Sunday 22nd March 2020

Dear Parishioners and all those who logged into our Parish,

greetings and the blessing and peace of God be upon you.

A What’s App during the week recommended lighting a candle at 7.30pm and saying a prayer – something we can all do, and at the same time.

The Parish Bulletin is available via the Parish website.

The celebration of Mass took place at 7pm on Saturday 21st March – Parishioners and others joined via the webcam.

I thought, like Sunday past, and St. Patrick’s Day, I would share some thoughts with you. Intercom, a Catholic Pastoral and Liturgical Resource magazine that I receive monthly gives a thought on the readings:

First Reading: from the first Book of Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13.

The humble task of shepherding and the exalted position of a king might not seem to go together, but God calls David, a shepherd, to be king. The humble are called to do great things; the great are called to act humbly.

Responsorial Psalm: 22 The Lord is my shepherd.

Second Reading: from St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians 5:8-14

Not only have we been enlightened by Christ; St Paul tells us that we are light in the Lord. We are to give careful thought to how we are living as people of light. We are to avoid all that is dark and reflect Christs light to others.

Gospel: according to John 9:1-41

A small detail from this Gospel shows what a tremendous thing Jesus is doing. He makes a paste from the earth, just as God, at the beginning, had created Adam from the earth. Jesus is re-creating the blind man, bringing him to new life.

My few words:

At the beginning of Mass:

As a child my sisters and I watched a programme on TV called Romper Room. The lady presenter, Miss Adrienne, had a magic mirror through which she could see us at home. She’d call out names and we’d all listen attentively to her if she saw and called us.

I feel like I’m Miss Adrienne – I’m looking into an empty Church, save for Agatha, our sacristan, but in my mind’s eye I can see you all gathered at home in our Parish, or further afield. Don’t worry, I’m not going to name you – just picture you in my mind.

We live in unprecedented times. To fight coronavirus, to stop it spreading, we must keep our distance and yet in many ways we are closer than ever.

When we celebrate Mass, we transcend time and space – we are in that Upper Room, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the hill of Calvary, at the empty Tomb. So together let us enter into this great mystery of God’s love for us – in the midst of uncertainty God’s love is a constant.

For the times our lives have not reflected that love we ask forgiveness…

After the Gospel:

The first reading tells us of David – a young shepherd who becomes king. The Gospel tells of a man born blind who has his sight restored. These two men must have been overwhelmed with the events of the days described in the lives. How would they cope – so much change, their lives full of different responsibilities and expectations?

Of David we’re told that the Spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on. Of the man whose sight was restored we’re told that he came to realise that Jesus is from God and he believed in that truth – Lord, I believe.

God was with them both – that is the truth of our faith that we celebrate at Christmas – Jesus is Emmanuelle, a name that means, God is with us.

In these days of coronavirus, we must renew our faith in God – God is with us. Christians are Easter people, people of hope, not despair. We must work at this – feed our minds with God’s Word, as we do now at Mass by listening to the scriptures and seeing what they say to us, what God is saying to us today.

St Paul in the second reading says to us – try to discover what the Lord wants of you. We must also listen to the medical experts – social distancing – restrict travel – keep in touch with those who are at home, nowadays called self-isolation – go for a walk – get a routine going at home especially with children – keep up with school work – act out between being pupil and teacher – and above all pray together – and in that regard let different family members lead the prayer on different days – like David in the first reading and like Patrick whose feast we celebrated last Tuesday, a young person can be a leader.

The man in the Gospel, when his sight was restored, would have seen things that he could only have imagined before – what his parents looked like – and things we take for granted, the sky, trees and flowers, animals and birds. These days we see great acts of kindness – maybe like me you have experienced them – people calling to see if you’re OK. Messages done. Retired medical people coming out of retirement. Others offering to help where needed.

There is of course a downside. Shops and businesses have closed – people have lost livelihoods and jobs, and money may be tight. Such individuals and families need help and support also. Be mindful of them.

In the Gospel the Jews said that Jesus was a sinner – the man whose sight Jesus restored thought differently – it didn’t matter to him if Jesus was a sinner or not, he saw in Jesus someone who did him a good turn. There is a good turn in all of us – and others, especially those we sit with today, are looking for it!

During these days – keep safe – be sensible – take care of each other. May God bless and protect us and let us continue to pray for each other.

At the end of Mass:

We are living in what is called a new reality – it is not a new normal – it will change in time. We need some sense of normality in this new reality. I visited St Mary’s Church, Dunmoyle yesterday and there were shamrocks everywhere. It was lovely! Thank you! A lovely moment of normality!

Some advice that you will have heard already:

Don’t watch too much news. That can overwhelm us. Social media is good for keeping in touch, but sometimes all those bleeps overwhelm me too!

We need balance:

• in eating
• with work
• at play
• with television
• with outdoor activity
• in praying
• with handwashing

Happy Mother’s Day in whatever way you celebrate it!

I want to do something to help others at this time.

A word first of all to carers – if you are looking after someone – a relative or neighbour – but feel at some stage you can’t, for whatever reason – others are willing to step up and help – get messages or medical supplies, or a paper. Please contact Sharon McAleer at 85567678 or 07712471212 or contact Ballygawley Initiative Group via their Facebook page. This could be your good turn I spoke about earlier.