Weekly Bulletin 20th June 2021

Today is the Twelfth Sunday of the Year: We all face storms in our lives. The older ones, among us, are frightened of growing disability, dependency and death. Those in the middle of life fear losing their jobs, seeing their income dwindle, their marriage fracture, rejection, betrayal and midlife crisis. Teenagers are frightened of being counted out by the “in” crowd. Children are frightened of the dark, their parents’ quarrels, being picked on, being different and being left out. During these months we are all in the midst of the storm of the pandemic known as Covid 19. This pandemic is like a search light that exposes our human fragility, vulnerability and weakness in its onslaught. We can surely empathise with the apostles cry to Jesus in today’s Gospel. (Mark 4:35-41). “Master, do you not care? We are going down!” The disciples are on their first voyage together.  They are leaving behind familiar territory and are going across to the other side of the lake.  The other side of the lake was where the Gentiles lived. Those were the people that were not Jews; they were different from them; they didn’t pray the same way as they did; they were the odds ones; the ones that they had no dealings with.  Now they have this storm to contend with!  Jesus is asleep on a cushion in the storm tossed boat! (Mark 4:39).  Can we understand their feelings and their terror? Their cries waken the sleeping Jesus.   Jesus rebukes the wind, the chaos.  That word, “rebuke” Mark uses again when Jesus cast out devils. In his first miracle in Mark’s Gospel in the synagogue he heals a man possessed by an unclean spirit with the words “Be quiet! Come out of him” (Mark 1:25)   In this Gospel Jesus muzzles the storm.  He is in charge. He knows.  And in the calm that follows that terrifying storm, he asks His disciples two questions….he asks those two questions of us today: “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). No wonder the awe-filled disciples ask: “Who can this be? Even the wind and sea obey him” (Mark 4:41). We know who Jesus is by what Jesus does. Like the disciples we are all going through a time of change – moving from the familiar to something new.  This pandemic and its aftermath still has to be played out. There is a form of dying going on around us. Hope demands that we have the openness to be reshaped, reconstructed, revamped, refurbished – remade, top to bottom, inside and out. We are living through days of profound change in our society. Yet remember we are not alone. He is with us on the boat – He is the One who disappoints all our fears and fulfils all our hopes. Pope Francis said in March last year “Faith begins when we realise we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we founder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars. Let us invite Jesus into the boats of our lives. Let us hand over our fears to him so that he can conquer them. Like the disciples, we will experience that with him on board there will be no shipwreck. Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies”.

***

Feast Days: Monday: St. Aloysius Gonzaga -outstanding Jesuit novice who died of the plague as result of working in a hospital in 1591 at the age of twenty three. Tuesday: St. John Fisher (1469-1535) & St. Thomas More (1478-1535) both martyred for their faith under the reign of King Henry VIII. Thursday The Birthday of John the Baptist – He was the greatest of all the prophets. 

Thank you for the generous collection last weekend. A special word of thanks to our Ministers of the Eucharist and our Ushers. Thanks for following the Covid 19 guidelines. Please wear a mask in our church, keep social distancing and sanitise your hands.

Mass Monday(21^st June) @ 7pm – Arthur. Confessions (Tues to Fri) 2 – 5pm & Mass each evening at 7pm. Tues: Arthur.  Wed: Victor.  Thurs – Charles . Fri –  Charles & Sat 5pm  to 6pm –  Charles.    

The Shop is open from Monday to Saturday  –9.30am 7pm.  Sun – 9.30am – 4pm.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament every Friday 10:00am  – 2:00pm

LOURDES2CLOGHER ’21: As we cannot travel on pilgrimage to Lourdes this year, we will again hold a ‘virtual pilgrimage’ from July 5th-11th. Bringing the spirit of Lourdes to homes, churches and parishes across the diocese. Check the website www.lourdes2clogher.com and www.clogherdiocese.ie

 Enniskillen Rotary Club and Rotary Ireland to host ‘Tears of Gold’ art exhibition June 19th to 26th – in St Macartins Cathedral, Enniskillen. All welcome!