Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 17th, October 2010

Pray for our Deceased Friends
Recently Deceased: Mary Flynn, Maudlin Street. Bridie Brennan, Castlecomer. Joe O’Leary, London and formerly Kells Road. Bill West, Baunlusk.
Months Mind: Joe O’Brien (Sun 12.30).
Anniversaries: Breda Hehir (Sat 6.15), Judy O’Brien (Sat 7.00), Richard Kelly (Sun 9.30), Gerard Moynihan (Sun 10.00), Tom Foley (Sun 10.30), Jimmy Bateman (Sun 11.00), Martin Brett (Sun 12.00), Patrick Morris (Mon 9.30), Brigid Butler (Wed 10.30), Doris Americas (Sat 9.30), Eithne O’Connor, Martin Mulhall, Mary Dunne, Jimmy O’Leary, Gerard Cleere, William Dalton, Patrick Tynan, Julie Burke.
Intentions for Next Weekend: Anniversaries: Nancy Coyne (Sat 6.15), Ned Nolan (Sat 7.00), Chrissie Scott (Month’s Mind Sun 9.30), Anthona and Neddy Burke (Sun 10.00), John Frawley (Sun 10.30), Paddy Cullen (Sun 11.00), Mary McCormack (Sun 12.00), Bernadette Delaney (Sun 12.30).

Confirmation Programme Enrolment
Those candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation who attend Kilkenny School Project will enrol in their Confirmation Programme and make a public commitment to prepare well for the Sacrament during 12.00 noon Mass at St. Fiacre’s Church on this Sunday. As a Christian community we welcome them and promise to pray for all those preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation.

St. Vincent De Paul Collection
The monthly collection for the Society of St. Vincent De Paul will be taken up at all Masses this weekend. Please give a little extra in the second collection and we will pass the proceeds to the local conference.
Members of the St. Patrick’s Parish Conference meet at St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on Monday evenings at 8.00pm.

Altar Servers
The recruitment of new Altar Servers begins now. Those from 4th Class and above who are regular Mass goers are welcome to volunteer. Parental consent is required and a commitment of one year is expected. Those interested in taking on this role in the Church may collect an application form at the sacristies of each of our churches. Current Altar Servers who wish to continue serving must also complete a form.

Get to Know Your Bible
A course ‘An introduction to the Bible - The Bible in its Context’ begins at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on this Tuesday, 12th October for 6 weeks from 10am to 12.30pm. The course will be conducted by Sr. De Lourdes Sheridan and costs €5 per session.

October Rosary
Members of the Legion of Mary will recite the rosary at the Seville Lodge Grotto, Callan Road each Sunday during October at 3pm.

Conscience, Church and Society 
Recently beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman was a profound thinker and much of what he had to say has a lot to offer us today.  Find out more at a public lecture entitled Cardinal Newman: Conscience, Church and Society at St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on this Monday evening at 8.00pm. Rev. Dr. Tom Norris, former lecturer in Systematic Theology at St. Patrick’s College Maynooth will explore Newman’s understanding of conscience and what it can offer to our church and society today. Admission free. All are welcome.

Eucharistic Congress 2012
Bishop Freeman invites all the priests, religious and lay people, especially those involved in pastoral ministry (Parish Councils, Liturgy Groups, Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Adoration Groups, St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society, etc.), to a meeting to launch the Diocese of Ossory preparation for Congress 2012.
The meeting will take place at St. Kieran’s College on Thursday, 21st October at 7.30pm. We encourage as many as possible to represent our parish at this event.

Weekly Envelope Collection
The envelope collection last week amounted to: €2,470.00. Thank you very much.

Please Return Chy 2 Certs
We appeal to those with outstanding Chy 2 Certs to complete and return them to the Parish Office as soon as possible as we are about to make a submission to the Revenue Commissioners. Completed forms are used to recover for the parish, at no extra cost to you, the tax paid on your contributions to the church. Please get the completed forms in as soon as possible.

Readers in Church
We are currently recruiting people to proclaim the Word of God at Sunday Mass. Please contact any of the priests or a sacristan if you would consider fulfilling this role. Volunteers will be put on a roster and asked to read every few weeks.

Questions People Ask
Q. If God can read our inmost hearts and already knows our secret thoughts, why must we use words to pray?
A. God does not need our words but in many instances it’s we who need words to focus our attention, to clarify out thoughts and help us to persevere. The effort to find our own words, or using prayers known by heart or prayers such as the Psalms or the Lord’s Prayer draw us into the world of prayer. Words are not always needed and may even get in the way of silent pondering. Saint Paul wrote that the Spirit within us can express our pleas in ways that could never be put into words.
Fr. O’Flynn OFM Cap

Career Guidance
Ossory Youth Service is launching its career guidance service again after a break for the summer. 1-2-1 professional career guidance. Appointments 45 minutes = €20. CAO, Career Direction, Subject Choices, Gap Year (up to 25yrs). Alternate Tuesday evenings from 5.30 - 8.00pm. Desart Hall, New Street, Kilkenny. Telephone Jane on 776 1200 to make an appointment.

Church Gate Collection
The Irish Heart Foundation is holding church gate collections this weekend.

Volunteer Appeal
Enable Ireland urgently needs volunteers to help with the running of their charity shop on High Street. If you can spare two or three hours a week please drop into the shop or call 056 776 1045 for more information.

Loughboy Library
Free Computer Courses: Course details and application forms available at the library.
Social Inclusion Week (17th-22nd October): a collection of materials for children and teachers relating to Traveller Culture will be available at Loughboy Library next week. Group visits are welcome.

Village Special Awards Night
James Stephens CLG is holding a special U-14 & U-16 double championship medals/awards celebration night in the clubrooms on next Friday, 22nd October 7.30pm sharp. A special guest will make the presentations.

Health and Wellbeing Evening
The National Dairy Council/Glanbia Health and Wellbeing evening will be held at the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel on Thursday, 21st October at 7:30pm. Admission is free. Proceeds of raffle go to Irish Society of Autism (Kilkenny).

GAA Monthly E-newsletter
James Stephen’s GAA Club is launching a new monthly e-newsletter. If you wish to be included please send your email address to 
villageEnewsletter@gmail.com
Congrats to the Village U10 starlets on winning the Shield title of the Kilmacud Crokes hurling tournament last Sunday. Well done to all!
Village Notes: If any community group or organiser would like to include any news related items relating to St. Patrick's Parish, you can do so by sending the news item by e-mail to villagenotes@gmail.com

Kellogg’s Field of Dreams
Please support Danesfort GAA Club in the Kellogg’s Field of Dreams Final: Text "Kelloggs Leinster" to 53799 or vote online on www.kelloggs.ie. You may vote once every day until 28th October.

Mayfair Ballroom Anniversary
The Mayfair Ballroom Anniversary Dance will be held at Hotel Kilkenny on Sunday 24th October with showband legends: Paddy Hanrahan, Art Supple and Sonny Cullen, Special Guest: Kevin O’Dwyer as Elvis. Music by The Marble City Sounds. Contact 087 958 2127 for tickets (€12.50 each). All proceeds to Enable Ireland, O’Neill Centre.

Kilkenny Youth Bank
Masquerade and Black Tie Ball.
Tickets €20. Ages 14 - 19. Buffet and Non - alcoholic bar. Masks can be purchased at door or bring your own. To Mark Ossory Youth 25th Anniversary Celebration. Date: 12th November 2010. Time 9pm until 1pm. Venue: Springhill Court Hotel. Tickets on sale from: Ossory Youth, Rollercoaster Records, Youth Bank members. Contact 776 1200

Child Welfare & Protection Course
Wed 10th Nov 2010 St Patrick’s Parish Centre 6 - 10pm.
Wed 24th Nov 2010 -Castlecomer Community Hall 6 - 10pm. €20 per person – limited to 16 people per night
This 'Child Welfare and Protection in Sport' training is a 4 hour basic awareness course, looking at how we can keep adults and young people safe and happy within the club environment. This course is open to sports leaders, children's officers and other adults involved in the organization of sport for young people. This module will help to create and maintain a safe and fun environment for young people within the sports club or organization. As well as undertaking child protection training, all governing bodies of sport and related organizations should adopt child protection policies and procedures as outlined in the Code of Ethics and Good Practice for Children's Sport.

