANK
Foodbank operates Monday – 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:
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.
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
