Caterpillars Beware!
What a way to enter with a bang! Enter a new liturgical year, that is. Just look at our Second Reading today: ‘may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all’. What a way to start the year if love means, as it must, seeing butterflies in caterpillars! Not even Specsavers could do that for you. Advent is a time for staring: at the Creator coddled in a cot, at heaven harboured in a home, at power naked in swaddling clothes, at divinity bubbling through a baby, at the darkness of a silent night illumined by a cosmic chorus of heavenly hosannas. Indeed it is; but don’t forget the caterpillar.
Why should we be stumped by a muddled Marian message ringed in a tree? Why have apparitions in strange places? Don’t we have divinity at our fingertips each day? We need but reach out in friendship to another human being to touch the face of God. For if not there, where else? Advent is a time for daring: to find the intimately elusive God nestling in our hearts, to find his sacred face imaged on the heart of those we love and, dare we admit it, those we don’t forget the caterpillar.
Next time you meet one stare and dare. Stare until its lowly form morphs before your eyes. Then dare to believe what your eyes tell you. Advent has arrived; can birth be far behind?
Fr Tom Cahill SVD
Questions People Ask
Q. What might I do to get more out of Advent?
A. What a pity that Advent has been devoured by the commercial side of Christmas. Advent develops hope in the time of waiting, and hope is a virtue most needed to sustain our faith in the wilderness of scandals and recession. Try to let Christmas wait until Christmas. Let Advent be a time for more reflection and prayer. Get in touch with those areas of life where we struggle, where we experience our incompleteness, where we come to recognise our need of God. Christmas will be properly celebrated by those who know their need of God. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap
What a way to enter with a bang! Enter a new liturgical year, that is. Just look at our Second Reading today: ‘may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all’. What a way to start the year if love means, as it must, seeing butterflies in caterpillars! Not even Specsavers could do that for you. Advent is a time for staring: at the Creator coddled in a cot, at heaven harboured in a home, at power naked in swaddling clothes, at divinity bubbling through a baby, at the darkness of a silent night illumined by a cosmic chorus of heavenly hosannas. Indeed it is; but don’t forget the caterpillar.
Why should we be stumped by a muddled Marian message ringed in a tree? Why have apparitions in strange places? Don’t we have divinity at our fingertips each day? We need but reach out in friendship to another human being to touch the face of God. For if not there, where else? Advent is a time for daring: to find the intimately elusive God nestling in our hearts, to find his sacred face imaged on the heart of those we love and, dare we admit it, those we don’t forget the caterpillar.
Next time you meet one stare and dare. Stare until its lowly form morphs before your eyes. Then dare to believe what your eyes tell you. Advent has arrived; can birth be far behind?
Fr Tom Cahill SVD
Questions People Ask
Q. What might I do to get more out of Advent?
A. What a pity that Advent has been devoured by the commercial side of Christmas. Advent develops hope in the time of waiting, and hope is a virtue most needed to sustain our faith in the wilderness of scandals and recession. Try to let Christmas wait until Christmas. Let Advent be a time for more reflection and prayer. Get in touch with those areas of life where we struggle, where we experience our incompleteness, where we come to recognise our need of God. Christmas will be properly celebrated by those who know their need of God. Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap
The Murphy Report
In a statement issued on Friday Bishop Séamus Freeman, Bishop of Ossory, said:
“I take the opportunity to welcome the publication of the Report of the Commission of Investigation into the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin, published yesterday. This Report will help all of us to face up to our responsibilities in being transparent in all dealings with reports and complaints of child abuse. I personally want to apologise to all who have suffered in any way from the effects of this tragic abuse of trust and subsequent cover-up.
I also want to assure the people of the Diocese of Ossory that our Diocesan Safeguarding Children Policy is fully compliant with the current Statutory and Church Guidelines and we welcome the on-going monitoring of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.
It is with great shame and deep shock that I have come to know the extent of this tragic abuse, and I pledge every effort possible and necessary to avoid any such tragedy in the future.”
Folk Choir Launch CD
St. Fiacre’s Folk Choir presents A Night of Joy and Inspiration to launch their new CD on next Thursday, 3rd December at 8.00pm at St. Fiacre’s Church. The choir will be joined in concert by Billy Carrigan and Michael O’Grady, St. Patrick’s Adult Folk Choir, Keith Watson and Just Friends. Free admission.
During the concert the choir’s new CD will be launched by Mr. Malcolm Noonan, Mayor of Kilkenny. The CD costs €10 and the proceeds will go to the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre. Please come along and support the choir while enjoying an excellent evening’s entertainment.
Mass, Rosary, Benediction
The Marian Movement of Priests, Kilkenny will celebrate Mass, Rosary and Benediction at St. Joseph’s, Waterford Road, Kilkenny at 7.30pm on Monday, 30th November. All welcome to come along.
In a statement issued on Friday Bishop Séamus Freeman, Bishop of Ossory, said:
“I take the opportunity to welcome the publication of the Report of the Commission of Investigation into the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Archdiocese of Dublin, published yesterday. This Report will help all of us to face up to our responsibilities in being transparent in all dealings with reports and complaints of child abuse. I personally want to apologise to all who have suffered in any way from the effects of this tragic abuse of trust and subsequent cover-up.
I also want to assure the people of the Diocese of Ossory that our Diocesan Safeguarding Children Policy is fully compliant with the current Statutory and Church Guidelines and we welcome the on-going monitoring of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church.