First Aid
A Basic First Aid  Course will take place in Kilkenny – Desart Hall, New Street, for four Monday nights, from 6:30pm to 9:30pm, starting on the  8th November 2010 until 29th November 2010. €80 per person to complete the course – limited to 16 people
Kilkenny Recreation & Sports Partnership
Desart Hall, New Street, Kilkenny
Tel:  056 7720870


Soccer Tournament
An intercultural soccer tournament will be held in the Watershed Campus on Saturday, 16th October.  Between 12 and 15 teams are expected to take part in this inaugural family day, followed by a social evening for everyone. Those interested in participating should contact Niamh from Kilkenny Recreation & Sports Partnership: email Niamh@krsp.ie or 056 772 0870 for information.

Kilkenny Sessions Concert
Set Theatre, Saturday 23rd October at 8pm. Performing on the night will be: Anthony McAuley (Fiddle), Jim Maher (Seanachai/Bodhran), John Touhy (Uileann Pipes), Liam Moor (Guitar/Vocals), Tommy Lanigan (Bodhran/Vocals), Paddy Cleere (Bazouki/Banjo/Vocals), Mick Foley (Uileann Pipes), and more. MC for the night is Malcolm Noonan. Contact 087 958 2127 for tickets (€12.50 each). All proceeds to Enable Ireland, O’Neill Centre, Kilkenny.

Mission Month
October is Mission Month. Please remember the missions in your prayers.


Spiritual ‘Makeover’
It’s one approach to getting people off the dole, but it’s controversial. To ease unemployment in the Netherlands three local councils are offering unemployed singe women a €1,400 fashion and beauty makeover. The better you look the better your chances, the idea seems to be, of finding a husband or a job. Those chosen for the scheme will also be schooled in the social graces. When the crash course in carrying oneself is completed a professional photograph of the new you will appear on the website of an exclusive dating agency that claims a 75 percent success rate. However, with over 600 unemployed singles eligible not everyone considers the expense involved as money well spent. It just goes to show the importance some people attach to outward appearance. Today’s Second Reading (2 Tim 3:14-4.2), however, doesn’t. It presents us with a different set of values – ones concerned with the quality of what’s inside a person rather than their skin-deep looks. For a thorough spiritual ‘makeover’ Paul reminds us there’s nothing better than immersion in what he calls the ‘sacred writings’. All scripture is inspired by God, he tells us. And it has many uses. It can teach, correct, reprove and train in righteousness. It motivates and equips people both to be good and to do good. While this type of spiritual ‘makeover’ doesn’t cost a penny, it doesn’t come cheap either. Its cost isn’t in euro, but I the currency of faith, hope, love, generosity, kindness, service and other equally attractive characteristics. Too bad not everybody wants to employ these.
Fr. Tom Cahill SVD

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Twenty Eight Sunday in Ordinary Time, 10th October 2010

Anniversary Masses
Those wishing to book anniversary Masses on particular dates are advised to do so as early as possible as available Mass times fill up quickly. Those who just want a name mentioned as part of the anniversary list need not enclose money for this. We will assume that those who enclose money with Mass requests but do not specify a particular date do in fact want a Mass offered for the deceased person. In such cases we will forward the stipend to Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic Church charity we support with excess Mass stipends from the parish.

Altar Servers
The recruitment of new Altar Servers begins now. Those from 4th Class and above who are regular Mass goers are welcome to volunteer. Parental consent is required and a commitment of one year is expected. Those interested in taking on this role in the Church may collect an application form at the sacristies of each of our churches. Current Altar Servers who wish to continue serving must also complete a form.

Parish Centre Volunteers
Did you know that the Parish Centre is run entirely by volunteers? Everyone from management, gardening, cleaning and the dedicated legion of receptionists are volunteers, giving up their spare time to make sure our Parish Centre is open and accessible to all. We are grateful to them for their dedication.

Parish Shop
In the foyer of our Parish Centre we have a shop that sells religious items such as books, statues, beads etc. Feel free to drop in and have a look. There’s no obligation to buy and the volunteer on reception will be happy to help with any enquiry. Items not on display can usually be ordered.

October Rosary
Members of the Legion of Mary will recite the rosary at the Seville Lodge Grotto, Callan Road each Sunday during October at 3pm.

Pray for our Deceased Friends

Recently Deceased: Fr. Jim Forristal, St. Canice’s Parish. Eileen Kennedy, Dublin.
Months Mind: Bill Hackett (Sun 10.30).

Anniversaries: Eugene & Paddy Somers (Sat 6.15), The Byrne Family (Sat 7.00), Joanie Waters (Sun 11.00), Evelyn Coppinger (Sun 12.00), Nicola Conway (Sun 12.30), Eddie Dean (Wed 10.30), Paddy Ryan, Michael & Mai Brennan, Paul Grace, The Dollard Family, John & Mary O’Connell, Catherine Lucas, Martin Grace, Billy & Patty Reinhardt, Mary & Joe Hurley, Margaret McNamara,. Billy Maher, Eileen Barry, Gary & Nora Dunne, Josephine Kavanagh.

Intentions for Next Weekend: Breda Hehir (Sat 6.15), Judy O’Brien (Sat 7.00), Richard Kelly (Sun 9.30), Gerard Moynihan (Sun 10.00), Tom Foley (Sun 10.30), Jimmy Bateman (Sun 11.00), Martin Brett (Sun 12.00), Joe O’Brien (Months Mind Sun 12.30).

Confirmation Enrolment
Those pupils attending the Kilkenny School Project who are currently preparing for Confirmation will celebrate a short Confirmation Enrolment Ceremony during 12.00pm Mass at St. Fiacre’s Church on next Sunday.

Get to Know Your Bible
A course ‘An introduction to the Bible - The Bible in its Context’ begins at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on this Tuesday, 12th October for 6 weeks from 10am to 12.30pm. The course will be conducted by Sr. De Lourdes Sheridan and costs €5 per session.

October Station Collection
The October Station envelope is due to be returned this month. This is the first of the five orange envelopes in your contribution pack. This collection supports the priests of the parish and the bishop and is one of five special collections held each year. We are extremely grateful to all who support St. Patrick’s Parish and its priests financially. Your continued generosity in these difficult economic times is much appreciated. Thank you.

Youth Prayer Group
Come and join a Youth Prayer Group (16-35 yrs) between 7.00 and 8.00pm on Mondays in St. Mary’s Parish Centre (behind cinema). Contact Fr. Mark on 086 600 5402 or Sean on 086 234 8361. Please join us for prayer, reflection, chat and friendship. For more information contact info@youth2000.ie or see our website at www.youth2000.ie.

Healing Service
Come along and experience the healing power of God’s love in St. Fiacre’s Church, Loughboy on this Thursday, 14th October commencing at 7.30pm. Bring a friend.

Knights of St Columbanus
As an order of Catholic laymen the Knights of St. Columbanus welcomes practicing Catholics over 18 years of age.  We invite you to attend an information evening at Villa Maria, Freshford Road, Kilkenny on Monday 11th October at 8.00pm. If you cannot attend and wish to know more please call Peter on 087 237 3043 or Brian on 086 085 3242 or log on to www.knightsofstcolumbanus.ie

Conscience, Church and Society 
Cardinal Newman, as a result of his recent beatification, has received great attention lately.  It is well deserved.  He was a profound thinker and much of what he had to say has a lot to offer us now.  Therefore, on Monday, 18th October at 8pm in St Patrick's Parish Centre in a lecture entitled Cardinal Newman: Conscience, Church and Society : What it is that Cardinal Newman's understanding of conscience can offer to our Church and Society today the Rev. Dr. Tom Norris will explore Cardinal Newman’s understanding of conscience and what it can offer to our Church and Society today.   Admission is free. All are welcome.

