CONFESSIONS
Saturdays: 10.30am - 12.30pm; 5.45pm
- 6.20pm
Thursday before First Friday after
morning Mass
BAPTISMS
Friday: 6.30pm Sunday 12.45pm
PRACTICAL REASONS FOR
FORGIVENESS
* Forgiveness is a benefit to emotional
health. Anger is an extremely painful emotion. It
can also be self-destructive when it is expressed
in a harmful and injurious way. A community frozen
in unforgiven anger is a community where the Spirit
is unable to bring life.
* Forgiveness is a factor in physical
wellness. Anger produces excessive amounts of glandular
secretions in the body. These secretions can ultimately
cause many physical problems, e.g., heart attack,
stroke, ulcers, and even death.
* Forgiveness helps a person live
fully in the present. By choosing to nurse past injuries
and hurts and clutching the desire for revenge, a
person condemns himself or herself to the past. The
joy, beauty, and profit of daily life is absent.
* Forgiveness gives a person control
over life. When one's emotional response is altered
by recalling a person who has inflicted pain, then
one's emotional life is controlled by that person.
Forgiveness frees the forgiver from the control of
another.
* Forgiveness is primarily a gift
to oneself. A a by-product of giving forgiveness to
another, the gift of new life is received.
Obstacles to Forgiveness
As stated earlier, making the choice
to forgive another presents a difficult situation.
An initial phase in the process is an honest appraisal
of one's personal reasons for having chosen to hold
on to anger.
One of the major obstacles in building
community is the inability, or more accurately, the
unwillingness, of the members to forgive each other
for the real or imagined hurts of the past. Why do
you hold on to anger, hostility, resentment and grudges?
Why do you refuse to offer to self and others the
gift of forgiveness?
There are situations and individuals
that can make it more difficult to forgive, e.g.,
- those who are at a geographical
distance or are no
longer part of our lives;
- people who do not care whether or not we forgive
them;
- those who are unaware that they have caused us
pain;
- people whose actions appear to be too evil to be
forgiven;
- those who are not known to us but whose actions
have caused us hurt.
To add to the difficulties, many people discover that
they have more trouble forgiving themselves than forgiving
others. The lack of self-forgiveness often precludes
the ability to forgive others. Some find it easier
to forgive others and self than to forgive God. While
some are fortunate enough to acknowledge their anger
at God, for others even admitting such feelings would
produce an inordinate amount of anxiety and guilt.
These are often the people who have the most difficult
time with forgiveness.
Another obstacle to consider is
the absence of models of forgiveness in one's life:
the lack of personal witnesses to the fullness of
Christian forgiveness serves as an added impediment.
COLLECTION
We acknowledge last Sunday’s
collection of £2075.00. Many thanks.
PRAYER GROUP
The contemplative prayer group will
meet on Monday evening at 8.15pm in the Parochial
House. Newcomers very welcome.
DEATHS
We offer our deepest sympathy
to the family and friends of:
Nellie Wray, Fountain
Park
Pat McGlynn Junior,
late of Lisnafin Park
May they rest in peace.
ANNIVERSARIES
Margaret McCullagh, Mary McElwee,
Willie Devine, Mary Logue,
Patrick Maguire, Patrick Mullen,
Larry Coyle, Barney Forbes,
Teresa Burke, Michael Friel,
Gretta Devlin, Tommy Molloy,
Maggie McCunnie, Paul McCafferty, John Browne, Joseph
Connolly,
Barney Browne, James Connolly.
PRAY FOR PRIESTS
The diocese published a prayer card
with the names of all the Derry diocesan priests.
Many of you have these cards and every day a specific
priest is named.
This week we ask you to pray for:
Fr. Liam Donnelly CC, Limavady, 8
Feb
Fr. T Philip Donnelly, Retired, 9 Feb
Fr. John Downey CC, Ballinascreen, 10 Feb
Fr. Kevin Duddy, 11 Feb
Fr. Austin Duffy, Retired, 12 Feb
Fr. Jack Farrell, Retired, 13 Feb
Fr. Seamus Farrelly, Retired, 14 Feb
FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES
The Rosary will be recited in the
Grotto on Wednesday 11 February at 7.00pm in honour
of Our Lady of Lourdes.
NOTICES FOR PARISH BULLETIN
In order to facilitate printing we
ask that all notices and anniversaries for the parish
bulletin are either given to the sacristan or left
at the parish office by Wednesday morning at the latest.
PAYMENTS BY CHEQUE
The Bank have reminded us that all
payments made to the parish by cheque (for Parish
Draw, Sunday and Special Collections etc.) must be
made payable to Church of the Immaculate Conception.
