Donagh Parish Weekly Bulletin:

Parish Office For all enquiries: Call Parish Office 047- 87221 9am - 2pm Monday - Friday NEW EMAIL: donaghrc@clogherparishes.ie Fr Hubert Martin 087 965 8829 St Vincent De Paul Freephone Number - 1800 677 777 St. Mary’s, Glennan: Sat 21st Dec (6.30pm) Vigil Anniv: Anna Finnegan, Tullyree. Anniv: Phelim & Kathleen McQuaid, Annareagh South. Christmas Eve 6pm Christmas Morning 9am Sat 28th Dec (6.30pm) Vigil  St. Patrick’s, Corracrin: Sun 22nd Dec (11am) Sun 29th Dec (11am) Christmas Eve 8pm Christmas Morn 11am Donagh Oratory: Mon 23rd Dec (10am) No Adoration Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confessions for Christmas) Sunday 22nd December in Donagh Oratory from 6pm - 7pm. Recently deceased: Mick O’Neill, Sillis Mary Sheridan, Lisnaskea: Anna McGee, Craigavon Con Brennan, Monaghan Town Mary McKenna, Clara Michael Walshe, Castleblaney Bridget Sherlock, Scotstown. Prayers of the faithful Celebrant: As we rejoice at the birth of Jesus, our Saviour, we turn with confidence to God our Father praying that the peace and light which Christ brings will be welcomed into the world. For the Church, that the people of God will always be a light to the world for those who live in darkness….. Lord, hear us.  For peace on earth, that the peace Christ brings may become a reality for all peoples….Lord, hear us. For all who are welcoming a new child into their family, that they may receive this gift of a new life with joy and be blessed with patience, health and strength….Lord, hear us.  For our own community that our celebration of the birth of our Saviour may strengthen our bonds of faith, hope and charity… Lord, hear us. For the lonely, the bereaved, the sick and all who are suffering in any way that the light of Christ will shine upon them bringing healing and hope...Lord, hear us. Celebrant: Father of all, the darkness that covers the earth gives way to the bright dawn of your Word made flesh. Make us people of the light, faithful to your Word, that we may bring your life to the waiting world. We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, in the splendour of eternal light, God forever and ever. Amen. Christmas Masses St. Mary’s, Glennan: Christmas Eve 6pm Reader - Bernie Woods Christmas Morning 9am Reader - Mary Holland St. Patrick’s, Corracrin: Christmas Eve 8pm Reader - John Finn Christmas Morning 11am Reader - Eileen Mulligan Eucharistic ministers: St Mary’s Glennan: Christmas Eve Elaine O’Doherty, Bernadette Kelly. Sat 28th Dec Martin McGee, Ronan Sheehan. St. Patrick’s, Corracrin: Christmas Eve Seamus Fields, Kathleen O’Brien. Christmas Morn Monica McKernan, Deirdre McKenna. Sun 29th Dec Maisie Rooney, Marie McCarron. Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 – Resources now available Pope Francis has declared 2025 to be a Holy or Jubilee Year. A Jubilee Year is one set aside by the Church as a time of special grace, to encourage us all to embark on pilgrimages, to repent for our sins, to forgive and be reconciled with one another and to renew the spiritual life. The theme for this forthcoming Holy year will be “Pilgrims of Hope”, thus bringing to the fore the journey of life that we are all on and our need to be people of hope, a hope rooted in the person of Jesus Christ. The Holy Year will begin on Christmas Eve when Pope Francis opens the Holy Door at St Peter’s in Rome. Locally, it will be opened in our Diocese on Sunday 29 December – Feast of the Holy Family – when Bishop Larry will be Chief Celebrant of the 12.30pm Mass in St Macartan’s Cathedral, Monaghan. Some online resources for the Jubilee Year are now available on www.clogherdiocese.ie/jubilee2025 .    Monaghan Charismatic Prayer Group are celebrating 50 years and are holding a conference on 7th, 8th and 9th February 2025 in The Four Seasons Hotel, Monaghan. The theme is: Rejoicing in Hope, Patience in Tribulation, Persistence in Prayer .More details to follow. HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT - the newborn Jesus is the source of our hope. In these days as we approach Christmas, the readings from Scripture heighten our expectations of the coming of the Messiah. The music too, calls us to rejoice and look forward in hope. The hymn O Come O Come Emmanuel urges us to ‘Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.’ It is very easy to say that we hope. It is a form of communication we use in everyday reality. We hope for a change in the weather, we hope that there will be no conflict in our world, we hope that someone gets better from an illness. Even in the mundane tasks we hope - like hoping to get to our destination on time or in the desired outcome that our team wins a game or that a party or candidate wins an election. But what is this hope? Is it more than just a wish, an expectation or even a desire with no certainty of fulfilment? For us as Christians, we are called to a hope that is different. Christian hope involves faith in the power and love of Jesus, an unwavering trust in an unchanging God who is love (cf 1 John 4:7). As Christians, filled with the love of God, we are called to be a people of hope in all that we do and say. That hope expresses itself not in temporal or passing things but in the things that last, those that give us true joy. The coming of Jesus at Christmas is a cause of joy and hope for our world today, just as it was over two thousand years ago. God becomes one of us and shares in our joy and our suffering. Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection gives us a hope and a peace that the world can never give. If we look elsewhere, we will come up short. The newborn Jesus is the source of our hope. Throughout his ministry he gave hope to those who came to him for healing, he gave sight to the blind, brought forgiveness of sin, and led people from darkness into light. Jesus still sustains that same hope in our daily lives. This hope does not disappoint. Instead, it is ‘an anchor for our soul, as sure as it is firm’ (Hebrews 6:19). Let us express it in making our world a better place. This Christmas, and in the Jubilee Year of Hope which Pope Francis has declared for 2025, may all Christians be signs of hope so that ‘with their respective charisms and ministries, [we] are co- responsible for ensuring that manifold signs of hope bear witness to God’s presence in the world.’ Let us all fix our gaze on Jesus our hope, who came among us as one of us. As a pilgrim people of hope, may the joy of the Gospel enliven us to proclaim in our lives that hope does not disappoint. Wishing everyone a blessed, holy, and peaceful Christmas, filled with the hope and joy that comes from Jesus Christ our Saviour. + Larry Duffy + Ian Ellis