The Most Holy Trinity 15th June 2025
THE THREE GIFTS
On Trinity Sunday, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit present us with three gifts that transform our lives and lead us to freedom in divine life. The first gift, Wisdom, is portrayed in Proverbs as standing beside God and speaking as His first creation – a poetic image of God’s mind at work in the world. According to Saint Augustine, Wisdom foreshadows the eternal Word made visible in Christ, through whom all things are made. Next, Paul tells us that in Christ we enter a state of grace that opens our hearts to the gift of Hope in the glory of God—a glory that transforms suffering, heals division, and pours perfect love into our lives. Finally, John describes how Jesus, in his farewell message, sends the Spirit with the gift of Truth to help us recognise what is real when negative influences create fear and mislead our thoughts, words, and actions. May we open our hearts to receive the three gifts of Wisdom, Hope and Truth to transform our lives and lead us to true freedom in divine life. Reflection by Teresa McDaid. Bibliography-Augustine (1963) The Trinity / translated by Stephen McKenna. Washington: Catholic University of America Press. Scripture Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15.
Anniversary & Month’s Mind Masses
Mass will be offered for the following people on the occasion of an Anniversary or Month’s Mind. We remember them, their families and loved ones in our prayers.
Sunday 15th June 10.00am Brendan Harron
Sunday 15th June 12Noon Eileen Petersen
Monday 16th June 7.30pm John Stewart
Tuesday 17th June 7.30pm Jackie Coyle
Wednesday 18th June 7.30pm Margaret Brown
Thursday 19th June 7.30pm Ann Doherty
Friday 20th June 7.30pm Rita Hegarty
Rest In Peace: We extend our sincere sympathy to the family and friends of; Kathleen Edwards- Beechwood Cottages, Moira Bonner- Dove Gardens, Chris McLaughlin- Lavery Fold & Martin O’Kane – Aldrin Pass
To book a Baptism please contact the Parish office on 028-71262301 during office hours or email longtower@derrydiocese.org.
Parish Baptismal Dates: Please note Saturday Baptisms are at 3.30pm.
July 2025– 12th & 19th August 2025– 2nd, 9th, 16th & 23rd
LAST WEEK’S ENVELOPE COLLECTION AMOUNTED TO £3171.00
LAST WEEK’S RENOVATION COLLECTION AMOUNTED TO £785.00
The Parish Office: You can contact the Parish Office by phone on 028-71262301 (during office hours) or via email longtower@derrydiocese.org.
Visitation of the Sick at Home & in Hospital. For urgent sick calls to those at home please contact the parish office on 028-71262301 or 02871262894. For urgent sick calls for those in hospital, please ask the duty nurse on the ward to call the Hospital Chaplain. Thank you.
St. Columba’s Day Celebrations: Sincere thanks to everyone who helped make St Columba’s day a great success. A special word of thanks to all who supported our parish draw and to Dana for drawing the winning tickets!!. Many congratulations to all our Winners!!
1st Prize– E Gallagher
2nd Prize– C Doherty
3rd Prize– E King
4th Prize– J O’Carrol
5th Prize– K Callaghan
Promoters Prize– M Doherty
This Sunday 15th June at 6pm in St Columba’s Church, Long Tower: We are very pleased and excited to be part of this year’s Every Voice Festival and to host an evening of sacred music featuring choirs from across the city this Sunday 15th June in Long Tower church at 6pm.
Next Sunday 22nd June we celebrate Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. To mark this special occasion, we have our annual Corpus Christi procession after the 12 noon Mass around the grounds of Long Tower concluding with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Calvary. All children who have received their first Holy Communion (dressed in their first Communion clothes, if they wish!) and their families are invited to participate in this final ‘Do this in Memory’ Mass of the children’s Sacramental preparation.
Lourdes 2025. Bishop McKeown will offer Mass for intending pilgrims in Our Lady of Lourdes, Steelstown, Derry on Monday 23rd June at 7pm. After Mass pilgrim packs including tickets will be distributed. Those who cannot attend should arrange for someone to collect their tickets.
