ABBEYDORNEY PARISH ~ ST



The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (066 7135146)

abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry.ie

3rd Sunday of Easter, 4th May 2014.

Dear Parishioner,

Bishop Ray Browne will finish his first Parish Confir-mation ceremonies in the diocese in the coming week. He started in the cold dark days of February and the conclusion comes as the days continue to lengthen, the flowers blossom and the grass seems to be growing well. Our parish, together with some others who have Confirmation every second year, did not feature in the list this year. We look forward to Bishop Browne’s visit next year. There has not been a tradition of marking the anniversary of Confirmation but, some time back, I thought it might be good to mark it in some way for those who were confirmed last year but were still in primary school. At the ceremony in Abbeydorney Church on Thursday night, I said to the children and their parents that I did not expect the invitation, that I had given to them, would cause great excitement. For that reason, I was happy when one mother said to me, after the ceremony, that when she saw the invitation, she felt it was good this was happening. My hope would be that, irrespective of when Confirmation is administered, those confirmed might think about what happened on Confirmation Day – once in a while – in the years ahead.

Those, who were confirmed in the parish last year, had received their First Communion just a few years earlier. First Communion Day for the children in Kilflynn School will be next Saturday and for the children in Abbeydorney and Killahan the following Saturday. When parish First Communions have taken place, Junior and Leaving Certificate examinations cannot be far behind. We keep the examination candidates in our thoughts and prayers at this time. Older people often comment that schools in Ireland are much happier places than they were in many parts of the country in past times. This was the case because of the lack of facilities, the practice of punishing children physically for misconduct or failure to do homework or for some other reason. I think every person that has sat at a school desk or table was saddened by the news of the killing of a devoted and popular teacher in England in the past week. We had been saddened on a number of occasions in the past at the news of deaths in gun attacks in schools in the USA but this seemed extremely sad and frightening.

(Fr. Denis O’Mahony)

A day in the life of a not so typical life

I live in a contemplative community which gathers in the chapel for the first common prayer at 7 a.m. We start with a hymn to the Holy Spirit, entrusting ourselves, all that is ahead of us, as well as the whole world to his guidance. What follows is one of the most precious moments of my day. We have thirty minutes of silent meditation which I love to spend with the Gospel reading for the day. Then we proceed with praying the Liturgy of the Hours, namely the invitatory and morning prayer. During the day we come back, at different hours, to pray the other parts of the Office around which our whole life is centred. Nevertheless, it’s not just about saying our prayers in the chapel. Whether I am working eating, doing my studies, reading a book, playing the piano, walking in the garden, spending time in solitude or with the sisters, I know that every minute of the day, every breath I take is an expression of prayer. What I like about ‘the Redemptoristine way’ of spending the day is that every hour, prayer or activity is in memory of some aspect of Jesus’ life. As a consecrated person, I have given my entire life to God. My time, my talent and my limitations are at his service and at the service of others. Please God, I will make my solemn profession in July. I am looking forward to that day very much, but I am also looking forward to tomorrow, to another ordinary day, a gift from God. (Redemptoristine Monastery is very near Croke Park, Dublin)

Brother Martin Bennett OFM Cap.

A typical day for me usually begins with a short, yet fervent, prayer - ‘Dear Lord, just five more minutes’ – prompted by the sound of my alarm at 6.15 a.m. I join the rest of the Friars, and members of the public who join us, for meditation at 6.30 a.m., followed by Mass and morning prayer at 7 a.m. I am in my sixth year with the Capuchin Franciscans and currently studying philosophy and theology in All Hallows College,

Drumcondra, Dublin. I live in community, or fraternity as we call it, with seven other Friars in Raheny. Fraternity, meaning Brotherhood, is at the core of our lives as Friars. We strive to live this out with each other, and with those to whom we minister through our lives of prayer and service to the poor. No day is the same here. As a student, during term, a lot of my time is taken up with lectures, reading and essays. Apart from this, there is always something to be done around the Friary, from grocery shopping to solving various computer problems. Being the youngest, it is assumed that I am the computer expert!! Our

