27 June 2015 Issue No 6
Lourdes 2015 Aw how cute are we???
Congratula ons to Laura, Ciara, Mairead, Michael O’Brien and Michael O’Connor who all received their “Hands” this year!
Lourdes 2015… where to begin? It was such a fantastic pilgrimage and that’s due to the young people who travelled with us so we should begin by thanking you! Thank you for getting up at 4am to meet us in the airport and thanks to those who drove straight to Shannon after The Script!! Thanks for giving us such memorable moments e.g. the Limerick match (PJ Noonan!), Pope on a Pony, Nose-bleeds on the steps of the Basillica and on the plane, mortifying a poor waiter, sing-offs in the dining room, leader impressions, Olly the bed-maker, following Chinese people onto the elevators, all the lies you told us, talking at Mass (ahem ahem!), singalongs in the meadows and much more. Thank you too for the deeply touching moments, with patients, at the wonderful liturgies, at the grotto and the baths. You really did yourselves and your parents and parishes proud. The Youth Group—with Bishop Leahy!
Declan explaining the finer points of Pilgrimage to Sarah (who seems really interested!!! NOT!!!)
Who’s in the Voiture? Prize for correct guesses to awalsh@ldpc.ie
Lourdes 2015
Well done Olly! Perfect present!
Holiest Youth Pilgrims Ever! PJ and Deirdre discussing the Limerick Match probably!
Washing on the Line! 100 Neck es free of fake tan!
Approach with Cau on!
Everybody in your Groups!
Booking for 2016 Lourdes Pilgrimage
All those who travelled to Lourdes with us this year or who were on our waiting list will receive a booking application for 2016 in September / October. If you are interested in travelling with us next year then you can ring the Pastoral Centre (061-400133) and ask to put your name on our mailing list. You will then receive a booking application at the same time as everyone else. Places are divided between parishes / schools and individual bookings. The booking application is reviewed each year and we continually strive to ensure that the process is as fair as possible. You should read the booking application form thoroughly when you receive it and make note of the opening day for applications. Please note that applicants must be aged 16 on or before the date of travel. We also encourage those who have travelled with us a number of times to consider progressing on to some of the other working groups such as the brancardia and handmaidens. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or queries about the booking process. Thank you!
It’s one year on and Mass rocks is s ll rocking! Our recent Exam Mass had about 40 people in a=endance and it was lovely to be able to give everyone some words of wisdom before their exams began! To be fair most of the wisdom came from Chris. He did the leaving cert twice he had lots to offer in the way of exam ps whereas Aoife on the other hand didn’t have that much wisdom to offer and her exam ps were more about not falling asleep in the exam hall and how to write really big so that it looks like you’ve really filled the exam paper. We must men on the three lovely visitors we had from Newcastle West!! Some of our city slickers had never even heard of Newcastle West but we told them it was a magical land far, far away past the Realm of Rathkeale on the way to the Kingdom of Abbeyfeale. (Some of these people really need to get out more!!!) Our last Mass Rocks of the summer will be held on June 27th. We’ll be repea ng the Lourdes Pilgrimage Closing Ceremony which the youth group always look aDer (cos they’re so talented!). We look forward to star ng up again in September and hopefully expanding our circle so please feel free to tell your friends about it and encourage them to come along!
