Aughaval Group of Parishes

  This weekend: Sat evening - Evening Prayer at Turlough Church at 7pm.  Sunday morning - 10am, Holy Communion in Christ Church Castlebar - 12 noon - Service of  Holy Communion ( for Westport congregation and visitors) in St Mary's Church, South Mall Sunday afternoon: 'Mini-pligrmage on Achill', starting at 3pm in St Thomas's Church, Dugort.  Everyone is welcome. Jesus sana a los enfermos -ig Nstra Sra Angeles 1940,  by Rodrigo Fernández  Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=46682211 Today's gospel      Matthew 12:14-21 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. When Jesus became aware of this, he departed. Many crowds  followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ‘Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,    my beloved, with whom my s...

Love and Mercy Christ of the Cornfield Kuzma Sergeyevich Petrov-Vodkin, 1878–1939 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christ_of_the_Cornfield_by_Petrov-Vodkin.jpg Matthew 12:1-8 At that time Jesus went through the cornfields on the sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.When the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’ He said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests. Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests in the temple break the sabbath and yet are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice”, you would not have condemned the guiltless.For the Son of Man is lord of...

The gospel      Matthew 11:28-30 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’ The Breakdown  ca. 1940-1941 William H. Johnson  Oil on plywood Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967 About this painting "The Breakdown  shows a scene familiar to Americans after years of drought and economic depression, but the title also refers to the moments of despair that punctuate African American blues music. A rattling jalopy piled with furniture strands a couple in search of a better life. A hood ornament – shaped like a cross and silhouetted against the rays of the sun – suggests the faith that sustains husband and wife through their troubles. But the two are not passively awaiting salvation. She improvises a roadside cookfire whil...

 Today's gospel, 15 July The prodigal son returns  Image: Pixabay Matthew 11:20-24 Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.” Sacred Space You can find a simple prayer guide and helpful reflection here: https://sacredspace.com/daily-prayer/2025-07-15/ Christian Art https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-11-20-24-2...

  Prayer and Pilgrimage, Praise and Companionship  Greetings card, art and design, by Ana Mullan, used with permission.  (Not for reproduction without artist’s permission. Instagram: anamullanart ) The text reads:  "Every moment of our life God wanders in our inner garden seeking companionship." Events Friday 18 July, Outdoor Prayer and Praise at Knappagh , 7pm in the churchyard of St Thomas's Knappagh. This  short service in this beautiful setting  is for anyone and everyone who wishes to join in worship.  Please note that there is no parking at the church and please take care on this often busy road. Sunday 20 July, Mini-pilgrimage on Achill , starting at St Thomas's Dugort at 3pm.   For details and/or to register, please see here: https://tlk.ie/mini-pilgrimage Regular Service Pattern  for the Aughaval Group of Parishes Turlough Parish Church: Saturdays weekly at 7pm. Holy Communion on 2nd and 4th of month; Evening Prayer on 1st and 3rd S...

  Coming up, next weekend  Outdoor Prayer and Praise  -  Friday 18 July, 7pm ,  in the Churchyard of St Thomas's, Knappagh. With music led by Jame Kilbane.  Mini-pilgrimage on Achill - Sunday 20 July, starting at 3pm  in St Thomas's Dugort Themes and challenges from today's gospel reading Today's gospel touches on several weighty themes, including:  - the call to let God truly be God in our lives - that to follow Christ is costly and requires "taking up the cross"   - that the gospel both unities and divides - the significance of welcome - the significance of giving "a cup of cold water" in Christ's name. Matthew 10:34-11:1 ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves fa...

  Welcome to the Aughaval Parishes 13th July 2025 The Fourth Sunday after Trinity Good Samaritan  by George Frederick Watts (1817-1904) via Wikimedia Commons Hymns 487 - Soldiers of Christ, arise  381 - God hath spoken - by his prophets 500 - Would you walk by on the other side 373 - To God be the glory!   Collect O God, the protector of all who trust in you,  without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:  Increase and multiply upon us your mercy;  that with you as our ruler and guide,  we may so pass through things temporal  that we finally lose not the things eternal:  Grant this, heavenly Father,  for Jesus Christ's sake, our Lord. The First Reading Amos 7: 7-17 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of m...