Parish Masses on Radio
On next Sunday, 27th February and the following Sunday, 6th March the 10.00am Masses at St. Joseph’s Church, Foulkstown will be broadcast by RTE Radio. The 7.00pm Mass on Ash Wednesday, 9th March will also be broadcast. To receive the service you will need to retune your radio to Long Wave 252. Relatives and friends living abroad may pick up the service online on the Radio 1 Extra Stream at the RTE website. The broadcast will also be available on the Sky Radio satellite.
We are honoured to accept RTE’s invitation and look forward to sharing our parish celebrations with a wider congregation.
St. Vincent de Paul Collection
The second collection at all Masses this weekend will be for the local conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.
Parish Shop
As well as the usual offerings of religious goods the Parish Shop now includes a selection of Confirmation items. The shop is located in the Parish Centre and is open during office hours each weekday.
St. John’s Parish Novena
The annual Parish Novena at St. John’s Parish begins on this Monday, 21st February and runs until Tuesday, 1st March. Services each weekday at 7.30am, 10.30am and 7.30pm. Services on Sunday at 8.00am, 10.30am, 12.00 noon and 7.30pm. Sacrament of Reconciliation (without Mass) on Friday, 25th February at 7.30pm. Mass with Anointing of the Sick on Saturday, 26th February at 10.30am. Special Service of Blessing of Babies and Small Children on Sunday, 27th February at 3.30pm. Preparation for each service begins 15 minutes before the published times. All welcome.
Healing Service
A time of prayer for healing will take place in St. Fiacre’s Church on next Thursday evening at 7.30pm. All welcome.
Pray for our Deceased Friends
Recently Deceased: Philomena Somers, Sheastown. Johanna (Joan) Tallis, Newpark Close. Mary Byrne, Clara and England. Requiem Mass and burial of ashes at St. Joseph’s Church, Foulkstown at 11.00am on Friday.
Months Mind: Mary Reynolds (Sun 11.00), Rose Walsh (Sun 12.30).
Anniversaries: Mary Lynch (Sat 6.15), Jenny Clancy (Sat 7.00), Molly Johnstone (Sun 9.30), John Walsh (Sun 10.00), Seamus (Dixie) Brennan (Sun 10.30), Peader Flanagan (Sun 12.00), Ann Somers (Mon 9.30), Margaret Fell (Tue 10.30), Patrick & Teresa Kennedy & Marjorie Foskin (Wed 9.30), Anne Kelly (Thur 10.30), John Millea (Fri 10.30) Janet Rooney, Ellen Bourke, Crissie Simons, Willie Maguire, Deirdre McGuinness, Ellen Doyle, Anne Kelly, Martin Dermody, Jack Leahy, Stan Landers, Terry Maher, John & Annie Free, Liam Bergin.
Intentions Next Weekend: Bridget & Tommy Casey (Sat 6.15), John Dinneen (Sat 7.00), Maureen Barry (Months Mind Sun 9.30), David Maher (Sun 10.00), Tommy McCarthy (Sun 10.30), Ann O’Shea (Months Mind Sun 11.00), Brian Griffin (Sun 12.00), Joe Lawlor (Sun 12.30).
Cake Sale and Coffee Morning
Group 174 of the Irish Pilgrimage Trust (of which Fr. Dan is chaplain) takes 11 young people with special needs to Lourdes each Easter. In Lourdes Group 174 becomes part of a great international pilgrimage with visitors from other parts of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Croatia, West Indies and the United States. Each adult helper pays his or her own fare and commits to help raise €13,500 to pay for the young people’s travel and accommodation. Group 174 plans a Cake Sale and Coffee Morning at St. Patrick’s Parish Centre after 10.30am and 12.00 noon Masses on Sunday, 6th March. We appeal for your support on the day and with baking produce etc. beforehand. Please give Ena a call on 056 776 4400 if you feel you can help. For more information visit www.irishpilgrimagetrust.com.
Weekly Envelope Collection
The envelope collection last week amounted to €1,560.00. Sincere thanks to all.
Useful Phone Numbers
The following services are available locally for those with addiction issues and their families.
Counselling/Support for Alcohol/Drug Issues
Free Service Available on 1890 46 46 00
Family Support Group - Supporting Family members living with drug use. Contact: 056 772 3860 or 086 315 2246.
Church Gate Collection
The annual Church gate collection in aid of St Patrick Parish Seniors will take place on Sunday, 27th February. Please support.
Cura
If you are pregnant and distressed and would like to talk to someone in confidence. Phone 1850 622 626 or the local centre number 772 2739.
Playwrighting Workshops
Venue: Loughboy Library. Tutor: Shawn Sturnick. Commencing Monday, 7th March for 6 weeks. Time 5.30pm - 7.30pm. To secure a place please call the Arts Office on 779 4138 or email niamh.finn@kilkennycoco.ie. Closing Date Wednesday, 23rd February 2011.