Butterfly Ball On the 25th of April of this year, eight transi on year students were siFng around Rathkeale House Hotel in disbelief that the Charity Ball they had organised for the Bu=erfly Club was about to begin. I'm proud to say I was apart of that ensemble that also included Corey Buckley, David Boyce, Darragh Ranahan, Evan O'Donoghue, Sarah Flynn, Suzanne Nash and Sophie O'Shea. The idea to organise a ball came to us while we
spent a week together at the Anois Leadership Program with Fr. Chris and Aoife Walsh, who we s ll can’t thank enough for leFng us be a part of such an amazing week. ADer the week in Thurles we went back to Askeaton with the idea in the back if our minds but honestly I don’t think any of us thought we would be able to pull it off without some help. We chose to form a posi vity commi=ee in our school as our Anois School Project. It was a great success but the idea of the ball was s ll in the back of our minds and one day we decided that we should give the Ball a go; I mean what could go wrong?!!! It took a while for everything to get going but once it did there was no stopping us and we were delighted to be able to use the event to raise money for the Bu=erfly Club. The Bu=erfly Club, Rathkeale, is a social club for children with Special Needs aged 3 years and up from all areas of Limerick. It is a totally voluntary run club and they provide a wonderful and much needed resource in the area. To our pleasant surprise the ball was a great success, everything went smoothly on the night and everyone enjoyed themselves! Even though the eight of us have disagreed with each other more than we have agreed with each other in the past three months, not one of us would change it for the world. Anois taught us how to work with each other as a team and some might say that we've turned into a unique kind of family as a result. We’ve already thanked Chris and Aoife for the Anois experience but we would also like to thank all involved in helping to make the charity ball such a success, especially Rathkeale House Hotel for their amazing hospitality, DJ Evan Maher, Jacob, Dylan, Cian, Laura and Aoibhinn for keeping everyone on their feet all night. Dermot Mullane and the Memory Photobooth team for capturing the highlights of the night, our parents for leFng us take over the kitchen tables and being so suppor ve. A special thanks to the Bu=erfly Club who have been so suppor ve since the beginning and our representa ves in each of the schools who helped along the way, Emma, Kate, Ciara, Lydia and Paddy. Also a big thank you to everyone who came on the night and helped us pull this off! I personally want to thank the other seven fools who have made this experience unforge=able and for making me hope we can do something like this again! - Lauren Flynn
25th July to 1st Aug 2016 World Youth Day is a Catholic youth festival which usually takes place every three years and has had attendance numbers of between 3-5 million young people. There are various events on during the week ranging from workshops to concerts and it all finishes with a pilgrimage walk, an overnight vigil and Mass with Pope Francis!!
Participants must be aged 18 at the time of travel. For more information contact your Parish Priest or phone Aoife / Chris in the Limerick Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Denmark St. Limerick 061-400133 awalsh@ldpc.ie
Have the Craic in Cracow!
World Youth Day is a fes val of faith which usually happens around every three years and gives young Catholics from around the world an opportunity to gather and celebrate their faith. A=endance at World Youth Days has varied in recent years from between 3 to 5 million young people and apart from the last World Youth Day in Rio De Janeiro the Diocese of Limerick have always had a group who’ve travelled and taken part. I have been to three World Youth Day’s myself; Cologne, Sydney and Madrid and I’ve had some truly unforge=able experiences. However in preparing this ar cle I thought it might be nice to ask some of our past par cipants why they would recommend the World Youth Day experience to others. Here’s some of the responses I received…
WYD was a great experience; I enjoyed chatting to people from different countries and all nationalities created a great buzz. It showed me how strong the catholic faith is for young people not only in my local community but in Ireland and throughout the world... A once in a life-time experience that allows people to live their faith rather than just talk about it. WYD is a breath of fresh air, the atmosphere, the music, it’s a huge celebration and a joyous occasion and you get to see the Pope! For me personally WYD offers some lovely and unexpected experiences of prayer, one that comes to mind was in Heathrow airport where we gathered in a small group to pray while waiting for a delayed flight! WYD also offers a unique opportunity to meet lovely people from all around the world. I really have some great memories of WYD and I feel that it gave me a renewal of faith at a time in my life when I might otherwise have fallen away from the Church. WYD gave me a sense of community, connection and journeying together. I felt part of something bigger…
We are currently puFng together a package for World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow and as soon as we have a cost we will send posters and informa on out to parishes and people who are interested. We do expect that the cost will be quite high but we are sure that parishes will be very suppor ve of any fundraising ini a ves however and we would encourage you to contact your Parish Priest as soon as possible if you are interested in travelling with us. We are really looking forward to it and we’d love you to join us so we can all go cracked in Krakow! (We’re so punny!!) If you’re interested World Youth Day will take place from July 25th to 31st 2016 and you must be aged 18 on or before July 25th in order to take part.
WYD helped me to realise how important faith is to young people all over the world… it gave me an opportunity to experience faith and culture outside of a traditional Mass… there was a great sense of pilgrimage and community within our own group and a sense of belonging to something greater… I loved the festival atmosphere… I really enjoyed our own group catechesis as it gave us a chance to express our opinion and ask questions in a safe environment… words fail me, it has to be experienced.
