Arklow Parish Newsletter December
2007
Arklow Parish Newsletter December
2007
We wish you a Happy Christmas and
A peaceful New Year
Dear
Parishioners,
Advent is a marvellous time of the year. A
time of waiting and expectation, a time of preparation and of hope.
The Emmanuel, the Christ who is to come and who is with us, continues
to bring the message of love and hope to all who will listen. Christ comes to
us mysteriously in many ways and each year in Advent we wait ‘in joyful hope’
for the Lord to come to us and to come into our lives in a more profound way
than he has before
For the Church today – and you and I are the Church – ‘the
waiting in joyful hope’ is all important.
The Church we have and that is central to our lives has been betrayed,
has suffered and continues to suffer, resulting in a negative attitude for the
future on the part of many.
This attitude is frequently portrayed by ‘looking back’ and
longing for ‘the good old days’ which we now know were anything but
good.
Looking at some recent events in our community, one cannot
be anything else but hopeful
for the future. We have
witnessed the vigour and enthusiasm of the eleven young men and women who
worked for one week with their peer groups – approximately 250 of our
parishioners from the second level schools in the parish. That these young men and women, all in their
late teens or early twenties, a majority of whom were from Canada (a nation
like our own, where the Church has been seriously wounded), would give a year
of their young lives to evangelise the young people of our country, can only
inspire and enkindle hope for the future.
Yet another
positive sign is that for the past three years over forty parishioners have taken
a course in Theology, resulting in their recognition by Mater Dei Institute and
Finally,
the five adults taking part in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (some
preparing for baptism all for full reception into the Church), were on the 1st
Sunday of Advent received into the Catechumenate. This is yet another sign of the working of
the Holy Spirit in our community and a positive omen of hope for the future.
On this third Sunday of
Advent, also known as Laetare/Joyful Sunday, let us
rejoice and give thanks for the positive happenings in our midst.
The past cannot be relived, the future is ours to shape as we ‘wait
in joyful hope’.
Colm
Gallagher.
Recently
Deceased:
Deepest
sympathies and an assurance of prayers are extended to the families and friends
of the following parishioners who are recently deceased:
Lily O’Toole:
Sheila Tancred: Deirdre
Lang: Kathleen Mullett: Cathal Hyland:
Betty McNeice: Sr. Alphonsus Breen:
Christina Forde: Sr. Monica
Mooney:
John Doyle : Alice O’Keefe: Dr. Declan Connolly: Margaret Grimes.
Baptisms:
Congratulations
are extended to the families of the infants who were welcomed into the church
when they received the sacrament of Baptism:
Callum
Gough: Lucac
Ryan: John O’Rourke: Zac Waldron: Niamh Kavanagh.
Erin
Tobin: Jay Kenny Barnes: Sophie Clerkin: Amy & Sean Martin: Jessica Scanlon: Jamie Rowlands: Harrison Martin: Ruairi Byrne: Oisin Sneth: Zack
Kenny: Fionn
O’Sullivan: Ben Burke: Calvin Redmond: Eva & Ellen Duffy: Nicole Kavanagh: Orlaith Holt: Ryan Crean: Olivia Mythen: Shane Gregory: Sophie Nolan:
Isobel Byrne: Dylan Cloke: Ellen Cloke: Cora Ó Dubhlaing: William Clare: William Byrne.
Marriages:
Congratulations
are extended to the following couples who were married recently in the Parish
church:
Liam O’Dowd
& Emer Dunne
Thomas Cash
& Margaret Moorehouse
Patrick Moorehouse & Anastasia Cash:
Gavin
Cahill & Eileen O’Moore
Philip
Byrne &
Parish
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land will be held from 31st March to 9th April 2008.
The
itinerary has been finalised and looks most attractive. All of the major shrines and locations
associated with Christ are included, e.g. Bethlehem – Jerusalem – Via Dolorosa
– Holy Sepulchre – site of Calvary – Emmaus – Mount of Olives – Ascension Dome
– Getsemane –
St. Anne’s (birth place of Our Lady) - Dead Sea – Nazareth – Sea Of Galilee
– River Jordan – Baptismal place of Jesus – Mount Tabor and many more.
The cost is
€1,250 p.p.s. and travel
Insurance is essential. Early booking
and payment of deposit is essential and full payment must by made by 18th
January. Cheques should be made out to ‘Arklow
Parish – Holy Land Pilgrimage’.
