Youth of Limerick Online A huge fรกilte to you all! This magazine is a new initiative of the Diocese of Limerick Youth Ministry Team (aka Chris, Aoife and Paul!) It contains information and photos on recent youth ministry events, and details of upcoming events as well as prayer ideas, jokes, competitions, letters to God, letters to Sr Concepta (our resident agony aunt) and lots, lots more! 11 April 2014 Issue No:1
“On January 12th 2014 the following eight transition year students; Molly Johnson, Alan Costelloe, Matthew O’Neill, Eimear Nelson, Mark Long, Emma Cosgrave, Niamh Mulhall and Aoife Nelson took part in the Limerick Diocesan’s leadership programme called Anois. The programme is run over two weeks and Castletroy College took part in the first week along with Doon, Laurel Hill, St. Clements and Gael Choláiste Luimnigh. We set off Sunday evening on a bus heading for St. Patricks College Thurles along with 32 strangers who we were going to be spending the week with. Little did we know then that these people would turn into friends for life. The minute we arrived we were met by Fr Chris O’Donnell, Aoife Walsh and our leaders who would become our mentors and family for the week. Each school picked a name for their group for the week; ours was “The Trojans”. Every now and then teams competed against one another in activities such as egg drop, spud challenge and straw and pin towers. To do these challenges we would go off to our breakaway rooms with our three leaders, Gearoid, Kate and Siobhan. Some amazing memories were made in this room. Each breakaway session was filled with laughter and fun.
The week involved different activities which included teambuilding, leadership, trust, communication and listening exercises. To get to know everybody, every day we had different games, icebreakers and the all exciting secret friends. Each evening included activities such as the all-time favourite Anois style quiz, Anois idol, Anois Olympics and our nightly sing song. It is hard to capture with words how truly amazing and inspiring this week was. Often we were pushed outside our comfort zones but with unbelievable support and encouragement around us we put our fears and doubts behind us and got stuck in. It was a truly unforgettable experience and we will treasure the memories for the rest of our lives. We would like to like to thank our school and in particular Mr Griffin for this fantastic opportunity.” The Castletroy College students (aka The Trojans) returned to school with an idea for a project that they thought would help people in their community. Their idea was to hold technology classes for elderly people to teach them how to use mobile phones, ipads, Skype and other new fangled technologies. Last week they had their first class and it was a wonderful success. As well as teaching people how to use mobiles everyone stayed for a cup of tea and a chat afterwards. Well done to the students and to Mr Griffin, Mr Flanagan and Castletroy College for supporting and encouraging such a great idea. Keep up the good work guys!
The Anois Students from Scoil na Tríonóide Naofa in Doon, Co Limerick have also been busy with their Anois project. They have had wristbands made which commemorate the life of Alan Feeley, a teacher in their school who died suddenly last year after a brain haemorrhage. They are using the slogan #LiveLifeGiveLife because money raised from the sale of the wrist bands will be divided between Organ Donor Awareness and the Donal Walsh livelife foundation. The colours they have chosen for the wristbands are navy and pink because he was well able to carry off pink clothes and his club colours were navy. Wrist bands will be sold for €3 in their school and in shops around Doon and Cappamore and a fundraiser in memory of Mr Feeley will be held in August in UL. Well done and congratulations to the Tríonóide Triangle team, Molly Buckley, Róisín McKenna, Michelle Berkery, Mary O’Connor, Paddy O’Donnell, Ryan Lonergan, Seán McMahon and Tadgh Whelan.
Thanks to everyone who attended our recent presentation day. We had a great morning playing games and hearing about each others projects. #sistaswag (Laurel Hill FCJ Secondary School) made the Tipperary Star! (Thanks to Brian Curtin’s Granny Pauline!) They’ve also been baking, and raised €351.45 for new school benches at a bake sale they didn’t tell us about!!! Acmelllo (Gael Colaiste Luimnigh) are taking credit for the Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage. Although one of them thinks it’s called Croke Park! Clemenems (St Clements College) held a fun table quiz for first years to raise money for the Serve trip to Brazil which Shane and Sean will be taking part in. CMATY (Colaiste Mhuire, Askeaton) had planned a project around their school hall however the recent storms have damaged the hall so plans have had to be put on hold for now and they are busy looking at other ideas! Naplara Crew (Ard Scoil Rís) are busy preparing for a mini anois day for first years. Les Migonnes (Laurel Hill Colaiste FCJ) are working on creating a “Positivity Wall” in their school which will contain resources and support for positive mental health. They also hope to organise speakers to visit them in school and talk about positive mental health. Octocomp (Crescent College Comprehensive) have also been very busy organising an anti-bullying week. They’re also taking part in a cycle to the Aran Islands to raise funds to buy equipment for St Gabriels School. The Tiny Carmels (Scoil Carmel) had planned on raising money to buy new computers for the school but unfortunately the news about the school closure has meant that they’ve had to rethink their plans and they are now hoping to print a school year book for those finishing this year.