By now you’ve probably heard that there’s a Synod happening next year, however you may still be a little unclear about what a synod is or why we’re having one. A Synod is a journey we take together where we discuss important issues that affect us as a faith community. It is also an event taking place over three days from April 8th to 10th in 2016 where 400 people will gather to talk and make suggestions about the future of our Church. Synods are very rare and it’s been a while since we had one in Limerick. The last one took place 70 years ago and it’s a miracle anyone even attended that one as there was no Facebook or Twitter to let people know it was happening! That Synod was mostly attended by priests but the 2016 Synod is going to be very different as it’s going to be attended mostly by lay people. (People who aren’t priests/nuns/monks i.e. people like you and me!) We have already nominated some youth delegates to represent the various youth ministry groups like Lourdes, Anois and Muintearas Íosa and you’ll be glad to know that you’re being represented by Stephen Keogh, Ciara Noonan, Jordan O’Neill, Elaine Houlihan, Paudie Hurley, Michael O’Brien and Katie Cunningham! However we also want to hear what you have to say so over the summer and autumn we’ll be asking you to complete a Synod Questionnaire. It won't take long and you can even do it online at: http:// www.synod2016.com/questionnaire/ The Synod is being headed up by Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon (but Karen Kiely does all the actual work!) and it’s going to be a huge event in the 2016 calendar. For more information on the Synod and the reason’s why it’s happening check out Limerick Synod 2016 online. There are also some great videos featuring some familiar faces (Who would have though we’d see Jack Neville having a DMC with the Bishop!!!)
On May 26th the Pope tweeted the following message: “We can observe the Fourth Commandment by loving visits to our aging grandparents.” Those of us who are lucky enough to have our grandparents s ll with us should take his words to heart and spend some me with our Grannies and Grandads! If you’re wondering what to talk to them about you could ask them some of the following ques ons. 1.
How did you and Grandad/Granny meet?
2.
What was your greatest fear as a child?
3.
What was a dream of yours? Did you accomplish it?
4.
What was the hardest part about raising my mom/dad?
And li=le more
5.
When did you first feel like a grown up?
is needed to bring love.
6.
Which of your grandchildren do you think is most like you?
Than the smile on their face.
7.
Who was your favourite singer/band when you were my age?
8.
If you had to do it all over again what would you change?
They've a supply of
9.
What’s your favourite song / movie / book?
precious stories,
10.
What role has faith played in your life?
Yet they've me to wipe a tear,
11.
What’s your life philosophy?
Or give us reasons
12.
How would you like to be remembered?
13.
Is there something you wish you were be=er at doing?
14.
What were your parents like?
15.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Grandparents Few can bring the warmth We find in their embrace,
to make us laugh, They grow more precious through the years.
I believe God sent us Grandparents As our legacy from above, To share the moments of our life, As extra measures of His love. - Unknown Author
Hello Everyone! Welcome to Sr Concepta’s Corner! I’ve no letter to respond to this week because the Novena is on and everyone is writing directly to Our Lady (as if she didn’t have enough to do! Ha Ha!). I thought instead this might be a nice opportunity for me to give you some advice. I know a lot of you are hoping to get a job this summer and save some money for the missions and I thought I could offer some practical tips and suggestions on how to get employed! GET OUT OF BED! - This is the most fundamental and basic step when it comes to employment. Get yourself out of bed, into the shower, put some clothes on and leave the house! You’re probably thinking I’m being a bit simplistic here but trust me there’s a lot of people out there who stay up all night playing games on the wee play box (I think that’s what it’s called) and by the time they open their eyes half the day is gone! BE WILLING TO ACTUALLY WORK! - This is another stumbling block on the road to employment and has seen the end of many a promising career. I mean we’d all love to have a job where we get paid to pray all day but as the saying goes many are called but few are chosen! There’s lots of people out there too who want to start their working career at the top and they think they’re the next Pope Francis, but we all have to start at the bottom. Even I had to start out by working at the bottom of the ladder and my first job before I joined the convent was as a rope weaver making actual rope ladders! PRAY! - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Pray, Pray, Pray! And while you’re praying make up a few CVs and hand them into every shop, restaurant, factory and garage within a 20 mile radius! And ring your Uncle who just happens to be the managing director of Dell and get to know your mother’s best friend who runs summer camps and your neighbour who works in the local shop! And keep praying! I’ll keep praying for you too! And remember if you do get a job to think of those less fortunate than yourself. The sisters and myself are currently developing a project to help rehabilitate women who have been jailed. We’ve been watching a very good documentary series on Netflix to help us understand what life is really like behind bars. It’s fascinating. We’re actually thinking of changing our habits from black to orange in solidarity with these women! Good luck with the job hunting and don’t forget to write to me with any problems you might have! God Bless, Sr C x
This year’s Bru will take place from July 19th to 25th and even though we only opened for bookings a week ago I think we’re practically full already. However if you are interested in going please do check in case we have had any cancellations, also if you’re in the area of Bru Na Graige and want to pop in for a visit then just give my self or Chris a ring (086-0857429 Aoife 087-6323309 Chris) For those who are going to the bru we’ll be dedicating our August Mass Rocks to you as a Bru Reunion!
