3 rd Week in Ordinary Time St. Kieran s Monday-Wednesday Holy Mass am

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1 PARISH BULLETIN St Kieran Catholic Church in Campbeltown and Islay 27 th January rd Week in Ordinary Time St. Kieran s Monday-Wednesday Holy Mass am Friday No Mass Saturday No Mass Sunday Holy Mass (& blessing of throats) am Sacrament of Reconciliation: Saturday pm He then rolled up the scroll.. Islay (St. Columba s, Bridgend): Sunday 3 rd February 2019 Holy Mass & blessing of throats, 4.00 pm Sunday 17 th February 2019 Holy Mass, 4.00 pm Psalm response Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life. Gospel acclamation Alleluia, alleluia! The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives. Alleluia! Communion Antiphon I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. A Parish of the R.C. Diocese of Argyll and the Isles; Charitable Trust, a registered Scottish Charity, SC Parish Priest: Fr. A. Wood, St. Kieran s, Campbeltown; Tel campbeltown@rcdai.org.uk

2 Invest just five minutes a day, and your faith will deepen and grow a day at a time. Monday, Jan 28, 2019 MEMORIAL OF SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS, PRIEST, DOCTOR Poetry that is simply divine Thomas Aquinas ( ), an Italian Dominican priest, was a quiet and brilliant philosopher whose writings have formed and informed generations of theologians and pastors. However, it is Thomas poetry that has expressed Catholic belief for many Catholics through the ages. Thomas composed the words to the hymn "Pange Lingua" (and its final two verses, "Tantum Ergo") for the Feast of Corpus Christi. Tantum ergo, sacramentum... : Come adore this wondrous presence; bow to Christ, the source of grace. This sacrament most holy ties us to the past, nourishes us today, and gives us hope for what is to come. TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 9:15, 24-28; Mark 3: Christ is mediator of a new covenant... those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Tuesday, Jan 29, 2019 Was Jesus a family man? Those who espouse family values might squirm a bit at the passages in the gospel where Jesus seems to be showing a bit of disrespect to his own family. Jesus is teaching us here that our loyalties and obligations go beyond our families of origin. As Christians, we belong to a larger family with larger responsibilities to listen to the words of Jesus and to seek the will of God. Jesus redefines family, not with the intention of excluding anyone, but rather to invite everyone to join a greater family with a greater vision of family values. TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 10:1-10; Mark 3: Jesus said, Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother. Wednesday, Jan 30, 2019 Bless my soil You can t always take parables in the gospels on face value, which is why it helps to have a good study Bible or scripture commentary at hand when you break open the word. But every now and then the gospel writers have Jesus explain exactly what he meant. Such is the case with the parable of the seeds and the soil. What to make of the birds eating some seeds while others wither or were choked by weeds? Easy: The seed is the word of God. Some are denied the word. Others show initial enthusiasm but go on to something else after a time. Others turn away when trouble strikes or allow worldly concerns to distract them. But where is the rich soil found? In the ones who hear the word and accept it and try to live it. Where does the seed of God s word fall in your life?

3 TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 10:11-18; Mark 4:1-20. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: They hear the word and accept it and bear fruit. Thursday, Jan 31, 2019 MEMORIAL OF SAINT JOHN BOSCO, PRIEST, RELIGIOUS FOUNDER Love and support your local child Saint John Bosco was born in Italy in 1815 into a family of farm workers. He became a priest and a teacher, devoting his life to the care and education of abandoned and neglected children. His approach was considered novel at the time: He used love instead of punishment to shape the behaviour of his students. John embraced the spirituality of Saint Francis de Sales and dedicated his work to him when he founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales (also known as the Salesians of Don Bosco). How can you support teachers and those who care for children? What are some ways you, in the spirit of John Bosco, can extend love and compassion to children, especially those most in need? TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 10:19-25; Mark 4: There is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Friday, Feb 01, 2019 Whose stuff is this? Christians commonly suffered the confiscation of their property during the persecutions of the early Church, and Church property has been confiscated by hostile governments ever since. Perhaps that is why the Catholic Church defends the right to private property. Yet the Church also says that this right is not absolute; it is limited by the concept of the social mortgage, our mutual obligations to one another and to a just distribution of wealth. You can read about church teaching on property and other social issues in the first social encyclical, Rerum novarum ( On the Condition of Labour ), written by Pope Leo XIII and issued in Take a look at it on the website. TODAY'S READINGS: Hebrews 10:32-39; Mark 4: You cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting.

