Aghaviller Parish Newsletter
Hugginstown, Newmarket and Stoneyford.

16th. and 17th. January 2021.
“Second Sunday in Ordinary Time”
Priests Living within the Parish:
- Liam Cassin (Parish Priest)
- Telephone: 056 776 8693 or
- Mobile 087 231 2354
- Peter Hoyne (Retired)
- Telephone: 056 776 8678 or
- Mobile 086 373 8492
Please do not hesitate to ring if you need assistance.
- Wednesday 20th. Feast of Sts. Fabian and Sabastian
- Thursday 21st. Feast of St. Agnes;
Pray For:
Anna Power, Clonmel and late of Newmarket, who died recently.
Neddy Dermony, Crowbally;
Mary Lacey, Ballyraggett:
John Darcy,Floodhall; (died during the past week)
Anniversaries:
Andy Brennan, Stoneyford.
Eamonn O’Neill, Knockdrinna
Larry O’Shea and Rita O’Shea, Lismatigue.
Covid-19:
All Religious Services are suspended until further notice. No Public Masses on Saturdays or Sundays.
Mass will continue to be celebrated privately each day in Hugginstown and will be offered for your intentions Places of Worship may remain open for private prayer.
Attendance at Funeral Masses are limited to 10people; observing social distance.
All schools will remain closed until the end of January.
We are required to:
a. Wash our hands properly and often:
b. Practice social distancing.
c. Cover coughs and sneezes:
d. Wear a face mask in Churches, Shops and crowded outdoor settings.
e. Stay at home as much as possible.
Collections: (To donate directly.)
(To donate directly.) For Aghaviller Parish Funds: Use IBAN: IE74 AIBK 9330 9000 0610 47 (BIC: AIBKIE2D)
For the support of the Clergy: Use IBAN: IE19 AIBK 9330 9000 0561 20 (BIC: AIBKIE2D).
All Parish Property and Accounts are registered under the (Diocese of Ossory, Reg. Charity No. 20015831)
Christmas Offerings 2020:
Many, many thanks for your very generous contributions to the Christmas Offerings over the Christmas period. These Offerings are for the support of the priests working and retired within the Diocese of Ossory. Extra Envelopes for the Offerings can be collected in the Church Porch, and your contributions may be handed in during the coming weeks. Many thanks for all your support and contributions during the past year.
St. Vincent de Paul
St. Brendan’s Conference:
Please note the change of Number to their Helpline: 087 616 4621.
Safeguarding Contacts:
Diocesan Designated Liaison Person:
Mr. Cathal Cullen Tel: 087 100 0232 or dlp@ossory.ie.
Aghaviller Parish Representatives are:
Teresa Broderick and Carmel O’Toole
Our Parish Safeguarding Audit was submitted during the past week.
Be Safe:
Let’s do everything we can to protect others and ourselves from the Covid -19 Virus over the next few weeks. These weeks will determine the kind of Spring and Summer we will have this year. Safe Driving! With the local ‘Text Alert’ in operation please be vigilant and always be aware there is always a Garda there to help.
Reflection:
There is an old proverb used when a visitor is leaving one’s home: ‘Whoever drinks of this water keeps coming back’. Offering a beverage such as a cup of water or tea to a visitor is a universal gesture of welcome and hospitality. Today we hear how Jesus invites two of his disciples to ‘come and see’ where he lives. He welcomes them into his home and they stay with him for the rest of the day, undoubtedly eating and drinking and conversing with him. Jesus’ invitation is simple, yet intimate. We don’t know where he lived or what his living arrangements were, but we know he wanted his friends to spend time with him and get to know him. This precious early time with Jesus must have set his friends up for a lifetime of discipleship. We too are invited to ‘come and see’, to spend time with the Scriptures and in prayer to get to know Jesus. He welcomes us with open arms. As we reflect on the inviting love of Jesus, we are also encouraged to extend a warm welcome to others in a spirit of friendship. Pope Francis has often spoken of our responsibility, as individuals, communities and church, to welcome everyone – including those who are homeless or who have been forced to leave their home or country. Our welcome is a response to the Lord’s supreme commandment to love the other, the stranger, as ourselves. We all have opportunities to do this in our communities. ‘Every stranger who knocks at our door is an opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ, who identifies with the welcomed and rejected strangers of every age.’ Pope Francis
Newsletter:
If you wish to receive the weekly Newsletter by email, please drop your email address to liamcassin@ossory.ie.
The Newsletter is available on the Stoneyford Website every weekend. (https://stoneyford.ie/news)
It can also be collected in Fitzgerald’s Shop.
All notices for the Newsletter to be left in by Thursdays at 5.00p.m. please.
Contact: Telephone: 056 776 8693 or email liamcassin@ossory.ie.
Sunday 17th. January 2021
First Reading:
A Reading from the First Book of Samuel:
Samuel was lying in the sanctuary of the Lord, where the ark of God was, when the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ Then he ran to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ Eli said, ‘I did not call. Go back and lie down.’ So he went and lay down. Once again the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ He replied, ‘I did not call you, my son; go back and lie down.’ Samuel had as yet no knowledge of the Lord and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. Once again the Lord called, the third time. He got up and went to Eli and said, ‘Here I am, since you called me.’ Eli then understood that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, and he said to Samuel, ‘Go and lie down, and if someone calls say, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord then came and stood by, calling as he had done before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’
Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him and let no word of his fall to the ground.
The Word of the Lord:
Responsorial Psalm:
Response: Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.
I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry.
He put a new song into my mouth, praise of our God. R.
You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I. R.
In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart. R.
Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord. R.
Second Reading:
A Reading from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians;
The body is not meant for fornication: it is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. God, who raised the Lord from the dead, will by his power raise us up too. You know, surely, that your bodies are members making up the body of Christ; do you think I can take parts of Christ’s body and join them to the body of a prostitute? Never! But anyone who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him.
Keep away from fornication. All the other sins are committed outside the body; but to fornicate is to sin against your own body. Your body, you know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God. You are not your own property; you have been bought and paid for. That is why you should use your body for the glory of God.
The Word of the Lord:
Gospel Acclamation:
Alleluia, alleluia!
Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel
A Reading from the Holy Gospel of St. John:
As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God.’ Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, ‘What do you want?’ They answered, ‘Rabbi,’ – which means Teacher – ‘where do you live?’ ‘Come and see’ he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.
One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ – which means the Christ – and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas’ – meaning Rock.
The Gospel of the Lord.