Our next Mass Rocks will be on August 29th at 7pm This Mass Rocks will also be a Bru Reunion and a chance to see people who may have been away for the summer! Looking forward to it already!
If you’ve read the Honourable Men ons in this issue you’ll know all about Aine Hogan’s miracle dog Ber e and in light of that here is a short advert that captures the uncondi onal love of a dog and the importance of organ dona on. And just to add to the dog theme we are also sharing a video clip we shared in our first ever edi on of YOLO called ‘God and Dog’. A lovely song that celebrates the insights dogs give us into the love of God and it es in with the goodness seen in the advert. Enjoy! h=ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz2kDH0MCn4
h=ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY
This issues le er to God is answered by Mark Patrick Hederman, OSB. He has been Abbot of Glenstal Abbey, County Limerick since 2008. He is a Benedic ne monk, teacher, lecturer and writer. Prior to his me as Abbot he was headmaster of the school at Glenstal. He comes from Ballingarry and went to school in Glenstal and has been there prac cally ever since, asides from a ten year spell spent in Africa, America and other parts of Europe. He is the author of many books and a very popular speaker.
Dear God I can’t decide on whether you exist or not. Why can’t you just prove you exist to everyone? There would be no questions, no doubts and everyone would believe. You can bet that there would be less sins and rules broken. I find it hard to believe because there is no proof of your existence. When something is wrong then I tend to turn to you for help as a last option. This sometimes helps. I go to mass for occasions like communions and wedding. But I don’t go on a regular basis. Another thing that makes it hard to believe in you is when someone close to us dies. Life is already hard enough and you take our closest friends or family members away. Thanks for listening. From a girl aged 15, Limerick City
Dear Friend from Limerick City, Thank you for your frank and beautiful le er. I am replying on behalf of all three of us because I mostly deal with the mail. We live in a world adjacent to yours and our life together is an unbelievably happy one. There are three of us and we share everything together. Our hope is that as many people in the world as possible will come and join us for eternity, after they have spent some time in Limerick and other suchlike places in your world. However, we don’t want to force ourselves on people. What we value most of all after love, is freedom. Everyone should be free to either love us or not love us. That’s up to you. If you decide to join us then we are delighted, if you don’t then that’s entirely up to you, it’s your choice. So, that’s why we have to remain completely hidden. We are everywhere in the world but can never show ourselves. If we were to make a dramatic appearance with thunder and lightning on a mountaintop, where everyone could see us and then put us on you-tube for everyone to see, then there would be no freedom, no choice but to bow down and adore us. We don’t want to force ourselves on anyone. We don’t want to have friends who had no choice but to befriend us. When we take people from the world it is because they are ready to meet us and to be happy with us for ever and ever. Of course you are sad when they have to go, but think of the wonderful time you will have together with them for all eternity in heaven when you get there too. I can’t describe to you how wonderful it is to be here with them. Just think of the most wonderful moment in your whole life and then imagine that moment lasting for ages and ages, and that’ll give you some idea of what it’s like here with us in heaven. Our way of communicating is very different from people on earth. They usually talk a lot and make a big fuss out of usually very li le. If they are trying to end a conversation on a mobile phone, for instance, they sometimes say bye-bye-bye nearly fifty times. Such a waste of breath! Our way of communicating is by silence. If you listen very carefully to the sound of silence you will learn to pick up our breathing. We are right there in the depths of your heart and we are afraid of making you scared by jumping out at you. But we are there with you, despite all appearances, and we do love you and we think your le er was terrific. Your friend, The Holy Spirit (Mark Patrick Hederman) on behalf of the Father and the Son [who used to have a postal address like yours before he returned from his time with you to our home here in heaven].