We had over 50 people at this year’s St Bridget’s gathering where we had some icebreakers and made some St Bridget’s crosses. Everyone joined in to create one big cross which Aine is holding in the picture below while James looks on curiously. (Yes it does look like she’s using it to ward off a vampire attack!) We also celebrated Michael O’Connor’s 18th birthday! Happy Birthday Michael!
On March 17th we embarked on the hill walking journey of a lifetime; 26 of us travelled to Co. Mayo to take on Croa
Patrick. (On Patrick's Day, how much more Irish can you get?) We left Limerick at 7.30 and used the time on the bu prepare for the climb of our lives ( and to have a ferocious song battle!) The climb itself was easy in comparison with
song battle on the bus! I’m kidding, it was actually a really tough climb and we needed many, many, many rest st on the way up. Morale was kept high with renditions of “Ain't no mountain high enough” and other classics. Some very pious (crazy) people tried doing the climb barefooted but were advised by our medical experts to “put on your darn shoes”. After many hours the group finally reached the summit and what better way to celebrate than by having Mass! After being refreshed with a good mass at which Michael O’Connor earned his second cap as a Eucharistic minister the group headed back down the mountain. On the way home waiter of the year Diarmuid Bucke managed to order Supermacs for all the people on the bus which everyone thoroughly enjoyed except a certain Muireann Bennett who
just wanted Ice-cream, which is apparently a Patricks day tradition in Tipperary. (???) Thankfully everyone got hom one piece and a good day was had by all.
I told Chris that staying up all night to get the batter right would be worth it and it was! The pancakes were delicious and if Chris wasn’t such a good priest I’d really think about sending him off to Masterchef. Ably supported on the day by our commis-chef Paul McNamara the afternoon went off without a hitch. We had some new faces, and some familiar faces and some old faces (that was Frank O’Connor!) In true Lenten Ninja style we also used the opportunity to get people to think about what they could Give Up or Take Up for Lent and we had some interesting pledges. Thankfully they were anonymous so we don’t know who said they were going to Take Up being nicer to Liam Mullane and who said they were going to give up childhood! (I suspect that was Nicole Cooney who was 18 last Friday— Happy Birthday Nicole!) We also had a “Guess the number of paperclips in the Jar” Competition. Congrats to Aoife Ryan. We owe you an Easter Egg!
agh
us to the
tops
me in
Congratulations to Ard Scoil Rís on their recent victory in the Harty Cup Final and commiserations to Doon CBS. We had former Anois students on both teams and were sorry not to be there to see the game. Well done Ronan, Micheál, Michael, Colin, Paraic, Peter, Tadhg, Patrick and Tommy! We hope we haven’t forgotten anyone! Congratulations also to Niall Carmody who was elected president of the Mary I Student Union this week, James Deegan who was elected Welfare and Equality Officer and won the very prestigious Presidents Award! Well done too to Clíodhna Mc Coy who has been busy following in her sister’s footsteps and has been elected entertainment officer. Slowly but surely people, we are taking over the world! Commiserations to all Man-United Supporters, they really suck right now don't’ they! (If this is still in the magazine then Chris didn’t proof read this properly so I don’t feel a bit sorry for him! LOL!)
