SIMPLE RELIGION
Simple living is encouraged by Christianity, and
a liberation spirituality encourages a simple religion.
Religion tends to require the completion of countless
obligations and duties, while the Way of Jesus is
simple. It is a way of love, and it can be contained
in his words, "thy will be done," which
simply means following God's designs for us moment
by moment in each duty of our day. God's will can
sound mysteriously unknowable, especially in actual
moment by moment situations. Yet God's will is revealed
precisely in our daily moments. God's design is for
each of us to do the works of God as we go about our
daily tasks: Answering the telephone or a knock at
the door, responding to one interruption in our agenda
after another, or suffering from some physical pain
or frustration with dignity and grace. The lifestyle
of Jesus reveals how such "unholy" occasions
can become the work of the Holy One. God enfleshed
in Jesus is at work in every moment, transforming
death into life, converting darkness into light, setting
free the enslaved and imprisoned, and granting forgiveness
for injury. Such is God's will for us. Each moment
in our life brings its own duty to which we are to
respond with a fullness of loving attention, and in
the process we become Godlike. This is the essence
of a simple religion, a religion reduced to the essentials.
The most magnificent truths are the most easily forgotten.
God is as enfleshed in our bodies as the Divine Mystery
was in the human flesh of Jesus. Jesus believed in
that mystery of incarnation and gave God free reign
in his life. That reality is at the core of Christian
faith. Place your hand over your heart and you will
hear a soft pounding: It is God trying to get out.
God is pulsing in your heart, softly pleading, "let
me out so I can love in your loving. Release me so
my compassion can be present in each of your acts
of kindness." Place your hand on your wrist and
feel God tapping out in code, crying with a velvet
velocity, "Let me use your arms and hands so
I can touch those who are lonely and lost. Let me
use your hands to carry food to the poor who pray
for my help. Let me be your legs so I can perform
deeds of humble service. Please let me out!"
COLLECTION
We acknowledge last Sunday’s collection of £1920.00
and the Nazareth Sisters collection which amounted
to £565.00. Many thanks.
ANNIVERSARIES
John Kerr, Denis Devlin, Charlie Lynch, Margaret Lynch,
Josephine Melaugh, Jim McFarland,
Arthur Friel, Rose Hoynes, Katie McCallion, Jackie
McCallion, Fionnuala Gallagher,
Jodie Melaugh
DEATHS
We offer our deepest sympathy to the family and friends
of:
John McDermott, Dunamanagh,
Nan McGettigan, Ballindrait,
Margaret Hudson, London,
Mary Quinn, Sion Mills who died during
the week. May they rest in peace.
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. Shane Bradley - on leave, 23rd
Sept
Fr. Brian Brady PP, Malin, 24th Sept
Fr. Bernard Bryson, Retired, 25th
Sept
Fr. Thomas Canning CC,
Omagh 26th Sept
Fr. Michael Canny Adm, Templemore
27th Sept
Fr. John Cargan PP,
Steelstown, 28th Sept
Fr. Neal Carlin PP, Ardmore 29th
Sept
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 monthly Draw for September will take place on
Thursday 27th September at 2.30pm in the parish office.
All promoters are asked to make their returns to the
parish office on Monday 24th September.
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.
MASS AT GROTTO
There will be a special Mass at the Grotto on
Sunday 23rd September at 4.00pm to bless the new statue
and in thanksgiving for the recent work done at the
site. Everyone welcome.
LEGION OF MARY
Pilgrimage to Knock Shrine on Sunday 30th September.
Bus departs from Bowling Green at 8.15am. Cost £12.00.
(Please bring a packed lunch). For booking contact
Margaret Harte 02871883159 or Frances Conwell 02871882048.
HOUSE OF PRAYER, ACHIL
Bus leaving Church of the Immaculate Conception,
Strabane on Saturday 6th October for House of Prayer,
Achil, Co. Mayo. A special day for young people but
everyone welcome. Contact Angela Gormley on 07762363834
for details.
INTERESTED IN BECOMING A LOROTO SISTER?
