KNOCKANURE
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Prayer to The Holy Family
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul;
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony;
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you;
Into Your hands, O God, I commend my spirit;
Lord Jesus, receive my soul. Amen
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A Thought for the Turn of the Year
“As the year comes to a close, it is a time for reflection – a time to release old
thoughts and beliefs and forgive old hurts. Whatever has happened in the past year, the New Year brings fresh beginnings. Exciting new experiences and relationships await. Let us be thankful for the blessings of the past and the promises of the
future”. (Peggy Toney Horton)
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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE - DIOCESE OF KERRY 2024
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us, And we saw his glory,
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14
Dia dhiabh. Nollaig Shona dhiabh go léir. A happy and faith-filled Christmas to one and all. Christmas is a time to count our blessings and rejoice. Think of and give thanks for all
that is good in all the communities and parishes of our diocese. Thank you to the priests
and all in our parishes; thank you to all our school communities. Thank you to all involved
in voluntary groups: in sport, in the arts, in social care, - so many wonderful things are
happening everywhere. From the local media, print, radio and online, again and again we
realize the wonderful voluntary bodies present in our communities. Long may it continue.
Sincere thanks to all the volunteers involved. It is wonderful that Christmas continues to
be a family celebration in Ireland. Families celebrate together, family members love to ‘be
home for Christmas’. Children grow up with fond memories of Christmas at home. I
encourage all families to share their faith with their children through the story of
Christmas. The birth of Jesus both fulfilled and revealed the loving plans of God the
Father for all peoples. Jesus reveals that God is love, Jesus has offered us the gift of
eternal life. May a simple family crib have a special place in your home.
This year we cannot ignore the fact that many families in Ireland lack the basics required
to have a happy Christmas. Thousands of individuals, couples and families are spending
another Christmas without a home of their own. Many adults are exhausted by the year-
round struggle to earn sufficient money to pay the ordinary bills that arise for a family.
Many living among us find themselves far from their families and homeland this
Christmas. For those struggling and almost despairing, may the scene in the stable of
Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus give hope and comfort. In the Church, in tune with the
ancient biblical tradition, 2025 will be a Jubilee Year, a Holy Year. A Jubilee year is held
every twenty-five years in celebration of the Christmas event, the Incarnation, the Birth of
Jesus Christ. In all our parishes we will celebrate the opening of the jubilee year on
Sunday 29th of December, the Feast of the Holy Family. For Jubilee 2025 Pope Francis
has chosen the theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Pilgrimage points to life as a journey, a journey
in search of meaning and fulfilment, a fulfilment that is to be found in our relationship
with Jesus Christ. The following from the writings of Pope Francis speaks to us all of
Christian hope:
“Dear sister, dear brother, even if in your heart you have buried hope, do not give up: God
is greater. Darkness and death do not have the last word. Be strong, for with God nothing
is lost! The first Christians depicted hope as an anchor. Hope was an anchor fixed to the
Put the crib scene, the birth of Jesus, at the centre of your Christmas. Let it remind you of
how God ‘loved the world so much, that he gave his only Son’ (Jn 3:16), and that all of us
have so much to be grateful for. May God’s goodness to us inspire in us goodness towards
others.
This Christmas carry in your heart the song of the angels to the shepherds: ‘Glory to God
in the highest heaven, And peace to all people who enjoy his favour.’ (Lk: 2.14)Our Lady,
Queen of Peace, intercede for peace for the whole world. Le gach dea-ghuí, í gcomhair na
Nollaig. Every Christmas blessing on all in our communities.
+ Ray Browne
=================================
NOTE FROM FR JIM. Lenihan ......
This weekend we’re celebrating the last Sunday of the liturgical year and it’s
a Solemnity called ‘Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe’ which was instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925. Pope Pius at the time could see major cultural, political and philosophical attitudes developing which were very anti-Christian and anti-human. At the time there were incredibly dark forces sweeping across Europe and the world such as “Nationalism” “Communism” “Nazism” and “Liberalism”. All of these ideologies were based on writings from the likes of atheist philosophers
such as Meslier, Holbach and Feuerbach and perhaps the most influential of all was a man called Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche proclaimed the death of God.
