Weekly Bulletin 19th January 2020

Sunday Collection last Sunday: Came to £1485. The Development Collection came to £800. Thank you as always for your generous contributions. There will be a Development Collection taken up next Sunday 26^th January.

Today is the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time:  We thank the Father for his Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. In this Eucharist, we see and bear witness that He is the Son of God. Yesterday we began our week of prayer for Christian Unity. It takes place from Saturday 18 January until Saturday 25 January 2020.  Our prayer for Christian unity is deeply rooted in the Bible. We pray for unity because Jesus prayed that His disciples would be one, that the world might believe ( John 17:20-21). St Paul also urged the churches to which he wrote to recognise their unity in Christ, even though there was much diversity within them (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).For this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, we accompany the churches of Malta, praying with and alongside them, praying also for them in their Christian journey as they seek the unity for which Christ prayed. And we rejoice with them that Malta traces its Christian origins back to the time of the Apostles.  

Father Dermot O Carroll C.P. died at 5:00 am on Friday morning in our community at Mount Argus Dublin after a short illness. Dermot was a member of this community at the Graan from September 2010 to February 2018 when he moved to our nursing facilities in Dublin. Dermot was born on April 2 1928 in Ballyheigue in North Kerry, and was educated by the Presentation Brothers in Cork. He did his noviciate here in the Graan and took his vows to join the Passionists on 15 September 1947 and after his studies in Dublin he was ordained priest on May 30 1953. Dermot spent the early part of his ministry teaching in Tobar Mhuire Crossgar Co. Down. At that time Crossgar was a school for young boys who were interested in joining the Passionists. He taught Irish and was an excellent musician, and played the piano and accordion. In the late sixties he went to our mission in Africa. He taught for a short while in Nairobi Kenya. It was from there he moved to our missions in Botswana in Southern Africa. Botswana was the place that he spent most of his priestly ministry in the various mission stations.  He was excellent in knowing the languages of the people he served, and was able to converse with them in their local dialects. Dermot returned home from his long stint of missionary work in 2008 and after a short stay in our house in Galway he came to the Graan. He loved this place and it was here he found contentment in his old age. Unfortunately dementia slowly began to take a hold of him and even though the staff at the Graan were more than helpful to him, it was decided that he needed the nursing care that only Mount Argus could provide. May his generous and good soul rest in peace.

Novena of Hope 2020: Takes place from 29^th Feb – 9^th March 2020. There will be a meeting tomorrow Monday 20^th January @ 8.30pm in the Prayer Room in preparation for the Novena. We are grateful for all the help we have received over the years during Novena time. We need your help to organise this event. If you are free please come along to this meeting. Please keep this date in your diary.

Enniskillen: There is a special service for Christian Unity being held in the Presbyterian Church, East Bridge Street, Enniskillen at 8:00 pm on this Thursday 23 January 2020. The special preacher will be the Rev. Gunter Andrich. All are welcome to attend.

Feasts of the Week: Tuesday St. Agnes Virgin and Martyr. Agnes is depicted in art with a lamb, evoking her name which resembles the Latin word for “lamb”, (agnus) She suffered martyrdom at the age of twelve in Rome during the reign of the Roman EmperorDiocletian, on 21 January 304. Wednesday: St. Francis De Sales (1567-1622). Bishop of Geneva. One of the favourite authors of St. Paul of the Cross Founder of the Passionists. He is patron saint of journalists.  Friday: The Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul ends the Church Unity Week of Prayer. Out of a persecutor God made a preacher and teacher of the peoples. Paul never ceased to express thanks and wonder for this grace. But he still prayed for perseverance. 

Christmas Crib: The Christmas Crib collection came to £900. Thank you for all your kind contributions for the poor. It was distributed this week to St Vincent de Paul to help their work with those in need.

Guild Mass Cards: We have a new selection of cards for Deceased, Mass Bouquets, Get Well, Birthday, Special Occasion, Thinking of You & Exam Mass Bouquets which cost £2 / €2.50 each.

DUTY FOR THE WEEK: Sun & Mon No Duty. Mon Mass @ 8pm – Charles. Tues – Arthur. Wed: Arthur. Thurs –Charles. Fri – Anthony. Sat – Anthony.

Bulletin:Please take a bulletin home with you. They are free of charge.