Anniversary Masses for the Coming Week

St. Patrick’s, Ballybay - Saturday, 10th July (6.30pm)

• Pat Duffy, Cornanure

• Dympna Quinn, 23 O’Duffy Terrace • Cormac & Clare McMahon, Lantaur

• Patrick & Mary Daly, Derryvalley & Tom Daly, Cornanure.

Most Holy Rosary, Tullycorbet - Sunday, 11th July (9.30am)

• Denis & Kathleen Brennan & their parents Denis & Alice, Cordevlish & Madge Duffy, Ardaghey

• Matt Kearns & decd. of the Kearns Family, Lisquigney.

St. Patrick’s, Ballybay - Thursday, 15th July (9.30am)

• Mona Maguire, Hall Street.

St. Patrick’s, Ballybay - Saturday, 17th July (6.30pm)

• (Month’s Memory) Patrick Joseph (Joe) Duffy, No. 7 The Alders, Ballybay.

Most Holy Rosary, Tullycorbet - Sunday, 18th July (9.30am)

• James Lavelle, Mullan.

Our Lady of Knock, Ballintra - Sunday, 18th July (11am)

• Tom & Katie Duffy, Drumlane & decd. family members & Lily McNally & decd. family members.

 

Parish Choirs

Parishioners singing together in church as a choir was advised against as one of the many measures taken to halt the spread of the Coronavirus. As a result, we have very much missed our choirs in our three Churches and we look forward to having them coming together again in the not too distant future. We thank the cantors, who in a safe and restricted manner, have enhanced our liturgies with their music and song in these strange times.

Blessing of the Graves DEFERRED until next year owing to Pandemic

The last Sunday in July, has for many years been the date for the Annual Blessing of the Graves - but for the second year in a row, owing to the Pandemic, IT IS BEING POSTPONED.

Each parish will make its own arrangements - and some parishes may decide to have the Blessing of the Graves later in the year. Having talked to a number of our own parishioners, many have expressed the view that again for this year it might be more prudent to leave the Annual Cemetery Sunday Gatherings off until next year. This is not a decision that has been taken lightly - but in view of the fact that we have to remain vigilant to prevent any further spread of the very contagious Delta variant of the Coronavirus, it is judged to be the right decision for the times we are living through. We trust that parishioners will appreciate the thinking behind this decision.

That said, our Beloved Dead will continue to be specially remembered in all of the Masses celebrated in the parish.

In the absence of the Annual Cemetery Sunday Gatherings, individuals or families may wish to make a special visit to their family grave plot over the course of the next few weeks, where they can pray alone or with others, perhaps saying a Decade of the Rosary and adding the following prayer if they so wish:

Almighty God, through the death of your Son on the cross you destroyed our death; through his rest in the tomb you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you; and through his rising again you restored us to eternal life.

God of the living and the dead

(remembering by name those laid to rest in your family grave plot) accept our prayers for those who have died in Christ

and who are buried with him in the hope of rising again. Since they were true to your name on earth, let them praise you for ever in the joy of heaven. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Knock National Novena postponed until later this year

Parish Priest and Rector of Knock Shine, Father Richard Gibbons, has announced that the National Novena to Our Lady of Knock is being postponed until later this year.

Father Richard said, “we have taken this difficult decision in the interest of the health and safety of our pilgrims and staff here at the Shrine. Given the recent concern from both government and health agencies regarding the Delta variant of the Coronavirus, the responsible course of action is to postpone the National Novena at this time”.