All
information re pilgrimage and insurance are available from Liz O’Sullivan –
Parish Office (31716) and bookings are also made with Liz.
Holy
Communion to the Housebound:
Parishioners
who are housebound and who may wish to receive Holy Communion close to
Christmas are asked to please inform any of the priests of the parish or leave
a message in the Parish Office (31716).
Coeliacs who may wish to ‘receive’ Holy Communion can have a special
Host consecrated for themselves, or receive from the
Chalice, provided they inform the celebrant of the Mass beforehand.
Santa’s
Cousin (who
looks very much like Santa) wants to meet with all the boys and girls who go to
the 10.45 or 12 noon Mass on Sunday 23rd December. He will meet them all in Àrus Lorcáin. We have learned that he will have presents
for all who come to visit him. There
will be a special ‘post-box’ for letters to Santa in the hall, and Santa’s’
cousin will bring them all back with him when he goes to the North Pole to get
ready for the journey on Christmas night.
There will be coffee and cakes also that morning and all money received
will go to help Mother Kevina’s Orphanage in
Send
a Birthday Card to Jesus.
All the
boys and girls who come to the Family Mass at 12 noon next Sunday 23rd December
are invited to make a special Birthday Card and bring it to the crib in the
church.
The
Parish Carol Service: will be held on Sunday 23rd December
at 4.00 p.m. The reading of the
prophecies and the Gospel scenes surrounding the birth of Jesus, along with the
singing of the Traditional Carols and the playing of the Arklow Shipping Silver
Band, make this one of
the most enjoyable services of the year.
In place of
the appeal for food, which occurred in former years, a collection will be made
in the church porches before and after the Carol Service for the Orphanage run
by Mother Kevin’s Congregation – the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for
The local Conference of the St. Vincent DePaul wish to
thank all parishioners who supported their annual appeal for funds, both in the
Church and the house-to-house collection. They are
especially grateful to all who help in the house-to-house collection.
A
Christmas Present:
As all
Masses, services and celebrations are relayed for the benefit of parishioners
who cannot come to church, why not give a present of a
Receiver (available from the Parish Office) to a friend who cannot come to
church.
The
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
has been
in place since the beginning of October.
The five candidates receiving instruction were formally received into
the Catechumenate on the 1st Sunday of Advent. Along
with their sponsors from the Parish baptismal team, they will continue their
instructions and study of the Sunday Mass Scripture for some months to come.
Advent
Retreat:
A very
rewarding retreat for some of the pupils of St. Mary’s, St. Kevin’s and the Community
College was conducted during the 1st week of Advent by members of NET from
The Parish
would also like to express their thanks to the young people for their work and
Christian commitment and a very sincere thank you to the families who hosted
them.
Christmas
Reconciliation Service will be held in the
Approximately
12 priests will be present in Arklow on 19th Dec. and four in St. David’s on
the 21st. December 2007
Tridiuum of Christmas
Masses.
A Triduum of Masses will be offered by each of the Priests of
the Parish this Christmas for the intentions of the donors. These cards available form the Parish Office.
Parish
Liturgy
As part of
the Parish Adult Faith Formation, a number of lectures have been arranged on ‘Liturgy’
with particular reference to the place of Liturgy in the pastoral life of the parish.
The initial
talk will be given by Jane Ferguson, a member of the Diocesan Liturgical
Committee.
Parish Church Christmas Arrangements.
MASS
TIMES:
Christmas
Eve: 6.00 p.m. Family Mass (for
families with young children)
7.30
p.m. (for families with young
children)
10.00 p.m. 1st Mass of Christmas.
Christmas Day: 9.00
a.m. / 10.45 a.m. / 12 Noon
(No evening
Mass)
December
26th: 12 Noon
Dec. 27th-29th 11 a.m.
December
30th Feast of the Holy Family
Vigil 7.00 p.m.
9 a.m. /
10.45 a.m. /12 Noon / 7 p.m.
Dec. 31st
–Jan 1st: 11 a.m.
Individual
Confessions:
Sat. 22nd
Dec. 10.30 – 12 noon. Mon. 24th Dec.
10.30 – 12 noon
St.
David’s,
Christmas
Eve: 9.00 p.m.
Christmas
Day: 11.00 a.m.
26th – 29th Dec. As announced.