COLLECTION
We acknowledge last Sunday’s collection of £1734.00.
Many thanks.
ANNIVERSARIES
Thomas Dunne, Joseph Dunne, Winnie McCullagh, Richard
McGavigan, Frankie Gallagher, Kathleen McGirr, Annie
Feeney, Rose McHugh, Nellie Duddy
MARRIAGES
We congratulate the following couple who
were married in our parish recently:
Emma McCaul and David Horwood.
PRAY FOR PRIESTS
Last year 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 the following
priests:
Fr. Brendan Doherty PP, Kilrea, 14th
Oct.
Fr. George Doherty CC, Buncrana,
15th Oct.
Fr. James Doherty, 16th Oct.
Fr. John Doherty PP, Leckpatrick,
17th Oct.
Fr. Joseph Doherty, (Retired), 18th
Oct.
Fr. Michael Doherty PP, Melmount,
19th Oct.
Fr. Patrick Doherty PP, Castlederg,
20th Oct.
PRAYER GROUP
The contemplative prayer group will meet on Monday
night at 8.15pm in the Parochial House. Newcomers
very welcome. This is an opportunity to experiment
with a new form of prayer, especially if you find
that your present methods are unsatisfactory.
PARISH DRAW
The next Parish Draw will be held on Thursday 25th
October at 2.30pm in the parish office.
Promoters are asked to make their returns to the parish
office on Monday 22nd October
PAYMENTS BY CHEQUE
The Bank have reminded us that all payments made to
the parish by cheque (for Parish Savings, Parish Draw,
Sunday and Special Collections etc.) must be made
payable to Church of the Immaculate Conception.
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.
CURSILLO WEEKEND
The next Cursillo Weekends are in Termonbacca Retreat
Centre, Derry starting at 7.30pm. Thursday 1st November
- Sunday 4th November 2007 for men and Thursday 8th
November - Sunday 11th November 2007 for women. For
further information and bookings contact: 028 71885006.
TAIZE PRAYER AND CHANT
Join us for an hour of meditative Taize Prayer and
Chant on Wednesday 17th October in the Day Chapel,
St. Mary's Church, Melmount from 7.30pm - 8.30pm.
Everyone welcome
ANNUAL DERRY DIOCESAN PIONEER MASS
The Annual Derry Diocesan Pioneer Mass will take place
in St. Mary's Church, Bellaghy on Sunday 21st October
at 3.00pm. Chief celebrant Most Rev. Seamus Hegarty.
Refreshments afterwards in St. Mary's Hall. All pioneers
and friends are invited to attend.
BOSNIA CHRISTMAS SCHOOL BOX APPEAL
If you wish to help orphans, refugees and poor families
you can make up a shoe box or donate new or used clothes,
household items, furniture, buggies and non-perishable
foods etc. You can also purchase items in all Essentials
Stores or Pound Choice in Strabane and put them into
a basket, list available in stores. The next truck
will be leaving in early December. Thanks to everyone
who donated items and money earlier in the year. Everything
arrived safely in September. Thank you or your ongoing
support which is making a difference to these families.
For further information contact Anne Duffy, 07736005396
or 71880372.
LIAM BRADLEY TOURS
1st Jan 2008. Galway, 4 days 4 dinners 3 B/B. £199pps.
Departs Strabane 9am. Tel. 71269109.
DERRY DIOCESAN DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Day of Renewal - Growing to the fullness of our Christian
vocation.
Speaker : Fr. Pascal McDonnell
Date & Time: Saturday 20th October 9am - 5pm
Venue: The Mellon Country Inn, Omagh
Cost: £20 includes morning coffee & buffet
lunch
Booking is essential. Telephone 02882242092 (office
hours only). Email info@drumraghparish.com
When booking please inform us of any special dietary
requirements.
ALZHEIMER'S SUPPORT GROUP
The Group will meet on Wednesday 17th October at 7.30pm
in Melmount Manor Care Home, Orchard Road, Strabane.
Guest Speaker, Judith Gormley, Western Trust, speaking
on Falls - Awareness and Prevention. Everyone welcome.
PARISH SAVINGS SCHEME
s we approach the final few weeks in the Savings Scheme
we again remind our savers of the following banking
regulations.
1. No saver may save more than £5000.00 in an
individual name.
2. All savers must have a bank account as cheques
issued at the end of the year will be crossed and
will have to be paid into a bank account.
3. If you are saving for a child, the child must also
have a bank account as their cheque will be crossed
and cannot be put into any other account. If the child
has no bank account you should put their savings along
with their parent's savings or in the name of the
parent who has a bank account. It is recommended that
you do this now as it will be too late to do this
at the end of the year.
