Category: Fr Rory Writes

From the prophet Isaiah 40:10 “Here is the Lord coming with power”.

As we celebrate the weeks of Advent; we begin by lighting the first candle “the candle of hope”.  Quickly followed by the “the candle of peace”.  The prophet Isaiah proclaims “Here is the Lord coming with power….”.  Yet when we    gather to celebrate Christmas with the birth of the child Jesus, then the true focus of that power is love.  The Christ child presents us with our greatest model of love.

As he matures from being a baby, He is like a Shepherd feeding His flock, gathering lambs in his arms.  In our lives it highlights the love that is closest to His heart with a challenge, “as long as you do this to be least of my brethren, you do it to me”.  We have to acknowledge with sorrow, that all too often we in the church are not seen to be like this.

The work that continues to take place at the heart of our parish are steps in this direction to become a living community.  As we focus upon the parish council that will work to develop our parish communities for the future, the briefings that are given as we focus upon this with a parish council that works as part of the instrument, is a good work in progress.  Our parish celebrations at this time are essential to creating an environment that allows us to strengthen our faith.  The sacrament of reconciliation, Tue 13th Dec, the parish Christmas Carol Service, the Christmas Eve Nativity Mime and the celebration of our Masses will provide the nourishment that is essential.

Through the ministry of the church, God brings to you His pardon and His peace and I absolve you of all your sins

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

When I was growing up this was a great focus to our lives and a regular feature, when at least once a month we were all gathered up into the car for our regular journey.  After I was first ordained, I spent hours in the confessional box leading up to Christmas and Easter.  And yes, I experienced great moments of pardon and peace; a truly great gift.

Now services of reconciliation can play a vital part in our lives of faith.  A special great event in your preparation for this Christmas will be offered to you on Tuesday 13th December at 6.30pm, when Fr Barry will lead us in the             sacrament of reconciliation.  He is excellent and we are grateful to have him.  I will be available for confessions on  request at any time, particularly before and after masses.

Back on the road again; we begin a new year in our lives of faith and we look forward to the end of our life’s journey when we will come into our true home in heaven. 

As we make this journey of life to share our faith with others, this is the life of the church.  As we begin each new year with the season of Advent we light the First Advent Candle “The Candle of Hope”.  Hope springs eternal.  When     everything else is taken from us we can always hold on to hope.  The last few years have been a great challenge, preparing the mass intentions for the newsletter, I had to appreciate that it is the 4th Anniversary since Edmund Ginn died.  The number of losses that we have experienced during this time take its toll, so it is important to appreciate the new and positive events that continue to happen.

Thanks be to God, and this year will be no different.  I am always grateful for the help I get (even though I may not be good at expressing it) with God’s help we will have a great opportunity to support one another.  Joan Covey and company have got us off to a great start with events for the oldies, and real progress is being made as we prepare our church for a new generation.  Let us be as positive as we can and “Full of Hope”.

Jesus, Mary & Joseph

Father, Son & Holy Spirit   

As we prepare to celebrate The Great Feast of Christ Our King.  Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God our Father.  I have prayed this prayer ten thousand times and please God, for another ten thousand times.  Indeed until he comes again in Great Glory.  This Sunday will have a very special moment of grace when we celebrate Harvey’s baptism, and as we will continue our journey of faith in the new year some very good work is being done.

One of the suggestions made by parishioners during the SYNOD consultation process earlier this year was that a Parish Council should be introduced in our Parish.  Our Parish Priest, Fr Rory, has agreed that this should now happen.  He says “our desire is to bring Leadership to our parish communities because we have a solid belief that communities are made up of bodies which always consist of many parts working together.  

Key to our future is the realisation that a body is made up of many parts and how well the parts can work together, the eye is not the ear, but each part has its own good purpose.

“Enough Said”

As we draw even closer to the end of the church’s year and with it; The Great Feast of Christ Our King when all our attention is on “His coming again in Great Glory”.  Appropriately our focus this Sunday is on Remembrance Sunday, when we remember all those who shared in His experience of the shame of the Cross of Christ.  In every age so many lose their lives to what must be the mystery of the cross.        

As this year draws quickly to a close, it is time for a quick and timely review.  Two funeral celebrations; one for Margaret and one yet to come for Sue.  In these circumstances they give us a good context to make this review as we celebrated the Feast of all the Saints and Holy Souls.  Life has great difficulties or challenges.  I have to acknowledge that in my life I have been very fortunate, well provided for, and tend to make mountains out of mole hills.  But in my ministry I am very aware that this is not the case for many, and life can have great suffering and loss.  My best response remains “these are the trials through we triumph, by the power of Him who loves us”.  Margaret Piegrome’s funeral service was a very good expression of this.  Remembrance of all her contributions to our lives, her willingness to use all her talents and to embrace every occasion to the best of her ability, enriching her and our lives, was her great achievement.