Parenting Course
“Surviving your adolescents - how to manage and let go of your 13 to 18 year olds” is the title of a presentation to be made at the Village Business Centre, Patrick Street on next Tuesday evening at 8.00pm. The programme is intended for the parents of teenagers. Booking at 087 927 7479.
New Communication Service
James Stephens GAA club has launched a new sms/text communication service (provided your network is O2 or Vodafone). To subscribe to this service just text: follow VillageGAA to 51210.
Crucifix at St. Fiacre’s Church
The crucifix behind the altar at St. Fiacre’s Church was created by the late Oisin Kelly (1915 - 1981) who lived in our parish for a short while. He is also responsible for Jim Larkin’s statue in O’Connell Street and “The Children of Lir” in the Garden of Remembrance, Dublin.
Our crucifix shows the Glorified or Risen Christ and dispenses with the traditional nail holes and crucifixion marks.
The image inspired the following poem by parishioner Marie Marshall from Clongowan who has given us permission to share it with you.
CRUX
(St. Fiacre’s Church, Loughboy)
Looking up
a puzzle there
no thorny crown
or beads of blood
strong features
fatherly face
gazing down
alert, direct
no painful frown.
No bony frame
no pierced palms
cruel nails
or injured feet
but sturdy limbs
solid, secure
standing firm
what tale does
sculptor mean to tell
no visible wounds
are they cloaked
or overlaid by
overlord sublime
powerful hands
pouring out
a silent blessing.
M. Marshall
Volunteer Visitor Project
A new project is being run by the Mercer’s Institute for Research on Ageing, based in St James’ Hospital in Dublin, and funded by the Ageing Well Network. The project - the Social Connection Study - is aimed at people aged 65 or over who would like to get out and about more often than they do now. The visitors are also older people. They have been trained to visit people in their homes and support them to start getting out and about more. During the project, the volunteer makes ten weekly visits. At each visit, they help the person to make plans, deal with obstacles and build on progress. People taking part in the project will be asked to do an assessment before and after the project, to see if the volunteer visitor programme has made a difference. If you – or someone you know – might be interested, you can get more information about the project by calling - Maureen Tobin (Kilkenny Researcher) on 086 129 4353.
Thank You
Thanks to all who supported the collection for the Diocesan Lourdes Fund last weekend.
Have You Arthritis or Fibromyalgia?
Learn how to: decrease your pain, reduce your fatigue, introduce exercise and relaxation into your daily life, and much more. This award winning course costs just €20 for the 6 weekly sessions. Venue: St. Patrick’s Parish Centre; Thursdays 3rd,10th, 24th, 31st March & 7th, 14th April. All sessions 7pm - 9.30pm. To find out more and register please contact Arthritis Ireland on 01 647 0206, or email training@arthritisireland.ie. Visit our website at www.arthritisireland.ie.
Hearing Help/Lip-reading Classes
Classes will start Monday, 21st February between 8.00 and 10.00pm and Wednesday morning, 23rd February 10.30 - 12.30pm for 8 weeks. Venue: The Citizens Information Centre, The Parade. 086 809 4658. All are welcome.
South Leinster Champs
Congrats to Village under-age players Jake McDonald, Tadhg O'Dwyer, Conor Byrne, Brian Busher, Niall Brennan and Eoin Kelly who are part of the St. Kieran's College U14 football panel who beat Carnew in the final.
Careers in Elder/Child Care?
FETAC Level 5 Courses running in February: Safety & Health at Work Module, February 23rd, 24th, 28th and March 4th. Care of the Older Person: March dates TBC. Occupational First Aid: March/April Dates TBC Both modules will be held in Carlow from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Contact 059 914 2208 or visit www.visiontraining.ie to book.
You’ve got to be perfect!
If someone hits us on the right cheek, I’m pretty sure the last thing we would feel like doing is offering them the left one. Yet, Jesus calls people to a love that is perfect ‘as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ Surely this is too great a demand! Perfection here is a call to a love that is universal and knows no boundaries, an undiscriminating love. Agape love is love of those we do not know, even those we do not life and, as we hear today, a ‘love of enemy’ – the toughest kind of love, an all-inclusive love. This does not mean that we let people walk all over us; rather it is a love that exposes injustice. Mahatma Gandhi once said, ‘an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind’. Gandhi apparently read from the Sermon on the Mount twice a day for the last 40 years of his life. He considered these texts to be the greatest writings on non-violence in the history of the world. Jesus encourages people to be pro-active when faced with injustice - through acts of resistance. Tables are turned on oppressors, causing them to stop and think about what they are doing. ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ – probably the most radical words ever spoken, a total summation of Christianity, yet we’ve done our best to avoid them. Imagine a world where people respond to acts of violence, oppression and hatred with love and forgiveness. Dare we practice such love?
Jane Mellett
St. John’s Parish Novena