If you have any queries you can contact the parish
office, Tel., 02871882215.
MISSION SUNDAY
Next Sunday is Mission Sunday and the theme will be
Reflect God's Love. Christians are invited to support
the work of missionaries as they reflect God's love
on the five continents. People are asked to give generously
to the Propagation of the Faith collection which will
be sent in its entirety to a Young Church. A special
envelope is provided in you envelope box for this
collection which will be taken up all all Masses next
weekend.
LEGION OF MARY
Legion of Mary meets each Thursday morning after Mass
at 10.30am in the Church Conference Room. Work consists
of Rosary promotion in the parish, also visitation
of residential nursing homes in town and Lifford hospital.
New members welcome. Contact 02871883159.
ST PATRICK’S HALL
Bingo and Lucky 4 Draw as
usual this Thursday - all our patrons are very welcome
WEST END PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS.....
ABBA the Show, featuring Europe's Top Musical Group,
SMACKEE, in St. Patrick's Hall on Friday 19th October
. Tickets £12.50.
THE WIZARD OF OZ
St. Patrick's Hall Theatre Committee Presents..........
"The Wizard of Oz"
From Friday 2nd November - Sunday 11th November. Commencing
7.30pm nightly.
Admission £7.00 per adult, £5.00 per child.
Booking available at St. Patrick's Hall, Tel., 02871882483
from:
Monday 22nd October - Friday 26th October 1.00pm -
4.00pm.
Monday 29th October - Thursday 1st November 1.00pm
- 4.00pm.
Book early and avoid disappointment.
ST. PATRICK'S LUNCHEON CLUB
St. Patrick's Luncheon Club are holding a dance/social
on Monday 22nd October in St. Patrick's Hall. Music
is by Reflections and supper is at 9.00pm. Admission
is £3.00 or 5 Euro (includes supper). Everyone
is welcome.
BRIDGE CLASSES
Bridge classes will be held in St. Patrick's Hall
every Wednesday at 1.30pm. Everyone welcome.
PART-TIME COOK WANTED
Strabane Community Project have a vacancy for a part-time
cook. Hours 9.00am - 2.00pm. Applicant must be fully
qualified and will be required to cook 120 dinners.
Daily wages negotiable. Apply to Strabane Community
Project or telephone 02871883102.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL LUCKY LOTTO DRAW
The numbers drawn were 1, 4, 11, 24. There was no
Jackpot winner. There were 7 match 3 winners who shared
£300.00: Kathleen Gillespie, Catherine McDaid,
Paul McDonald, Andrew MacIntyre, Mary Barrett, Elizabeth
Devine, Rose McGeehan. Jackpot for November is £1500.00.
Next Draw will take place on Sunday 4th November at
9.00pm at Melmount parish bingo
PARISH WEBSITE
Visit our website at www.strabaneparish.com
PRAYER CORNER
A PENTCOST PRAYER
Come, Spirit who is our Light,
Shine among the shadows within.
Warm and transform our hearts
Come, Spirit who makes a home in us.
Draw us to the treasures of your dwelling.
Reveal to us the inner journey of love.
Come, Spirit, Comforter and Consoler.
Heal the wounded. Soothe the anxious.
Be consolation for all who grieve and ache.
Come, Spirit who energises our being.
Keep us from the tangles of toil and travail.
Lead us to moments of prayer and play.
Come, Spirit, consuming Fire of Love,
Fill us with enthusiasm for your vision.
May the desire for truth be vibrant in us.
Come, Spirit, joy of our souls.
Dance amid life's hills and valleys.
Encircle us with the delights of your dance.
Come, Spirit of wisdom and insight.
Draw us towards your goodness and light.
Direct our growth and guide our ways.
Come, Spirit, Strength of wounded ones.
Be warmth in hearts of those who grow cold.
Empower the powerless, rekindle the weary.
Come, Spirit, source of our peace. in us the action
of peacemakers.
Heal the divisions that ravage the earth.
*****************
INTERCESSIONS
Spirit of light, let the fire of your
wisdom burn brightly within us.
Spirit of silence, in the still moment may we be open
to God's presence.
Spirit of courage, dispel the fear that lingers in
our hearts.
Spirit of fire, engulf us with the passion of Christ's
love.
Spirit of peace, help us to be attentive to God's
word in the world.
Spirit of joy, enthuse us to proclaim aloud the Good
News.
Spirit of love, compel us to open ourselves to the
needs of others.
Spirit of power, bestow the gift of your strength
upon us.
Spirit of truth, guide us to walk in the way of Christ.