As always our honourable men ons sec on keeps geFng bigger and bigger! We obviously are surrounded by incredibly talented people. Here is a sample of some of the people and events that we want to celebrate! And remember people like Rhianna, Sam Smith, Lionel Messi and Brian O’Driscoll were catapulted into stardom aDer they were featured in Yolo!
There has been great success on a hockey front! Aine Ryan, Jayne Kirby, Áeb inn Burke and Michelle Barre won an All Ireland Hockey tle with the Crescent College Comprehensive. Ciara Synno captained Blackrock Hockey Club to a cup and league double. You may have taken her from us Dave but we are delighted to see that Ciara is showing those Cork people how to lead! While we men on Dave Hayes we have to say congrats on being chosen to represent Ireland at Tag Ruby in New Zealand. We are honoured to say that we have had an Irish Tag Rugby Player teach and train us in the Brú! No doubt the numbers signing up for Phat Camp will go through the roof this year!
Muireann Hogan from the Coláiste raised money by having hair cut in aid of the Rapunzel Founda on and spent weeks enjoying anonymity as nobody recognised her. Also on a spor ng front congrats to David Hanley and Paul Maher for represen ng Limerick at minor football. Also congrats to Dylan Murphy for captaining Newcastlewest Rugby to a Munster tle in none other than Thomond Park. He was ably assisted by Gerald Griffin and Chris McDaid and congrats to all involved. Congrats also to Conor Hayes who won a rugby tle. Switching codes but also to say congrats to Darragh Ranahan, Jamie O’Shaughnessy and Evan O’Donoghue for their success with Askeaton soccer. Rumour has it that Barcelona scouts were at the game and they were very impressed! Finally on a spor ng front we were delighted to see that a former Anois student (and an Adare man!) John Fitzgibbon scored the winning point against Clare in the first round of the Munster Championship. Obviously Aoife wasn’t impressed that Clare lost but she took comfort in seeing John play such a key part and hopefully it is the start of many more spor ng highs for him. Of course Aoife has her own superstar at home in Tommy Walsh, who won MVP for the Cel cs u18s team at their recent awards night. Ciara & Aoife Lane both got awards on the night too!
Brid Madigan has ensured Limerick will be represented at the Rose of Tralee as not only did she win the Rose of Scotland but she also came through the qualifying in Portlaoise and so we look forward to seeing Daithí Ó Sé and the na on being swept off their feet by our very own rose!
Congrats to Chloe Myles for winning a Munster boxing tle and for going on to represent Munster in the All Irelands. Ka e Taylor watch out!
We were delighted to see that in Clements three of our former Anois students did really well in the student awards ceremony. Karl Madden won student of the year and both Stephen Keogh and Jaffar Abbas were runners up. And just further in the lane, Rachel Warde won the companionship award in Laurel Hill Secondary. Congrats! Stephanie Blewi aDer taking on the hills of Lourdes last year has gone a step further! She successfully managed to trek to the base camp of Everest. It is an incredibly achievement. She said she did it with locals from her area and made it sound like they walked the Ballyhouras one week and then Everest the next! I am sure she will a=ribute this achievement to walking the hills in Lourdes. Thankfully Stephanie leD three days before the tragic earthquake and we remember the locals in our prayers. The next best thing to conquering Everest is doA special men on for ing the Great Limerick Run. Congrats to all our Fiona Dineen who is Lourdes youth and also all those we know and one of our Diocesan love who competed in the race. A special word Advisors to Primary of congratula ons to Ellen Butler, Sadhbh McCoy Schools. She has sucand Áine Hogan who all completed the half marcessfully completed athon (13miles!!!) and they ran it to raise money her PHD and is now for different chari es. Ellen ran in memory of insis ng that we all Mike Ke and raised money for Millford Hospice, call her Dr Dineen! Áine ran in memory of Ann O’Brien to raise mon( It does have a good ey for the Irish Cancer Society and Sadhbh raised ring to it though!) money for Cys c Fibrosis. Congrats Fiona!
