Sunday 5th April 2009

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

My God, why have you forsaken me?

Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life. Do you believe this?" The central reality of our faith as Christians is that Christ has risen from the dead and that he lives among us. Holy Week is the celebration of Christ's journey into this new life; a journey that we are also invited to travel, knowing that he has gone before us, and that he travels with us. It is important to make this week a special time of prayer and reflection. This is done in the frequent gatherings in Church. But we need to take time at a family level and also at a personal level to get in touch with the most inspiring and life-giving love story ever told. Talk to each other this week about all the good things the Lord has done for you. If you are a parent, let each of your family know what she/he means to you. And take a full part in the parish Liturgy.

Fr. Johnny Doherty, C.Ss.R.

Good Friday

In New York City a young priest had just arrived in his parish. He went for a walk late on Good Friday evening. His parish was in the section of the city known as the Bowery. The Bowery, at the time, was a haven for homeless people, alcoholics, drug addicts, and marginalized people. As he walked along the Bowery Flats area, the priest suddenly felt a gun against his ribs. He heard a loud voice saying, “All right mister, your money or your life?” Quickly, the priest reached for his wallet, and as he did, the hold-up man noticed his clerical collar. He immediately put away the gun. He felt deeply ashamed and said, “Father, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were a priest.” They ended up in a restaurant having a long conversation over a cup of coffee. The priest offered him a cigarette and he politely refused saying, “Oh, no, thank you Father, I never smoke on Good Friday!”

Prayer of Abandonment

Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands without reserve,
and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.

HOLY WEEK LITURGICAL CALENDAR

Monday 6th April Masses 8.00 am, 10.00 am, 7.30 pm
Penitential Service 8 pm

Tuesday 7th April Masses 8.00 am, 10.00 am, 7.30 pm
Confessions 10.30 am – 12.30 pm & 6 pm –7.30pm

Wednesday 8th April Masses 8.00 am, 10.00 am, 7.30 pm
Confessions 10.30 am - 12.30 pm & 6 pm - 7.30 pm
Music & Song by Omagh Waterford Peace Choir @ 8 pm

(This is the last opportunity for Confessions in the Parish before Easter)

Wednesday 8th April Christ The King, Strathroy - Penitential Service - 8 pm

Holy Thursday
St Eugene’s Cathedral 10 am Mass of Chrism
(No Mass in Parish this morning)
Masses (Sacred Heart) 5.00 pm for Elderly & Young
7.30 pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Night Prayer 10.00 pm
There will be no confessions today

Good Friday
Morning Prayer 10.00 am
Celebration of the Lord’s Passion 3.00 pm
(A collection for the Holy Land will be taken up at the Church door after this service.)

Stations of the Cross 7.30 pm
(Outside & Relayed into Sacred Heart Church)

There will be no confessions today

Holy Saturday
Morning Prayer 10.00 am
Easter Vigil 10.00 pm

There will be no confessions today

Easter Sunday
Masses
Sacred Heart Church 8.30 am, 9.45 am, 11.00 am, 12.30 pm
St Mary’s Church, Drumragh 10.00 am

Baptisms
Rosemary Louise Gormley, 3 Crotty Road, Tattyreagh
Niamh Martina Kelly, 12 Bracken Vale

Recent Deaths
We pray for the Slevin family following the sad loss of Baby Hugh.

Omagh Waterford Peace Choir
Omagh Waterford Peace Choir will be performing in the Sacred Heart Church on Wednesday 8th April at 8pm. There will be a special emphasis on Taize, as well as other sacred music. The choir are launching their CD in Stormont on the 9th April so this will serve as special preview!

Special Diocesan Mass
The Annual Diocesan Mass for those with special needs, and their families and friends, will take place in St Joseph’s Church, Galliagh, Derry on Saturday 9th May 2009 at 3.00 pm. Bishop Hegarty will celebrate the Mass. If you have a child who wishes to receive the Sacrament of Conifirmation or First Communion at this Mass, please contact the Catechetical Centre on 028 7126 4087.

Penitential Service
The Lenten Penitential Service will take place on Monday 6th April in the Sacred Heart Church. Confessions will be immediately after the 7.30 pm Mass. There will be several priests hearing confessions and we ask as many parishioners as possible to attend.

Visitation of the Sick
Fr Canning will visit the sick and housebound in the country areas on Monday 6th April.

Parish Draw
The next draw will take place after the Bingo in St Joseph’s Hall on Tuesday 7th April. All promoters are asked to bring their returns to the Hall at the usual times.

Reflections on the Creed
The Final Session in our DVD Series, “The Coming Kingdom”, will be on Tuesday 7th April in the Pastoral Centre at 10.30 am. All welcome. Tea and refreshments will be served.

N.I. Blood Transfusion Service
The next blood donation sessions will be held in :-
South West College, Omagh Campus
Tuesday 14th April & Wednesday 15th April
@ 1.30 – 4 pm & 5.30 – 8 pm

Questions people ask

Q. Was there any special reason why people chose palm branches to welcome Jesus to Jerusalem?

A. The date palm, valued for its nutritious fruit, was depicted on the walls of the Temple. A palm tree grows as a single trunk, tall and straight. At the top it spreads out a crown of fronds or short branches which bear leaves and fruit. Its upright standing inspired the psalmist to picture the just, flourishing like the palm tree. It is a symbol of prayer, as one stands before God, with arms outstretched and bearing fruit. In the Apocalypse the Christian martyrs are clad in white garments, waving palm branches before the throne of God. We speak of the palm of martyrdom.

Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap, Courtesy of Intercom Magazine

LORETO GRAMMAR SCHOOL OMAGH

Post 16 Open Night

Wednesday 8th April 2009 at 7.00pm

The Principal and staff of Loreto wish to extend a warm welcome to all students and their parents/guardians considering Post 16 options for September 2009

Letter from Nazareth House

Dear Parishioners

Thank you for your most generous church collection of £2710 which we received recently. The Sisters are most grateful. May God bless you and reward each one of you in his own special way for your great generosity. Our project this year is to replace one of the boilers. Thanks to your support this is now possible. Your intentions will be remembered in the prayers of the community as a small token of our sincere thanks.

Sr. Teresa & Sisters

Omagh St Enda's GAC
Bingo continues as usual in Healy Park on Thursday at 9 pm with £4000 in prize money. Training continues for the U8 and U10's in both football and hurling at Healy Park every Saturday morning at 10.30 – 1 pm.

St Joseph’s Hall
Timetable of Events

Mon 10.30am - Coffee Morning
6.00pm - Iyengar Yoga
Tues 3.00pm - Colmcille Club
9.00pm - Bingo - Jackpot £1000
Wed 10.00-12.30pm - Weightwatchers
6.00pm - Baxter School of Dancing
8.00pm - Ladies Club
Thur 7.30pm - Bowls
8.30pm - Line Dancing
Sat 1.45pm - Groogan O’Doherty Class

St Joseph’s Hall Grand Refurbishment Draw
Prizes: 1st Prize – New Model Ford Fiesta 5-door Car
2nd Prize – Holiday Voucher worth £3000 with £500 spending money
3rd Prize - £2000
Tickets will cost £20 (€25) or a book of 3 Tickets for £50 (€65)
Contact: 07753 936 701 for further details.

Eucharistic Ministers for April

Vigil Mass – Tony McBride, Brid McCavert, Louise Kirwan, Maura Cox, Catherine Mimnagh, Mary Ellen McSorley; 8.30 am – Kay Clarke, Geraldine Quinn, Peggy Tierney; 9.45 am – Joe McElholm, Susan McCanney, Mary Tierney, Kevin Miley; 11 am – Willie Galbraith, Johanna Gallagher, Marie Conway, John McGread, Jeanette Fox; 12.30 pm – Sonya McDermott, Mary Campbell, Liz Doran, Michelle Lagan, Charles Colton; 10 am Drumragh – Bridie McElroy, Dymnpa McKay.

Cleaners for Drumragh

The cleaners for St Mary’s Church, Drumragh for the month of April will be Brian McKenna, Susan MacNally and Louise Kirwan.

Readers for April

6 pm – Fiona Garrity;
8.30 am – Bernie Mulryan;
9.45 am – John Rafferty;
11 am –Mary Haughey;
12.30 pm – Emmet Murray.

Collectors for April

6.00 pm – Liam Donaghy, James Cunningham, Malachy Treanor, Seamus Kelly, Thomas Logue; 8.30 am – Linus Nugent, Phil McGovern, Patrick Cleary, Sean McKenna; 9.45 am – Eamon Prunty, Tony Brogan, Liam McGrath, Seamus Sheridan, Dr Pat O’Neill, Paddy McGowan ; 11 am - James Murray, Thomas Bradley, James Montague, ; 12.30 pm – Kevin Gallagher, Eugene McGrade, Tony McGarvey, Anthony Higgins, Patrick Gallagher.

Counters for April

Peter Davies, Gerard Haughey, Dermott McCann, J McDonnell, Patrick McMahon

Time for a New Challenge

Accord is a voluntary agency of the Catholic Church providing services to couples preparing for, or seeking a deeper commitment within the sacrament of marriage. The Omagh Centre is seeking new members to train as counsellors and facilitators. An Information Evening will be held in Mount St. Columba Pastoral Centre, 48 Brook Street, Omagh on Wednesday 1st April at 8.30 pm. Please come along and learn more about what ACCORD can offer you. For more information, telephone 028 8224 2439.

C.C.E. Omagh Branch

Omagh Comhaltas Ceolteoiri Eireann would like to say thank you to everyone who supported them by attending their fundraising St Patrick’s Concert in the Strule Arts Centre recently. A great night’s entertainment was enjoyed by all. It was great to see our young local talent of musicians, singers and dancers being showcased on the night.

St Joseph’s Bookshop
Holy Week Opening Times

Monday 6th – Thursday 9th April
10.30 am – 4.00 pm
Friday 10th – Saturday 11th April
10.30 am – 1.00 pm

Wide variety of Books, Holy Ornaments, Medals, Rosaries & Cards available.

Omagh Independent Advice Centre
Omagh Independent Advice Centre offers a free and confidential advice service to anyone in financial difficulty. If you would like to speak to someone about your financial difficulties, please call Michele in the Advice Centre on 028 8224 3252.

The following are the dates of the upcoming events for the young people of Drumragh Parish:

25th April: Confirmation for all Year 7 pupils in Sacred Heart Church @ 11 am
26th April: First Communion for St Colmcille’s P.S. in Sacred Heart Church @ 12.30 pm
10th May: First Communion for St Conor’s P.S. in Sacred Heart Church @ 12.30 pm
17th May: First Communion for Loreto P.S. in Sacred Heart Church @ 12.30 pm
17th May: First Communion for All Saint’s P.S. and Sacred Heart P.S. in St Mary’s Church, Drumragh @ 10 am
31st May: First Communion for Omagh Integrated P.S. in the Sacred Heart Church @ 12.30 pm

St Vincent de Paul
SVdP would be grateful to receive any clothing, shoes, belts etc for re-sale in their SVdP Thrift Shop, Castle Street, Omagh. Any donated goods that are not suitable for resale can then be recycled by our organization to obtain much needed funds.