Parish of the Assumption Area Code: 057 Tel: 93 21587 - 93 22415 Fax: 93 51510 17th Sunday In Ordinary Time ~ 26th July 2020 Fr. Joseph Gallaghar P.P GET IN TOUCH St Mary’s Parish Centre, Benburb St, Tullamore Phone: 0579321587 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Web: www.tullamoreparish.ie Office Hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm; Sat 2.00pm to 4.00pm to book Holy Mass tickets, weddings, baptisms, certs, etc; Priest available for emergencies 24 hours daily. Parish Support Services: Bereavement Listening, etc. For appointment, ph 0579326604, Monday-Thursday 9.30am-1.00pm; Wednesday & Thursday 6.00-8.00pm. WEEKEND MASSES Church of the Assumption: Saturday (Vigil) 5.00 & 6.30pm Sunday 8.30am, 10.00am, 11.30am & 1.00p.m St Colmcille’s Church Durrow: 11.30am WEEKDAY MASSES Monday-Friday 7.45am & 10.00am, Saturday 10.00am First Friday 7.45am & 10.00am CONFESSIONS Confessions will be from 2.00-3.00pm WEEKEND MASSES Entrance to both Churches for all weekend Masses (Tullamore & Durrow) will be strictly on presentation of ticket and doors will open 20 minutes before Mass time. Tickets must be collected from the Parish Centre during the opening times Mon-Fri 8.30am – 5.00pm and Sat. 2.00 - 4.00pm. SEEING YOUR LIFE THROUGH THE LENS OF THE GOSPEL (Matthew 13:44-52) 1. Have you ever found yourself saying ‘that was worth it’ afer giving up something (time, pleasure, money, etc.)? What was the treasure that made the sacrifice worthwhile? 2. The ‘kingdom of heaven’ is when God is really the ruler in our life. What treasures have you obtained when you allow God to be at the centre of your life? 3. In life, we gather a lot of things, some good and some bad. The wise person in the kingdom of heaven is one who knows how to sit down and make decisions on what to keep and what to discard. When have you undertaken that kind of discernment? What have you discarded? What have you retained? John Byrne OSA CEMETERY PRAYERS IN CLONMINCH & DURROW Due to ongoing restrictions it will not be possible to have our annual Mass in Clonminch this August. If restrictions are eased will try to reschedule for September. Proposed dates are Durrow on 13th and Clonminch 20th. These dates are provisional and are subject change and are dependent on the easing of current restrictions. THE DEEP END Over the past few weeks, we have been reading Matthew 13, with its parables on the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew uses this phrase to describe what our world might be like if we really lived like Jesus lives. This vision is not one focused on power, even though the word ‘kingdom’ might be misleading! It is more a web of relationships. Like the seed parables show us, God’s Kingdom grows quietly, in unexpected places; like seeds, it sometimes grows in the darkness, unseen. Today’s parable focuses on treasure,something very precious. When we are obsessed with finding something, it consumes us. We will put all our resources, time or money, into finding it. In this parable, Jesus urges us to strive for the ultimate treasure, i.e. God. During the Covid-19 crisis, many people have been thinking about what is most important in their lives. A break from the ‘rat race’ forced all of us to slow down, to step back, to ‘pull the emergency brake.’ We saw who the real heroes in our society are. We witnessed many acts of kindness and community spirit. We stepped back, paused. No doubt, things will not be the same again after this pandemic. But hopefully we will have awakened to what our ‘treasure’ really is. ‘Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world.’ (Arundhati Roy, ‘The Pandemic is a Portal,’Financial Times) Jane Mellett Intercom July/Aug 2020 PARISH COLLECTIONS Plate €1485;Durrow €171; Envelopes €3730 Thank you most sincerely for your continued support. COVID-19 SUPPORT LINE FOR OLDER PEOPLE: ALONE support line for older people who have concerns or are facing difficulties. Ph 0818 222 024, 8am - 8pm daily. BALLYCOMMON TELEWORK & TRAINING CENTRE offering a range of free/affordable services. Ph 0579353177/9353441, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR FIONA PENDER, OUR PARISHONER WHO HAS BEEN MISSING SINCE 22nd AUGUST 1996. SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM Booking can now be made at the Parish Office. SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE To book the Church for weddings, contact the Parish Secretary. BAPTISMS Welcome to God’s family Liam Hynes, Avery Rose Daly, Lucy Geraldine McDonagh, Tara Fauris & Séanie Noel Kelly, who were baptised recently. DEATHS We offer our sympathy to the family of John Dempsey. MASS INTENTIONS Mon 27 10.00 Vera & Gerry Lambe Tues 28 10.00 Michael & Josephine Galvin Wed 29 10.00 Seamus McDonagh Thurs 30 10.00 Mary Jane Poland, Church St Fri 31 7.45 Elizabeth Larkin, William St 10.00 Audrey Hayes Sat 1 10.00 Robert Smyth 6.30 Betty Kane, 1st Ann Sun 2 8.30 Jim Flood 10.00 Esther Cunningham You can join us on the webcam, www.tullamoreparish.ie Durrow Shared Mass Sun 2, 11.30am: Jimmy & Molly Daly; Vincent Ward; Ted Nyhan; Hugh O’Boyle; Micheál & Maudie Walsh. |