Hey Guys, as you know there’s nothing I love more than some good celebrity gos so I’ve been put in charge of the Celebrity Section. I was going to do a whole bit about Chris and Gwyneth but to be honest I’m still too upset so instead I decided to focus on my other favourite celebrities - Pope Francis and St Patrick. (Yes, I know St Patrick isn’t exactly alive but come on if he was around today he’d definitely have
Pope Francis has been described as the young people’s pope and he has expressed his interest in trying to connect with young people and to relate to them. Pope Francis even has his own official twitter account which offer tweets almost daily. Here are two of my favourites… Let us never lose hope! God loves us always, even with our mistakes and sins. (Feb 22) The Lord is knocking at the door of our hearts. Have we put a sign on the door saying: “Do not disturb”? (Jan 13)
While St Patrick is our patron saint we know very little about him. He was born in Britain to wealthy parents near the end of the fourth century. He is believed to have died on March 17, around 460 A.D. At the age of 16, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. During this time, he worked as a shepherd, outdoors and away from people. Lonely and afraid, he turned to his religion for solace, becoming a devout Christian. After more than six years as a prisoner, Patrick escaped. Upon his return to Britain, Patrick reported that he experienced a revelation—an angel in a dream told him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Soon after, Patrick began religious training, a course of study that lasted more than 15 years. (Maynooth was a doddle in comparison!) After his ordination as a priest, he returned to Ireland. Familiar with the Irish language and culture, Patrick chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons on Christianity and so we have stories about shamrocks, celtic crosses and bonfires. St Patrick had a great sense that he was far from perfect and was amazed that God could use him in spite of his faults. God was not a distant figure for him but someone who was very near, so near he could happily pray ‘Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ above me, Christ below me’. He was on fire with the love of God and couldn’t hide it. So much so, that he wrote “I cannot be silent” and “I cannot hide the gift of God”. Maybe the best tribute we can pay to St Patrick is to trust that the gift of God is not just in some of us but in all of us. Let’s not be silent and hide this gift, as it is only in the sharing of this gift that we make this world a better place.
Jesus was walking along one day, when He came upon a group of people surrounding a lady of ill repute. It was obvious that the crowd was preparing to stone her, so Jesus made His now-famous statement, "Let the person who has no sin cast the first stone." The crowd was shamed and one by one began to turn away. All of a sudden, a lovely little woman made her way through the crowd. Finally getting to the front, she tossed a pebble towards the woman. Jesus looks over and says, "I really hate it when you do that, Mom."
Jesus, be with me, and don’t let me go. And I hope this Lent that my faith will grow. You are with me always When I’m happy or blue, Help me this Lent To be mindful of You.
Q: Need an ark to save two of every animal? A: I Noah guy.
May this little cross,
A rabbi, a priest and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender says, “What is this? Some kind of joke?”
remind me today,
The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching." Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples”.
Be with me always,
a sign of your care, to love and to share.
throughout this Lent. As I try to become better, And learn to repent. Amen
If you haven’t heard it check out Jessie J’s song “Who you are”. The lyrics are lovely and remind us all that everybody has insecurities but you should still be yourself. #bawling! Ed Sheeran does a lovely acoustic version of it too. Don't lose who you are in the blur of the stars, Seeing is deceiving, dreaming is believing It's okay not to be okay, Sometimes it's hard to follow your heart. Tears don't mean you're losing, Everybody's bruising, Just be true to who you are….
If you have 2 minutes this week or 1 minute and 59 seconds to be exact, then get online and check out this You Tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY
Sr Concepta is a member of a little known Religious Order called the Order of the Lovely Nuns of Jesus. Sr Concepta lives in a small convent in Calculasia but we’ve been lucky enough to have her visit us in Thurles on the Anois programme. (She is normally home raising money for left handed orphans in January) Her common sense approach to life and words of wisdom made her our number one choice for agony aunt! So if you have any questions you can send them to us and we’ll pass them on! awalsh@ldpc.ie As this is our first edition we only have one letter this week...
