Weekly Bulletin 30th August 2020

Today is the 22 Sunday of the Year: Last Sunday’s Gospel Peter was praised by Jesus when he answered correctly that Jesus is the “Son of the Living God” A week is a short time in politics and it is also a short time for religious followers. This week in the Gospel Jesus compares Peter to Satan! Peter could not just handle the fact that Jesus was talking about his forthcoming death by the hands of the “elders, chief priests and scribes” (Matthew 16:21-27) This course of action by Jesus was certainly not on Peter’s agenda. It was simply to much for him to imagine, his wise young teacher coming to such a quick and bloody end. We understand Peter. Like him we want to protest: “God forbid – Isn’t there an easier way to do what you want to do?” Jesus heard those words, as if Satan,  was addressing him through the mouth of Peter. He called Peter an “obstacle in my path because the way you think is not God’s way  but man’s” (Matthew 16:23). Like the tempter in the wilderness, Peter is offering Jesus a way out, a detour around Jerusalem with all its risks of pain and death. The deep secret of Jesus’ hard words to us in this passage is that our fear of suffering and death robs us of life, because fear of death always turns into fear of life, into a stingy, cautious way of living that is not really living at all. The deep secret of Jesus’ hard words is that the way to have abundant life is not to save it but to spend it, to give it away, because life cannot be shut up and saved in a little box. Peter wanted Jesus to have more comfortable ways of being Lord. What Peter forgot however was that Jesus’ supply of life was never-ending that what poured out of him poured out of an underground source so fine, so strong, that the more of Himself that He gave, the more He had! “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine let them renounce themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24) These words of Jesus are not easy to hear.  Jesus does not conceal or minimise the cost of discipleship. Following him means treading the difficult path of total self-giving and selflessness. There is a certain amount of pain involved in being a human being and a good bit more involved in being fully human, fully alive, especially in a world that counts on our fear of death and uses it to keep us in line. Jesus’s enemies counted on his fear of death to shut him up and shut him down, but they were wrong – He may have been afraid but He did not allow His fear to stop Him. Jeremiah into today’s first reading (Jeremiah 20:7-9) felt the joy and delight in following the Lord but he also experienced the derision and insults of others when he was true to that inner vision. Paul in today’s second reading calls us “not to model ourselves on the behaviour of the world around you” (Romans 12:2). In the “Joy of the Gospel” Number [86] Pope Francis speaks of the world today as regards living the Gospel similar to living in a desert. Lifeless, barren, unproductive, and difficult but he says: “In the desert we rediscover the value of what is essential for living; thus in today’s world there are innumerable signs, often expressed implicitly or negatively, of the thirst for God, for the ultimate meaning of life. And in the desert people of faith are needed who, by the example of their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive.  In these situations we are called to be living sources of water from which others can drink. At times, this becomes a heavy cross, but it was from the cross, from his pierced side, that our Lord gave himself to us as a source of living water. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of hope!”

Monday is a Bank Holiday. We will have our Bank Holiday Mass at 11am.  There will be no duty and no Evening Mass @ 7pm.  The shop and Church will be open until 4pm.  

Feast for the Week: Thursday: St. Gregory the Great: He was pope from 590-604. Gregory was inspired to send missionaries to England, Sardinia and Lombardy.  He was Prefect of the City of Rome before becoming a monk and then pope. He established a pattern for the papacy that was used for many years, He was the first Pope to call himself a “servant of the servants of Christ” He is patron saint of musicians

Thank you for your generous contributions to the Sunday collections and donations towards the upkeep of  the Graan. Your generosity and kindness is remarkable especially in these days of recession.  In the next few weeks we have to decide how we are to replenish our funds for the coming year. We normally begin the process of having a car draw but with the current restrictions due to the coronavirus that may not now be possible. Discussions will need to take place to help us to find a way forward on this matter. Be assured of the prayers of this community. Blessings. Fr. Charles.

Friday Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 10am until 2pm.  Confessions Tues to Fr 2- 5pm. Saturday 5pm – 6pm.

DUTY FOR THE WEEK:  Mon 31^st Aug Bank Holiday No Duty and Mass at 11am  – Arthur. There will be no 7pm Mass.  

Tues (1^st Sept) – Arthur.  Wed 2nd – Arthur .   Thurs 3^rd  – Charles.  Fri 4^th – Charles . Sat 5^th –  Arthur.

Shop Opening Hours: Mon to Sat: 9.30am – 7.30pm. Sunday – 9.30am – 5pm.

Guild Mass Cards: We have a wide selection of cards for Deceased, Mass Bouquets, Get Well, Birthday, Special Occasion, Wedding, Thinking of You  and Exam Mass Bouquets which cost £2 / €2.50 each. We value your support.