The Baptism of The Lord
PARISH PHONE NOS.
Fr. Liam O h-Icí: House: 4871180
Emergency No.: 087 0956190
Parish Centre / Sacristy: 4289768
Ring for bookings : Baptisms & Marriages etc.
WEEKEND MASSES
Vigil Masses on Saturday will alternate between Ovens & Farran at 7pm.
Ovens:
1st, 3rd & 5th Saturdays (when it occurs)
Farran:
2nd & 4th Saturdays.
Vigil Mass in Farran on Saturday next, 14th January at 7pm.
MASSES THIS WEEK
Ovens:
9.30am: Monday Wednesday & Friday.
Farran:
9.30am: Tuesday & Thursday.
NEW YEAR PRAYER, 2023
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the year that has passed and the many blessings You have showered upon us. We beg Your pardon in our many failings and trespasses. Make the new year a more fruitful and blessed one.
We also thank you for every test of time that has brought us stronger in faith and trust in You. Bestow upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
We call upon our Lord Jesus Christ for His intercessions, His guidance and His light to shine our path. Amen.
SECOND COLLECTION
The Special Quarterly Collection for Diocesan Needs will be taken up at all Masses in Ovens/Farran next weekend, 14th/15th January.
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION FOR THE WEEK
Just for Today
This day will only come once. Challenge yourself by saying, “Just for today I will enjoy each moment to the fullest & try not to tackle all life’s problems at once. Just for today I will try to enjoy every one of God’s blessings”.
For further reflection:
Psalm 118:24.
FARRAN FOLK GROUP
The Farran Folk Group will sing at the 7pm Mass on Saturday next, 14th January. Practice beforehand from 6.30pm.
They would love to have some new singers join them, so please come along or encourage someone you think might be interested.
BOOK CLUB
The January meeting of the Ovens/Farran Book Club on this Monday, 9th January in the Parish Centre at 7.30pm.
PARISH CALENDAR
Some copies of our Parish Calendar for 2023 still available in the porches of both Ovens and Farran Churches.
Please take one home.
BRIDGE MORNINGS
Bridge returns after the Christmas break on this Wednesday, 11th January at 10.15am. In the Parish Centre.
SUNDAY OF THE WORD OF GOD
In September 2019 Pope Francis announced that he was setting aside the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time every year as the “Sunday of the Word of God”.
The Pope says that the Bible is the Word of God to us, his people.
As a way of celebrating the very special place that the Word of God occupies in our lives, Pope Francis invites us to enthrone the Word of God in our Churches to mark the Sunday of the Word of God, which this year is 22nd January.
More details of this special Sunday will be given in next week’s newsletter.
ÁR DTEANGA FÉIN
I dtosach na bliana, at the beginning of the year.
Tosach Maith Leath na hOibre
A good start is half the work. Well begun is half done! A New Year bring resolutions, new beginnings. Making a start is all-important. Even though another seanfhocal says, Bíonn gach tosach lag (Every beginning is weak), at least it is a start.
Make that effort!
This Sunday, 8th January we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. It is a major event in the life of Jesus, which is described in the three Gospels of the New Testament ( Matthew, Mark & Luke). It is considered to have taken place in Bethany, on the eastern bank of the River Jordan. The Holy Spirit is depicted as descending upon Jesus immediately after His Baptism accompanied by a voice from Heaven “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. After the Baptism, the gospels describe the temptation of Jesus, where Jesus withdrew to the Judean desert to fast for forty days and nights.
This Feast Day is also, of course, the Feast Day of the Baptism of each of us, when we remember our own Baptism & those who were present on the day, parents, sponsors, family, grandparents, where our Baptism took place & the Priest who performed the ceremony.
In the past year, 2022, there were 76 Baptisms in our Parish. A Baptism is always a very special occasion & a family spiritual time also. It is important that families are well prepared beforehand. Since October our Baptism Preparation meetings have returned & are held on a Saturday morning in the parish centre at 11am. Usually there is just one meeting per month. With the exception of 2021 & 2022, these meetings are being held since 2010. There are 2 Baptism Preparation Teams: Dan Healy & Mary O’Callaghan & Margo Murphy, Cáit & Geraldine McCarthy.
This Sunday, we have our Annual Service of Prayer & Thanksgiving for the 76 children Baptised in our parish last year. It takes place in St. John the Baptist Church, Ovens at 3pm. We hope to see as many families as possible present for this happy occasion. Light refreshments will be served in the parish centre after the ceremony.