For him if human life is to have any value or meaning, then, it is the superman, who
will redeem mankind's existence. They believed like many of the powerful men
throughout history that salvation can be found outside of God and humanity can
save itself. They also believed like Hitler that they could create an everlasting
kingdom. In today’s Gospel as Jesus stands beside the Roman Governor of Judea
Pontius Pilate we see the two orders or the two worlds side by side. The world
with God and a world without God. One has an eternal future the other have their
days numbered. Last Sunday we heard Jesus say, “Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away”. Even in the age of the Church say the past
2000 years so many empires have come and gone. For example the Roman, the
Byzantine, the Ottoman, the British and the Spanish just to name a few. These
were powerful civilisations and powers with great military capabilities and yet
they’ve all come and gone. The important thing to remember is this, 'things' don’t
last. Good times and bad times come and go. Jesus Christ is the King and only His
Kingdom will last forever. Anything outside of His Kingdom will pass away and will
be ultimately meaningless. It’s only by living in Jesus’ Kingdom as described in the Preface of the
mass ‘an eternal and universal kingdom, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace. May we as a Church today never fear, just remain faithful to Christ the King and realise only his Kingdom lasts forever.
============================
There is a part of human nature that drives some of us towards making a big impart. We want to be noticed. We want to make a difference. We want to do something big. And all too soon the art of doing little things get overlooked.
Remember the words of St. Therese of Lisieux
“Miss no opportunity of making some small sacrifice – here by a smiling look – there by a kindly word – always doing the smallest thing right – and doing it for love.”
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FR. GERARD’S CORNER
CHRIST IS KING
The feast of Christ the King provides an excellent opportunity to review the quality
of our Christian commitment. What effort have we been making to allow Christ’s kingdom of love, peace and justice to come alive in our hearts and in our community? Jesus is calling us to rise above the basic instincts of selfishness, bitterness and
pride and to pledge our lives in his service. Within our family, at work or in the neighbourhood, how often do we take the easy way out and let Christian standards
go by the board? Today’s feast calls us to make room for Christ in our hearts by imitating his life however imperfectly.
What is the most valuable thing you possess?
“Nothing is worth more than this day”.
What a privilege to have it at our disposal – enjoy owning it !!
LAST WORD: Friendship consists of forgetting what one gives – and remembering what one receives.
=================================
October 26 2024; Today in history, a man who would come to be known as the “Albanian Braveheart” delivered his homeland — and by extension, all of Europe — from a brutal Muslim siege following a series of mindboggling events.
Nearly four decades earlier, this same Albanian, George Kastrioti — better known as Skanderbeg (“Lord Alexander”) — was taken captive as a small child by the Ottoman Turks, and trained to be a janissary: a Christian slave turned Muslim soldier. Excelling at war, he quickly rose among the Ottoman ranks until he became a renowned general with thousands of Turks under his command.
But despite all the honors showered on him, once the opportunity came in 1450, he showed where his true allegiance lay: he broke free of the Ottomans and fled back to his native and continuously harried Albania. There, after openly reclaiming his Christian faith, he “abjured the prophet and the sultan, and proclaimed himself the avenger of his family and country.”
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Prayer for our Deceased
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord
and let the perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
Lord God,
whose days are without end
and whose mercies beyond counting,
keep us mindful
that life is short and the hour of death unknown.
Let your Spirit guide our days on earth
in the ways of holiness and justice,
that we may serve you
in union with the whole Church,
sure in faith, strong in hope, perfect in love.
And when our earthly journey is ended,
lead us rejoicing into your kingdom,
where you live for ever and ever.
Amen.
=====================
Be Happy with what your have, keep working on what you love and remember a happy life begins by
Saying “Thank you Lord for what I have.”
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FR. GERARD’S CORNER
THE GREAT COMMANDMENT
Jesus gives us a great commandment, but that great commandment has two essential parts - love of God and love of neighbour. Both are required. Love of
God without love of neighbour is empty. Love of neighbour without love of God
is limited to only love which is convenient and practical. These two loves together form one great commandment. As we go forward, let us ask ourselves: How can we love God with more of our heart, soul, mind, and strength? How can we extend that love outward to everyone we encounter?
LAST WORD: Success is not worth celebrating if you lose friends
while achieving it.
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A NOTE FROM FR JIM Lenihan .......
Our sixth episode of the Metanoia program is on this Sunday evening in Barradubh
Community Hub (V93WF6F) and live on YouTube @ 7pm. To access the link just
text the word Metanoia to 087 1081588 to receive the link. Our episode this week
is called ‘Hunger and Thirst’. This program reflects on that amazing desire for the
eternal within us. How that ‘God shaped hole’ within us can only be filled with the
infinite. No matter how amazing and how many finite things of this world we have
they always leave us feeling empty inside. Recently listening to an interview given
by the late Matthew Perry he said that his fellow actor Jim Carry put it very well.