4 Saturday, Feb 02, 2019 FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD (Our Lady of Candles) Your loving kindness shall not be in vain There is a lot going on for our prayerful consideration today. It is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the ancient story of faithful parents presenting their baby at the Temple. It is also a day of prayer for men and women who have consecrated their lives with vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity in service to the church. And it was on February 2, 1945 that the Nazis hung the Jesuit priest, Alfred Delp. Delp s final message to friends was this: If through one man s life there is a little more love and kindness... then he will not have lived in vain. Parents, vowed religious, and every one of us can do our best to not live in vain. TODAY'S READINGS: Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2: Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace. Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the world: we praise You, and ask You to guide our steps each day. Help us to love You and serve You faithfully, and to carry our daily cross with You. As I light this candle let it always remind me that You are our Light in darkness, our Protector in danger, and our saving Lord at all times. Our Lady of Candles, give me a mother s protection, for I need your watchful care. Comfort me in my discouragements, solace me in my fatigues, raise me after my falls, reward me for my successes. Our Lady of Candles, bearer of Jesus, the Light of the world, please obtain for me this favour.. (mention your petitions) I shall always rely on your help, to be what Jesus wants me to be. I am His; I am yours, my good Mother!

5 Readings for the 3 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Should the word of God bring us sadness, or joy? Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 15 The decree of the Lord is refreshment for the soul. 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Christ s body has many parts, sharing the same sorrows and joy. Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 In Nazareth, Jesus makes the word of God come true. Thoughts on the readings Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 (....) Do not be mournful, do not weep. For the people were all in tears as they listened to the words of the Law. He then said, Go, eat the fat, drink the sweet wine, and send a portion to the man who has nothing prepared ready. For this day is sacred to our Lord. Do not be sad: the joy of the Lord is your stronghold. The prophet Nehemiah describes how powerfully the word of God can act on a person. He presents its full force, which penetrates deep to the heart. It is the embodiment of life and a double-edged sword which divides, maybe sometimes the painful sickness of evil and sin from healthy tissue. So, when the deep desire of the word of God was suddenly revealed to the people of Israel at first it led them to weep and a certain type of suffering. But this is the pain and tears of purification. The word of God is the desire of the heart, because it says the truth of a person, because it returns a person to their own nature and resonates with deepest longing. Ultimately this word wants to lead a person to authentic joy, joy in the Lord, which is the fruit of repentance. Such a joy can be a stronghold against all the adversities of life. Psalm 19:8,9,10,15 The law of the Lord is perfect, it revives the soul. The rule of the Lord is to be trusted, it gives wisdom to the simple. Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life. The precepts of the Lord are right, they gladden the heart. The command of the Lord is clear, it gives light to the eyes. The Psalmist describes a pretty mystic experience of God s law. This is certainly the fruit of many years striving for a faithful understanding and

