Sunday Newsletter
Masses Today
6.30: Molly & Michael Forde, (Anniv).11.00: Mary & John Lovett, (Anniv).
6.30: Sadie & Walter Joyce, (Anniv).
- Masses next Sunday, April 8th: 6.30: John Burke; 11.00: Bernard & Elizabeth Coyne; Brendan O'Donnell's Month's Mind; 6.30: Kate Folan (1st anniv).
- COLLECTION: The collection last Sunday was €1,239.00. This was the annual Trocaire collection.
As I Was Saying...
The writer Melvyn Bragg presented a 4-part series for ITV in recent times. His chosen subject was 'The Twelve Books That Changed the World'. The books span 700 years and cover subjects from religion to football. All the authors are British, of course! ('Fog on the English Channel. Continent isolated!')
He starts with two tomes that helped to shape the relationship between church and state: the Magna Carta of 1215 and the King James Bible of 1611. The first Rule Book of the Football Association, published in 1863, got the nod. A solitary fiction writer makes the list: one William Shakespeare from Stratford. Bragg offers this reflection on his own selection: "When people think of things that change the world, they tend to think of extraordinary events: the assassination of leaders; the invasion of countries; the havoc wreaked by natural disasters. All extremely dramatic, but there is something less attention-grabbing but just as powerful - books."
We all have our own candidates for 'books that changed us' and taught us to see the world a little differently. For Christians, the bible will be an obvious choice. But, when compared with any other group, the most cohesive consensus is found, not among Christians, but among Jews: the Book of Exodus beats all contenders by miles. This story of the Exodus will be told throughout the world on Tuesday night next, the festival of the Jewish Passover. It tells how our Jewish 'ancestors-in-the-faith', 33 centuries ago, were freed from slavery and began what Nelson Mandela called "the long walk to freedom".
For the first time in our history, our parish here will join forces with our Church of Ireland friends when over 50 people will sit down to celebrate the Jewish Seder meal, the first meal of Passover. Of course, we won't just read about the Exodus; we will relive it, eating the unleavened bread of affliction and tasting the bitter herbs of oppression, and it all begins with questions asked by a child.
And though we think of it as the Jewish story, it was adopted by other peoples as their own. When African Americans marched for freedom, they sang the words of Moses: "Let my people go." More recently it inspired South American liberation theologians. It's one of the great narratives of hope and it really did help change the world.
Why? Because it was the first time religion entered the human situation as a revolutionary voice. The supreme power enters history to rescue the powerless. The God of all humanity asks us to grant freedom and dignity to all humanity. But, above all, he commands us to love the stranger because our ancestors were once strangers in a land not their own.
People still hate in the name of the God of love. Mosques and synagogues are attacked daily. Passover begins with these words: "This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat." Freedom begins when we share our bread with others. This we will do on Tuesday night next A simple story, yet still with the power to change the world. It will place Easter in context for us.
-Dick Lyng
Items of Some Interest
- Vigil Baptism: For the first time ever, we will have an adult baptism and Confirmation during the Easter Vigil this year. Helen Ibhijie, a regular Mass-goer on Sundays, has put herself forward for the sacraments.
- Easter Water: As you are aware, it is customary for people to take Easter Water from the Church to their home. This water will have been blessed at the Easter Vigil. In the light of the local water contamination scare, we will be boiling all water used during the Easter Services beforehand. So have no worries on that score!
- Singers Required: We are still looking for singers for the two Amnesty sessions this week: Spy Wednesday at 8.00 and Easter Saturday at 4.00. We already have a small group assembled but we could do with some volume!
- Trócaire Talk: Seán Farrell is National Coordinator of the Trócaire Lenten Campaign. He will give the final Lenten Talk in the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Newtownsmith on tomorrow night, Monday April 2nd at 8.00pm.
- Trócaire Fast Box: Please bring your Trocaire 'Family Fast Box' to the Church on Easter Sunday next and so that it may be brought to the altar as part of the Offertory Procession. A Centurion shall stand guard for fear of thieves!
- Reconciliation Service: There will be a special 'Reconciliation Service for Easter' in the Sacred Heart Fathers' conference centre, 'Croi Nua', Rosary Lane, Taylor's Hill, on Tuesday night next, April 3rd at 7.30pm.
Holy Week Programme:2007
| Penitential Services: | |
| Spy Wednesday: | 8.00 |
| Holy Saturday: | 4.00 |
| Traditional Confessions: | |
| Holy Thursday: | 11.00-12.30; 4.00-6.00. |
| Good Friday: | 11.00-12.00; 6.30-8.00 |
| Holy Saturday: | 11.00-1.00; 2.30-3.30; 5.00-6.00 |
| Easter Ceremonies: | |
| Holy Thursday: | |
| Mass of the Lord's Supper: | 8.00 |
| New Minister of Eucharist will be commissioned | |
| Washing of the Feet | |
| (Fr. Niall Coghlan) | |
| Good Friday: | |
| Stations of the Cross: | 12.00 Midday. |
| (Fr. Des Foley) | |
| The Lord's Passion: | 3.00 |
| (Fr. John Whelan) | |
| Suffering: A Christian Meditation: | 8.00 |
| Music by Mark Keane's group | |
| (Fr. Lyng) | |
| Holy Saturday: | |
| Easter Vigil: | 9.00. |
| (Fr. Dick Lyng) | |
| Easter Sunday: | |
| Easter Mass: | 11.00 & 6.30 |
| Easter Monday is a Public Holiday and there will be only one Mass (11.00) in St. Augustine's here. The Mass Office will be closed all day. We will send Easter Dues envelopes to all your homes. | |
Holy Week Matters
Brief Meeting: I would like to have a very brief meeting with those involved in the Easter Vigil on Saturday night next. I know we did hold a rather exhaustive rehearsal here on Thursday night last. But we did have to do a bit of fine-tuning on the Service in the meantime, as well as involving other personnel. I will fill you in during a very brief meeting after 11.00 Mass today.
First Friday: While next Friday is of course Good Friday, it is also the First Friday of the month. Holy Communion will be brought to the sick and the housebound on that morning. If you are aware of anyone who is unable to attend Church for the Easter, please let one of the priest know and we will call on them if that is their wish.
Good Friday: The Priory Mass Office will remain closed all day on Good Friday. This is our usual arrangement.
Easter Dues: The Easter Dues envelopes, together with a programme of the Holy Week Ceremonies, were posted out to your homes on Tuesday last. If you have been neglected (that is, if you haven't got a Dues envelope!) please make your deprived circumstances widely known and we will address your plight immediately!
Tuesday, April 3rd: The Seder Meal will be the culmination of our 'Lenten Sessions.' In all, 54 people have put down their names for it. This common celebration with the people of St. Nicholas's Church will be a very fitting conclusion to what was a most satisfactory common venture. The meal will be held in St. Augustine's. That same night, Tuesday, April 3rd is actually the night on which the Jewish People throughout the world will celebrate their Passover. I am very grateful to all the people from both our Churches who attended the common Sessions every Tuesday night. I hope it gave you a deeper understanding of Christian gospel, and a greater appreciation of all that unites us.
Good Friday Morning (1918).
I'd been on duty from two till four.
I went and stared at the dug-out door.
Down in the frowst I heard them snore.
'Stand to!' Somebody grunted and swore.
Dawn was misty; the skies were still;
Larks were singing, discordant, shrill;
They seemed happy; but I felt ill.
Deep in water I splashed my way
Up the trench to our bogged front line.
Rain had fallen the whole damned night.
O Jesus, send me a wound to-day,
And I'll believe in Your bread and wine,
And get my bloody old sins washed white!
-Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967).