Sunday Newsletter
Masses Today
6.30: (Vigil) Seamus Breathnach, (Anniv).
11.00: Christy & Mai Deacy, (Anniv).
6.30: Margaret & Michael Joe Walsh, (Anniv).
- Masses for next Sunday, March 28th: 6.30 (Vigil) Nellie & Pat Lydon; 11.00: Michael Leonard.
- RECENT DEATH: Remember in your prayers the late May Boyle, Sandyview Drive, whose funeral Mass was celebrated in St. Patrick's Church on Friday last. May's late husband Tony, who worked for many years in the Priory Office here, died tragically in an accident on the morning of December 3rd, 2001 as he made his way to work in the Augustinian. May is survived by Evelyn, Mary, Tony, Gerard, and Noel. May she rest in peace.
- COLLECTIONS: The collection last Sunday was €1,297, and on St. Patrick's Day, €562. The latter was a diocesan collection to finance the work of the Bishops' Commission for Emigrants.
As I Was Saying...
Up to relatively recent times, this Sunday was known as "Passion Sunday". Six years ago, Mel Gibson made a very controversial movie, "The Passion of the Christ." Catholics of the 'right' promoted it assiduously. Christians of a more liberal leaning were shocked at what they regarded as its gratuitous violence and brutality. The ethical eloquence of Jesus was ignored, they claimed. Wouldn't it be better to make a movie about Christ's spiritual teaching, rather than dwell on the suffering?
While the violence in Gibson's movie may have been gratuitous, the gospels do apportion an inordinate amount of space to the Passion. Mark's gospel in particular has often been referred to as "a passion narrative with a long introduction". It has some of his teachings, obviously, but they are just the prologue to the passion. Let me suggest one reason why.
We live in a society that essentially believes that the way we acquire meaning for ourselves is through activity - doing things, giving shape to things. This is a positive attitude in that we have learnt not to sit back in a resigned way as the passive victims of whatever fate throws at us. We have largely abandoned this fatalism. We have challenged what we were once told were the iron laws that dictated our destinies. We have taken into our own hands the matter of our health, of our economic well-being.
We no longer believe that verse in the children's hymn, 'All things bright and beautiful', that told us:
The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
God made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.
We have abandoned such passive fatalism, thank God.
But activism has a down-side too. It tricks us into thinking we can control everything. Then we lose the capacity for dealing with those situations where nothing further can be done - those calamities that can make achievement seem meaningless, absurd.
As a priest I have often seen good people brought to despair in the face of something they could not influence - the dementia of a loved one, their own wasting illness, the death of a child. And when the art of coping has not been learnt, denial has often been the means of escape from pain. Then when reality has to be faced, there comes despair and that awful feeling that God has abandoned us or is just not there. A culture of activism is not very good at dealing with defeats. We find sickness and dying very, very difficult.
One job of religion is to remind us of life's limitations and defeats. In Holy Week Christians reflect on them in the light of Christ's passion and in doing so find spiritual resources. So we watch his struggle to come to terms with what he has no power to change. In the Garden of Gethsemane he shrinks from the coming suffering, "Let this cup pass from me." On the cross he feels abandoned by God.
But because Christianity sees God in this suffering man, we understand also that in the worst that can befall us, God is not absent but comes close. This is the very heart of the Christian faith. Not the assertion of God's sovereignty over us, but the gospel of his solidarity with us. For, how else except by keeping company with us, could he help us in our defeats?
-Dick Lyng
Items of Great Interest
- PASTORAL LETTER: This Pastoral Letter from Rome has wrong-footed us badly. It is not due out until Saturday afternoon, long after this newsletter had been put to bed. The notice is far too short to do anything with the letter this weekend; and next weekend is Palm Sunday, with its long gospel! Very poor timing, if I may say so, Holy Father!
- CHURCH WORK: The timber section of the church floor is in need of sanding and varnishing. (This has to be done every five years). So you may be inconvenienced for a few days this week, though most of the work will be carried out while at the church is closed at night time.
