Pastor's Desk: First Sunday of Advent
Welcome Fr. Jim Kenny
Welcome everyone to our celebration of the Mass on this the First Sunday of Advent. It is a particularly joyful start to the Church’s New Year for us as Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has appointed Fr. Jim Kenny as Parish Chaplain to both ourselves here in Holy Trinity Parish and also St. Paul’s Parish Ayrfield. Fr. Jim will also have duties as Chaplain to St. Joseph’s Hospital, Raheny but his presence among us here is most welcome. Fr. Jim introduced himself to the weekday congregation at our 10am Mass on Friday and he will be the celebrant at the 9.30am Mass this Sunday morning.
I will let Fr. Jim introduce himself to you but as a bit of background you will be interested to hear he hails from Howth and the two of us were in the seminary together in Clonliffe College all those years ago! Some of you will recognise him from his time as curate in Kilbarrack, when he used to come up to assist here in Holy Trinity for Penitential Services and to say Mass on occasions. We hope Fr. Jim will be very happy here with us in Holy Trinity and we will do all we can to make him feel warmly welcomed.
First Sunday of Advent
The colour of the vestments changes and we begin lighting the candles on our Advent Wreath to signify that we are in preparation mode over the next four weeks. We are preparing to celebrate the Birth of Christ on Christmas day by four weeks of reflection on why God sent His Son among us. The Gospel this Sunday challenges us to be on guard, to stay awake for the return of the Lord.
Have a great week
Fr. Eoin
P.S. We will be using the new translation of the Missal for all the Masses from this Sunday.
November 26, 2011
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Diocesan Notices: 24th November 2011
From the Dublin Diocesan Noticeboard.
November 24, 2011
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Pastor's Desk: Feast of Christ the King
The Feast of Christ the King
Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year and we gather to celebrate this great feast of Christ the King. The Church wants us to reflect upon what the whole of all creation is ultimately about. Our Faith tells us that Christ will return to establish the Kingdom of God and when that time comes, the world as we know it will be transformed. This is not something to be feared but rather something we long for because it means the complete fulfilment of God’s will.
For us today the meaning of the feast day maybe a little less clear than it was some centuries ago when there were many kingdoms in the world, each ruled by a monarch with total authority over the lives of the people who lived there. The people were called “Subjects” because they were subject to the will of their King. Today, such monarchs no longer exist as all Kings and Queens today are Heads of State in democracies and so are pretty much figureheads. For Catholics of a few centuries ago, the image of Christ the King would have been a very real and easy concept to understand; it would be the time when Christ would surpass even their own earthly King and reign for ever over their lives.
As if to emphasise the point even more, the readings for the coming weekday Masses all come from the last book of the Bible, The Apocalypse, or as it is also called, The Book of Revelations. The readings highlight the struggle between good and evil that goes on in our daily lives even today but which will come to a climax in those last days. What we have to remember is that victory will be for the Lamb of God, the one we celebrate today as Christ the King.
Have a great week
Fr. Eoin
Volunteering Sunday - 27th November
Next Sunday, at all Masses, you will be asked to volunteer for any one of the many groups we have active in our parish. This is a very important Sunday in the life of our parish and we invite to you take part and become involved in some area of interest to you. There are over 30 Volunteer Groups in this parish so you are bound to find one that suits you!
November 19, 2011
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Diocesan Notices: 17th November 2011
From the Dublin Diocesan Noticeboard.
November 17, 2011
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Pastor's Desk: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Welcome everyone to our Mass this Sunday. Last Sunday Fr. Gary took the opportunity to say farewell to us at our Masses and in this space also. We pray that he has had a warm welcome on his first week in Malahide Parish. Many parishioners have been asking me what is to going to happen in relation to our own parish and I can inform you that I met with Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on Thursday with Frs. Tom Colreavy and Padraig Gleeson of St. Paul’s Parish Ayrfield. The Archbishop has asked us to become a team of priests and to service the pastoral needs of the two parishes, St. Paul’s and Holy Trinity between us.
This is something that has happened in a few parishes around the diocese already but obviously it is the first time any of us as priests have been asked to do this. I should point out that the parishes themselves are not being joined; they still keep their separate Parish Pastoral Councils, Finance Committees etc. but the parishes are asked to share priests, which are, at the moment the resource the diocese has least at its disposal.
The three of us are very willing to take on this challenge even though it is a step into the unknown. We have agreed with the Archbishop that we will begin meeting to develop our understanding of what this means in practical terms. We will also bring the PPCs of both parishes together to better see how the parishes can share experience and resources that have been built up over the years. It does mean that where there were 4 fulltime priests working in the two parishes, there are now only 3. It will mean changes.
Let each of us use our God given talents for the betterment of the community of faith as the Gospel urges us today.
Have a great week.
Fr. Eoin
November 12, 2011
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