6 fulfilling of it. Maybe he even experienced a moment of rebellion against it, undertook an attempt to go his own way and of subjective interpretation. In the end, however, he came to a relevant insight of the Lord s Law. The deep conviction sprang forth from its correctness, that it really reached the essence of things. It is a conviction lived in the whole self, a conviction of the soul and the mind, a conviction of the heart, and even of the senses. The law of God is perfect and refreshes, it gives wisdom. Soothing anxiety! The Law of God is not only a challenge to our reason, rather it is a call aimed at the whole person. We comprehend it when it penetrates our whole being. 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink. Christianity does not consist of a collection of individuals without relations, though unfortunately that s how it may sometimes appear, when looking at people gathered for the Sunday Eucharist. In many places at the sign of peace there s not even often an effort made to at the person standing at their side, to smile and say: Peace be with you. Many Christians subconsciously strive to have as little to do with other Christians, they rid themselves from any obligation to others or for forming a community. In this it is necessary to remind ourselves: Christians form one body, i.e. are connected to each other, and as a result of this are something more than the sum of the parts. That s why they need one another, one exists for the other, one has what another needs. It may at first glance be unclear, it may seem an abstract idea. But such a sense only lasts as long it doesn t come into the open and to the full concern for a dialogue with the Christian who stand beside me. Then the truth of the words of Paul will emerge themselves. Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21 He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen. Jesus, in a wonderful way, actualises the word of God. He was able to find a passage of Scripture that precisely corresponded to the moment, so as to properly highlight, express, interpret and guide life events. Jesus

7 knew that the whole life of a person devoted to God was mirrored in the Bible. The whole of Christian life is already, in a model way described in the Bible. There are contained in it perhaps all possible human situations and subjects. The Bible knows human beings very well, knows the depth of beauty and ugliness, nobility and brutality, goodness and perversity. Contained in it is the knowledge that is able to propose a remedy and the road to exit dark streets and blind alleys, in which a person gets lost, as well as suggesting a way to increase the good and true elements, which are found in the heart. The Bible is a school of life in which the Teacher and Master is the Spirit of the Lord Himself. A Tale About: An aficionado of railways There once lived a certain man who was extraordinarily fascinated by the railway. He knew everything, really everything, about them. He adored, if he had a spare moment, to walk to the railway station and observe what was happening. He observed the trains, observed the guards, observed the passengers, all the people who came in and out of the station. He adored looking at the engines, the coaches, and he knew everything about them. He knew all the models, knew all the routes, he learned by memory where each train travelled, along which route, where you need to change to travel to a certain town. In short, he knew everything. He had no television, he didn t read books, he had no friends, he had but one passion: he was continually fascinated by the railway. His favourite time was when, twice a year in autumn and spring, the timetables changed. Then he shut himself up at home for a few weeks and studied the timetables for all the changes so that he could again remember them by memory, to know everything about the railway, about the stations, about the trains and the timetable. He liked to walk in the railway station and always helped those who asked him about where a train was coming from, when it arrived and where it was going. Unfortunately, he had a certain shortcoming, since he

8 always wanted to give far too much information. If someone asked him: what time a certain train left; he first gave a multitude of unnecessary information. He would tell them of the make-up of the train, the number of coaches, if there was a buffet, who the guard was, where you would change to go to sixteen other towns. Before he got to the time of the train, the person had already left thinking to themselves: what a lunatic; and would go and ask someone else. He was constantly concerned that no one wanted to listen to him or to use his knowledge. One time a small boy asked him what time the train left for London, because that s where he was going. As usual, the boy had to listen to a terribly long speech about what sort of train it was, which route it took, which stations it stopped at and who the guard was. In the end the boy said: I see you know everything about trains, but tell me do you travel on trains often? To this the man replied: No, never in my life have I been on a train, I know everything about them, but I ve never travelled on one. The boy asked: Why? And he answered: Since I know when they leave, at what time, where they go, what it looks like and what s on the route, so I don t have to travel on them to know all this what I know is enough for me. There are some people who on a given subject seem to know everything. There some of these who know everything people about God, about Holy Scripture, about faith but have never taken a seat on the train and have never gone anywhere. For who and for what is such knowledge? Prayers Please pray for all those who are in need or have asked for our prayers: Willy Robertson, Russell Carroll, Ken McCoy, and Jacquetta James (Mull). Please remember in your prayers Mary McDonald and James Campbell, and all those whose anniversaries occur at his time. News and Events Tea and coffee in the hall after Sunday Mass. Our visitors are most welcome, please come along. Fr Tony will be away from Thursday evening until Saturday in Oban.