Weekly Envelope Collection
The envelope collection last week amounted to: €1,350. Contributions by standing orders amounted to €3,623.81 during September.

Learn Guitar for Free
Have a guitar? Can’t play it?? Want to learn??? The talented guitarists from the 12.30 Youth Choir are giving free lessons every Monday at 7.00pm in the Parish Centre. The lessons are fun and easy and we aim to repeat last year’s success where the budding musicians gathered for Mass on Christmas Day and we had a wonderful liturgy. Show up on Monday at the Parish Centre.

Evening of Prayer
A Medjugorje Evening of Prayer including the rosary, Mass and adoration and prayer for healing will be held at the Mill Hill House, Waterford Road on Monday, 11th October beginning at 8.00pm. All welcome.

Eucharistic Congress 2012
Bishop Freeman invites all the priests, religious and lay people, especially those involved in pastoral ministry (Parish Councils, Liturgy Groups, Lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, Adoration Groups, St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society, etc.) to a meeting to launch the Diocese of Ossory preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress 2012.
The meeting will take place at St. Kieran’s College on Thursday, 21st October at 7.30pm.

Adoration
There will be an hour of adoration and prayer in honour of Divine Mercy in the Capuchin Friary Church on Sunday, 10th October from 3.00 - 4.00 pm. All welcome.

Google Maps
Check out the Parish Centre in all it’s glory on the new ‘Street View’ offered by Google Maps. Just type in ‘Bohernatounish Road, Kilkenny’ and click on our approximate location. Why not look to see if your own house is also pictured? Well done Google!

Speech and Drama
Classes from 4.00 - 5.00pm every Tuesday at the Parish Centre. Girls from 9 upwards welcome. Contact Margaret on 086 249 9329.

Kilkenny Flower Club
The club will meet in Butler House on Thursday 14th October, at 8 p.m. The demonstration will be by Maura Donnelly, always an inspiring floral artist. All welcome.

Co. Kilkenny Horticultural Society
Creative Gardening with Containers - Lecture and Slide Show, by Hester Ford R.H.S.I. in the Club House Hotel, on Wednesday 13th October at 7.30pm sharp. Admission €5. Plant Sale. All welcome.

Monthly Newsletter
James Stephen’s GAA Club is launching a new monthly e-newsletter. If you wish to be included please send your email address to
villageEnewsletter@gmail.com.
Bag Packing Weekend: James Stephen’s has secured a bag packing week-end in Dunnes Stores on Thursday, 14th, Friday 15th and all day Saturday, 16th October. We need all hands on deck so if any Village parents or adults have 2 hours to spare please contact Tony Scanlon (087 262 2321) to book your slot over the weekend.

Soccer Tournament
An intercultural soccer tournament will be held in the Watershed Campus on Saturday, 16th October.  Between 12 and 15 teams are expected to take part in this inaugural family day, followed by a social evening for everyone. Those interested in participating should contact Niamh from Kilkenny Recreation & Sports Partnership: email Niamh@krsp.ie or 056 772 0870 for information.

Kilkenny Sessions Concert
Set Theatre, Saturday 23rd October at 8pm. Performing on the night will be: Anthony McAuley (Fiddle), Jim Maher (Seanachai/Bodhran), John Touhy (Uileann Pipes), Liam Moor (Guitar/Vocals), Tommy Lanigan (Bodhran/Vocals), Paddy Cleere (Bazouki/Banjo/Vocals), Mick Foley (Uileann Pipes), and more. MC for the night is Malcolm Noonan. Contact 087 958 2127 for tickets (€12.50 each). All proceeds to Enable Ireland, O’Neill Centre, Kilkenny.

Mission Month
October is Mission Month. Please remember the missions in your prayers.

Special Awards Night
James Stephens CLG is holding a special U-14 & U-16 double championship medals/awards celebration night in the clubrooms on FRIDAY 22nd October 2010 at 7.30pm sharp. A very special guest will be attending to make the presentations to the U-14/16 championship winning panels along with a special photograph to be taken of all Village ALL STAR winners (some real former/current Village greats). It's the place to be so come along for a great night in the club to celebrate the fantastic current Village hurlers on this great season in 2010 and also acknowledge the fantastic achievements of the All Star Village greats like Phil 'Fan' Larkin, Brian Cody, Mick Crotty, Joe Hennessy, Brian McEvoy, Philip Larkin, Liam “Chunky” O'Brien, Peter Barry, Eoin Larkin and Jackie Tyrrell.

The Mayfair
The Mayfair Ballroom Anniversary Dance Hotel Kilkenny Sunday 24th October with Showband legends: Paddy Hanrahan, Art Supple and Sonny Cullen, Special Guest: Kevin O’Dwyer as Elvis. Music By The Marble City Sounds. Contact 087 9582127 for tickets (€12.50 each). All proceeds to Enable Ireland, O’Neill Centre, Kilkenny.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 3rd October 2010

Day for Life 2010
This Sunday is Day for Life 2010, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition. This year’s theme is the meaning of Christian death and care for those who are dying - Lord for your faithful people, Life is changed, not ended. A Pastoral Letter has been published by the Irish Bishops and this is available with some video resources on the Irish Bishops’ website – www.catholicbishops.ie.  Video resources include an interview with Bishop John Fleming, Bishop of Killala and interview and reflection with Marie Gribbons, a chaplain at St Francis Hospice in Raheny, Dublin.
In his 1995 Encyclical Letter, Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), the late Pope John Paul II proposed that “a day for life be celebrated each year in every country”. The primary purpose of this day should be “to foster in individual consciences, in families, in the Church, and in civil society, a recognition of the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition” (EV #85).
The Bishops of Ireland responded to this invitation by announcing an annual celebration of Day for Life. Since 2001, the Bishops have published a Pastoral Letter every October celebrating a different theme for each Day for Life.
Since 2001, the following themes have been chosen to celebrate the Catholic Church’s annual Day for Life:
2006: Celebrating the life and presence of people with disabilities in the Church and in society
2007: Blessed is the fruit of your womb – dedicated to protecting all human life
2008: Mental Health - Mental ill-health can happen to anyone
2009: Focus on suicide, particularly the pastoral dimensions of this difficult and sensitive subject
2010: Focus on the meaning of Christian death
Some copies of this year’s pastoral are available at our churches and it may be downloaded from www.catholicbishops.ie

Anniversary Masses
Those wishing to book anniversary Masses on particular dates are advised to do so as early as possible as available Mass times fill up quickly. Those who just want a name to be mentioned as part of the anniversary list need not enclose money for this.
We will assume that those who enclose money with Mass requests but do not specify a particular date do in fact want a Mass offered for the deceased person. In such cases we will forward the stipend to Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic Church charity we support with excess Mass stipends from the parish.

Confirmation Dates
The bishop has announced that our parish celebration will be on Saturday, 9th April 2011 while the celebration for those attending Gaelscoil Osraí will be on Saturday, 14th May 2011. We look forward to preparing with the young people in our parish.

First Holy Communion Dates
The following dates have been chosen for the celebration of First Holy Communion in our parish next year.
7th May St. Patrick’s De La Salle School
14th May St. John of God’s School
15th May Kilkenny School Project
28th May Gaelscoil Osraí
As a parish we begin to prepare with the children this weekend. The candidates will be enrolled in the Do This In Memory programme at the 10.30am (Gaelscoil Osraí & Kilkenny School Project) and 11.00am (St. Patrick’s De La Salle & St. John of God) Masses on this Sunday. Please pray regularly for the children, their families and teachers as they prepare to celebrate First Eucharist.

St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society
The monthly meeting of the St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society will take place in the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre immediately after the 10.30 Mass (St. Fiacre’s Church) on Friday, 9th October 2010. New members very welcome.