in g you meetin d e y ve njo e as I’ r eally e m S r r I lp a e e . h D ell ble to n at ping w ll be a ituatio re kee ’ s ’ u u o o y y y k tric ntly I hope I hope with a consta year. ly is is t h n t e o c s e wh mbit re Thurle y offic I get e ng a m li d g n g a in u r y st e ite sh iffibeen omeon I’m qu very d . e is s s g r t in e n h h e t T m pe of work. bout te com this ty tion a a propria s d p r a in e f v in n I making d a co sily so scripstarte hic de ally ea e r p r e a r k g r d o e very angbarrass y co-w give a eek m ried ch o t w t e t d v s ’ e a I d well cult. L procee tified! g that s an d as mor in ie w o b I a d b . t s aren’ having proces whole ll team a e b h about! t t o o f o talk my f t tion o t t u a b h ct know w e subje don’t I ing th o s t momen at the ta, Concep
Please
help,
hris riend C f r u o Y
I ckground and ietly in the ba qu t si er to th o er M r. I much pref ample when pe of characte yself. For ex m ty r g fo in if God p tir l u re al d d s, ou stan y an After ad to learn to Dear Anonym I too am a sh such thing!” . h er no ve tt le ha do I ll ly s I’ ve ar , O ye r your lo es” I said “N but over the Thank you fo r “street cloth n asked for it ea he w w d but you on an ni ts pi o r? I call them) our habi ai as h of d er hs ri tt ut t only give my o be ge m h l it ud d al ovided me w people (or lo birth is defi that we coul opinionated surely have pr iate and child ry pr Superior said ’d ro ve he p f t o ap bi s in ha pe e a n ty ch ar angelis e to wear d up to certai subjects whi ough, the ev an e th st m y, so to ll didn’t want m t e fu ul ar nk ic e ff er propriate. Tha u say that th Lady on “On at it can be di n’t find Our h is always ap right when yo I know too th ic ld e h ar ou w u w d, u yo or d yo L r ay yourself an en again tod the birth of ou must trust in it was to happ viously from if ob t re su ar su p A m . I’ them s and ou might be nitely one of e gory detail f meeting. Y th af st us a e ar at sp if ns and t ncer grace to y something raise your co sa to had the good to ea ts id gu od e inute.” might be a go finally had th Tipp in 1988, Born Every M t the Trip to lem I think it someone has ou ob at ab pr th m ic ad if hi gl ec k be e, as your sp ur office will friend of min In relation to He’s a great r people in yo t. ab he ou ot it at rt th so on now to talk prised to find p and he’ll so that it’s fine ho k is in B th e e av th pl h to eo u write our time. P ch money yo ladies!). doesn’t work e the curse of you how mu ar k L’s (little old s as O on L y ti y these nl sa ol de ke er H d li e conv ht su tions we had all th inappropriate someone mig k me it’s ques a at as te th f u u o yo p yo If cu h . an it isti mi ew draw a nice e help of Chr But I do agre u’re having the Christmas th yo in ith ile w ed h s is w ap ra d y rh like an ith the mone cious and pe any thing they solutely atro did you do w ab at h ’s w it d k an in t ! th w coun y. I u, Sr. C x opriateness no your bank ac e world toda God Bless yo of this inappr oblems in th l al pr d e en th to of t er cause mos l come togeth self we can al ur yo e lik le peop
In each edition we’ll post pictures from youth ministry events of years gone by. If you were there and you know the people in the photo’s let us know. Correct answers will win a prize! Also if you have photos from a youth ministry event that you were part of please email them to us and we’ll use in in our next edition! It might be a nice surprise for someone’s birthday!!!! (awalsh@ldpc.ie)
d
u its ne
urhat , oh
bout ve in e that inded
Every night in my dreams, I see you, I hear you, that is how I know you’ll go on......!
The 2010/2011 Diocesan Youth Project was called ‘Letters to God’. The young people were given no limits and were simply encouraged to write letters to God. The response to this project was incredible. We received over 900 letters that contain the fullness of life as perceived by young people; their joys and their sorrows, their doubts and their beliefs and we felt that their genuine questions and openness deserved a response. We know that God has already heard the words these young people have written as he knows our every thought and wish. However given the breath and depth of the letters we received we thought it might be a good idea to seek responses from some of his faithful here in Limerick. We are in the process of putting a book with all the letters and responses but in the meantime we will print them here in YOLO. This week’s letter comes from a girl aged 13 and is responded to by Mary Sadlier. Mary is a retired secondary school teacher living in Fedamore. Mary is a mother and a grandmother and a great supporter of youth ministry in the Diocese. Mary taught in Scoil Carmel in Limerick City for many years but like many she is now busier than ever since she retired! We certainly appreciate her work on our behalf, including taking on the role of Safeguarding Representative for her parish and still finding time to paint lovely pictures for us! Mary’s outlook on life is that we’re “too blessed to be stressed.”