As we draw so close to the end of our year in faith, it is inevitable that we are going to die.   We should look forward to the glory of God. For me, I settled for meeting my mum, Maura, that I was so privileged to have as my mum, with my dad who provided for eight children, sent some off to boarding school and lived with great pain and affliction, supported by his faith, and as mentioned his special devotions to the Stations of the Cross.

I am sure that they share the glory of heaven.

“Gone before us, marked with the sign of faith”

The time gives way from October the month of the Rosary; to November when we remember the Holy Souls. Each year this has been a source of graces strengthening our faith.  It offers a fresh source from which we can renew and strengthen our faith.  My dad who suffered a great amount of constant pain, had great devotion to the Stations of the Cross.  Always for Lent and Easter, but also through the year, especially during the month of November when devotions allied to indulgencies are great incentives to the admonition “pray constantly and never loose heart”.

The temptation to loose heart at this time is very real.  I have been greatly helped by the endeavours of our two communities to try to renew and build up our parish after the pandemic.  Those who have gone before us still play a real part.  We have two funerals at this time for those who have died, Margaret and Sue have really strengthened and enriched my faith and they have left a tangible legacy.  When caring for them I felt a sense of real tragedy of death  giving way to the bright promise of eternal life.  The gift of life is now real to them and they were well prepared for eternal life, yes we walk through this valley of darkness and at this time it is very real.  With so many persons like Margaret and Sue gone before us, let us lift up our hearts and continue on our journey with great hope.

“and after this our exile, show unto us

the blessed fruit of thy womb Jesus”.

On the horizon is what I believe will be the greatest Feast of all “The Feast of Christ the King”.  We were especially blessed when at our seminary by one of our professors, Fr Seamus Ryan.  He presented us with a great vision of faith.  Some few years later as a priest, this vision took shape for me on my journey back to my parish while returning from holidays, mostly from home in Ireland, and by car.  For the first part of the journey all the thoughts were from home.  After a while this was overruled by the requirement to make the journey….  and then the focus upon the end of the journey, and what is in store for when we reach our destination. 

So the Feast of Christ the King is our destination.  Christ will come in all His glory.  When Cormac Murphy O’Connor  was our Bishop, it was designated “Youth Sunday” and celebrated as such.  Please God, this year will have a very special celebration through the baptism of a young person, Harvey, who has joined our parish community this year.  He is part of our new generation, the fruits of our children’s liturgy that has quietly developed over the past years.  Please God, first fruits.  We must hope, work and pray in the days, weeks and please God, years to come.  We live in a time of great threat.  Very difficult times to come.  For the love of God, pray and pray earnestly, pray constantly and never loose heart.

        For the Love of God

Hail Mary, full of grace.

The Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Jesus

Please pray it again.

“In a nutshell” a body of many parts working together, is at the heart of the Gospels.  In daily life this is far easier said than done, and was particularly clear by the end of the Deanery Meeting of the priests.  So this is for all of us, our challenge.  We have made a very good start through the work that is in place in response to the Synod, and work that is done for a new generation.  Last Sunday afternoon we had a very good experience at St George’s, with the Youth Group having their first meeting.  Thanks to Sandra and all who helped.

As I return from Ireland for this important time in our lives, our very best focus is the truth at the heart of our faith “Dying, you destroyed our death, Rising, you restore our lives”.  This inspires me, but with lots and lots of faults and failure to discourage me.  At the heart of our communities making up our parish, is a growing desire to work together, to survive together and especially to strive together.  Since I have returned we have had moments of great grace and encouragement.  From a supply priest “it was a pleasure to have this opportunity.  They are a lovely bunch of people in your churches, and the harvest festival was a delight and so well prepared and presented”.  This Sunday I met a visitor who lived here twenty to thirty years ago and she was really blessed and inspired by our mass and was most grateful.

So for all of this, much thanks, because life at this time is extremely difficult for many, health, the constant sense of threat, war, the economy, the lack of grace and peace fear for our future.  These are the real trials through which we will triumph by the power of Him who loves us.  This is at the heart of our mass,  which brings to be a great sense of strength and peace.

Let us focus on what this is all about.  Jesus, His words and action, especially His challenges “by their fruit you shall know them, good trees bear good fruit”.  Each week I am inspired by our prayers of the faithful which are prepared for us by different members.  As I pray them,  by their fruits you shall know them “good trees bear good fruit”.  Which will help grow and develop all our ministries.  I was especially inspired by Martin as he lead the liturgies at St George’s church on Tuesdays while I was away.