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Twenty-fifth
Sunday of the Year
The
Gospel echoes the First and Second
Readings – there is good and
there is evil. There does not seem
to be any in-between. “If you
are neither hot nor cold I will vomit
you out of my mouth.” It is
pretty clear from today’s liturgy:
double life, double standards –
not acceptable. You are one thing
or the other. Even when Peter tried
to be “reasonable” with
Jesus the retort was to “get
behind me Satan.” How strong
can a retort be?
Jesus
was, however, very encouraging. We
may wait around for the big opportunity,
that time when we can really show
how great and committed we are; but
time slips by and the big change doesn’t
come. “A cup of cold water”
is the response Jesus gives to the
spiritual laggards. A cup of cold
water might have more significance
in Jesus’ situation than ours,
but the love and thought behind it
are the same wherever you are. Small
things, small gestures, small acts
of service are important.
How single-minded
and ruthless Jesus is regarding scandal.
He talks about giving scandal to others
and scandal given to ourselves. In
his human nature it is questionable
if Jesus knew of computers, but a
“new sin” is the scandal
people give themselves by their use
(abuse) of the internet and items
that can be watched which prove unhelpful
to good living. Frequent misuse of
the internet can blunt our sensibilities
and respect for other people and is
certainly relevant to Jesus’
castigations.
Our society
weeps over Jesus’ statement
regarding anyone who puts an obstacle
in the way of a little one. There
can be no compromise or excuse for
cruelty or abuse. Those who are silent
where they are aware of such acts
are also givers of scandal by enabling
perpetrators to perform these horrendous
acts.
We must take the words of Jesus deep
into our hearts, not just for fear
of eternal damnation, but for love
of the innocent, the vulnerable, those
without a voice. There can be no compromise
with evil – we are here to be
and to do good.
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| Daily
Readings
You
can access the daily readings on the
parish website:
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Feast
Days of the Week
| Mon
21st |
St
Matthew, Apostle
and Evangelist. St Matthew
, the tax collector, may also
be identified with Levi, son
of Alphaeus, in Mk 2:13. He
is said to have been a missionary
in Persia and Ethiopia. Patron
of accountants, book-keepers,
tax-collectors, customs officials
and security guards.
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| Wed
23rd |
St Pius of Pietrelcina
(Padre Pio), priest, dies
23 September 1968. Capuchin
friar, stigmatist, confessor,
friend of all who suffer.
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A
Special Word Of Welcome
A
very warm welcome to our new curate
Fr Andrew Kolaczkowski
who is here primarily to serve the
Polish community
but will be helping us in the Parish
on a part-time basis.
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| Belfast Beginning Experience
– Supporting widowed, separated and divorced people –
Information evening
– Wednesday 23rd September at 8pm in St Brides Hall, 38 Derryvolgie Avenue, Malone Road, Belfast.
Weekly support group meetings every Wednesday in St Brides commencing 30th September from 8-10pm.
Residential weekend for widowed, separated and divorced people (who have been on their own for at least one year) will be held in Drumalis Retreat Centre, Larne on 13-15th November. The weekend commences at 7.30pm on Friday and ends 4.30pm on Sunday.
For all enquiries contact
Phil: 02890 207645
Geraldine: 02890 833329 or
Marie: 07542070835. |
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| International
Eucharistic Congress
The
Eucharistic Congress 2012 will be
held in Dublin
and the theme is
The Eucharist: Communion with
Christ and One Another.
To help cover the costs of planning
and hosting this event a collection
will be taken up the weekend of the
10th/11th October 2009.
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| Project
Zambia - Reflections on Zambia
During masses
on Sat 26th & Sun 27th September,
Patrick Moran and Damian Boyle from
St Mary's School will be speaking about
their immersion experience in Zambia
earlier this year. Following each mass,
there will be a second hand book sale
in the parish hall with all proceeds
going directly to Project Zambia. Your
support and prayers would be greatly
appreciated.
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Apostolic
Society
The Apostolic
Workers will be holding their
annual Church door collection on
Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October
after all the masses.
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St
Joseph's Young Priests' Society
St Oliver Plunkett
Branch of the Young Priests Society
would like to thank all those who
prayed along with them for vocations
to the priesthood and who gave donations.
The amount sent to Maynooth amounted
to £1,543.74.
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Trip To Knock
There will be a bus going to Knock
on Saturday 26th September 2009.
Cost for seats only £30, 8 seats left.
