Sunday Newsletter
Masses Today
6.30: (Vigil) Margaret Conneely, (Anniv).
11.00: Annie Duggan & John Joyce, (Anniv).
6.30: Bill & Joan Kelleher, (Anniv).
- Masses for Sunday, December 27th: 11.00: Rita & Michael Moten.
- RECENTLY DECEASED: Please remember in your prayers the late John Cronin (59), brother of Gearoidin, who died this week in Slough, London. John had been ailing for some time, but died suddenly. His funeral will be held in Slough on January 6th. R.I.P.
- COLLECTION LAST SUNDAY: Your response to the special collection for the flood victims of Galway last Sunday was fantastically generous. €3,350.00 was contributed by the congregations in this Church. All of this was forwarded to the Vincent de Paul Society as promised. Thanks again to you all.
- THE CHRISTMAS AMNESTY: Don't forget the two Penitential Services pending this week: Monday night at 7.30 and Christmas Eve at 4.30. Last Sunday, we appealed for singers for these liturgies. It was heartening to see twenty people show to lend their voices to these liturgies. Would you please inform your friends. These services have grown steadily in popularity over the years. Both services will last about 45 minutes.
- COMMUNION TO THE SICK: We will take Holy Communion to the sick and the house-bound on Wednesday morning next, the morning before Christmas Eve. If you are aware of anyone in your neighbourhood in the parish of St. Augustine who is house-bound and would like to hear from a priest, please contact us.
- MASS OF GIVING LAST SUNDAY: Thanks to all who contributed to the 'Giving Tree' this year. All of the gifts requested on the labels were provided. In addition, about €880.00 was donated in cash, while another €600 was donated in vouchers. Three charities in the city, together with over 30 individuals, were the beneficiaries of your generosity. Thanks to Bernadette O'Rourke and Mary Taylor, all gifts were sorted and distributed by Thursday evening last. Again, thank you all for your great kindness.
As I Was Saying...
Today is children's day in the Augustinian. It is the most magical day of the year. To the child, Christmas is magic. The feast provides so much material to feed the child's imagination: twinkling lights, snow-filled scenes, glowing, romanticised cribs, and stories of a portly, jolly figure whose generosity or mobility knows no bounds. This is all grist to the mill of the infant imagination. These memories will sustain our children for a lifetime. We should be conscious of this reality: we adults create Christmas for children. It is an awesome responsibility. The children's Mass is an effort to live up to that responsibility.
The original story tells us that our God comes wrapped in dirty nappies. The image is both familiar and shocking. That shock and that familiarity are the two poles of the doctrine of the Incarnation.
The story of recent decades shows that humanity is sorely in need of this doctrine. It acts as a corrective to two opposite tendencies: (1) an exclusively scientific and secular view of the human condition on the one hand, and (2) a simplistic, sentimental 'otherworldliness' on the other. Ironically, Bethlehem exposes the naïveté of both.
Bethlehem rules out the cynical, 'knowing' approach to human achievement. The late John Paul II was fond of chiding 20th century philosophers for selling humanity short, for underestimating our capacity for wonder, beauty and truth. Whole societies have been organised on the assumption that belief in a God is damaging to humanity. The human family must have the courage to stand alone, to recognise that this life is no mere rehearsal. Only then, they say, will we find moral authenticity and be able to work for a better world. Belief in a God is a denial of responsibility. This argument draws plausibility from the serious misuses of religious faith which do occur. But, in practice, this viewpoint manifested itself disastrously in the form of Nazi Germany and the USSR.
Bethlehem can, of course, be viewed through a romantic haze. The tinsel paper can obscure the harsh material poverty of the original scene. But the biblical Bethlehem prevents us from falling prey to the religious temptation of making light of human values on the grounds that eternity is so much better!
However, that Bethlehem family was not crippled by the 'poverty of spirit' that is so familiar to us today. On the contrary: they had hope and imagination in abundance! In fact, Bethlehem brings home to us the full measure of human dignity and human destiny. The Unknown God, who is Lord of the Universe, discloses to human beings that, if they want to know what he is like, they should look right here -at human life wrapped, not in tinsel paper, but in dirty nappies. Our God defies logic, thank God!