AUTUMN PSALM OF FEARLESSNESS
I am surrounded by a peaceful ebbing
as creation bows to the mystery of life;
all that grows and lives must give up life,
yet it does not really die.
as plants surrender their life,
bending, brown and wrinkled,
and yellow leaves of trees
float to my lawn like parachute troops, they do so
in a sea of serenity.
I hear no fearful cries from creation,
no screams of terror,
as death daily devours
once-green and growing life.
Peaceful and calm is autumn's swan song,
for she understands
that hidden in winter's death-grip
is spring's open-handed
full-brim breath of life.
It is not a death rattle that sounds
over fields and backyard fences;
rather I hear a lullaby
softly swaying upon the autumn wind.
Sleep in peace, all that lives;
slumber secure, all that is dying,
for in every fall there is the rise
whose sister's name is spring.
GIVING THANKS
O Divine Gift-giver,
I stand beneath the endless waterfall
of your abundant gifts to me.
I thank you especially for the blessing of life,
the most precious of all your gifts to me.
I thank you, Ever-generous One,
for clothing to wear,
for food and drink to nourish my body,
for all the talents and skills that you have bestowed
upon me.
I thank you for the many joys of my life,
for family and friends,
for work that gives to me a sense of purpose
and invests my life with meaning.
I thank you as well
for the suffering and trials of my life
which are also gifts
and which together with my mistakes are among my most
important teachers.
Grant that I may never greet a new
day
without the awareness of some gift
for which to give you thanks.
And may constant thanksgiving
be my song of perpetual praise to you.
PRAYER OF GUIDANCE
Spirit of Guidance, I see before me numerous choices
and a decision to be made.
There is division in my heart. Sometimes I want none
of what I find. Sometimes I want it all. Sometimes
I want to give up making decisions and wish that the
future would go away.
I entrust my decision-making into your hands, ready
to do my part but also knowing that I cannot do this
without your help.
Lead me through all the unsure, unclear, doubtful,
hesitant, and questioning moments that are mine as
I search to find the right way in which to go.
Grant me the grace to choose freely, without being
attached to the outcome. I trust that you will be
with me as I make my decision prayerfully and with
faith.
Assure me that your peace will rest deep within me
as I make the decision that seems best for me at this
time. I may continue to experience feelings of turmoil
and confusion, but deep within I know that I can return
to that settled place in me where you always dwell.
Guide and Director of my life, I place my life in
your hands. Lead me to the path that will best deepen
and strengthen my relationship with you.
BEWARE!
Following are the names of the Seven
Mischievous Misses who are responsible for most of
our troubles:
Miss Information,
Miss Quotation,
Miss Representation,
Miss Interpretation,
Miss Construction,
Miss Conception,
Miss Understanding.
Beware!
LORD, MAY YOUR SPIRIT BURN WITHIN ME
Lord, you burn like a flame within us,
Flame of energy and inspiration,
Living flame of love.
Yet like a flame you can be quenched by our pride,
Smothered by our selfish ways, by our sins.
There are times we prefer other things,
When we prefer to live without
The glow of your love within,
The flame of your goodness shining on us,
The light of your presence,
Times when we prefer
The ways of darkness.
Yet how can we live without your love, Lord?
Help me to hold on to what is good.
Help me not to quench your Spirit.
May your Spirit burn within me.
SPIRIT OF LIGHT
Spirit of Light,
Come in the depths of my Winter,
Come illumine my soul,
Cast your warm glow
Over snow, when chill mist
Hangs in the air
and I am cold within,
When faith's worn thin
And my spirit's bare and weary.
Come, illumine my soul;
Shine upon my dreariness
Glow warm on my frozen spirit,
Revive me, Spirit of Light!
PRAYER FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL
May the Love of the Spirit
Enfold you;
May the Strength of the Spirit
Uphold you;
May the Peace of the Spirit
Refresh you;
May the Joy of the Spirit
Uplift you;
May the Light of the Spirit
Shine on you;
May the Mercy of the Spirit
Rekindle you;
May the Spirit renew your innermost being.
HOLY SPIRIT, RENEW US!
Come, Holy Spirit,
Renew us with your gifts!
Heal our brokenness
Wash our guilt away;
Pour down your wisdom,
Guide us when we stray.
Instill your peace within us,
Watch over us in need,
Move our hearts to goodness,
Inspire our every deed. Amen.
HOLY SPIRIT, TAKE AWAY MY FEAR
Lord, I am fearful of so many things,
I'm fearful of other people,
And the way they can hurt me,
And what they can say about me,
Fearful of crime and mugging,
Sickness, disease,
Fearful of life itself.
I'm afraid of myself too.
Afraid of my own reactions to things,
My own emotions, my future.
