Parish Bulletin
14th March 2021
Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent)
This week we will celebrate not one but two special feast days. Wednesday is St Patrick’s day and we rejoice in the gift of our faith that Patrick brought to Ireland.
Then on Friday we will mark St Joseph’s day. This feast is particularly important in 2021 which is a special Year of St Joseph for the whole Catholic Church (and we hope to mark it properly later when lockdown is over).
Do make a special effort to watch Mass online and, if possible, visit the church for private prayer on those days. And remember - as great feasts Wednesday and Friday are days off Lent too!
Fr Damian
THIS WEEK
Webcam available to watch on our YouTube channel.
Sunday . . . . . . 10am Mass
4pm Devotions click here for the Order of Service
Monday . . . . . . 10am Mass
Tuesday . . . . . . 9am Mass
Wednesday . . . . . 10am Mass
ST PATRICK’S DAY
Friday . . . . . . . 7pm Mass
ST JOSEPH’S DAY 8pm Stations of the Cross on Facebook only
See below for full lockdown arrangements in the parish, including confessions and when the church is open for private prayer.
WE PRAY FOR OUR FAITHFUL DEPARTED
Recently Deceased
Paul Downey
Month’s Mind
Anne Phillips
Anniversaries
Karol Crawley, Fiona Genovese, Bernadette Henry, Jim Kearney, Grace Kelly, Annie McKinley
REQUIESCAT IN PACE
ST PATRICK’S DAY
In addition to our normal opening times (see below), Our Lady & St Patrick’s Church will be open for private prayer on Wednesday for St Patrick’s Day after morning Mass until 4pm.
BROADCAST MASS
Next Sunday (21st) we welcome listeners to BBC Radio Ulster who will be joining us for a broadcast mass from Our Lady & St Patrick’s. The Mass will start at the slightly later time of 10.15am and can be listened to live on radio and afterwards on demand on the BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.
VOCATIONS RETREAT FOR MEN
Is priesthood God’s dream for you? How do you begin to explore that question? Why not join the online 2-day retreat for young men beginning on the feast of St Joseph, Friday 19th – Saturday 20th March 2021. It will be a time for reflection, prayer, meeting other men considering their vocation and a panel discussion with priests from the Diocese. The retreat will be led by Fr Marcus Holden a priest and author from England.
If you are interested in joining the retreat, contact the vocations director Fr Kevin McGuckien:
Tel. 028 90 614 567
Email: vocations@downandconnor.org
TWENTY YEARS OF DERVOCK CHURCH
On April 1st we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the new church of Our Lady & St John the Evangelist in Dervock. Unfortunately there can be no public celebration at this time but we still want to mark the occasion. Have you any photos of the old church, or the building/opening of the new church? If so please scan them and send them by email or Facebook, or if you don’t mind donating the photos themselves you can post them to the parochial house. (In fact if you have any old photos of the parish or our churches it would be great to receive them).
LEGION OF MARY
The Legion of Mary in this area are having their annual special prayer service for on Sunday 21st March at 3pm. It will be a drive-in service at the church of Mary, Queen of Peace in Glenravel. Everyone is cordially invited.
ST VINCENT DE PAUL
If you need help please call our conference confidentially on 07860455549. Thank you to everyone who supports St Vincent de Paul. Donations can be left in an envelope (marked SVP) at the parochial house.
THE SEASON OF LENT
Trocaire Lent Appeal
Envelopes are now available from the church with Trocaire boxes and details about how to donate to Trocaire by post or online.
To make a donation online click here:
https://www.trocaire.org/lent-appeal/
Lent Videos
The local Knights of St Columbanus have asked Fr Damian to make a series of videos about how to make the most of Lent this year. To watch them on YouTube click here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL930Y0JOouW7HNSCJ2OcLGf3wYMmSLymz
So far he’s spoken about getting ready for Lent and the importance of fasting. New videos will be produced each week up to Holy Week.
Stations of the Cross
As noted above, we invite parishioners to pray the Stations online with our friends on the Catholic Minute Facebook page on Fridays at 8pm. We’ll put up a link on our parish Facebook page too.
You are welcome to pray the Stations of the Cross yourself when the church is open for private prayer.
Lenten Pioneer Pledge
Many people choose to abstain from alcohol during Lent. Why not take this opportunity to perhaps help yourself or someone you know with an alcohol or drug problem by offering your sacrifice for freedom from addiction? Please consider taking the short-term Lenten Pledge and make a difference to someone's life and say the following daily prayer:
"I promise in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and with the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary to abstain from all alcoholic drink during Lent."
Lectio Divina sessions
The online Lectio Divina course for parishes in this area continues this week. It is an opportunity for people to come together online, pray with scripture and share their insights.
Each week the course will look at the Old Testament reading from Sunday Mass with a teaching video and then a Lectio Divina (prayerful reading) of the Gospel passage. The programme will run on Monday evenings from 22nd February to 22nd March inclusive starting at 7.30pm on Zoom. To join in use these details:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3917526857?pwd=b3ZhaXJVa0FVejAxMWpicFVsVHlRZz09
Meeting ID: 391 752 6857
Passcode: 3e70J2
PARISH FINANCES
Thank you for your support of our parish collections. In these difficult times we greatly appreciate the financial support we receive.
In this lockdown period collection envelopes can be left at the parochial house any time. You can also set up a standing order or make a one-off payment to our account with these details:
Parish of Ballymoney & Derrykeighan
Sort code: 95-06-79
Account No: 10020192.