Parish Advent Service
We conclude our series of Advent Services at St. Fiacre’s Church on next Thursday evening beginning at 7.30pm.
Advent is a time of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth and for his Second Coming at the end of time. We invite all to prepare by coming along to St. Fiacre’s Church on next Thursday evening. The time of prayer will include the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) and extra priests will be in church to help.
This will be an ideal opportunity to seek God’s forgiveness in our build up to Christmas. All welcome.
Christmas Carol Service
The annual Christmas Carol Service featuring the St. Patrick’s Parish Choirs and the St. Patrick’s Brass and Reed Band will be held at St. Joseph’s Church, Foulkstown on this Sunday, 16th December beginning at 4.30pm. Refreshments afterwards in the clubhouse at the Kilkenny Rugby Club.
Come and enjoy the Spirit of Christmas in a lovely atmosphere.
Cake Sale for Building Fund
A Cake Sale will follow the Christmas Carol Service on this Sunday. Come along to the Rugby Club immediately after the service and purchase from a wonderful selection of homemade cakes and Christmas treats. Proceeds to the building fund. Donations of cakes and home-bakes will be gratefully received before the sale: Contact Rita 772 1129 or Mary 772 1356.
DVD of Bishop’s Ordination
The DVD of the Episcopal Ordination of Most Rev. Séamus Freeman, Bishop of Ossory, is available at the Sacristies in our parish churches and at the Parish Office. Cost €15. The DVD is also available at St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Ossory Diocesan Office, Sion Road.
A Living Masterpiece
To be dead is to stop believing in the masterpieces we will begin tomorrow. So claimed Patrick Kavanagh as cited in John O’Donoghue book, Eternal Echoes (p.19). Too good to be true about the masterpieces, you might think. Well, that depends on how you eye a masterpiece. We can all too easily sell ourselves short. There is more to each of us than meets the eye especially our own. Have you ever surprised your self? Have you ever done something you thought you never could, shown a humanity you didn’t know you had, opened to an insight that took your breath away, gone that extra mile exhausted yet finished quite refreshed? And, have you discovered that exquisitely subversive truth that the more you give, the more you realise you have to give? If so, Isaiah’s words today (35:5-6a) will make sense to you: Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped, then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. But they will make sense in a way you never dreamed of. You’ll gasp as you grasp that, in fact, they refer to you!
Fr. Tom Cahill
Questions People Ask
Q. ‘Of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.’ Isn’t this a contradiction? Was Jesus setting up John before slamming him down?
A. This is not a comparison between the holiness of John as an individual and anybody else. Jesus is saying that the Messianic age (the time of the kingdom) surpasses the era of preparation. John is called the greatest in the sense that the time of preparation reached its climax in his mission. The Messianic age has been brought by Jesus. It is like saying that the slowest jet-plane is incomparably faster than the fastest bicycle.
Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap
Midnight with the Youth Choir
The youth choir is celebrating 20 years singing at Midnight Mass in the Parish this year. We would like to extend an invitation to all former members of the choir to come along and join with us at Midnight Mass this year. Musicians and singers are welcome.
St. Patrick’s Brass & Reed Band
Annual Christmas Concert
St. Patrick’s Church
Monday, 17th December at 8pm
With: Audrey Larkin, Noel Power, Eugene Dewberry, Traditional Irish Musicians.
Admission Free
St. Patrick’s Parish Draw
The December Draw will take place on Tuesday, 18th December in the Presbytery at 8.30pm. We take this opportunity to thank all our subscribers and promoters for your support and loyalty during 2007.
Sudden Infant Death Association
The Irish Sudden Infant Death Association will hold a Remembrance Service in St. John's Community Centre on Friday, 28th December at 11.30am.
The Community Centre is behind St. John’s RC Church. All are welcome to this special remembrance service.