I feel so insecure at times.
And sometimes I'm fearful of you, Lord.
Because my sins weigh me down,
And I wonder about the consequences
Of my actions in life, their harm,
Their effects on others,
And on my relationship with you.
Lord please send your Spirit
To take my fears away
So I may rest peaceful and calm,
Like a soft Summer's morn.
ENCOUNTERING DEPRESSION
Giver of life,
I am in the wasteland of depression.
I cry out to you, Source of Solace,
as I meet this empty void within me.
Sustain me as I try to exist
in this day-to-day dying
of my energy and vitality.
Wrap your arms around me.
Carry me through this bleak journey.
Help me to stay open to your love.
I rely on you. I lean on you.
I trust you to hold me close
as I stumble on this joyless path.
EXPERIENCING LOSS
All-Embracing Love,
your circle of strength is around me.
I ask for grace to yield to the reality of this loss.
I pray to surrender to what cannot be changed.
I beg for deliverance from the emotional drain
and the unyielding sadness that this loss has brought me.
Let peace return.
Let hope begin.
Let comfort be mine.
PAIN IS A TREASURE
Pain is a treasure, for it contains mercies;
The kernel is soft when the rind is scraped off.
O brother, the place of darkness and cold
Is the fountain of Life and the cup of ecstasy.
So also is the endurance of pain and sickness and disease,
For from abasement proceeds exaltation.
The spring seasons are hidden in the autumns,
And the autumns are charged with springs.
PEACE
Peace demands a mentality and a spirit which, before turning to others, must first permeate him who wishes to bring peace. Peace is first and foremost personal, before it is social. And it is precisely this spirit of peace which is the duty of every true follower of Christ to cultivate.
(John Paul 11)
If we wish to have true peace, we must give it a soul. The soul of peace is love. It is love that gives life to peace, more than victory or defeat, more than self-interest or fear or weariness or need. The soul of peace is love, which for us believers comes from the love of God and exercises itself in love for men.
(John Paul 11)
Keep your heart in peace; let nothing in this world disturb it; all things have an end.
In all circumstances, however hard they may be, we should rejoice rather than be cast down, that we may not lose the greatest good, the peace and tranquility of our soul.
If the whole world and all that is in it were thrown into confusion, disquietude on that account would be vanity; because that disquietude would do more harm than good.
To endure all things with an equable and peaceful mind, not only brings with it many blessings to the soul, but also enables us, in the midst of our difficulties, to have a clear judgement about them, and to minister the fitting remedy for them.
(St John of the Cross)
A very powerful and efficacious medicament, and the means to purify ourselves from every imperfection, to overcome all temptations and to preserve in our heart imperturbable peace, is conformity to the will of God.
(St Vincent de Paul)
Order and the beauty of peace go together. The fair flower of peace does not grow among the weeds of an ill-regulated life. The radiance of a deeper serenity is the product of disciplining both in the heart and in outward affairs.
(G.H. Norling)
POETIC PRAYER
Take me to the lair of your loveliness
To the place that is no place
Where there is song without singing
And love without word.
Take me where I want to be.
Take me into your boundless Being
Where no thought limits.
Take me into my deepest heart
That opens into You.
There at the centre of all loveliness
Will I be lovely.
Of all the holiness will I be holy.
Of all the peace will I be peaceful.
There will I be your begotten.
There will I be we!
MEDITATION
Gift, all gift, your giving.
Let me open to receive:
Stretch me to infinity,
That I hold the all of You.
No time pass, so no thing change,
Eternal and infinite in your nothingness,
That in the stillness, all motion,
And in the silence, every sound.
Let no thought despoil.
For how can You be in thought?
Let no word ruin, word is my making.
Only silence, stillness - open to love.
Beloved, make a forced entry if You must
But gift me with your Presence.
GIVE YOURSELF THE RIGHT TO
SUFFER
Being unhappy in today's society is not popular.
In fact, judging by the ads on television, finding
happiness should be our main goal.
We want to be happy no matter what the cost. This
is why we put our elders in institutions and our sick
in hospitals so we don't have to face our suffering.
We ask funeral homes to make our deceased look good
so we don't have to see the face of death.
We abhor suffering and fear. We are ashamed of our
pain and our sadness.
Give yourself permission to mourn, to weep and to
be depressed for a while, even if, as a child, your
parents forbade you to cry or be sad. If you find
it hard to let yourself cry, try watching a sad movie
to release your tears and your pain. Share your feelings
with people who are wise, people who can accept your
situation because they have been through it and know
what you are experiencing, people who know they can't
make it better except by listening.
This state is temporary. With support and encouragement
to express yourself, you will begin to feel better.
