Wednesday next is Ash Wednesday and is the beginning of Lent. There will be evening
mass in the Parish Church at 7.30pm on the week days during Lent. Morning mass in
the Convent Chapel at 8.00am will resume on Ash Wednesday also.
Ashes will be blessed and distributed at all masses on Ash Wednesday. Ashes will also
 be available in the Church during the day
RECENT BAPTISMS Mia Jayne Keohane Harrington, Convent Hill. Martyna Anna
Mazurowska, Castle Oaks.
CUMANN SEANCHAIS NA BANNDAN Bandon Local History Society The next talk
will be “A Tram and Train Trip with a difference” by Tim O`Brien at the Parish Centre at
rear of St. Patrick’s Church on Wednesday l7th February at 8pm. New Members welcome.
THE CHILDREN’S CHARITY SHOP, BANDON, HAITI APPEAL The March
proceeds from the Children’s Charity Shop, Bandon, will be donated to the earthquake
disaster relief in Haiti. Donations also welcome.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYERS 2010 will be held in St. Peters Church at 8pm on 5th
March. Bible study in preparation will be held in St. Peters at 10.30am on 18th February,
25th February and 4th March.
BANDON FLOWER CLUB Presents a flower arranging demonstration by Maureen
O’Keeffe A.O.I.F.A. and AGM in The Brogan Inn on Monday 15th at 8 o’clock. Annual
membership fee due on night. Visitors welcome.
SWIMMING Next ll week session begins week of February 15th, lessons for adults and
children, beginners and improvers. Moming and evening. Grove Leisure Centre, Bandon
023 88 41643.
GRAMAPHONE CIRCLE Monday February 15th at 8pm, Gateway Hall. Everyone
welcome.

More than 5,000 people listened to these words the first time they were uttered.
Few sermons or speeches have been so often quoted. In more recent times, We
might think of Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech and hear its message
delivered with volume and determination. Sometimes we can still hear the echo of
Pope John Paul’s voice in Galway: ‘Young people of Ireland I love you’ with the
‘you’ echoing through the sound system. What strikes a chord sometimes is that
Jesus had no amplification. Neither were there large plasma screens dotted through
the crowds so that his image could be seen and his Words clearly heard, even by
those at a distance. Yet his message was heard and is repeated in our midst today.
Isn’t there something good about that and doesn’t it make us Wonder how the
message was heard by all. Isn’t it possible that everybody didn’t hear everything
but that as people walked away they talked about what he had said? ‘What did he
say about the poor?’ somebody might have asked and another replied, ‘oh yea, I
heard that - he said the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs’! The bits and pieces were
shared - like the bread and fish so that all were nourished.
There is much in today’s liturgy speaking to us of choice. Fu1ther,we are left in no
doubt about the consequence of the bad choice but maybe there’s another choice
before us all today. Do we leave the Word here in the church or talk about it as
We go? What part do We have to play in bringing the Word to others in the days to
come? How much will we talk to one another about what has happened here today?
Sunday leading into Monday and beyond ....
It’s all about striking a balance - a good starting place for Temperance Sunday.