Pray for the Deceased
Recently Deceased: Paddy Wallace, Fr. Albert Place and late of Castleinch. Funeral prayers at Hehir’s Funeral Home at 6.30pm on Sunday followed by removal to St. Patrick’s Church. Requiem Mass at 11.00am on Monday followed by burial in Foulkstown. Rosary at Hehir’s Funeral Home at 8.00pm on Saturday.
Helen Lynch, Drakelands Middle. Funeral prayers at her home at 6.30pm on Sunday followed by removal to St. Mary’s Cathedral. Requiem Mass at 11.00am on Monday followed by burial at Foulkstown Cemetery.
Joe Renehan, formerly 14A St. Patrick’s Close. Patrick Darcy, St. Francis Terrace. Kathleen Bolger, Newpark Drive. Joan Maher, Tullamore. Jimmy Harold, 21B Dominic Street.
Months Mind: Ellen Reid (Sun 12.30)
Anniversaries: James Bambrick (Sat 6.15), Sr. Gregory Ryan (Sat 7.00), Dan Gorey (Sun 10.00), Ann Roche (Sun 11.00), John Casey (Sun 12.00), John & Mary O’Connell (Thursday 9.30), John Casey, Tom O’Neill, Seamus Cullen, Bridget McKenna, Billy & Patty Reinhardt.
Intentions for Next Weekend: Eugene & Paddy Somers (Sat 6.15), The Byrne Family (Sat 7.00), Bill Hackett (Months Mind Sun 10.30), Joanie Waters (Sun 11.00), Evelyn Coppinger (Sun 12.00), Nicola Conway (Sun 12.30).

October Rosary
Members of the Legion of Mary will offer the rosary at the Seville Lodge Grotto, Callan Road each Sunday during October at 3pm.

Our Lady of Kilkenny Rosary
The monthly rosary on the first Sunday in James Green at the statue of Our Lady of Kilkenny continues this Sunday 3rd October at 3pm. All welcome.

1st Saturday Devotion
This devotion will take place at St. Fiacre’s Church on this Saturday, 2nd October after 6.15pm Mass and will continue until 9pm. All are welcome to come and join in this monthly devotion.

Child Protection Training
Those who missed the training in our parish are invited to St. John’s Parish Centre on Thursday at 7pm for training.
This course is compulsory for all parish volunteers and staff who work with children.

Get to Know Your Bible
A course ‘An introduction to the Bible - The Bible in its context’ will be given at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre by Sr. De Lourdes Sheridan starting on Tuesday 12th October for 6 weeks from 10am to 12.30pm. Costs €5 per session.

Parish Website
We have added some video concerning vocations to our parish website plus a vocations page which features a quite cool song played by a young priests’ band. Check it out on our website at www.patricksparish.com.
Please tell your friends - especially those away from home - that they can check on parish activity on our website. Suggestions about our website are welcome. Contact Fr. Liam.

Edmund Rice Centre
The Mass for the blessings of Edmund Rice on our lives and for his canonisation will be celebrated in Westcourt at 7.30pm on Monday, 4th October. The Kilkenny Catholic Nurses’ Guild will organise the Liturgy. The blessing of hands will take place during the liturgy. All are very welcome.

October Station Collection
The October Station envelope is due this month. This is the first of the five orange envelopes in your contribution pack.
This collection supports the priests of the parish and the bishop and is one of five special collections held each year.
We are extremely grateful to all who support us financially particularly in these tough economic times. Thanks once again.

Weekly Envelope Collection
The envelope collection last week amounted to: €1705 . Much thanks.

CBS Secondary School
AGM of CBS Secondary School Parents’ Council on Thursday, 7th Oct at 7.30pm in the school. Brian Cody will give a talk at 8pm. All welcome.

Village Double County Champs
Congratulations to the Village U14 and U16 panels on winning the Roinn A hurling championships for the first time since 1987.

Village New E-Newsletter
James Stephens GAA is moving into a new area of communications with the launch of a new monthly e-newsletter. This newsletter will be sent by to all players, members, supporters, parish people and club followers abroad each month. If you wish to be included on the circulation database list please send your e-mail address to villageEnewsletter@gmail.com

Hearing Help and Lip-Reading
Classes will start on Monday, 4th October from 8.00 to 10.00pm and Wednesday, 6th October from 10.30am to 12.30pm for 8 weeks.  Venue: Citizens Information Centre, The Parade.  Info: 086 809 4658. All welcome.

Olympic Handball
A new sports club is being established in Kilkenny in the form of Olympic Handball. The club, which aims to train and compete in national competitions, is looking for new members. Olympic Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players (six outfield and a goalkeeper) pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team. The team with the most goals after two periods of 30 minutes wins. Open training is on Thursdays from 5.45 to 7.00pm in St Kieran’s College Sports Hall with another training time to be announced very soon. Contact Benny at bennyoregan@yahoo.ie or 086 203 0940.

Loughboy Library
Summer Reading Challenge: children who completed the Space Hop Reading Challenge are invited to a celebration in the Newpark Hotel on Monday, 11th October. Please ensure that you return your card to the library so that you will receive your invitation in the post.
Computer classes - the library has now added a morning class to its schedule so if you would like to enrol for some free computer classes while the children are at school this could be your chance. Courses are available in first aid, CPR and book-keeping amongst others. Book club meets this Thursday at 10.30am and new members are always welcome.

Hospice Week
Susie Long Hospice Week 11-17 Oct 2010
As part of Hospice week “Touch Therapy & See what really matters”, a demonstration and explanation of Comfort Touch Therapy by complementary practitioner Denise O’Connell and a practical workshop exploring ways to enrich your daily life, with life coach Siobhan Sims, takes place at the Ormonde Hotel on Tuesday 12th October at 7pm. Admission is free, donations to the Susie Long Hospice Fund are welcome. www.susielonghospice.com or phone 087 2070737


Questions People Ask
Q. How is it that those places most associated with reading the Bible have produced the most bigoted people on earth, backing self-righteousness, apartheid and colour discrimination?
A. People of the book focus entirely on their sacred book apart from the wisdom of the wider community. The Scribes and Pharisees made this mistake in their time. Christian fundamentalists, Islamic fundamentalists and followers of the Communist Red Book followed suit. People then select those texts which back up their own ideas and miss the total picture. Even the devil selected biblical texts in tempting Jesus. Referees who meticulously follow the book infuriate players and spectators when they do not let common sense prevail. Beware of the man of the one book!
Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap

Right Spirit
Made to measure medicine is just around the corner. A corner that’s about a decade always, that is. According to the scientist who led the Human Genome Project, most of us in the affluent world will have our genetic codes sequenced by then for less than €800. Knowing our genetic code, a doctor could then prescribe drugs more safely and effectively. I wonder can a gene affect a soul, or spirit – that part of us that doesn’t show up even under the most intense scans, or the most powerful of microscopes? It’s strange then that in today’s First Reading (Hab 1:2-3, 2:2-4) – dating from about 600 BC – the prophet Habakkuk could shrewdly note ‘the spirit of the proud is not right in them’ (2:4). There’s something wrong with them; something askew inside them. But I doubt if knowing their DNA sequence would right their spirit. When it comes to having a right spirit inside us I’d say right parents are needed. A survey by the Catholic Children’s Society of the Westminster Diocese reported that an average people give one hour daily to primetime TV shows, but only 49 minutes daily to their children. Some 68 percent of parents said that their need for money was the reason for giving so little time to their children. The Catholic Children’s Society said that from experience they know that children need relational they know that children need relational stability, the self-esteem that comes from feeling valued for who they are and knowing they’re loved by their parents. DNA is undoubtedly important: Deeply Needed Attention, that is.
Fr. Tom Cahill SVD