VOCATIONS INFORMATION DAY
Could you be called to serve God and
his people as a priest in the Diocese of Derry? A
day of reflection on the theme of Vocation will take
place on Saturday 14 February in the Thornhill Retreat
Centre, Derry from 11.00am – 4.00pm. For further
information please contact Fr. Paul Farren: tel. 028
71264087 e-mail: ddcc@derrydiocese.org or Fr. Colm
O’Doherty: tel. 028 81661475 e-mail collydoc2000@hotmail.com
CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS -
ST. PATRICK'S NATIONAL SCHOOL,
MURLOG, LIFFORD
Did you go to Murlog School? If so
join us as we celebrate our centenary on Saturday
23 May 2009. There will be an open day in the School
from 12.00noon until 4.00pm. At 4.30pm there will
be a prayer service in St. Patrick’s Church,
Murlog and later in the evening at 9.30pm the celebrations
will move to St. Patrick’s Hall, Strabane for
dancing and supper will be served. So if you are a
past pupil please come and join us for a day of celebrations
and craic and who knows who you might meet. For any
information contact the School on 0035374 91 41450.
THE DERRY DIOCESAN COMMISSION FOR JUSTICE
AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS
The Derry Diocesan Commission for
Justice and Social Affairs was established in 2007.
Its objective is to support the Bishop in promoting
the social teaching of the Church and to advise on
issues of social concern both nationally and internationally.
The group is keen to ensure that it is informed by
a wide range of views and opinions. Would you be interested
in making a contribution? If so, you are welcome to
come along to a meeting on Tuesday 10 February in
the Thornhill Centre, Culmore Road, Derry at 7.30pm.
HOLY CROSS COLLEGE PRESENTS....
The Holy Cross College Production
of the musical 'Oliver' will open in the College on
Monday 23 February. Tickets will be on sale from Monday
9 February and call be obtained by calling at the
main office or tel: 02871 381380. Cost £8.00
(concessionary £5.00). Performances will be
at 8.00pm on the following dates:
Monday 23 February, Tuesday 24 February, Wednesday
25 February, Thursday 26 February, Friday 27 February,
Sunday 1 March.
RUMMAGE
Strabane Community Project/St. Patrick's
Luncheon Club Charity Shop 'Rummage' urgently requires
donations of good quality clothes, clothes for recycling,
unwanted gifts or bric-a-brac. The Charity Shop supports
the Luncheon Club and services for older people in
your community. For all enquiries telephone 02871
883102. Thank you for your continued support.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL LUCKY LOTTO DRAW
The numbers drawn were 6, 8, 17, 22.
There was 1 Jackpot winner who received £1000.00:
Fidelma Kennedy, Glenview Park. Jackpot for March
is £1000.00. Next Draw will take place on Sunday
1 March at 9.00pm at Melmount parish bingo.
STRABANE SIGERSONS GAA
Strabane Sigersons senior footballers
will travel to Antrim this Sunday to play Portglenone
in the opening game of the Ulster Senior Football
League.
Club Membership Fees for 2009 are now due for renewal.
These can be paid to Aidan McGrath, Cha Stewart or
left at the Social Club.
ST. PATRICK’S HALL
Bingo and Lucky 4 Draw as
usual this Thursday.
All our patrons are very welcome.
Bingo Snowball £2500.00
LUCKY 4 DRAW
There were 2 match 3 winners in last
week's Draw
Noelle & Sheila
Eilish Melaugh
The numbers drawn were:
1, 5, 10, 13
Next Week's Lucky 4 Jackpot is £900.00
PRAYER CORNER
NOTHING!
The Master claimed that it made no
sense at all to define oneself as
Indian, Chinese, African, American,
Hindu, Christian or Muslem for
these are merely labels.
To a disciple who claimed he was
Jewish first, last and above all else,
the Master said benignly,"Your
conditioning is Jewish, not your identity."
"What is my identity?"
"Nothing," said the Master.
"You mean I am an emptiness and
a
void?'' said the incredulous disciple.
"Nothing that can be labelled,"
said the Master.
TAKE, BLESS, BREAK AND GIVE
In the Eucharist bread is taken, blessed,
broken and given.
In life we are taken, blessed, broken and given.
The priest takes the bread in his hands and blesses
it during the eucharistic prayer ;
then he breaks it and it is given to us as the body
of Christ.
Through our birth and baptism we are taken into God's
hands;
as the bread is taken, so too are we.
In life we are blessed by family, friends, love and
joy;
as the bread is blessed so too are we.
We are broken by failure, sin, pain and heartbreak;
as the bread is broken so too are we.
In death we are given back to the mystery from which
we came;
as the bread is given so too are we.
When we take, bless, break and give bread to one another,
we believe the Lord to be especially present in our
midst.
But we must learn to accept that in his memory we
will be taken blessed, broken and given for the life
of the world.