It is with great shame and deep shock that I have come to know the extent of this tragic abuse, and I pledge every effort possible and necessary to avoid any such tragedy in the future.”
Folk Choir Launch CD
St. Fiacre’s Folk Choir presents A Night of Joy and Inspiration to launch their new CD on next Thursday, 3rd December at 8.00pm at St. Fiacre’s Church. The choir will be joined in concert by Billy Carrigan and Michael O’Grady, St. Patrick’s Adult Folk Choir, Keith Watson and Just Friends. Free admission.
During the concert the choir’s new CD will be launched by Mr. Malcolm Noonan, Mayor of Kilkenny. The CD costs €10 and the proceeds will go to the St. Patrick’s Parish Centre. Please come along and support the choir while enjoying an excellent evening’s entertainment.
Mass, Rosary, Benediction
The Marian Movement of Priests, Kilkenny will celebrate Mass, Rosary and Benediction at St. Joseph’s, Waterford Road, Kilkenny at 7.30pm on Monday, 30th November. All welcome to come along.
Pray for the Deceased
Recently Deceased: Jo Dempsey, New Ross. Fr. John Walsh, Galloway.
Months Mind: Jimmy Bateman (Sun 12.30)
Anniversaries: Thomas & Nora McBride (Sat 6.15), Pat Kearney (Sat 7.00), Michael Kennedy (Sun 9.30), Charles Carroll (Sun 10.00), Mary & James Mulrooney (Sun 10.30), Deceased Members of St. Patrick’s Brass & Reed Band (Sun 11.00), Thomas Dowling (Sun 12.00), John & Kitty McMyler (Tues 9.30), Jeremiah Mullally (Tue 10.30), Gertrude Donnelly, Eileen Barry, Joe McKane, Ollie Bergin, John Wallace, Patrick Devlin, Philip O'Dwyer.
Intentions for next weekend: Tom O’Dowd (Sat 6.15), Mary Millea (Sat 7.00), Laurence Healy (Sun 9.30), Kathleen Brown (Sun 10.00), Elaine Kelly (Sun 10.30), Michael Hickey (Sun 11.00), Michael Dwyer (Sun 12.00), Bernadette Delaney (Sun 12.30 Months Mind).
The Importance of Silence
Our modern world is starved of silence – there is hardly a moment when our senses are not being bombarded with noise of one kind or another. Our churches – especially before, during and after the celebration of Mass – should be privileged places where we can go to escape the hustle and bustle of daily life. Silence has a very important role to play in the celebration of the Eucharist, prayer and reflection.
To help achieve this in our parish I ask all – priests, sacristans, ministers, musicians, servers and worshippers – to maintain a spirit of reverence and respectful silence in our churches. Let us help each other and refrain from importing the world’s clamour and clatter into our places of worship.
Bible Study Course
In preparation for Christmas a bible study course on St. John’s Gospel, given by Sr. De Lourdes will take place on Tuesdays 1st, 15th & 22nd December in the Parish Centre from 10am - 12.30pm approx. Cup of tea included. Cost €25. Booking necessary - contact Kathleen @ 087 246 8443. Enjoy this course in preparation for Christmas.
Society of St. Vincent De Paul
The annual collection for the local conference of the St. Vincent De Paul Society will be taken up outside all Masses on Saturday, 12th and Sunday, 13th December. Please give as generously as possible.
The members of the local conference may be contacted at the Parish Centre at 8.00pm on Mondays or by telephoning 087 681 0589. All calls are dealt with in complete confidence.
First Friday Visits
The first Friday of December falls this week. The priests will visit the sick and housebound at the usual times. Please contact the Parish Office (776 4400) if you, or someone known to you, would like a visit.
Blessed Sacrament Exposition
At the request of the St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society there will be exposition of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Fiacre’s Church on Friday between 11.00am and noon. All welcome.
Loughboy Library Notices
Loughboy Community Mapping Project will be on show at Loughboy Library for the month of December. This project was initiated and facilitated by LARC who began by undertaking a needs analysis of the area. They recorded the positives and negative of the area through the medium of photography and the project has been very successful in building relationships between people in the community. Viewing during normal hours Tuesday to Friday, 10.30am to 5.00pm (closed 1.00pm to 2.00pm) and Fridays 7.00pm to 9.00pm.
The monthly Book Club meets in the library on Thursday at 10.30am. Current books are ‘Star of the Sea’ by Joseph O’Connor and ‘Brooklyn’ which is the latest offering from Colm Toibin. All are welcome.
VITA
This charity which was founded by Fr. Kevin Doheny will hold a church gate collection at all Masses on 6th December.
Advent Waiting
Discover the hidden depth of waiting during advent at Peace in Christ Retreat House, Sion Road. Special weekend of prayer and reflection between 4th and 6th December. The reflections will be guided by Fr. Martin Delaney, Sr. Margaret Moloney and Christine Kelly. Contact 772 1054 for information and booking.
Readers
Please note that during the coming year readings will be taken from Year C of the liturgical calendar. Please return last year’s books.
Village Crafts
Christmas Exhibition and Sale at Ormonde College on Saturday and Sunday, 5th and 6th December. Wood turners Mick Morrissey, Canice Ryan and Ciarán Walsh; Painting Pat Holland; Carving Frank Collins.
Parish Shop
Going the Heart’s Way by Fr. Jim O’Connell MHM, St. Joseph’s, Waterford Road, Kilkenny is among the resources on sale at our Parish Shop. This book is a practical book of reflections for personal prayer.