COURSES AT MOUNT ST. ANNE'S,
KILLENARD, PORTARLINGTON
Scripture Course commences on Wednesday 6th October for 11weeks.  8pm - 9.30pm.  No charge - voluntary contribution.
Julian of Norwich Day - Saturday 9th October, 2010. 10am - 4pm.  Facilitated by Ms. Vera Coughlan.  Cost 50 euro including lunch.
Centring Prayer - Saturday 23rd October, 2010. 10am - 4pm.  Facilitated by Fr. Tom Hammill.  Cost: 50 euro including lunch
Dream Workshop Weekend - Friday 29th to Sunday 31st October, 2010.  An introduction to the art of interpreting our dreams. Facilitated by Sr. Mairead Murphy.  Cost: 180 euro residential or 110 non-residential.
Meditation every Tuesday night from 8pm - 9pm.  No charge - voluntary contribution.
Art and Craft every Thursday night from 8pm - 10pm.  Come along and share the fun and the skills, including Crochet, Photography, Art, Cardmaking - the list is endless!
Bookings/Enquiries:  The Secretary, Mount St. Anne's  057-8626153 or email: msannes@eircom.net

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 26th September 2010

Pope’s Visit to the UK
Pope Benedict XVI's trip to the United Kingdom has been declared a success by the Vatican, the government and even many critics. Undoubtedly these results point to the amount of prayer that supported the trip. The Pope got an inside look at that prayerful support while he was in England. Graham Hutton of the charity group Aid to the Church in Need presented the Pontiff with a leather-bound book of 7,224 benefactors who had promised prayer in the run-up to the visit. “I was presented to the Holy Father, along with about 20 others, after his private morning Mass at the nunciature and before his visit to St. Mary’s College, Twickenham,” Hutton explained. “I was able to explain briefly what the book contained and to show a few pages of it to the Holy Father who smiled his beautiful smile and expressed his gratitude.” The benefactors - who are supporters of Aid to the Church in Need - promised to say more than 32,000 decades of the rosary and spend the equivalent of 137 days in Eucharistic adoration. More than 11,000 Masses were offered as well. The names of those included in the book were divided into four main sections, England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Also listed in a small section at the end were 71 benefactors from overseas countries, including New Zealand, Japan and the United States.

Pope’s Visit - A Review
A special programme will be broadcast this Sunday evening, 26th September at 7.30 pm on BBC1 television.  It will review Pope Benedict's visit to Britain through the eyes of Francis Campbell, Irish born Catholic and British Ambassador to the Holy See. The programme offers a first hand and unique insight into the visit.

Kilkenny Christian Brothers’ School
This weekend we congratulate the Kilkenny Christian Brothers’ School on 150 years of service to the educational needs of young Kilkenny boys. The school opened its doors for the first time on 24th September 1860.

Confirmation Dates
Earlier this week the bishop announced the dates of Confirmation in the Diocese of Ossory during 2011. Our parish celebration will be on Saturday, 9th April 2011 while the celebration for those attending Gaelscoil Osraí will be on Saturday, 14th May 2011.
The dates for Parish First Holy Communions will be finalised during the coming week.

Mass of Thanksgiving
The management, staff, pupils of the St. John of God School invite all to a celebration of Mass to mark the opening of the new school year and to give thanks for the life and work of the late Mrs Nicola Lynas. Mrs Lynas, who died suddenly in June, was a staff member at the school for 17 years. All parents and past pupils are invited to attend. The Mass will be at St. Patrick’s Church at 7.30pm on Friday, 8th October.

Pray For Our Deceased FriendsRecently Deceased: Sr. Mary Clifford, St. John of God Community. Anne Shortall, Shellumsrath. Denis Curtis, Wexford. Sheila Bergin, Newpark.
Anniversaries: Kevin Dowling [We also pray for Kevin’s brothers Dan (Coventry) and Ned (New Zealand) who died during the past week] (Sat 6.15). Patrick Traynor (Sat 7.00). The Byrne Family (Sun 9.30). Ann Kavanagh (Sun 10.00). Stella O’Rourke (Sun 10.30). Julie Foley (Sun 11.00), Peter Gaule (Sun 12.00). Sandra O’Neill (Sun 12.30). Ann & Michael Doyle (Mon 9.30). Arthur & Gretta Somers, Terry Kelly, Anastasia Buckley, Anastasia Ayres, Michael Doyle, Elizabeth Connick, Rory O’Connor, Stephen O’Connor, Molly Browne, Margaret Morris, Kathleen Murphy, Mark Nugent.
Intentions for next weekend: James Bambrick (Sat 6.15), Sr. Gregory Ryan (Sat 7.00), Dan Gorey (Sun 10.00), Ann Roche (Sun 11.00), John Casey (Sun 12.00), Ellen Reid (Sun 12.30 Months Mind).
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

First Friday Visits
Next Friday is the first Friday of October. The sick and the housebound will be visited at the usual times. Names may be added to the list by calling the Parish Office on 056 776 4400.

First Holy Communion Meeting
There will be a meeting for parents of next year’s First Holy Communion candidates at 7.00pm on Monday in the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre. This meeting will outline the Do This In Memory programme. This programme has been prepared by Fr. Martin Delaney (Ossory) and Maeve Mahon (Kildare and Leighlin) and is used extensively throughout Ireland to involve parish, school and home in the preparation for First Holy Communion. A new book has been prepared for this year’s programme which will help young people to learn about the Mass, understand the readings and know the responses.

Get to Know Your Bible
A course titled ‘An introduction to the Bible - The Bible in its context’ will be given at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre by Sr. De Lourdes Sheridan starting on Tuesday 12th October for 6 weeks. The course will run from 10am to 12.30 pm and costs €5 per session.

1st Saturday Devotion
This devotion will take place at St. Fiacre’s Church on Saturday, 2nd October after 6.15pm Mass and will continue until 9pm.

Meditation in Peace in Christ
Christian Meditation has now resumed in Peace in Christ Retreat House, Sion Road, every Wednesday at 4pm. New members welcome.

Weekly Envelope Collection
Last weekend’s envelope collection amounted to €1,465.00. Many thanks.

Church Gate Collection
The Good Shepherd Centre would like to sincerely thank all who contributed to their recent collection which raised €3,199.
Enable Ireland. O’Neill Centre
Enable Ireland/O’Neill Centre has had a number of calls from parents/friends of the centre advising that they have received calls from a man asking for a donation/selling raffle tickets. These calls are bogus. Please do not give any money to anyone who rings. All fundraising events that benefit us here in the O’Neill Centre take place with our knowledge and consent and for which we are most dependent and grateful.

Understanding and Protecting your Mental Health
Presenter: Dr. Fergus Heffernan
Venue: Village Business Centre Patrick Street
A once-off 2 hour education programme
Time: 10am to 12 noon & 8pm to 10pm on Wednesday 29th September. 10am to 12 noon & 8pm to 10pm on Thursday 30th September. Cost €10. Numbers are limited, booking essential. For booking and further information contact Fergus at 087 927 7479.

Loreto School Enrolment
Applications for enrolment in Loreto Secondary School for 1st Year Class for 2011/20112 should be made between 4th Oct 2010 and 18th October 2010. Application forms may be obtained from the secondary school office or www.lotetokk.ie

Health Care Courses
FETAC Level 5 Health Care Courses: Care Support; Care Skills and Occupational First Aid commencing shortly. Funding may be available if you are in receipt of a Social Welfare Payment. To register your interest e-mail info@visiontraining.ie or call 086 170 4157.

Patsy Cline Tribute Night
Great evening promised in The Set Theatre on Sunday, 26th at 8.00pm. Proceeds to St. John’s Parish.

Bridge Lessons
Starting in the Kilkenny Bridge Centre on Wednesday, 29th and Thursday, 20th September at 8.45pm. All are welcome.

The Kilkenny Carnegie Library
Three local history talks that may be of interest are included in the programme of events planned to celebrate the centenary of the Carnegie Library at John's Quay, Kilkenny.  Mr Brendan Grimes, author of Irish Carnegie Libraries: a catalogue & architectural history will speak on the History of Carnegie Libraries with special emphasis on Kilkenny - Tuesday 28 September at 7pm, John's Quay. Dr Kevin Whelan, will speak on the History of Hurling in Kilkenny before the GAA - Tuesday 12 October at 7pm, John's Quay. Professor Thomas Kilroy, playwright and novelist, will be reading from his memoirs about growing up in Co. Kilkenny - Wednesday 27 October at 7pm, John's Quay.