-Dick Lyng
Happenings
- NATIVITY MASS: Today of course is the one we waited for! The first part of our 11.00 Mass (Liturgy of the Word) will be presented in pageant form by the children who frequent this Mass every Sunday. They have rehearsed tirelessly and they now have all of their lines off. This promises to be a great celebration. Incidentally, the congregation will have a part to play in the proceedings. But more of that anon!
- GENTLEMAN IN RED: A surprise guest is confidently expected to make an appearance in the Priory after Mass today. Please treat him with the deference and respect old age deserves!
- PREPARING CHURCH AND PRIORY: Thanks to all the people who worked so hard to get the Church and the house ready for the festivities. Gerry Ferguson and Sean O'Maille worked hard on preparing the church. Anne Marie Heanue decorated the Priory. She is a patient woman! Most would have given up on those damn fairy lights long before Anne Marie did. She was ably assisted by Bernadette O'Rourke.
- CAROL SERVICE: The annual Carol Service in St. Nicholas' Church will be held this afternoon, Sunday December 20th at 4.00. This is the 'Mother of all Carol Services', with Bishop Drennan, the gowned Mayor and Corporation members present. As you know, this is always a crowded and very enjoyable service, so you will need to get there about 20 minutes beforehand if you wish to get a seat.
- PARISH CALENDAR: The 2010 Galway Augustinian Parish calendar is still available in the Church this morning, and in the Priory Office throughout the week. They are free of charge!
BISHOP MARTIN DRENNAN
I presume many of you heard Bishop Martin Drennan on the Keith Finnegan Show on Friday morning last, and with Sean O'Rourke on News At One later. He addressed the Murphy Report and his own role in the Dublin Archdiocese for the period covered by the Report (1975-2004). He addressed three important points on which some considered him to be vulnerable.
(1) 'All auxiliary Bishops mentioned in the Dublin Report have serious questions to answer.' Martin Drennan was actually the only living bishop mentioned in the Report who was not interviewed by the Commission. Obviously, Judge Murphy concluded that Martin Drennan 'had no case to answer'.
(2) Bishop Drennan dealt with one case only, that of one 'Fr. Guido'. 'There were no allegations of sexual abuse against Fr. Guido, but there were suspicions and concerns,' according to the report. (Page 617). Bishop Drennan dealt with this case on behalf of the archdiocese. It is clear from the Report that the issue here was one of homosexuality rather than a child protection issue. The Report concludes that 'The archdiocese acted correctly in immediately addressing the concerns and suspicions in this case.' (Page 620) That was the only case Bishop Drennan dealt with.
(3) 'Bishop Drennan was one of the five auxiliary Bishops in Dublin during the period covered by the report; therefore he must have known what was going on. Consequently he was part of a cover-up.' The Report acknowledges that, from 1996 on, all allegations without exception were being forwarded to the Gardai. Martin Drennan went to Dublin as auxiliary Bishop in 1997. The policy of reporting all allegations to the Gardai preceded Martin Drennan's appointment to Dublin. Given the facts as we now know them, accusations of a 'cover-up' against Martin Drennan are grossly unfair and terribly unjust.
Bishop Drennan obviously found the 'media blitz' a harrowing experience. His whole personality and his general demeanour is neither suave nor media-friendly. I hope and pray that his obvious integrity will see him through this one.
CHRISTMAS PLANS
| MASSES: | |
| Thursday, 24th: | 12.00 Midnight. |
| Christmas Day: | 11.00 |
| CONFESSIONS: | |
| Tuesday, 22nd: | 12.00-12.45. |
| 3.30-5.30 | |
| Wednesday, 23rd: | 11.30-12.30. |
| 3.30-5.30. | |
| Thursday, 24th | 11.30-12.30. |
| 2.30-4.00. | |
| PENITENTIAL SERVICES: | |
| Monday, 21st: | 7.30 |
| Thursday 24th: | 4.30 |
During the Christmas Holidays, (Dec. 26-Jan. 3), there will be one weekday Mass only - at 11.00am.
The Priory Office will open from 11.00-2.00 on December 29, 30 & 31.
Normal life will resume on Saturday, January 2nd.