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO HEAL AT YOUR OWN
PACE
You will find that very few people around you can
tolerate your suffering. They want you to feel better,
to forget, to accept, to distract yourself.
They will try to prevent you from hurting. Yet, you
must understand that you have every right to go through
this painful experience.
Consequently you should avoid hiding your feelings
behind a composed front, a pretend smile, a false
attitude.
Avoid mixing with people who have
denied their own pain, or who display the physical
and mental signs of repressed grief, such as stiffness,
rigidity, depression, fatigue, psychosomatic pain
or illness.
Regardless of the theories on the stages and the length
of the grieving process, remember that your experience
is unique. Performance and speed are not to be judged.
You have the right to deal with your grief in your
own way and at your own pace.
HEALING OF HURTFUL MEMORIES
Return to some unpleasant event of the recent
past, no matter how trifling. Relive the experience.
Now place yourself before Christ Crucified. Do not
speak . . . Only look and contemplate . . . If you
must communicate, do so without words . . .
Keep communicating between the unpleasant event and
the scene of Jesus on the Cross for a few minutes
. . . Then end the exercise.
PRAYER
The purpose of all prayer is to uplift the
words,
to return them to their source above.
The world was created
by the downward flow of letters:
The task of man is to form those letters into words
and take them back to God.
If you come to know this duel process,
your prayer may be joined
to the constant flow of Creation -
word to word, voice to voice,
breath to breath, thought to thought.
The words fly upward and come to Him.
As God turns to look at the ascending word,
life flows through all the worlds
and prayer receives its answer.
All this happens in an instant
and all this happens continually;
Time has no meaning in the sight of God.
The divine spring is ever-flowing;
one who is ready can make himself into a channel
to receive the waters from above.
LOVE POEM TO GOD
I love you, gentlest of Ways,
who ripened us as we wrestled with you.
You, the great homesickness we could
never shake off,
you, the forest that always surrounded us,
you, the song we sang in every silence,
you dark net threading through us,
You began yourself so greatly
on that day when you began us -
and we have so ripened in your sunlight,
spreading far and firmly planted -
that now in all people, angels, madonnas,
you can decide: the work is done.
Let your hand rest on the rim of Heaven
now
and mutely bear the darkness we bring over you.
HOLY SPIRIT, MAKE ME HOLY
Holy Spirit, reveal yourself to me
In the depths of my being,
In the working of my mind,
In the feelings in my heart.
Purge my inner self
That I may be filled
With the wonder of your love;
Sanctify my every thought,
That I may be enfolded
In the splendour of your goodness;
Purify my every feeling,
That I may be worthy to behold your glory.
Come, Holy Spirit, come!
HEAVY BURDENS
Jesus, Rest for the Weary,
the heaviness of my burden overwhelms me.
the immensity of this situation
presses down upon me.
The weight of the pain I carry
crushes my hopeful vision of life.
I long for an easing of my distress.
Let me hear again
your promising words of comfort.
Speak them to my heart:
"Come to me all of you who are weary,
and carrying heavy burdens,
and I will give you rest"(Matt.11:28).
I lean my burdened life
of the bosom of your love
and wait to be consoled.
GOD'S EMBRACE
Guardian of the Wounded,
wrap me in your embrace.
Hold me close to your heart
and assure me of your love.
Protect my sore spirit.
Ease the pain that it holds.
You are always ready
to embrace me,
no matter how hurt or desolate
my heart may be.
I will trust you with my pain.
I will rest in your solace.
I will take refuge in your love.
TEACH US TO LIVE
God of love - Forgive! Forgive!
Teach us how to truly live,
Ask us not our race or creed,
Just take us in our hour of need ,
And let us know You love us, too,
And that we are a part of You...
And someday may man realise
That all the earth, the seas and skies
Belong to God who made us all,
The rich , the poor, the great, the small.
And in the Father's Holy Sight
No man is yellow, black or white,
And peace on earth cannot be found
Until we meet on common ground
And every man becomes a brother
Who worships God and loves each other.
GOOD EXAMPLE
Parents cannot be content just to tell our
children the right way to live; they must set the
example themselves. It's no use parents warning teenagers
about the dangers of drink if parents cannot control
the use of drink themselves. It's no use expecting
children to be responsible about food, money or clothes
if parents are self-indulgent and spendthrift themselves.
Instead of just telling children what the Christian
way is, parents must live the Christian way with them.
Dear parents, you are the parents over your children.
You are also Christians with them. Children will get
their ideas about what it means to be a Christian
much more from how they see their parents living than
from what their parents tell them, or from what they
are taught in school, or even what they hear in church.