School of Contemplative Prayer
You are invited to a monastic school of contemplative prayer for laity through the story and Little Way of St. Thérèse. First meeting on Sunday, 3rd October at 3.00pm at Carmelite Monastery, Tallow, Co. Waterford. Email: carmeltallow@eircom.net for further information.

Questions People Ask
Q. At the time when the Church is struggling, I often wonder why doesn’t God perform some great miracles to bring people back.
A. While we are struggling in Western Europe, remember that the Church is youthful and vibrant in many parts of the world. As for miraculous signs, critics will always find reasons to reject or doubt them. When Jesus performed miracles those who did not believe remained unconvinced. Some said his power came from the devil! Jesus put it like this: ‘If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.
Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap

Volunteers Needed
Help Young People Avoid Drug Abuse:  St. Patrick's Parish has been involved in an initiative to try and show those preparing for Confirmation in the parish that their faith and the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in Confirmation can be a reality in helping them to avoid drug use. Please contact Mel Bay of Ossory Youth on 087 984 5019 if you are interested in helping with this year’s programme.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 19th September 2010

Little Things Mean A Lot
Somebody described a diamond as a lump of coal that did well under pressure. Not so for dandelion seeds. Under pressure, recently, they caused problems. A train travelling from Halifax, West Yorkshire to King’s Cross, London, had its engines clogged by drifting dandelion seeds. These spindly, puffy parachutes blocked the air filters in four of its five engines. The mighty machine could only inch ignominiously into King’s Cross station. Even more troublesome were the grains of fine ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. Consisting of pulverised rock and glass, such as can wreak havoc on planes. Sandblasting windscreens, they effectively ‘blind’ pilots. They pit fuselages, damage landing lights, and clog sensors making air speed indicators unreliable. Being charged particles, they disrupt radio communication and even cause power failure. None of these pitted pellets of rock and glass is more than 2 millimetres in diameter. As the song says: little things mean a lot.
Had the manager in today’s Gospel (Luke 16: 1- 13) known that, he might have been more careful with his employer’s property. Caught in the mire of cheating, he sinks deeper into scheming and theft. Anyone crooked enough to go along with his dishonest ruse could hardly be relied upon to come to his help at a later date. Why should they? Honour among thieves? I doubt it. When life’s worries weigh us down, let’s remember the lump of coal. Pressure transformed it. It can transform us too. We’re already halfway there when we remember, if not the diamond then, the pearl of great price we carry within us: God’s Holy Spirit.
Fr. Tom Cahill SVD

Mass for Retired Teachers
The annual Mass for retired teachers will be celebrated at St. Fiacre’s Church at 10.30am on next Thursday, 23rd September 2010. Tea/Coffee will be served afterwards in St. Patrick’s Parish Centre. All are welcome. Come and join in prayer with our retired teachers.

Questions People Ask
Q. How can I answer my son who has me demented constantly criticising the Pope? He says that educated people today don’t need the Church to teach them how to live.
A. If he is so highly educated, ask him to read what the Pope has actually written. Challenge him to read the Encyclical Letter, Charity in Truth, which addresses the ethical questions underlying social injustice, the financial meltdown, rights and responsibilities, Third World poverty and hunger, the meaning of life.
The world would be a much better place if the Church’s social teaching was heeded. I find that most people who criticise the Pope have never actually read anything he wrote.
Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap

Pray for our Deceased FriendsRecently Deceased: Chrissie Scott, 10 Fr Hayden Road. Kathleen Beale, 45 Walkin Street. Mikhail Bak, Breagagh Place. Molly Denieffe, Fatima Place.
Month’s Mind: Billy O’Neill, Margaretsfield (Foulkstown Church at 4.00pm Saturday).
Anniversaries: Catherine & John Alley (Sat 6.15), Ciss Holland (Sat 7.00), Margaret Brennan (Sun 10.00), Margaret Jones (Sun 11.00), Mary Kelly (Sun 12.00), Paddy Johnston (Sun 12.30), Bob Roche & Jean Smith (Mon 9.30), Mary Kennedy & Marjorie Foskin (Tue 9.30), Fr. John Lennon (Sat 9.30), Bridget Cahill, Ger Kavanagh, Margaret Beehan, Anna Beale, William Hickey, Bob Roche, Jean Smith, Paddy Larkin, Jimmy Owens.
Intentions Next Weekend: Kevin Dowling (Sat 6.15), Patrick Traynor (Sat 7.00), The Byrne Family (Sun 9.30), Ann Kavanagh (Sun 10.00), Stella O’Rourke (Sun 10.30), Julie Foley (Sun 11.00), Peter Gaule (Sun 12.00), Sandra O’Neill (Sun 12.30).

Traditional Latin Mass
A traditional High Mass (sung) will be celebrated in St. Patrick's Church at 5.00 p.m. on Sunday, 19th September 2010. All are welcome.
Youth Choir Returns
Our parish youth choir, which provides music and song at the 12.30pm Sunday Mass at St. Patrick’s Church, returns following the Summer break on next Sunday, 26th September. New members are always welcome.

Guitar Lessons
Guitar lessons will recommence at St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on Monday, 27th September at 7.00pm. Contact Michelle at 056 776 4400 for further details.

Collection for St. Vincent De Paul
The monthly collection for the local conference of the Society of St. Vincent De Paul will be held at all Masses this weekend. Please give as generously as possible to this local group.
The local conference meets at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on Monday evenings from 8.00 to 9.00pm. The member on duty may be contacted in confidence on 087 681 0589.

Adult Folk Choir
We are delighted to have the Adult Folk Choir return to the Saturday evening 7.00 o’clock Mass at St. Patrick’s Church following their Summer break. The choir practices at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on Thursday evenings between 8.00 and 9.00 o’clock. New members are welcome.

More Music
The Saturday evening 6.15 choir at St. Fiacre’s Church have also returned. They practice at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre on Monday evenings from 8.00pm. All welcome.

Loughboy Library
Toddler Hour will commence on Thursday mornings at 11.30am from September 30th. This is a free amenity and will include interactive story time fun word games and colouring. Just turn up on the day.
Magazine Donations - don’t bin your old magazines - donate them to the library instead!

John Henry Cardinal Newman
This Sunday the Catholic Church rejoices at the beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman long held as one of the greatest Catholic minds. His writings are extensive and inspiring. For more information why not visit one of the many websites dedicated to the writings of Cardinal Newman: www.newmanreader.org/.
‘We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe.’
Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman
Complete live television coverage of the beatification airs on September 19th on EWTN. Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) can be watched on SKY (Channel 589) as well as on Chorus/UPC (Channel 815). Also free to air with a dish and receiver.

Patsy Cline - The Concert
This concert will be in Langton’s Set Theatre on Sunday, 26th September featuring Sandy Kelly and her band. All the old hits including Crazy, I Fall to Pieces, Your Cheating Heart, Sweet Dreams, Blue Moon and many more. Proceeds in aid of St. John’s Parish Funds. Tickets €22.50 are available at St. John’s Presbytery.

Congratulations
Well done to all involved in winning the Gold Medal for Kilkenny City in the All Ireland Tidy Towns Competition. Thanks to all civic minded people who helped in any way during the campaign. Let’s take pride in our city and keep Kilkenny as the tidiest large urban centre in Ireland.

Log on Learn Computer Classes
Computer classes are beginning in the Presentation Secondary School, Loughboy on Wednesday 13th October at 11am for 8 weeks. The programme involves transition year students helping older people in the community to start learning about the computer or to improve their computer skills. Internet and email and any other modules of interest to the learner will be covered. Anyone interested should contact the school secretary at 056 776 5684.