Dear God, Thank you that you gave me my little baby cousin, he is so sweet and kind, but I still can’t believe that you took away my grandmother from me. I think it’s not fair because she was only 57. She had half of her life in front of her and you took it away. I’m not proud of you and I’m not going to say sorry. From a girl aged 13 - County Limerick
My Dear Friend, I am sad that you are so upset about your Grandmother and I know that your heart is sore and that you miss her very much. Your grandmother misses you too and she is happy that you are not forgetting her. Sometimes, we think that the number of years a person lives is the most important thing. It isn't. The most important thing , the really important thing, is how that person loves other people and is loved by them . Your Grandmother loves you very much and, I know from your letter, that you love her very much too. That is the thing you must remember, that love will never die and will always be with you for the rest of your life. You can pass some of that love on to your little baby cousin, that would make her heart glad. God
You know those questions you always wanted to ask about issues of faith but were afraid to in case you sounded silly? Well here’s your opportunity. If you have any questions (about faith guys, we’re not telling you where babies come from again!) just email them to Aoife or Chris and we’ll answer them here for you. We’ll start with one that someone asked last week at Why do we give up things the Pancake Party…
for Lent? Is it so we’ll fit in to that lovely new dress on Easter Sunday?
Thanks for your question. We do not give up things for Lent so that we can fit into a lovely new dress for Easter, although that might be a nice side effect of our Lenten fasting! Ultimately Lent presents us with an opportunity, just like every season of the Church does. Whether we take the opportunity or not is up to us. Lent presents an opportunity to us to look at our lives and the ways in which we can become better and more loving people. Making various sacrifices or taking up Lenten challenges will not just benefit us and others but might also help us to enter more fully into the liturgies of Holy week, which culminates with the highlight of celebrating the Resurrection of Christ at the Easter Vigil Mass. The length of Lent (try saying that 10 times!) is to mirror the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert (when he gave up sweets, alcohol and Facebook!) Jesus dying on the cross was the ultimate sacrifice, a sacrifice made out of an overwhelming love for each of us. Our sacrifices, as well as preparing us for Easter and hopefully making us better people also in some way connect us to this supreme sacrifice of Jesus. Therefore giving up things or taking on things shouldn’t just benefit us, they should benefit others. If you think about it, giving up sweets isn’t such a great sacrifice especially if you store up all the sweets that come your way during Lent and then have a massive sweet-fest at Easter! This really only benefits you (and your dentist!). However if you saved all your sweets and then gave them away your sacrifice will have had a positive effect on your own life and the lives of others. So it is about seeing what we can give up or take up that makes us better and makes the world better for us while also knowing it can be a token to show God that we appreciate the sacrifice he has made for us and that we don’t take it for granted. And if at the end of Lent our sacrifices mean we can fit into a nice Easter dress that is a lovely bonus!!! So what are you going to give up for Lent?
You may have noticed that we have a lovely youth ministry logo on the front of our magazine. We have to thank James Malone for this wonderful piece of work. The original idea for the logo came from James and some other young people in the centre who had been tasked with coming up with an idea for a youth ministry logo. As one piece the overall image brings to mind the image of our Lord on the Cross and of course it’s important to remember that Jesus and his love for us is at the heart of what we do. Individually the other elements also represent important aspects of our mission and identity. The green of the “Y” or the central cross is of course a recognition of our Limerick roots, while the blue of the “M” marks the important place of Mary, especially in relation to Lourdes as this is a huge part of our ministry to young people. (The green “Y” and the blue “M” also stand for Youth Ministry” - ingenious right?!) The flame while representing the light of Christ also has special significance in its three layers, firstly there’s the connection with the trinity and secondly there is the representation of the three fires of Muinteras Íosa, fáilte, foghlaim, and guí which are the cornerstones of our work with young people. James, thank you so much. We love you and thank God for your giftedness (and patience!).
All events require Consent Forms which you can download from the Muintearas Íosa Facebook page or online at http://www.limerickdiocese.org/uploads/youth%20ministry/Muintearas%20Iosa%20Event% 20BookingConsent%20%20Code%20of%20Behaviour%202014.pdf
What?
Muintearas Íosa Easter Weekend
When?
18th to 20th April - Boland’s Meadows Foynes
What?
Lourdes Newbies Gathering
When? 12th April - Pastoral Centre 11am-1am
Lourdes Newbies and Oldies Gathering When? 17th May - Pastoral Centre 11am-1am Lourdes Parents Meeting
When? 29th May - Pastoral Centre 7.30pm
The parents meeting is just for parents! (The Clue is in the name guys!!)
What?
