Weekly Bulletin 4th July 2021

Today is the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Take a look at the second reading of today’s Mass (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Paul is writing to his friends in Corinth about what is going on in his inner life. He had experienced great revelations from God. But something or someone was preventing him from being the person that he felt called to be. He called it the “thorn in the flesh!”  We do not know what this thorn was but he continues to  pray to the Lord to take this thorn away.  He knows the reason that the Lord has given this thorn to him: “…to stop me getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh!” (2 Cor 12:7).  He continues to pray constantly that this thorn will be taken away from him. However the Lord answered him in a strange way; “My grace is enough for you –my power is best in weakness!” Paul goes on to say that he will make weakness his special boast. He is NOT saying that so long as we fail, we shall succeed, or so long as we  are frustrated we shall be glorious or so long as we are incompetent workers then God will do his best work. He is not sanctioning laziness, and encouraging incompetence. What he is saying is that if our weakness begets God’s strength it is not because of our weakness – but it is rather in weakness that the person of faith clings more closely to God. The Jesuit priest, Fr. James J.Gill, S.J. (1925-2003) the founder of the Human Development Institute, was once asked how he would go about training people for ministry and he immediately replied, “I would help them learn how to fail!” Sounds all wrong, doesn’t it? We don’t need much help with that, we may feel?  But we do!  It’s also the way Jesus trained the Apostles and, like ourselves, they were slow learners. A little verse naming the faults of the famous characters of the Bible outlines this clearly;  Abraham was too old; Noah was a drunk; Isaac was a day-dreamer; Jacob was a liar; Joseph was abused; Moses had a stutter; Gideon was afraid; Samson had long hair and was a womaniser; Rahab was a prostitute; Jeremiah and Timothy were too young; David had an affair and was a murderer; Elijah was suicidal; Isaiah preached naked; Jonah ran away from God; Job went bankrupt; Peter denied Christ; Martha worried about everything; The Samaritan woman was divorced more than once; Zacchaeus was too small; Paul was too religious; Timothy had an ulcer. And Lazarus was dead!  Couldn’t be much weaker than that! But they all played their part in God’s great plan precisely because they didn’t let their weakness get in the way! The late Leonard Cohen song called  “Anthem” speak into  this theme. It states: “Ring out the bells that still can ring, Forget the perfect sacrifice, There’s a crack in everything, That’s how the light gets in” So, cracked, broken but beautiful, we can be Easter people carrying the treasure of faith and hope and love in earthenware jars

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Feasts of the Week: Tues St. Maria Goretti virgin & martyr. (1890-1902). One of the side altars in the Graan is dedicated to St. Maria Goretti. She was stabbed to death in defence of her virtue. Thursday St. Kilian. From the parish of Mullagh Co.Cavan – one of the rare Irish missionaries who were martyred with companions for the faith in Germany in 689. 

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Thank you for your generous contributions to last week’s Sunday collection. Thanks also to our ushers and Ministers of the Eucharist who help in the smooth running of our religious services. Thank you for following their instructions for wearing a mask, sanitising your hands and keeping social distance. I realise that these instructions are becoming wearisome for some, and a real burden for others, but we do it to keep each other safe. 

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Church Cleaning Groups: We hope to restart our church cleaning groups. Please contact us if you are able to return to this ministry or indeed if you would like join one of the groups. It’s for 3 hours usually on Wednesday every third month. Please call the Graan or leave your details at reception and we will get back to you.

Mass Monday(5^th July) @ 7pm –  Arthur. Confessions (Tues to Fri) 2 – 5pm & Mass each evening at 7pm.

Tues: Arthur. Wed: Victor. Thurs – Charles.   Fri –  Arthur   & Sat – Confessions 5pm  to 6pm –   Charles.

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

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

Lourdes2Clogher Virtual Pilgrimage: Our ‘virtual pilgrimage’ begins this Monday July 5^th and lasts until Sunday 11th. Bringing the spirit of Lourdes to homes, churches and parishes across the diocese. Join us for Masses, Liturgies and other devotions and tune in over this next week on our pilgrimage website www.lourdes2clogher.com and www.clogherdiocese.ie

Lough Derg 2021:  This weekend, let us accompany in prayer those who are joining the “Do Lough Derg from wherever you are” online.  The outdoor Pilgrimage on the Lough Shore Pilgrim Path will also be available as the summer goes on.  Further information from Lough Derg office 0(0353) 71 9861518 or www.loughderg.org.