Art Classes Available
Art Classes in Kilkenny Art Café on Kieran Street. Advanced Classes from 10:00am – 12:00pm and Beginner Classes from 7:30pm – 9:00pm. For further information please contact Sonja on 083 394 1220 or 056 770 8155. Email: sonjavrsajkov@gmail.com.
Fáilte Isteach classes in Kilkenny
English language conversational classes for migrants will begin in the St. Mary’s Parish Hall in Kilkenny and we are looking for volunteer tutors for this project. No experience or qualifications necessary as training will be provided. A commitment of two hours per week is desirable. Info: Maura Hickey on 779 4921.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 12th September 2010

Farewell Fr. Rahul
On Wednesday of this week we must say a sad goodbye to Fr. Rahul Phillips who has been with us in the parish for the past month. Fr. Rahul, a native of Central India, is a member of the Pallottine Order and a student at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome. We have enjoyed his pastoral ministry and company and wish him God’s blessing as he returns to finish his course of studies in Rome.

Well Done the Cats
Congratulations to the Kilkenny Minor Hurling team on their fine win in last weekend’s All Ireland Final. We offer our commiserations to the senior hurlers who did the county proud not alone on last Sunday but on many occasions during the past ten years.

Diamond Jubilee Congratulations
Best wishes to Sr. Margaret Mary Phelan of the St. John of God Community on the College Road. Sr. Margaret Mary celebrated the diamond jubilee of her profession on last Tuesday.

Questions people ask
Q. May I receive Holy Communion twice in the same day, for instance if I attended two funerals.
I quote the Catechism: ‘The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion each time they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist’ (#1417). So, if you attend Mass twice, or even more often, in the same day, it is warmly recommended that you receive the Blessed Eucharist as the completion of your participation with the Lord. The law which restricted people from receiving no more that once a day came in when people were going from one altar to another for Communion without taking part in the full ceremony.

Divine Mercy
There will be an hour of prayer and adoration in honour of Divine Mercy in The Friary Church on Sunday September 12th from 3pm—4pm. All are welcome.
Pray for our Deceased FriendsRecently Deceased: John Cahill, Maidenhill; Bill Hackett, Beech Park; Joe O’Brien, 5 St. Fiacre’s Place; Mick Coffee, Michael Street; Ted Townsend, Dunnamaggin; May Walsh, Greenshill; Jacqui O’Brien, 37 Fr. Albert Place; Martin Shelly, Newpark.
Anniversaries: Mary & Paul Cody & Bill Marnell (Sat 6.15), Sean O’Keeffe (Sat 7.00), Ernie Harrington (Sun 10.00), Matt Dwyer (Sun 11.00), Catherine (Kit) Grace (Sun 12.00), Mary & Joan Bissett; Pat White (Wed 10.30), Patrick Morris (Sat 9.30), Michelle Reynolds, Maureen Holden, Bridget Curran, Enda Coady, Sharon McEvoy, Billy & Statia Tallent, Michael & Bridget Slattery, Rita McCarthy, Tom Little, Mary & Joan Bissett, The Cassin Family.
Intentions Next Weekend: Catherine & John Alley (Sat 6.15), Ciss Holland (Sat 7.000, Margaret Brennan (Sun 10.00), Mary Kelly (Sun 12.00), Paddy Johnston (Sun 12.30).

Kilkenny Bereavement Support
Celebrating 21 years of working in Kilkenny with a public lecture on Thursday, 16th September 2010 in Newpark Hotel at 8.00 p.m.  Dr. Susan Delaney of the Irish Hospice Foundation will speak on New Perspectives on Loss and Bereavement. All welcome. Admission free.

Camphill Communities
The annual Open Day at the Camphill Community in Ballytobin, near Callan, takes place on Sunday, 19th September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. Camphill Communities care for children and adults with a mental disability.

Afternoon Bridge
All are welcome to come along and try their hand at afternoon bridge.
Venue: St. Patrick’s Parish Centre.
Date: Tuesday 14th September.
Time: 3pm - 5pm.
No competition, no partner required. Enjoy two hours bridge every Tuesday. Contact: Reena on 056 776 2923.
An enjoyable afternoon guaranteed.

Volunteers Needed
Help Young People Avoid Drug Abuse:  The use of alcohol and other drugs, whether legal or illegal, is becoming more and more commonplace in society and especially amongst our young people. Over the past two years St. Patrick's Parish has been involved in an initiative to try and show those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation in the parish that their faith and the gifts of the Holy Spirit received in at Confirmation can be a reality in helping them to avoid drug use. The initiative is developed in co-operation with Ossory Youth, the diocesan youth service, and so far has shown good results. We are now looking for adult volunteers who are interested in working on this initiative. Ideally we would like someone with experience of working with young people or someone with experience of drugs education but maybe someone is planning a career change and would like to gain experience working with young people. Or perhaps someone would simply like to help the young people of the parish. The really important thing is for them to want to help young people to avoid drug problems. The initiative runs every Monday night for about 18 weeks between October and March each year. Volunteers would be provided with training and the support necessary and be working alongside Mel Bay of Ossory Youth’s Kilkenny Drugs Initiative.
If you are interested please contact Mel Bay of Ossory Youth on 087 984 5019 or mbay@ossoryyouth.com

Loughboy Library
Free online courses including ECDL, first-aid, office safety and project management are available. Up-to-date details of local adult education opportunities including VEC, DTEI, Pitman College, Enterprise Board, JobFitters and LARC courses available at Loughboy Library.

Dochas Nasamu
The Irish Run Aids orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya is holding a used clothing appeal of used adult and children’s clothing. Soft toys also accepted on Wednesday, 15th June, before 12 noon, at the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre Carpark. For further information, please contact Marie on 087 689 0995.

Assessment & Guidance Programme
Career 2 Fit Assessment and Guidance Programme at Noreside Education Centre, 5 John’s Quay, Kilkenny. Are you unemployed for 3 months or more? Are you educated to Leaving Certificate Standard? If you fit those two criteria, please contact Noreside Education Centre on 056 777 0790. If you are interested in changing your career path call us Monday to Friday between 9.00am and 5.00pm (lunch 1.00pm to 2.00pm). Ask for Caroline, Liz or Ann-Marie for details. A One Day Workshop takes place on 23rd September at Noreside Education Centre, and there are 12 places available. Contact us to enrol on this worthwhile Career Orientation Programme

‘Tea-ing’ Off
You’ve heard of black tea, green tea, herbal tea, and high tea. Well now there’s philosophical tea. A new fad is sweeping La France. There, children as young as eight are acquiring a taste for philosophical tea. Difficult though it may be to swallow at this remove, nevertheless, many parents in France want their children to cut their metaphysical ‘munchers’ on heavy issues over light refreshments. Children, they believe, should be encouraged to debate life’s mysteries from the time they discover the words ‘what’ and ‘why’ to give them an early handle on a complex world. The tea parties are held in cafes, public libraries and homes. Cakes and fruit juices feature prominently to sweeten debates drizzled with Descartes, sprinkled with Socrates, or piquant with Plato. No more than ten kiddies form a party. They vote on the topic of choice for a day and plunge into profundity with a vengeance.
Our brat in today’s Gospel reading (Luke 15:1-32) aka The Prodigal Son also plunges into profundity – but not by choice. He isn’t interested in insight, or in grappling with life’s mysteries. All he wants are life’s pleasures. He gets them, such as they are, and – surprise, surprise – ends up more miserable than he was before he had them. Had he developed a taste for philosophical tea he might have fared better. We are blessed with the most complex organ in the universe. It’s called a brain. Surprising how long it takes for some to find it.

Art Classes Available
Art Classes in Kilkenny Art Café on Kieran Street. Advanced Classes from 10:00am – 12:00pm and Beginner Classes from 7:30pm – 9:00pm. For further information please contact Sonja on 083 394 1220 or 056 770 8155. Email: sonjavrsajkov@gmail.com.