To find out more about our way of life today,
see www.loreto.ie. Our next Loreto Life Weekend will
be held in Donegal on October 13, 2007. For more information
on this, you can contact Therese at loretonewmemberoffice@eircom.net
SCHOOL MASS
Fr. Boland will celebrate Mass on Monday 24th
September at 10.00am for St. Anne's P.S. in the Church
of the Immaculate Conception. Everyone welcome.
COFFEE MORNING
St. Anne's P.S. will hold a Tea/Coffee Morning
in the school on Monday 24th September from 10.45am
- 11.45am (after the school Mass). We invite all parents
and friends to attend.
Have a cuppa for the Foyle Hospice and help us to
help others.
BRIDGE
Bridge in St. Patrick's Hall every Monday and Wednesday
at 7.45pm. New members very welcome. Anyone wishing
to learn how to play Bridge please ring Kathleen,
02871885947.
INTERESTED IN ACTING?
The Lifford Players Drama Group are commencing rehearsals
for their new season's play. They would warmly welcome
any persons interested in taking part, male or female,
either in acting or doing backstage work. The next
rehearsal night is Monday 24th September at 8.00pm
in St. Mary's Boy's P.S. Melmount.
STRABANE HISTORY SOCIETY
Strabane History Society will meet in the Library,
Abercorn Square, Strabane on Thursday 27th September
at 8.00pm when a number of local speakers will talk
on aspects of local history in a programme called
Snippets from the Past. This will also be the AGM
of the society and the programme for the year ahead
will be announced.
THORNHILL CENTRE
Myers-Briggs workshop. A personal development workshop
for those wanting to know themselves and to understand
differences in personality type begins on Thursday
4th October from 7.30pm - 9.30pm in the Thornhill
Centre, Derry. The workshop will be held on 7 consecutive
Thursdays. Cost £25.00. Telephone 71351233.
Pre-booking necessary.
ST. PATRICK'S LUNCHEON CLUB
St. Patrick's Luncheon Club are holding a dance/social
on Monday 24th September in St. Patrick's Hall. Music
is by Patsy Harte and supper is at 9.00pm. Admission
is £3.00 or 5 Euro (includes supper). Everyone
is welcome.
ST PATRICK’S HALL
Bingo and Lucky 4 Draw as
usual this Thursday - all our patrons are very welcome
PARISH RENEWAL
For quite some time we have discussed the whole area
of parish renewal and earlier this year we asked our
people to submit the names of those who, in their
opinion, had the gifts and talents to sit as members
on a parish pastoral council. Many names were put
forward and obviously it was not possible to include
them all. Gender balance, age range and a balanced
representation from all areas of the parish were important
elements in the formation of the new Council which
has been recently been formed and will have its first
meeting at the parochial house this Wednesday evening
at 8.00pm. This is the culmination of a long series
of meetings and deliberations over a period of years
and we owe a great debt of gratitude to a pioneering
parish renewal group whose commitment and enthusiasm
has brought us to this important stage.
The following have been elected to serve on
the parish pastoral council for the next three years;
- Carmel Gallagher, Declan Mc Menamin, Anne Marie
McMackin, Stephen Kennedy, Jim Devlin, Bernie McQuillan,
Leo McDermott, Mary McCrossan, Paddy Stewart, Catherine
O'Kane, Paul Kelly, and Carmel Maybin. Two of our
Sisters of Mercy, Srs. Carmel and Benedict will also
sit on the Council. Fr. Boland will complete the fifteen
strong team.
We ask for prayers at this important development in
our community and we remember what the late Pope John
Paul II said in an address to the American bishops:-
A great effort is needed by priests and
laity to renew parish life in the image of the church
herself as a communion benefiting from the complementary
gifts and charisms of all her members. Communion is
a dynamic reality, which implies a constant exchange
of gifts between all the members of the people of
God. The vitality of a parish depends on merging the
diverse vocations and gifts of its members into a
unit which manifests the communion of each and of
all together with God the father through Christ, constantly
renewed by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
When you plant a tree
every leaf that grows will tell you,
what you sow will bear fruit.
So if you have any sense, my friend
don't plant anything but love,
you show your worth by what you seek.
Water flows to those who want purity
wash your hands of all desires and
come to the table of Love.
PRAYER CORNER
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.
