Masses Today

6.30 John Joe & Peggy Giblin, (Anniv)
11.00 Monica Duggan, (Anniv)
6.30 Rita Mullins, late of Shop St. (Anniv)



EVENTS THIS WEEK






AS I WAS SAYING...

Four characteristics in particular marked the early Christians apart from their fellow Jews: (i) a conviction that Jesus was still alive; (ii) a strong sense of fellowship or community; (iii) meeting in their homes for the breaking of the bread, or Eucharist, and (iv) sharing their goods with those in need. These four features were regarded as essential to the identity of the early Church. Indeed, even to this day, if we strip away all the pomp and paraphernalia, we will in all probability come back to these four 'cornerstones'.

"The poor you will always have with you!" Jesus told his listeners. But who are the poor today? Poverty has many faces. The most harrowing by-product is hunger. According to the United Nations, some 840 million people suffer from hunger in the world today. There is an assumption abroad that hunger descends upon a people capriciously, like a flash-flood or a thunderstorm. These unfortunate people just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time! Hunger is classified by many as 'an act of God'. However, the United Nations will insist that hunger is very decidedly 'an act of man' rather than 'an act of God'. A few facts will bear out this contention:

Practical concern for the poor should be an obvious feature of every Christian grouping and indeed of every parish. In truth, we in St. Augustine's parish here do not give much attention to this dimension of the Christian message. Of course many of you do give generously to charitable causes. You respond generously to the many 'emergency appeals' made through the church here down the years.

I am not for a moment ignoring or even minimising that considerable contribution. I am simply making the point that, as a parish, we do not have a specific 'social outreach' programme. Many of us tend to leave that sort of work to charitable organisations such as the Vincent de Paul.

The poor are to be found both at home and abroad. Today we begin the season of Advent. At Christmastime we make a special effort to reach out to these who are in need of help. It is my belief that most people will respond generously to people in need if they are made aware of their needs. During Advent this year we will make a special effort in this parish to raise our awareness of hunger and poverty at home and abroad. The needs of the poor at home are highlighted through our Christmas Giving Tree in the Church. (see previous column). The needs of the poor abroad will be highlighted through our participation in the Augustinian Hunger Awareness Campaign which is officially launched today.

This campaign will last for a year and its central aim is to alert as many as possible to the criminal neglect and exploitation of our brothers and sisters in the Third World.

-Dick Lyng.




BUILDING AND RENOVATING PLACES OF WORSHIP

The design of a place of worship is a strong indicator of our understanding of our relationship with our God. The plan reflects what kind of liturgical practice occurs there. It expresses how the gathered assembly understands itself and its responsibility for the enactment of the rituals. Does the plan suggest that worship is directed to a remote intangible God living in some glorious heavenly city? Or does it say that worship is about discovering God in the midst of our own dwelling places, however ugly they might be?

Where we pray shapes our prayer, and how we pray will shape the way we live. If the entire church membership is called to take up the responsibility of the Gospel mission, the environment of worship should say so. A place of worship that gathers the whole body of Christ around its ritual focal points and draws the entire membership into the ritual action says there is a partnership in everything the church does.

On the other hand, a building plan that creates distances between clergy and laity could suggest that the church is comprised of some members who are more important than others and that the liturgy (and everything the church does) is something to stand by and watch while someone else does all the work for you. This kind of arrangement in a place of worship works against the universal call to holiness.

Finally, our environments for worship should express with clarity the essence of Catholicism-a unique and diverse body of clergy and laity that continues to evolve, balancing the strengths of its traditions with the promises of its vision. It is not only about art and architecture."

-Rev. Richard Vosco Diocese of Albany, in America, November 3, 2003.




PARISH WEBSITE

I often despair of anyone ever viewing or visiting our parish website. Great time and talent went into its construction. It is faithfully updated and maintained every week by Peter Cunnane. The address of the site is carried in the newsletter every week. And yet I have had people approach me with the helpful suggesting that we establish a parish website!

So it was quite encouraging during the week to receive the following communication from a member of the Australian Augustinian Province in connection with same:

Greetings to all. I visited your Galway Parish website in search of material on the late Pearse O'Mahoney O.S.A. (As you know, Pearse served in Australia for some years and I have been asked to write a little obituary for him.). The material was more than adequate for my purposes, thank you.

But what a fabulous web site! You'd have to search a lot to find a better parish web site anywhere in the world. I shall continue to watch it, and recommend that others view it in order to see what is possible (if possessing a lot of skill and technical ability, of course!).

Greetings to all in the Galway community, and congratulations once more..

Fraternally,
Michael Endicott O.S.A.
(Australian Province).

Peter, take a bow!
(blush!)





Home