He said ‘I wish that everyone had all their dreams come true. So they’d realise
that it doesn’t bring the happiness and contentment that they expected’. Matthew
Perry had all his dreams come true. He had the perfect job that he loved, the
mansions, a swimming pool, the model girlfriends and he said to himself after it all,
is this it? He felt totally empty inside. Please join us Sunday night to discover
what thoroughly satisfies our hungry and thirsty hearts
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August 30, 2023
By Sarah Mac Donald
OSV News Filed Under: Evangelization, Feature, News, World News
ARMAGH, Northern Ireland (OSV News) — The Archdiocese of Armagh’s celebration of the 150th anniversary of the opening of St Patrick’s Cathedral culminated with Mass Aug. 27 celebrated by Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York during which he paid tribute to the “cycle of evangelization” between Ireland and the United States.
https://catholicreview.org/?s=county+kerry
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Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio spoke to them about Mother Murphy. -------------------
Born in County Kerry, Ireland, in 1833, young Margaret Mary Healy and her family found passage to the United States to escape the famine when she was 12. Her mother already having died, her father died shortly after the family arrived, and Healy was taken by relatives from Virginia to Texas to Mexico.
She married newspaper editor John Murphy at age 16. She returned to Texas and ministered to yellow fever victims as far as 35 miles away.
Settling in Corpus Christi, Texas, before the start of the Civil War, Healy Murphy cooked meals for those in need. After the war, a yellow fever outbreak hit the city, claiming the life of her parish pastor. The daughter of another victim was entrusted to Healy Murphy, who had been caring for the woman.
She and her husband also accepted into their home a niece whose parents had died and paid for the education of the girls, both of whom became nuns.
After her husband died, Healy Murphy opened a tuberculosis sanitorium in Corpus Christi and, after a request by some priests, used her own funds to establish a school for Black children.
https://catholicreview.org/bishops-give-their-ok-to-advance-sainthood-causes-of-three-u-s-catholics/
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Radio Interview: Labor day and the Catholic Connection
https://catholicreview.org/radio-interview-labor-day-and-the-catholic-connection/
=================
1850; Catholic Mirror, a privately-owned, fiercely independent predecessor to the Catholic Review, begins publishing. It provides reports on the expansion of the Catholic community in the Baltimore archdiocese and defends Catholic teachings in a Protestant-dominated society.
https://catholicreview.org/our-history/
====================
https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html
Louisville KY Irish American 1914-06-20_2.pdf
The Rev. R. H. Tierney, editor of America, the Catholic review, has issued a statement attacking Ernesto Nathan, Italian Commissioner to the Panama-Pacific exposition, who as Mayor of Rome repeatedly Insulted the Holy Father. Father Tierney stated that race, politics or Masonic affiliation had nothing to do with the matter, that the Catholic church opposed Nathan because "he had
reviled the Holy See and the Catholic religion in a most gratuitous and offensive way." Father Tierney
quoted from several of Nathans speeches and declared that Nathan's statement that he was fighting
"sham religions which are political organizations" was a direct assault upon the Roman Catholic church and accused It of being a sham and a pretext for politics. "Catholics have reason to protest against him." Father Tierney continued, "because he is a violent man who outrages their feelings with bitter, uncalled for attacks on their religion."
Louisville KY Irish American 1914-06-20_2.pdf
----------------------
Hon. Maurice Donnelly, Past County President, of Indianapolis.
Ind is being urged to allow his to be presented for National President of the Ancient Order of
Hibernians at the national convention at Norfolk during the week of July 20. His name was "sprung"
suddenly for National Vice President at the last convention at Chicago, two years ago. and he got an extraordinary vote, coming very near defeating Joseph McLaughlin, of Philadelphia, the present Incumbent, though he was in no sense a candidate. Maurice Donnelly was born In Kerry, Ireland, fifty-three years ago, and was compelled to leave the old country In "hot haste" In the
troubled times of 1879, ----------------------------
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August 1877?
Hampton VA Southern Workman 1872-1880 (487).pdf
From the "Catholic Review."