Exam Mass
When? 25th May - Pastoral Centre 6pm
March 22 was World Water Day, which I’m sure you knew, but I didn’t! I was alerted to it by our friend Hannah who works with Trócaire. She told me about Enestina, a young girl who lives in Malawi near the Kamboni river. Every day Enestina and her family take water from the river. The water is dirty and it makes them sick but they need it to survive. Twice each day Enestina carries 15 litres of water to her house which is a half a kilometre away. She has to queue for the water and this makes her late for school which she hates because she loves school and hopes to be a teacher when she is older. However, thanks to Irish support, Enestina’s life is about to change. Trócaire are installing a water pump in her village which will bring clean water to her village for the first time. I was really struck by Enestina’s story and have since discovered some very shocking facts about our consumption of water. It also reminded me of the great work Trócaire do. You can check out Enestina’s story yourself at http://www.trocaire.org/lent-story and don’t forget to support the Trócaire Lenten Campaign - put some money in the Trócaire Box people! Try taking the quiz below to see how much you know. Hopefully it’ll make you think about the way you use water. 1. How much of the earth’s
5. How long can people survive
surface is covered in water?
without water?
A) 50%
A) Less than a day
B) 60%
B) Less than a week
C) 70%
C) Two weeks
D) 80%
D) One Month
2. How much of that water is
6. How much new water is being
drinkable?
created on earth each day??
A) 100%
A) None
B) 78%
B) 200 litres
C) 22%
C) 2000 litres
D) 3%
D) 2 million litres
3. How much sea pollution
7. How much water are people in
comes from sources on land?
Britain/Ireland using today compared
A) 12%
with 30 years ago?
B) 43%
A) The same
C) 65%
B) 15% more
D) 77%
C) 30% more D) 70% more
4. How much water runs to
9. How much water do you use on average every time you take a shower? A) 15 litres B) 35 litres C) 70 litres
waste if you leave the tap run-
8. In one day you flush more water
ning when you brush your
down the toilet than some people
teeth?
in the developing world get in...?
A) 0.5 litres
A) 1 day
B) 1 litres
B) 1 week
C) 5 litres
C) 2 days
D) 15 litres
D) 2 weeks
Answers: 1:C 2:D 3:D 4:D 5:B 6:A 7:D 8:B 9:B 10: ABCD!!!!!
D) 100 litres
10. What have you learned? A) Water is vital to life B) We use a lot of water C) There is no new water being made D) Water is too precious to waste
We recently had two wonderful retreats with the first year girls from the Salesians in the John Bosco Centre in Milford Parish. The theme of the retreat was “Be the Change you want to see in the world” and we used the prayer service below. The girls also created a wonderful sacred space with blue cloths as the sea and yellow cloths for a beach. They even had a lighthouse, starfish and boats! In the Name of the Father… Opening Prayer: “If we all do one random act of kindness daily then we just might set the world in the right direction.” Give us the strength and courage Lord to make a difference, so that we might encourage those around us to make a difference too. Opening Song “If you give a little love you get a little love in return” (there’s a great video for this on You Tube!) Reading Gospel of Luke: “But I say to you listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
Starfish Story : One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…” It made a difference for that one.” Song: World on Fire - Sarah McLachlann (Great video on You Tube about how much it takes to make a music video and how the money could be more effectively spent) Prayers of the faithful: • Lord help us please to follow the example of your son Jesus so that we can be people of light, courage, and selflessness. Lord hear us… • Lord we pray for those who make a positive difference in our lives, our families, teachers, coaches, friends and mentors. Bless them Lord and keep them safe. Lord hear us… • Lord help us to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most, those living in poverty and those living in fear or isolation. Lord hear us… • Lord we pray for those who have died in Christ. Like starlight their memory shines for us daily and we pray that they are at peace by your side. Lord hear us… • Lord we pray for Pope Francis and Bishop Brendan and other leaders in our Church; that their leadership will continue to be a source of hope and inspiration for the world. Lord hear us... We bring these and all our prayers to you Lord as we pray, Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be… Angel of God… Closing Prayer and Blessing: We ask for your blessing today Lord, upon us and all those we hold dear. May we take inspiration from those people who have made a difference in the world; Nelson Mandela, Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa (feel free to add more names or change these ones) and remember the words of Ghandi who said that we must be the change we wish to see in the world. Help us Lord to be people of light, people of joy and people of faith. Amen Closing Song: Firework (Katy Perry) or Jesus on a boat!