Christmas - The Season to be Jolly
For many people Christmas can be a time of stress and financial strain. Christmas need not be so stressful. It’s easy to have a stress free Christmas if you are organised, stick to a budget and are realistic about your own expectations. St. Canice’s Credit Union and the St. Vincent de Paul Society have come together to give you some practical tips on how to budget and manage your money in the run up to the Christmas Season. See posters on Church notice boards and pamphlets in Church porches for further details.
St. Vincent De Paul Society
Our parish conference of the St. Vincent De Paul Society will take up their annual Christmas Collection at all Masses this weekend. We invite you to be generous in supporting this very worthy local charity.
The members of the Society are called upon especially at Christmas time to help people in need in our community. Your contribution would help greatly.
Do this in memory...
We welcome those preparing for First Holy Communion and their families and friends to church this weekend. We continue to pray with and for all involved in preparing our young people to celebrate the sacraments.
Children from Gaelscoil Osrai attend 10.30am Mass at St. Fiacre’s Church while those from St. Patrick’s De La Salle and St. John of God attend 11.00am Mass at St. Patrick’s Church.
Foster a Child
The Health Service Executive Social Work and Child Care Department Carlow/Kilkenny is running a recruitment campaign for children who need to be fostered. If you would like to know more about becoming a foster carer please contact Mairead Pierce, Social Work Team Leader - Fostering, HSE, Community Services Carlow/Kilkenny, or Jane Ryan, Administration on 056 7784532
Pray for the Deceased
Recently Deceased: Kathleen Redpath, 3 Fr. Walsh Close. Jeremiah Maher, Shankill, Paulstown: Requiem Mass at Paulstown Parish Church at 1.00pm on Sunday followed by interment in Paulstown Cemetery.
Month’s Mind: Rene Brett (Sun 12.30)
Anniversaries: Padraig Butler (Sat 6.15), Dick Lynch (Sat 7.00), Michael Hynes (Sun 9.30), Jayne & Jeffrey Power (Sun 10.00), Florrie Cleere (Sun 10.30), Joe & Nan Mulhall (Sun 11.00), O’Gorman & Gent Families, (Mon 9.30), Patrick Morris (Tues 9.30), Margaret Quinlan (Tues 10.30), Thomas Saunders (Wed 10.30), James Hoyne, Freda Tynan, The O’Mara Family, Patrick, Mary & Rose Wixted, Michael & Mary Kate Morris, David & Simon Morris, Anna Quinn, Laurence Quinn, James Hogan, Jim Dollard, Mary O’Neill, Christy Bateman, Margaret Larkin, John Hayes, Nora Kennedy
Intentions for Next Weekend: Elizabeth Comerford (Sat 6.15), Geraldine Cody (Sat 7.00), Christopher & Mary Coogan (Sun 10.30), George Byrne (Sun 11.00), Margaret & Patrick Cantwell (Sun 12.00), Mary Blanchfield, Dianne Keenan, Jim & P.J. Keenan (Tues 10.30), Betty Furness (Tues 11.00), Mary O’Dwyer (Wed 11.00).
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
OUR CHRISTMAS TIMETABLE
Day Service Venue Time
Sunday, 16th December Carol Service St. Joseph’s Church 4.30pm
Monday, 17th December Christmas Carol Concert St. Patrick’s Church 8.00pm
Thursday, 21st December Penitential Service St. Fiacre’s Church 7.30pm
Monday, 24th December Mass of Christmas Eve St. Fiacre’s Church 9.00pm
Monday, 24th December Mass of Christmas Midnight St. Patrick’s Church, Midnight Tuesday, 25th December Mass of Christmas Day St. Patrick’s Church 9.30am Tuesday, 25th December Mass of Christmas Day St. Joseph’s Church 10.00am
Tuesday, 25th December Mass of Christmas Day St. Fiacre’s Church 10.30am
Tuesday, 25th December Mass of Christmas Day St. Patrick’s Church 11.00am
Tuesday, 25th December Mass of Christmas Day St. Fiacre’s Church 12 noon
Tuesday, 25th December Mass of Christmas Day St. Patrick’s Church 12.30pm
Wed - Sat. 26th - 29th Morning Mass St. Patrick’s Church 11.00am