An Irish Missionary in South Africa, the Rev. James O'Haire, supplies the following history of the efforts of the Catholic Church to Christianize that neglected region. He writes: " In May, 1000, the first priest set foot upon South African soil, but for doing so was made a prisoner. From that time un-til 1838 many priests visited South Africa under the most trying circumstances. However, in that year, 1838, there were in South Africa, as far as could be ascertained, only 150 Catholics, without one priest, one church, or one school, Behold the change—witness the progress— there is now south of the Orange River, which is but a portion of South Africa, three vicariate’s presided over by three Bishops, Vicars Apostolic and one prefecture, under the direction of a Prefect Apostolic. There are fifty-two priests, including Seculars, Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Jesuits and Fathers of the !
Society of African Missions. There are also seven convents, four of which are Dominican, two Oblates of Mary Immaculate and one of the Sisters of Mercy. There are monastic establishments for the education of boys, conducted by the Marist Brothers, Oblates of Mary Immaculate and Jesuits—the latter have under their care the first Catholic college of South Africa—to say nothing of thirty-two other Catholic schools conducted by priests and laics. Add to the above items seven Catholic sodalities, five societies, three confraternities, three cathedrals, and twenty-four churches, including convent chapels, and 10,000 children, and you will see the immense progress that the Catholic Church has made from 1834 to 1877 in South Africa. See paper for more
https://fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html
==================================
Biblical Archaeology in Ancient Israel (& Beyond) ·
Suggested for you · Richard Thornhill ·
·
The Behistun Rock in Iran was ordered by King Darius in the 5th Century BC. It also is inscribed in three languages. It is 330 feet about the ground and is 49 feet high and 82 feet wide. (15m x 25m). The languages are Old Persian (414 lines), Elamite (260 lines), and Akkadian Babylonian (112 lines). It is on a limestone cliff of an ancient road between Babylon and Media.
The earliest reported discovery was by a diplomat from Austria, Robert Sherley, in 1598.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/444271832328574/user/1297448167
=========================
Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster died on May 29, 2019, and was buried within days in a grave on the property of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles monastery in Gower, Mo. She was buried without any embalming or other treatment of her body, in a simple unsealed wooden casket. Following the exhumation of the body of Sister Wilhelmina on April 28, 2023, for the purpose of moving her body into the Abbey church for interment, it was discovered that her body did not exhibit signs of decomposition that would normally have occurred after nearly four years of burial under the conditions described above.
On May 24, 2023, as the Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, I commissioned a team of local medical experts to conduct an examination and evaluation of Sister Wilhelmina’s body.
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Gigi Duncan/CNA World August 9, 2024
When the American military dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, the city was completely devastated — more than 40,000 people were instantly killed by the blast as well as about 60,000 more in the following five years as a result of radiation-related diseases.
Everything within a mile and a half of the plutonium bomb’s hypocenter was destroyed, including 14,000 homes and the Urakami Cathedral, where the faithful had gathered that morning for Mass in preparation for the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary shortly before “Fat Man” was detonated. While the bombing devastated both the city of Nagasaki and its large Catholic population, the monastery of Seibo no Kishi located in the mountains on the outskirts of Nagasaki was spared.
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FR. GERARD’S CORNER
YOU SATISFY THE HUNGRY HEART !
Many a time in our bleak moments we feel like saying with Elijah, ‘Lord, we’ve had enough.’ The Christian way of life is by no means plain sailing and we often find ourselves broken and crushed by circumstances that come our way. Left to our own resources we can find no light at the end of the tunnel. To keep going we need an assurance that we are not alone in our lives and that God is with us helping us carry our crosses, rescuing us from life’s pitfalls. The gospel today reminds us that Jesus is the one who helps us. He brings each of us just what we need to sustain us on our pilgrim journey to God. Jesus is medicine for the sick, nourishment for a wounded spirit, light and strength for a weary mind, the Bread of life. In our eucharistic celebration today let us offer our hungers to the Lord. Let us accept with gratitude the gift of Himself in the eucharist.
LAST WORD: Life is full of small surprises and delightful moments. Treasure each and every one.
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NOTE FROM FR. JIM. Lenihan .....
As I sit here putting a few words together for the newsletter I’m conscious
of two things 1. That we’re continuing our reading of John’s Gospel chapter 6
on the ‘Bread of Life Discourse’, and 2. I’m packing to go to Medjugorie in the
morning. Where I am looking forward to the pilgrimage which is always a
fantastic experience but I must say I’m dreading the travelling to get there,
which will take from door to door about 12 hours all going well. I hate
travelling on planes and buses, especially in the 40 degree heat. I’ll be tired
after an anxious sleep. So much waiting around airports. Being away from my
home comforts, especially normal food and set times. The food will consist of
bags of crisps, chocolate, sucky sweets, catering sandwiches and a fatty fry.
