Third Sunday of Easter
Parish Phone Nos. (021) 4871180.
Emergency No: 087 0956190
Monsignor Kevin O’Callaghan: (021) 7336053
Parish Centre/Sacristy: (021) 4289768
Ring for bookings: Baptisms & Marriages etc
WEEKEND MASSES
Ovens:
Vigil: 7.30pm.
Sunday: 9.30am & 11.30am.
Masses on the Webcam from Ovens Church. churchservices.tv/ovens
WEEKDAY MASSES THIS WEEK
Ovens: Monday 7.30pm.
9.30am: Tuesday to Friday.
(All weekday Masses Via Webcam)
PARISH OFFICE OPENING HOURS
No Office Hours until further notice.
If you need to make contact for any reason ring 021 4289768 and we will return your call as soon as possible.
THE WOMEN OF THE GOSPELS ON THE FIRST EASTER MORNING
Think of the strength of the Women in the Gospel following the death of Jesus. They were not paralysed by the tragedy, nor did they flee. For love of the Lord they went to the tomb to anoint Him.
Like so many women in this pandemic, they were able to hold it together, to get around obstacles in their path and keep hope alive in their families and in the community. Because they did so, they were the first to receive the astonishing news:
“He is not here, for He has been raised” (Matthew 28:6). The Lord first announced the New Life to women because they were present, attentive & open to new possibilities.
“Let Us Dream, The Path to a Better Future”.
Pope Francis in conversation with Austen Ivereigh.
CARE OF THE ENVIRONMENT & WHERE WE LIVE
About six years ago, May 2015, Pope Francis wrote a Papal Letter (Encyclical). It is written to every person in the world and is called “Laudato Si” – On the care of our common home”. It is the first Papal Letter devoted to God’s Creation and its key principals for us are Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.
Many of the great issues may be beyond our reach but there is much we can do in our own way and, of course, within our homes & locally. There are so many ways in which we can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Litter too is an abuse of God’s creation and there is so much we can do to avoid littering in the bits and pieces of every day. It is within the scope of each of us.
The little prayer below sums up many of the ideals of caring for God’s creation:
All powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
Help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth, so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect the world and not prey on it, that we may sow beauty, not pollutions and destruction.
Touch the hearts of those who look only for gain at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing, to be filled with awe and contemplation, to recognise that we are profoundly united with every creature as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle for justice, love and peace.
Attributed to Pope Francis.
TODAY
What a wonderful word is “Today”. Silent as the dawn it comes & almost without notice its hours tick over & then just as noiselessly it slips beneath the setting sun, and is gone.
This is how we find it in the Gospel, majestic events enclosed between sunrise and sunset. The news broke upon the world that the night had gone and a new world began.
A new day had come with the announcement that today is born a Saviour.
And as the sun darkened on Calvary, the word “Today” resounded in the heart of a poor criminal. All he had pleaded for was to be remembered, and what a reward: “Today you will be with me in Paradise”.
Every day between dawn and dusk we travel a stretch of the road. This precious gift of today, how do we use it?. Often we tend to live in a kind of nostalgia for yesterday. If only I could have it back, I would do things differently. We burden ourselves with memories of our wasted yesterdays.
Pope St. John Paul the 11 has useful advice, “Time is not a journey into nothingness, but a journey to eternity. The real danger is not to the passing of time, but using it badly”.
Lord, grant me the grace to love you every moment of today.
GRANDCHILDREN
Lord, I love my grandchildren, each one gives my heart a lift.
I smile to myself when I see my children’s traits break out in their children:
The same hair or a hand gesture, the same laugh or roguish eye, the same freckles or frowns, the way they strike a ball.
Lord, I am proud of them, yet I ponder and I worry:
What will become of them in the years I’m not around?
I hope they will grow strong in spirit, will overcome setbacks, and reach towards high dreams.
May they walk tall and be always honest.
My secret hope is that they will think kindly of me and see in me some little things they would wish to become part of themselves.
Yes, Lord, this last bit would mirror my happiness in Heaven. Please grant it. Amen.
THE MISSING MAIL BAGS!!
Long after a war ended, a quantity of mail bags containing post for soldiers at the front was found in a warehouse. With the best of intentions, through the hazards of war, the letters never reached their destination.
Sometimes we tend to wonder whether our requests in prayer, like the undelivered mail, reached their destination, the ear of God. But we can be sure that, while human ways can fail, our pleadings reach Him & receive His personal attention. They are not lost in transit.
We can be reassured by the words of St. Augustine when he describes the upward ascent of our prayer:
“When prayer is sincerely uttered by a faithful heart, it rises as incense from a sacred altar”
I waited, I waited for the Lord, and He stooped down to me, he heard my cry. (Ps 39:1)
Lord, I thank you for always listening to my prayer.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL CLOTHING DRIVE
The SVP Van is coming your way on Friday next, 23rd April from 7.30am to 3.30pm.
Don’t miss the chance to donate to St. Vincent de Paul and help us to support someone in your community.
The van will be located in Castlewest Carpark, Ballincollig (Dunnes Stores).
What we accept:
We would be delighted to receive any of your bagged clean clothing, shoes, curtains, soft furnishing, toys.
We cannot accept any electrical items, furniture or bulky items. Please Support.
Please support this worthy cause.
TRÓCAIRE BOXES
Please return all remaining Trócaire boxes at your earliest convenience to either Ovens or Farran Churches.
Sincere thanks for the boxes & envelopes already returned.