January 3rd 2016 2nd Sunday After Christmas Vol.22 No.1

First Reading A reading from the book of Ecclesiasticus Ref: Ecclesiasticus 24:1-2.8-12

This is a poem praising divine wisdom, a wisdom that has come to live in and among God's people.

Wisdom speaks her own praises,
in the midst of her people she glories in herself.
She opens her mouth in the assembly of the Most High,
she glories in herself in the presence of the Mighty One.
Then the creator of all things instructed me,
and he who created me fixed a place for my tent.
He said, Pitch your tent in Jacob,
make Israel your inheritance.
From eternity, in the beginning, he created me,
and for eternity I shall remain.
I ministered before him in the holy tabernacle,
and thus was I established on Zion.
In the beloved city he has given me rest,
and in Jerusalem I wield my authority.
I have taken root in a privileged people,
in the Lords property, in his inheritance.
This is the word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

(R) The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
A prayer of praise and thanks to God for all the good things he has done for his people.

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
he has blessed the children within you. (R)

He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.
He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command. (R)

He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees. Alleluia! (R)

Second Reading A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians
Ref: Ephesians 1:3-6.15-18

In writing to the Ephesians, St. Paul introduces the idea of God's plan of Salvation, a plan which is centered in Christ and which is realized through him.

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ, for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved.
That will explain why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit.

This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel The beginning of the holy Gospel according to John Ref: John 1:1-18
The beginning of St. Johns Gospel offers us a summary of salvation. It tells of the divine origin of Him whose life will be described in the following chapters. The other gospels present Jesus as the Messiah who inaugurates the Kingdom of God. John however, presents Jesus primarily as the one who manifests the Father to all people.

In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.
A man came, sent by God. His name was John. He came as a witness, as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light, only a witness to speak for the light. The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world. He was in the world that had its being through him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to all who believe in the name of him who was born not out of human stock or urge of the flesh or will of man but of God himself. The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
'This is the one of whom I said: He who comes after me ranks before me because he existed before me.' Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received -yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father's heart, who has made him known.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Wednesday next, January 6th is the Feast of the Epiphany and a Holy Day of Obligation
Vigil Tuesday 5th Canovee 6.30 p.m. .
Friday 6th
Kilmurry 10.00 a.m. Cloughduv 8.00 p.m.

Mass this week in Cloughduv

Masses next weekend:
January 9/10th
Vigil :
Canovee 6.30 pm.
Cloughduv 8.00p.m.

Sunday:
Kilmurry 10.00 a.m.
Cloughduv 11.30 a.m.

Anniversaries Con Coughlan, Dooniskey
Elizabeth Hinchion, Scart, Aherla and late of Nadd
Michael Twohig, Pullerick
Jerry Dennehy, Shandangan
Babe Twohig, Kilmurry
Jim Aherne, Kilmurry
Patrick Sheehan, Coolduve
Rita Kelleher O'Riordan, Bishopstown & Kilmurry
Elizabeth O'Mahony, Galvin's Tce Kilmurry

Way to Happiness
"The way to happiness: keep your heart free of hate, your mind of worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Fill life with love. Scatter sunshine. Forget self, think of others. Do as you would be done by. Try for one week and you'll be surprised."

Little Christmas, or Nollaig Bheag in Irish, is one of the traditional names in Ireland for January 6, more commonly known in the rest of the world as the Celebration of the Epiphany. It is so called because it was the day on which Christmas Day was celebrated under the Roman calendar, before the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. It is the traditional end of the Christmas season and the last day of the Christmas holidays. Little Christmas is also called Women's Christmas (Nollaig na mBan in Irish), and sometimes Women's Little Christmas. While originally a rural tradition, Women's Christmas is enjoying something of a revival, both in Ireland and abroad, becoming popular in the Irish-emigrant communities.

A New Year's Prayer
May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
and by making you anxious to be there to help.
God's love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

With this first issue of the Parish Newsletter for 2016 it is an appropriate time to say a very sincere THANK YOU to all who have been helping in the parish during the past year. To our Sacristans who do such a wonderful job week in and week out, to our Choirs who add so much to all our liturgical celebrations and give generously of their time and talent; our Ministers of the Word and Ministers of the Eucharist; Altar Servers, Collectors, Flower Arrangers and many others who work anonymously in many different parish activities. A sincere THANK YOU also to all parishioners who gave generously in the station dues and Christmas Offerings which go towards the support of the parish clergy.
Fr. Bernard and Msgr. Kevin