Aughaval Group of Parishes

Mary Magdalene, Witness to the Resurrection Fresco by Fra Angelico, circa 1437-1446 Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fra_Angelico_039.jpg The gospel      John 20:1-2, 11-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, bu...

  Resurrection of Jesus ,  Raphael  Public Domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2183170 Matthew 12: 38-42  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.’ But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was for three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! The queen of the South will rise up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!   Jonah is th...

  Martha and Mary illustration by  Harold Copping   from Women of the Bible published by The Religious Tract Society 1927  Wikimedia Harold Copping  -  https://www.meisterdrucke.de/künstler/Harold-Copping.html The Gospel Reading Luke 10: 38-42 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’ Sacred Space You can find a gentle prayer guide here: https://sacredspace.com/daily-prayer/2025-07-20/ Christian Art A helpful refle...

  Sunday 20 July 2025 (The Sunday between 17 and 23 July)  Christ in the House of Martha and Mary Johannes Vermeer, 1655 Public Domain Hymns 94 - In the name of Jesus  611 - Christ be beside me 96 - Jesus is Lord! Creation's voice proclaims it  509 - Your kingdom come, O God Collect Two Almighty and everlasting God,  by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified:  Hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,  that in their vocation and ministry they may serve you  in holiness and truth to the glory of your name;  through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The First Reading Amos 8: 1-12 This is what the Lord God showed me—a basket of summer fruit. He said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass them by. The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” says the Lord God; “the ...

  On Friday 18 July, the graveyard of St Thomas’s Church, Knappagh (a church which has been closed for over 30 years but remains consecrated) came to life with the ringing of the church bell and the steady trickle in to the churchyard of over fifty people, eager to gather for Outdoor Prayer and Praise and to reconnect with one another. The congregation was made up of people of all ages and stages, from the locality and beyond - plus two curious cats! We were blessed with a beautiful warm, bright and dry evening, and at the gates Shirley Kitterick and Caroline Bourke offered each attendee a warm, bright welcome. Achill-based singer and friend James Kilbane contributed richly before, during and after the service, and readings were delivered by Val Kitterick (Westport-Dugort Union of COI Parishes) and Susie Fry (Castlebar COI Parish). The hymns and songs were:  For the fruits of his creation;  O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder;  There is a place , a moving solo by...