If interested contact Annie Hughes 9062 2934
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120th Anniversary of the Pioneer Pledge
The 120th Anniversary Celebrations of the Heroic Offering
will take place in St Peter’s Cathedral, Belfast
on Sunday 27th September 2009.
Concelebrated mass will be at 3pm
with Bishop Anthony Farquhar
being the main celebrant.
The Heroic Offering was first delivered during
a mission on St Patrick’s Day 1889 in St Peter’s.
All Pioneers and friends are invited
to come along and join this event.
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Bible Alive
Bible Alive for October is on sale in the Sacristy, price £1.95
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Church Shop:
The church shop will be open at the rear of the church after 10am & 12 noon Mass. Irish Catholic will be on sale at both porches costing £1.
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Parish Radio
If you are interested please phone
028 9061 8590 or 028 9022 0961.
There are two models available which are marked to receive broadcasts from St Oliver Plunkett Church.
Model 1 costs £25 including VAT and batteries (short range). Model 2 costs £60 and is mains powered – no batteries required. This has a longer range and provides better quality which is more suitable for areas where there are electrical power lines nearby.
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Restore Practical Counselling
“Waiting by the Well: spiritual refreshment for busy people” a residential retreat with Tony Horsfall from Tuesday 10th – Thursday 12th November in Drumalis Retreat House.
“Pilgrims Making Progress”, a quiet day with Tony Horsfall on Saturday 14th November 10am – 4pm in Drumalis Retreat House.
For more information contact the Hopelink Centre, 31 Carlisle Circus, Belfast 9027 8191. |
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Cursillo Weekend in Benburb Priory
Mens: Thursday
15th – Sunday 18th October
Womens: Thursday 22nd – Sunday 25th October
Cost £85, Transport provided from Belfast.
Contact: Sean Cullen – 028 9022 0492 or
Roisin Mulholland - 077 2300 2094 |
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St
Brigid's Parish Trip to Poland 22-29
September
With visits to Krakow, Warsaw, Auschwitz, Sanctuary of St Faustina the home place of Pope John Paul, the famous Salt Mines and other places of interest. Cost: single room approx £795, double £690 - to include 7 nights bed breakfast and meal. Spiritual Director Fr Eugene O’Neill.
If interested please contact parish office at St Brigid’s 02890 665409. |
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“The Word Made Fresh; Getting
Excited About The Scriptures”
A
talk on the Scriptures by Dessie Maxwell.
Monday 5th October after the 10am
Mass
and again on Monday evening at 7pm.
Everyone welcome.
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Ranganna Gaeilge – Irish Language Classes
Irish language classes starting the week commencing 7 September 2009. Teach Mhic Reachtain, 156 Antrim Road, Belfast. Enrolment fee £30.00 (15 weeks - £2 per class). Bookings also by telephone, contact Niall, 028 9074 9688. |
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SPRED – Down & Connor
We need volunteers to help build up
a community of faith for those with
special needs in your parish. No qualifications
needed just an open and loving personality
and two hours per week. We will provide
training. Information sessions will
be held on Wednesday 9th, Wednesday
16th & Wednesday 30th of September
in Cloona House. For further information
contact Lena Meehan on 028 9058 8033
or the parish office. |
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Mass Times
Saturday Vigil – 6.30pm
Sunday – 10.00am + 12 Noon
Monday – Thursday – 10.00am
Friday – 7.30pm
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| Baptisms
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next available date for Baptisms is the
4th October. The next pre-Baptism instruction
will be on 24th September 2009 at 8pm in
the convent.
It is necessary
to attend pre-Baptism preparation before
asking to have your child baptised. To register
for pre-Baptism preparation please contact
the parish office 9061 8180, Mon & Wed
2pm-5pm, Tue & Fri 10am-2pm & Thurs
10am-1pm.
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| We
Loved Them In Life
We offer
our sympathy and prayerful support to the
families of those parishioners who died
recently:
Stephen
Boyd, Kerrykeel Gardens
Kenny Savage, Suffolk Court
Liam Quinn, Stewartstown Park
Patrick McCourt, Lenadoon Avenue
We
pray for the happy repose of those whose
anniversaries occur around this time:
Catherine
Baxter
Thomas Mc Allister
Annie Carlin
Bob Claron
Anthony Kerr
Peter Mc Shane
Agnes Kennedy |
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| Collections
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The offertory collection
amounted to £1,309.81
The second collection
this week is the autumn collection in
support of the Priests of the Parish
Thank you all for
your generous support
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