Since our last issue of YOLO Nina Proskurnya and her Anois group from the Gael Coláiste Luiminí passed onto us a Trócaire Box that was exploding with money and kindness! Also Claire Gleeson from the same school shared with us the good news that they raised approximately €200 in aid of the recent earth quake in Nepal. Also they hope to provide a mentoring course for the incoming first years. Thank you! While on the subject of Anois congrats to all the other Anois groups and the various projects that you have done. We have heard great reports about mental health projects, lunch me soccer and other ini a ves that you have run. As well as running a very successful posi vity programme the Ask4Hea9n (Askeaton) Anois Group pushed the boundaries even further and took on the incredible task of organising a TY Ball. This took a lot of courage and effort as they had to balance their desire for a great night with the anxiety of hoping people would enter into the spirit of it and not ruin it for anyone. They did an incredibly job and it seems like so many of you had a great night and apparently a very glamorous night because of them. Congrats to all and you can read more about it in this issue of YOLO! And as if facilita ng a posi vity programme and managing a TY Ball to raise money for the Bu=erfly Club wasn’t enough they also found me to put on a musical in the school and our very own Sophie O’Shea had the role of Dorothy! As Jordan O’Neill turned 18 recently we thought we would take this opportunity to wish him happy 18th and to celebrate we have two quotes about dogs, inspired by the story of Áine’s dog Ber e! (See Below!) All this dog stuff will make sense when they make the blockbuster movie ‘Ber e’s Adventure’! “The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as uncondi onally as a dog.” ―M.K. Clinton “The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.” —Johnny Depp We have to celebrate the return of Ber9e. Ber e is the beloved dog of the Áine Hogan family. Unfortunately due to a series of events he went missing but thankfully he was found days later in Charleville aDer a 50km adventure (that puts your half marathon into perspec ve Áine!). We were relieved and thrilled to receive the good news that the prodigal dog was back. We look forward to reading Ber e’s account of the ordeal and no doubt it will be a best seller that will lead to a great movie. It is such a good story we had to share it as it is a reminder of the goodness of people. You can read more about it by following the link below. h=p://www.limerickleader.ie/news/ community/homeward-bound-limerick-dog-foundaDer-50km-adventure-1-6793387
Congrats to Diarmaid Bucke who won a very pres gious award in UL. He was voted Designer of the year 2015 for his Final Year Project. Now if we could only get him to add an extension to the Brú! Another bit of good news for Diarmaid Bucke and for all who live on his road is that James Malone has passed his driving test and so you do not have to dive into the hedges and hide anymore – or maybe you have to do it even more! Congrats James and it es in nicely with the fact that he got another year’s teaching in school and he can get his dip done. This is good news for everyone especially for a certain female member of staff! Ha Ha Ha!! We invariably men on the things that we hear about or that we see on Facebook but feel free to make us aware of any achievements, notable or otherwise that we can share in YOLO. We celebrate anything, so if someone has learned to e their laces or put their shoes on the right feet we will happily give them an honourable men on.
The moment you have all been wai ng for! There have been thousands of students on placement this year across the country. Choosing the placement student of the year is a very intricate process. ADer feeding all the students reports and results into a specialised computer and aDer the applica on of intensive scien fic principles and the comple on of intense interroga on sessions and debates, we are finally in a posi on to announce who the student of the year is............and it is none other than our very own Darragh Kirwan!!!! Darragh was with us from the beginning of January up un l the middle of June. He has been a great addi on to the office. He hit the ground running by being a leader on Anois for two weeks and since then he has been an integral part of life in the Pastoral Centre. Confirma on retreats, leadership days, pancake mayhem, Muintearas trips and compiling databases that will be his las ng legacy! All this work and ac vity was really an asides to the important duty of geFng lunch for Aoife and making her tea in the correct way and in the right mug! He balanced all this work with trying to be a single parent to the adorable Kid Kirwan, talk about puppy love. Also during his me with us he celebrated his first anniversary with the beau ful Jade Holohan. We are delighted he will s ll be about doing some work for the Synod as we will really miss him and we just want to say thanks Darragh for all you did and congratula ons on winning the placement student of the year, you totally deserve it!
Sincere Sympathies We would like to extend our sympathies to the following people. Unfortunately Ruairdhri and Donal Ó Conaill and Brid and Padraig de Brún lost a grandfather recently. Also we remember Emer and Aileen Rouine as their grandmother died recently. We extend our sympathies to Cian Moriarty and his family at the sad death of his father who had bravely ba=led illness.
We remember Lar Considine, his family and the Hogan family on the death of Lar’s aunt. We extend our sympathies to Sarah Toomey and her family on the death of Sarah’s cousin Trevor who died in a work related accident in America. We also remember Trevor’s wife, his family and his two young girls.