Friaries are open, warm and welcoming places for all who visit. Raheny, in particular, is a place of prayer and stillness for the many people who come here each day. Our chapel is open from 6 a.m. each morning until 9 p.m. at night, with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament all day. As part of our service to the poor, under the leadership of Brother Kevin Crowley, we run the Capuchin Day Centre for homeless people in Bow Street, serving over 700 meals each day and 1,600 food parcels each Wednesday to those most in need. This is a very tangible expression of our Fraternity and follows closely in the footsteps of our founder, St Francis of Assisi. The centre has been running for over 40 years and now provides, in addition to food, a Doctor, a Nurse, Dentist and Chiropodist. Our life is a life of fraternity prayer and service, lived in the midst of the world, offering a welcome to all we encounter.

Musings: (Salvador Ryan, St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth.)

It’s often the throw-away phrases from the gospel are the most powerful. As the downcast disciples unwittingly relate the story of Christ’s demise to Christ himself (whom they take to be a stranger) on the journey to Emmaus, one can almost hear their sighs as they utter the words ‘We had hoped….’ These are our words too. We had hoped that life might have had been better; our jobs more fulfilling; our marriages stronger; our bodies healthier; our exam results higher; our bills less crippling. When will we come to recognise Christ accompanying our journey through life? Where is the breaking of bread for us?

(The two items above are from Intercom Magazine, May 2014.)

Sayings attributed to Pope John XXIII (St. John XXIII)

It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about the serious problems afflicting the world and I tell myself, ‘I must talk to the pope about them.’ Then, the next day, when I wake up, I remember that I am the pope.

When a cardinal complained that a rise in Vatican salaries meant a particular usher earned as much as the cardinal, the Pope remarked: ‘That usher has 10 children; I hope the cardinal doesn’t.

Not long after he was elected Pope, John XXIII was walking in the streets of Rome. A woman passed him and said to her friend, ‘My God, he’s so fat.’ Overhearing what she said, he turned around and replied, ‘Madame, I trust you understand that the papal conclave is not exactly a beauty contest.’ (These sayings taken from the Irish Catholic, 24.4.2014)

May, the Month of Mary (Fr. Paddy Jones)

The ‘Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy’ reminds us that the month of May largely corresponds with the fifty days of Easter. This year each day of May is an Easter day. Our devotions to Mary ‘could emphasise our Lady’s participation in the Paschal Mystery (cf John 19:25-27) and the Pentecost event (cf Acts 1:14) with which the Church begins.

‘Bring Flowers of the Rarest’ is the hymn associated with Mary, published as a ‘crowning hymn’ around 1871. The image of Mary crowned as queen has a long history and is found as early as the 5th century.

O Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today,

Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

While recorded by many singers, the best known is that recorded by the Glasgow priest tenor, Canon Sydney McEwan (1909 – 1991).

(The Liturgy Page, Intercom Magazine, May 2014)

Irish Bishops Comment On Family Survey Results: The Irish bishops have thanked the thousands of people who responded to the questionnaire on family life, which is part of the process of consultation in preparation for next October’s Synod on the Family. The responses to the questionnaire identify the immense challenges faced by families in Ireland. These include problems arising from severe financial hardship, unemployment and emigration, domestic violence, neglect and other forms of abuse, infidelity and constant pressures on ‘family time’ together. Many of those, who responded to the questionnaire, expressed particular difficulties with Church teachings on extra-marital sex and co-habitation by unmarried couples, divorce and remarriage, family planning, assisted human reproduction, homosexuality. The Church’s teaching in these sensitive areas is often not experienced as realistic, compassionate or life-enhancing. Some see it as disconnected from real-life experience, leaving them feeling guilty and excluded. The bishops said they recognize their responsibility as bishops to present faithfully the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family in a positive and engaging way, while showing compassion and mercy towards those who are finding difficulty in accepting or living it.

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. (Elizabeth Kubler-Ross)

(Both items above from Reality Magazine, May 2014)

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