Diocese of Derry: 3-Day Pilgrimage to Lough Derg; Friday 25th July to Sunday 27th July. For those wishing to avail of transport, a bus will depart after 10am Mass in St Eugene’s Cathedral, on the Friday; it will travel via Lifford and Ballybofey. Cost: £95/€110 (including transport). Pre-booking is required. Please contact Tony Brennan on tony.brennan@derrydiocese.org or phone the diocesan office on (+44) 028 7126 2302 for a booking form.
The relics of St Margaret Mary Alacoque & St Claude la Colombiere from Paray-le-Monial, France will be present in Sacred Heart Church, Derry Road, Strabane from Friday 13th June to Thursday 19th June. Times of Celebration of the Eucharist, Adoration, Veneration of Relics and the Sacrament of Reconciliation (13th–19th June) are published at https://www.derrydiocese.org/sacred-heart. Everyone is welcome.
Parish of Culmore – Parishioners from Culmore Parish are invited to join in a time of prayer to discern our Parish needs and how the Lord invites us to respond. We will gather to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in Hollybush Primary School on Tuesday 17th June at 7pm. This gathering in prayer is open to everyone. This is a welcoming space where all are encouraged to come as they are, and grow in faith together.
Annual Service of Intercession for the Dead takes place in the City Cemetery next Sunday, 22nd June at 3.00 pm. Please be in position at 2.30 pm. Families are asked to bring their own holy water to the Cemetery for the blessing of the graves. At the appropriate time Bishop McKeown will ask a representative of each family to sprinkle their family grave (and neighbouring grave if there is no-one present). There will be no holy water in the Cemetery. 130 car parking spaces will be made available for Blue Badge holders within the Cemetery. The places will be allocated on a first come first served basis to current Blue Badge holders and can be booked at www.derrystrabane.com/cemeterysunday. There will be no vehicle access to the cemetery from 12pm to facilitate preparations for the service. Access will only be given to those who have registered with gates remaining open until 2pm. Those who have secured a space must be in place by 2pm, as there will be no access for vehicles after this time. Other car parking will be available for blue badge holders at St Mary’s Church, Creggan, St Cecilia’s College and Celtic Park. Booking is not required, and access will only be given to vehicles that display a current Disability Blue Badge Permit on arrival. For visitors parking outside the cemetery, we ask that you please park in appropriate areas and be considerate of people living in the area. Do not block roadways, footpaths, or gateways when parking. This is an important time of prayer for families who are remembering loved ones, and we ask that everyone is respectful and mindful of other visitors during the service. We encourage those attending to arrive in good time, and to adhere to the advice of the stewards. We would greatly appreciate cooperation with staff to ensure everyone can have safe and easy access to this time of prayer. The Service will also be live streamed and available to view at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jwxjiwtrdi4
“Road Victim Support Northern Ireland and Donegal” (RVSNID) is holding its first support meeting for the Northwest/Derry area on Monday 16 June at 7pm in Shantallow Community Centre, Drumleck Drive Derry. This meeting is open to everyone who may be interested in finding out more about RVSNID. If you or anyone you know has been affected in any way by a fatality on our roads, please feel free to come along for support or information on the services we provide. For more information telephone Eamonn Karran on 07522997079″
‘Vulnerable to delight’ – Seamus Heaney: Poet of Childhood. A lecture presented by Dr, Gary Wade (Adjunct Lecturer, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, Australia) takes place at St. Columb’s College, Wednesday 18th June 2025 at 4.15pm. To book please email:info@stcolumbs.derry.ni.sch.uk or tel:02871 285000. All Welcome!
All-Ireland Rally for Life takes place in Dublin on Saturday 5th July. Make a stand to protect Ireland’s unborn babies. Coaches will be travelling from towns across Northern Ireland. To book your seat contact 02890278484/ 07592280522 or email info@preciouslife.com
The next ‘Rosary on the Coast’ will be this Sunday 15th June at 3pm on Benone Strand, Magilligan. Everyone welcome.
GAMBLERS ANONYMOUS: Is Gambling affecting your life? Perhaps we can help. Tel 028 7135 1329.