- HOLY WEEK MEETING: You will appreciate that we have a very busy week coming up the week after this one (see Holy Week and Easter programme below). We are badly in need of people to help out with the Holy Week Ceremonies. If those willing, and able(!) could gather on Tuesday night next in the Priory at 8.00, we could review our position. There is a great lot of work involved, so the more people that can come along to the meeting, the merrier.
- SEDER MEAL TICKETS: We will hold our annual Seder Meal on Monday week next, March 29th, in the Augustinian Priory. This is a shared effort between ourselves and the parishioners of St. Nicholas'. Rev'd Patrick Towers has graciously agreed to preside at the function. Tickets allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis. These tickets, at the moderate price of €15, are available this weekend, and in the Priory Office during the week, for as long as they last. Remember we are limited to 40. On this Friday evening, just 11 tickets remain to be sold.
- SOCIAL EVENING: We had a wonderful social evening in St. Nicholas' on Tuesday evening last. Almost 180 guests attended, 66 from St. Augustine's and the remainder from the home parish! The menu, devised and served by Francis Casey and his Caterers, was most impressive. For Starters, we were served Chicken Liver Pâté with with Melba Toast, and Wild Berry Compote. For the Main Course, we ate Apple Cider Chicken, Breaded and Fried, Creamed Potato with a Cider Cream Sauce. Mixed Fruit Salad was served for Dessert. And all for the princely sum of €12.50 (€10 concession)! The only downside to the story is that we were forced to bring out own bottle, and not allowed bring it home! A truly wonderful wonderful evening was enjoyed by all.
Holy Week & Easter, 2010
Palm Sunday is now just a week week away, on March 28th. So take note of the programme:
Penitential Services: (Fr Lyng)
Spy Wednesday 8.00
Holy Saturday 4.00
Easter Ceremonies:
Monday, 28 March: Sedar Meal, 8.00
(Rev'd Patrick Towers)
Holy Thursday: The Lord's Supper: 8.00. (Fr. Whelan)
Good Friday: Stations of the Cross: 12.00.
The Lord's Passion: 3.00. (Fr. Foley)
Tenebrae: 8.00. (Fr. Foley)
Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil: 9.00. (Fr Lyng)
We would welcome your participation in these events. If you are in a position to help out with any of the ceremonies, give your name to the priest in charge of that particular event.
An Atheist's Joke
(Dr William Revile, Science Correspondent for The Irish Times, ended his column with the following joke recently)
An atheist is swimming in the ocean. Suddenly he sees a shark in the water, so he starts swimming as fast as he can towards his boat. As he looks back he sees the shark turn and head towards him. He's scared to death, and as he turns to see the jaws of the great white beast open, revealing its teeth in horrific splendour, the atheist screams, "Oh God! Save me!"
In an instant, time is frozen, a bright light shines down from above and he hears the voice of God say, "You are an atheist. Why do you call upon me when you do not believe in me?"
Confused, but knowing he can't lie, the man replies, "Well, that's true, I don't believe in you, but how about the shark? Can you make the shark believe in you?"
The Lord replies, "As you wish," and the light retracts back into the heavens.
As the atheist looks back he can see the jaws of the shark start to close down on him, when all of a sudden the shark stops and pulls back.
Shocked, the man looks at the shark as the huge beast closes its eyes and bows its head and says, "Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, which of thy bounty I am about to receive..."
APRIL
Through the meadow April comes,
Leaving, as he passes,
Companies of daffodils
All among the grasses.
Tulips round about the door,
Ranged in martial order;
Violets in sweet array,
Up and down the border.
And beside the lily-pond,
Mindful of its sleepers,
Guards of light fritillaries,
For its fairy keepers.
Sow your fine chrysanthemums
While he blithely passes,
Dahlias too, and thrift, to blow
All among your grasses.
-Anon.