Fáilte Isteach classes in Kilkenny
English language conversational classes for migrants will begin in the St. Mary’s Parish Hall in Kilkenny and we are looking for volunteer tutors for this project. No experience or qualifications necessary as training will be provided. A commitment of two hours per week is desirable. Info: Maura Hickey on 779 4921.


Parish Registration
If you are new to our parish, then welcome. If you have not joined us in a while, then welcome too.
We strive to keep an accurate and up to date record of our parish and so we invite all who wish to do so to register with us. We are delighted with the response during the past three weeks.
In recent weeks we have a had a number of people applying for references and other information from the parish and in most cases, we had no record or knowledge of them. We may know grandparents, parents or some family members, but there’s nothing better than being registered yourself.
Fill out the form below (newsletter edition) and send it back and we will reply with an acknowledgement. Alternatively, if you're living in our parish and wish to send in your details, Name, address etc by email, we will be happy to register you.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, 5th September, 2010

Come on the Cats
We join in wishing the Kilkenny hurling teams all the best in this weekend’s All Ireland Hurling Finals. In particular we offer our best wishes to parishioners Brian Cody, Jackie Tyrell and Eoin Larkin with the senior panel and Richie Mulrooney with the minors. We hope they will play their part in bringing the silver ware to Kilkenny on Monday evening.

Whole-Hearted
You hear them in the street, on buses and on trains: mobile phone conversations. They can be annoying; for two reasons at least. First, some users of phones seem to think it necessary to shout into them presumably because of the distance between themselves and those at the other end. Second, you get only a ‘halfalogue’ – one side of the conversation. Scientists at Cornell University, New York, claim that hearing only one half of a conversation is more draining on one’s attention than hearing all of it. They experimented with students who were given concentration exercises while hearing one or two speakers on mobile phones. Their conclusion: people are less able to divert their attention from a half-heard conversation than from a fully hear one. Half of anything rarely satisfies. It can even be irksome. It’s the whole hog or nothing. The same can be said for half-hearted effort. Take today’s Gospel reading for example (Luke 14:25-33). It ends on a note that could be sombre, or joyful, depending on the generosity of one’s response to it: ‘None of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.’ What a prospect! You can’t follow Jesus half-heartedly. It’s total commitment, or no commitment. To put flesh on that, it means there can be no Jesus-free zones in my life; that nothing in life is more important than the values he holds out to me. Therefore, I don’t sacrifice these, ever, for anything else. I wonder how many of us get that part of the conversation.
Fr. Tom Cahill SVD

Questions People Ask
Q. Saint Paul told slaves to obey their masters. Why didn’t he speak out against the evils of slavery?
A. In Paul’s day slaves were often better off than free citizens. Because slave-owners wanted healthy servants, their slaves were more assured of food and lodgings than many of the free. Some students of Paul’s life maintain that his parents were slaves who were granted freedom and Roman citizenship when they grew too old to work, a cheap way out for their masters. In today’s Second Reading Paul appeals to the Christian master, Philemon, to take back the runaway slave, Onesimus, no longer as a slave but as a brother in Christ.
Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap

Pray for our Deceased Friends
Recently Deceased: Peter Paul Dowling, Johnswell. Liam Brennan, Ballyfoyle. Ellen (Dolly) Reid, Fr. Hayden Road.
Anniversaries: Ann Marie Manogue (sat 6.15), Jim Ryan (Sat 7.00), Jim (Moscow) Larkin (Tue 9.30), Terrence O’Shaughnessy (Tue 10.30), Joe Dunne, Billy Burke, Beezie (Brigid) Slattery, Rex & Constance Nolan.
Intentions Next Week: Mary & Paul Cody & Bill Marnell Sat 6.15), Sean O’Keeffe (Sat 7.00), Ernie Harrington (Sun 10.00), Matt Dwyer (Sun 11.00), Catherine Grace (Sun 12.00). May they rest in peace.

First Saturday Devotion
Adoration and prayer will begin after the 6.15pm Mass in St. Fiacre’s Church on this Saturday, 4th September and end at 9.00pm. All are welcome.

St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society
The Annual General Meeting of the St. Patrick’s Parish branch of the St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society will take place on Friday, 10th September in the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre immediately after the 10.30am Mass in St. Fiacre’s Church. Our Diocesan President Marian Fennelly will address the meeting. It is hoped all members will attend.
Monthly Rosary
The monthly rosary on the first Sunday of the month in James Green at the statue of our Lady of Kilkenny continues on this Sunday at 3.00pm. All welcome.

Edmund Rice Centre Callan
September Monday Evening Mass: The Mass for the blessings of Edmund Rice on our lives and for his canonisation will be celebrated in Westcourt on Monday, 6th September 2010 at 7.30pm. All are very welcome.

Relic of the Holy Face
Veneration of the Relic of the Holy Face will take place at St. Fiacre’s Church on Wednesday, 8th September at 7.30pm. There will be a talk afterwards in Parish Centre by Human Life International (Ireland) on why they are promoting this devotion. Tea/coffee available.

Adult Literacy Awareness
The National Adult Literacy Awareness Week takes place from 6th to 10th September 2010. The theme for the week is ‘Skills for Life’.
Word Aid, the Co. Kilkenny Adult Learning Scheme, has a unique role to play in the context of assisting people improve their reading, writing, spelling, numeracy and computing skills while at the same time building their confidence and self esteem, in the hope of enabling them to access further education and training courses.
Word Aid offers help to adults (over 16 who have completed full time education) experiencing difficulties with reading, writing, spellings, maths or computer skills. Help is also offered to adults preparing for the Driver Theory Test.
The service is available in Kilkenny City and at outreaches around the county. Classes can be arranged to suit the individual, daytime or evenings, where the person can learn what they want at their own pace in a relaxed atmosphere, either alone with a tutor (1 - 1) or in a small group. The service is free and confidential. For further information telephone 056 776 3149 or call to our new address: 43, Upper Patrick Street, Kilkenny.

S.O.S. Meeting
S.O.S. is a service for adults with a mild to moderate intellectual disability. S.O.S. is setting up a new scheme called home share where an adult with an intellectual disability could have a short break with a family.
If you are interested in offering a person with an intellectual disability a short break in your home and would like to know more there will be an information evening in S.O.S. on Thursday, 9th September from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
You can ring Kathleen Sherry on 776 4000 or email ksherry@soskilkenny.com for more information.

Camphill Open Day
The Camphill Community, Ballytobin, Callan will hold an Open Day on Sunday, 19th September. Festivities start at 2.00pm. The Camphill community cares for children and adults with special needs.

Loughboy Library
Free Computer Classes: Are you bored? Do you have two hours to spare? Would you like to improve your PC skills? Loughboy Library, in partnership with FAS, are providing free online computer classes on Monday and Thursday afternoons. All are eligible. For bookings contact the Library at 779 4176.
Exhibition: the ladies of KK Art Group are exhibiting their works at the Library until 10thSeptember and then it’s the turn of Joe O’Toole, an art student at Ormonde College. Bookings are now being taken for this free facility for 2011.
Details of local adult education opportunities including VEC, BTEI, Pitman College, Enterprise Board and LARC courses are available at Loughboy Library. And we stock the Irish Independent every day.
Toddler Hour: This will commence on Thursday mornings at 11.30 from 30th September. This is a free facility and will include interactive story time and colouring. Parents/Carers: FAS is offering a basic first-aid online course. This could be your opportunity to sign up.

Opportunity for Graduates
A Department of Education approved TEFL Course  is to be held in Carlow. This will entail at 120+ hours.  Part time from September to November. For further information and bookings please contact ruth@englishlanguage.ie or telephone either of the following numbers 059 914 0227 or 087 618 7081.

Service of Healing
There will be a service of healing with Eddie Stones at the Capuchin Friary, Kilkenny on Friday, 10th September at 7.00pm. General prayers for healing, individual prayers, blessing. Mass will be celebrated at 9.00pm. All are welcome to come along and pray for healing.