Seeing your Life through the Lens of the Gospel St ...

1 Reflection for the Epiphany The feast of Epiphany celebrates God s revelation of Jesus the Messiah as the ruler of all peoples. It was held that the Messiah would come only for the sons of Israel, but in our second reading, Paul insists this originalist view is wrong. God was doing something new, as Paul proclaims in our second reading, It has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and co-partners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel . One way Jesus goes about making something new is by building on earlier prophecies. As Jesus put it, not to negate scripture but to complete or fulfill it.

2 In today s Gospel , the chief priests and the scribes of the people claimed prophecy about where a ruler over Israel was to be born. The prophecy got the correct location but apparently, God had moved on from sending a ruler for Israel to One who would rule over all the nations; Lord, every nation on Earth will adore you. through all time, God continues to reveal the deeper ways we understand the message. In our time, God s new revelations seem to be coming to us disguised as our growing realizations of how insufficiently we have received God s light and failed to be light to others as co-partners in living out Christ s message: how comfortably we accepted our so-called superiorities, how terribly exclusive we became, how fearful in protecting the dignity of every human being, how late to care for our Mother Earth.

3 I consider these realizations as progress but they have come to us at a great cost: lives lost, justice withheld, discrimination, lies, division and lately, the obvious degradation of our planet. What a way to learn! I thank God that our Saviour is so patient with us! Written by Sr. Barbara Harrington, GNSH The Roman Catholic Diocese of Motherwell is a Charity registered in Scotland - Number SC011041 Fr Raymond J Breslin PhB, STL Rev. Deacon George F. Frame Sr Mary McKeon RSC 96 Hallcraig Street, Airdrie ML6 6AW 01236 763370 Web: Please note that the Saturday evening Vigil Mass will be celebrated in St Serf's at 5pm.

4 Sunday Morning - 9am & 12 noon, Mass in St margaret 's - , Mass in St Serf's Weekday Mass Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday 10am, St margaret s Wednesday & Friday, 10am, St Serf s Sacrament of Reconciliation: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Reconciliation, Thursday 7-8pm. St margaret s & St Serf s Parish Bulletin The Epiphany of the Lord Year A1 8th January 2023 There will be a Special Collection at all the Masses this weekend for the Justice and Peace Commission. Justice & Peace Scotland Striving for Social Justice. The National Commission for Justice and Peace advises the Scottish Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in matters of social justice, peacebuilding, promoting care for creation and human rights, supporting the Catholic community to live the values of the Gospel in service to the poor and marginalised.

5 The Motherwell Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2023 will take place from 14th to 21st July. The cost will be approximately 1000. More details to follow when they are available. Diocesan Youth Pilgrimage to Lourdes As usual this will require a selection of our young people forming a youth group to accompany the Diocesan Pilgrimage and to cater for the needs of the sick of the diocese and to help assist with Youth Pilgrimage looks to take young adults aged between 18 (or just finished 6th year at high school) and 25 years of age. There will be a meeting for those who are interested in St Aloysius, Chapelhall, on Thursday 2nd February at 7pm.

6 For further details please contact our Youth Chaplain Fr Mark O Donnell at Special Collections 2023 The Special Collections for 2023 are as follows: Justice and Peace 8 January 2023 (Epiphany) Sick and Retired Priests 5 March 2023 (2nd Sunday of Lent) SCIAF 19 March 2023 (4th Sunday of Lent) Holy Places 7 April 2023 (Good Friday) Communications 21 May 2023 (7th Sunday of Easter) Day for Life 4 June 2023 (Visitation) Peter s Pence 2 July 2023 (13th Sunday) Ecclesiastical Students 10 September 2023 (23rd Sunday) Mission Sunday 22 October 2023 (29th Sunday) Education Sunday 19/26 November Crib Fund / Hospices December We remember those who have died recently Pope Benedict, Catherine Kane, Gordon Watt, Thomas Tiernan, Sadie Wylie, Canon Joseph Clements.

7 Catherine Byrne, margaret Cole, margaret McDade, Mary McIlwaine. + We Pray for Those whose Months Minds & Anniversaries Occur Fr Joseph Brannigan, Annunziata Russo, Daniel Martyn, William Wallace. + We Pray for Healing, Peace and Contentment for our Sick John Rooney, Jacky Mullen, John McSherry, Tracy Horn, John Gallagher, Michael Gribben, Pauline Coyle, Jim Mulholland, Harry Spalding, Jessie Duncan, John Timmons, Gary McInnes, Anastasia Boyd, George Cassidy, Megan Wilson, Thomas Harty, Shannon Campbell, Emma Smith, Donna Marie Menzies, P McPake, M D Williamson, D McPake, F Toner, John Kane, Liam Calheur, Michael Tracy, William Wilson, Douglas Sweet, Jim Flynn, Hugh Bonnar, Rev Ross Murphy, James Campbell, Nora Cochrane, Elizabeth Easingwood, Anne Martin, Annette Coup, Sally Campbell, Andy Waite, Anna Danna, Hannah McGhee.

8 James Fay, Laura Chalmers, Siena McVey, Jacob Canning, William Higgins, Kathleen Morgan, Stewart Hannah, John Keenan, Anne Logue, Marie Elizabeth Tucker, Esther O Neil, Alex Jamieson, Tracy Dawson, Evan Smith, John Hamill, Geoffrey Hill, Hugh Carr, Nicola Cochrane, Kathleen Harold, Lucia Jane Gavin, Rayhan Mavid, Bill Campbell, Patsy Brannan, Myra Taylor, Liz McCall, Tom McPhail, Catherine Byrne, Rena Tague, Leanne Marshall, Kathleen Johnson, Anne Marie Robertson, Catriona Paterson, Marie Robertson, Grace Clark, , Emily Grace Friel, Peter Sherry, Stephen Morgan, Anne Molloy, Brenda Burns, Mhairi Green, Claire Fox, Emma Higgins, Les Reilly, Martin Murphy, Mark Craig, Gerard Hamill, Patrick Hughes, Kathy Murphy, Mary Gorman, Allison Forrester, Eddie Welsh, Maureen Quinn, Stephen Moore, margaret Toal, Lynn Arnott, Brenda Lynch, Tom & Marie Boyle, Peter Sherry, Ann Stewart, Sadie Wylie, Karen Hunter, Betty Muirhead, Anne Reilly, Morris Stewart, margaret Mary Brown, Tom Roche, Patsy & Irene Boreen, John Miller, margaret Duggan, Diane MacDonald, margaret & George Goodall, Ann-Patrica Kane, Donny Ritchie.

9 + Family Vocation Prayer Dear Jesus, thank you for giving your life for us. Please help more young people to follow your example by giving their lives in service as priests and religious. If you are calling someone in our family to the priesthood or the religious life, please help them to say yes . We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.