We were all shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Karen Buckley. Karen was a cousin of Paudie Hurley and it has been an awful tough and difficult experience for all the family. We con nue to remember Paudie, his Mum and all the Buckley family in our prayers. We hope you are all doing ok.
We also remember our friend Marion White who will be sadly missed in Lourdes this year and we know that her passing has leD a hole in the lives of many people in Athea and Newcastle West. We think especially of Áine, Shaun, Ka9e, Morgan and her great friends Lizzie and Fr Mike and her dear friends and colleagues on the Lourdes Pilgrimage.
Inevitably we mightn’t have heard of bereavements others of you may have suffered and if so we are sorry for any of the losses you have experienced. We will remember all of these people as we head to Lourdes next Sunday.
Also we will light a candle for poor Paulie Maher. Unfortunately his beloved Wigan got relegated this year from the Championship. Thinking of you Paulie at this sad me.
Words can’t wipe away your tears Hugs won’t ease your pain But hold on to your memories Forever they’ll remain
The Joy of Mission - Prayer Service Words of Welcome: The word mission comes from the la n words ‘missio’ and ‘mi=ere’ which mean ‘send’. And so the word mission means to ‘send’. And nobody or no thing is ever sent without a purpose or a mission. Every card or giD or email or text is sent with a mission of sorts. And so it is with people. We are a people who are sent, and not only are we sent to find joy but we are sent to be joy and bring joy to others. So in today’s liturgy we want to remind you that you have a mission, a ‘Mission of Joy’. I would like to invite you to stand for our opening hymn as we ask God to open the eyes of our hearts and help us to be people of joy. Opening Hymn: Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord (Michael W. Smith) Opening Prayer: Lord, we pray that in and through this closing liturgy you will touch, heal and lighten our hearts, par cularly those among us who feel heavy hearted. Remind us that you have sent each one of us for a purpose, to be messengers of your joy. May this liturgy help us to grow in this joy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles All the believers were together and held everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they con nued to meet together. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts. All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from me to me those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. The word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm: God Is (Phillip La Rue) Celebrant: The Lord be with you
is not in things, it is in us!
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Ma hew Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all na ons, bap se them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And know that I am with you always, yes to the end of the me. The Gospel of the Lord. (As an explora on of the Gospel and the theme of mission you could use this story about a simple act of kindness that creates an endless ripple… h=p://trenderas.blogspot.ie/2014/12/short-story-simple-act-of-caring-creates-an-endless-ripple.html ) Prayers of Faithful • Mother Teresa once said, "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples" Lord give us the generosity to throw our pebbles of kindness, no ma=er how small they seem and trust that they can and will create ripples that go on forever. Lord Hear us... • Everybody carries some struggle or is weighed down by some worry or difficulty. Lord we come to you, begging you to be the light in our darkness, the calm in our storm, the peace in our doubt. Whatever we carry, whether others know it or not, help us to realise that we don’t have to carry it alone. Lord Hear us... • We pray for those who are sick, especially those among us who daily have to live with the mystery and pain of suffering. Help us to find the strength and peace and grace we need to live meaningfully and to find joy and love and light in the midst of sickness and disappointment. Lord Hear us... • We pray for our dead; all those who s ll have such a strong hold on our hearts, those who were and con nue to be very much part of the story of our lives. We pray and trust that they are at peace and we pray that their love will con nue to be felt in our daily lives. Lord Hear us... • We now put all the prayers we have prayed and the prayers we carry in our hearts in the hands of God and his Blessed Mother......Our Father......... Hail Mary........... Glory Be Reflec*on: ‘Drop a pebble in the water’ ~By James W. Foley~ Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash and it is gone; But there's half-a-hundred ripples, circling on and on and on, Spreading, spreading from the centre, flowing on out to the sea. And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be. Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget, But there's li=le waves a-flowing, and there's ripples circling yet, And those li=le waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown; You've disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.
Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone; But there's half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on, Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave Till you wouldn't believe the volume of the one kind word you gave. Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget; But there's gladness s ll a-swelling, and there's joy circling yet, And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort whose sweet music can be heard Over miles and miles of water just by dropping one kind word.
Closing Prayer: Lord we pray today that we will leave here lighter, knowing that our worries, anxie es and fears are in your hands. We pray that we can be people of joy and that by following the example of your son Jesus we can create an endless ripple of kindness throughout the world. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen Closing Song: I Send you Out (On a mission of Love) (John AngoF)