Sunday Newsletter

Masses Today

6.30 (Vigil) Jackie & Annie Nee, (Anniv).
11.00: Patrick & Nora Cunningham, (Anniv).
6.30: Doreen Lydon, (Anniv).

As I Was Saying...

This is of course the June Bank Holiday. It marks the beginning of Summer and the first installment of the holiday season. Today many of us will make the first of our many Sunday Summer expeditions to the seaside, to hills, the woods, or whatever. The Summer has already begun!

Our Secondary and Third Level colleges have closed. In a short few weeks from now, the Junior and Leaving Cert exams, which kick off this week, will be a mere memory as the holidays displace the 'points-chasing'. The word holiday grew from the two words 'Holy Day', a day 'set apart', 'sanctified'.

All three major religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) have their Sabbath; they are pro-rest. Rest is the space from which we return to do a better job. Moreover, people of the past were able to look at reality and experience wonder. The only response reality is likely to provoke today is a shrug of the shoulders: 'So what!' People today experience only the pragmatic dimension of life. Non-utilitarian purposes are rarely sought in reality. Reality contains very few mysteries. William Henry Davies's famous lines of the late 19th century have travelled well indeed:

What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep, or cows.
.........................
A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

As we know only too well, Ireland of the Celtic Tiger plays host to a whole colony of people 'who have no time to stand and stare.' It can be difficult to have rest in a whirlwind of activity. Words like "frantic," "distraught," "overwhelmed" are probably adjectives that fit the lives of most of us. We do so many things. We live in a state of constant 'semi-attention' to the sound of voices, music, traffic, or the general noise of what goes on around us all the time. Our consciousness is halfdiluted: we are not quite "thinking," not entirely responding, on auto-pilot most of the time.

The Sabbath, which we have all but forgotten, stressed the importance of 'standing back, of slowing down'. And there is far more to Sunday than Mass. Here was a day of recreation and re-creation, refreshing us in body and in Spirit.

Hence our healthy tradition in this country of Sunday being the major Sports Day. On this day we take 'time out' to enjoy creation and to revel in the company of his creatures. It is a day on which we resist the temptation to make slaves of ourselves.

Many homes now require two wage packets if mortgages are to be met. But, for reasons of our own sanity, it is vital that we withdraw and recreate. It is equally important to take full advantage of the few sunny Summer days we get. Most of our happy memories were constructed during the Summers of our childhood. This is such an important time for families. I do hope you all have a long, lovely Summer!

-Dick Lyng

Blu-tack

When you planned it two weeks ago,
it seemed a good idea.
Friends to supper! A to meet B;
C to be impressed by your Thai cooking;
D because he needs a square meal,
X and Y to lend a frisson of transgression.

Now, waiting for the bell to ring,
you are in hermit mode.
Standing amongst the terrible complications
of the kitchen, you long for
a remote cave, a quiet piece of bread.
To escape, in fact, through the garden gate.

You scribble a note for the front door:
SO SORRY- DOMESTIC CRISIS- BACK TOMORROW
But where is the Blu-tack? You up-end the drawer
and as you find it the doorbell rings.

-Connie Bensley

CHILD PROTECTION POLICY

Leaders, volunteers and staff here in the Augustinian Priory and Parish were introduced to our newly-drafted Child Protection Policy document on Thursday night last at a meeting in the Priory. (A similar exercise must be conducted in the coming months by every parish, social grouping and sports club in the country). The meeting was chaired by Peter Cunnane. The gathering was welcomed by Dick Lyng. The general background to the policy was outlined by Niall Coghlin. The policy document was then presented by Donal O'Connell.

This policy document has a history, dating back to January 2002, when Des Foley, as Augustinian Provincial, began the process of putting in place a Child Protection Policy for the entire province. The Bishops' Conference followed a similar path in 2005 with the publication of a national policy document, 'Our Children, Our Church'. This present Parish Document has its origins in those two sources.

It was drafted by a voluntary Child Protection subcommittee in the parish, consisting of Niall Coghlin OSA, Des Foley OSA, Dick Lyng OSA, Brigid Headon, and our two Parish Child Representatives, Ms. Rosemarie Ryan and Mr. Donal O'Connell. They worked for four months under the expert direction of Tony Murphy. This policy was discussed and endorsed by the Parish Steering Committee at its meeting on May 1st.

Thirty-five people attended the meeting on Thursday night. Our two volunteer Representatives, Rosemarie and Donal, have been trained at Diocesan level for the Augustinian. (Both will serve until August, 2010). The role of the Representatives will be:

Code of Good Practice

Those who volunteer as leaders, or those who come into contact indirectly with children, must follow best practice at all times. These guidelines will provide standards of practice to which we must all now conform, or at least actively work towards. Their effective implementation will depend upon appropriate procedures being put in place. This should go a long way towards ensuring that our work takes place in a healthy and safe environment for all of us. Those who attended on Thursday took home a copy of the document. The policy will be introduced to our congregations in September, 2008.

Quotable Quotes...

GALWAY BAROQUE SINGERS

Together with the RTE Concert Orchestra, the 'Baroques' will present the Irish premiere of Karl Jenkins's "Stabat Mater" in Leisureland on Thursday next, June 5th at 8.00pm. The Programme will also include Gabriel Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine, and Francis Poulenc's 'Gloria'. Tickets on sale in Charlie Byrne's Bookshop.

Top

Valid HTML 4.01 Strict