It reminds me of what St. Teresa of Avila said once: ‘This life at times is like
having a bad night in a bad hotel’. There are times in our lives where we feel
totally disconnected from our world. The truth is, it’s not our true home.
We’re so journing to a better place. As children keep saying on a long journey’
Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Scripture says ‘Our true home is in
heaven’ and this life could be symbolised by my arduous trip to Medjugorie, As
I quoted C.S. Lewis a few weeks ago, ‘If I find in myself desires which nothing
in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for
another world’. Yes we are not made for this world. This life isn’t easy because
we have within us an infinite longing for some place greater. So anything in
this life doesn’t really satisfy us. We’ve an infinite longing within us a hunger
for the infinite. And that is why Jesus gives us food for the journey. That
food is the infinite food of the Holy Eucharist. This transitory life can suck
the life out of us so Jesus wants to replenish us with His own life, body blood,
soul and divinity in Holy Communion. Where Jesus says ‘I am the living bread
which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live
forever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’
Let us realise that this life is a journey to an infinite place. To get there we
need infinite food to survive this world and get to our heavenly home.
================================
By CNA Staff
CNA Newsroom, Jul 27, 2024 / 01:17 am
A drag queen-led parody of the Last Supper featured during Friday’s opening ceremonies of the 2024 Paris Olympics has sparked a wave of incensed reactions and denunciations.
In a statement released Saturday, the French Bishops’ Conference criticized the “scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we deeply deplore.”
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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
‘‘What you bring to the world is valuable’’. Sometimes you’re plodding along. Completing your daily and weekly tasks like a sleepwalker. It can become a little Eat Sleep Repeat at times. But don’t underestimate the value of what you bring to the world. It may feel unimportant those everyday small kind gestures you dispense to family, colleagues or neighbours but to them it might be one of the few moments in their day when they feel seen or heard.
Rather than drift through these daily contacts why not be more conscious when you connect with those you encounter. Be truly present in your connections with others no matter how fleeting.
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Just a Thought
It’s that lovely time of the year, to rest, recharge and relax. I hope you can get your time to make the most of it Fr. Declan
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PRAYER FOR WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY
THIS SUNDAY 28 JULY 2024
Lord, faithful God, You who created us in Your image, You who never leaves us alone and who accompanies us through every season of life, do not abandon us, take care of us, And grant us, once again, The ability to discover ourselves and recognise that we are Your children. Renew our hearts with your Word and do not allow anyone to be cast aside. May your Spirit of love fill us with Your tenderness and teach us to say:
“I will not abandon you!” To those we meet on our journey. With the help of your beloved Son, may we not lose the taste for fraternity and may we not conform to the sadness of loneliness. Help us to look to the future with renewed hope and make the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly A Day without loneliness, and a day abundant with the first fruits of Your peace. Amen.
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San Salvador, El Salvador — July 25, 2024
Mercedarian Sr. Silvia Flores darted across a street, setting her sight on her target: a woman selling fruit close to a busy street in El Salvador's crowded and bustling capital. But it wasn't fruit Flores was running after.
Instead, she was offering something valuable to the fruit vendor's children: an education.
A Vatican initiative called Sowing Seeds of Hope, inaugurated in late 2023 but set into motion in early 2024, offers free tuition at Catholic K-12 schools to a growing number of children in vulnerable situations in El Salvador, where poverty, migration and imprisonment are on the rise.
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Sister Josephine Garrett, CSFN, welcomes listeners to season 2 of Hope Stories, which will explore both the challenges and hope found in a wide-ranging discussion on a variety of mental health topics and conditions. Sister Josephine shares her journey, the challenges faced, and the insights gained while intertwining her spiritual and professional experiences as a mental health counselor. The conclusion is that every part of one's self, including mental health struggles, can be offered as a gift to the Church, fostering hope, resilience, and even joy in the face of suffering.
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The website tells us:
Dunluce Castle Co Antrim
“With evidence of settlement from the first millennium, the present castle ruins date mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries. It was inhabited by both the feuding MacQuillan and MacDonnell clans. Historical and archaeological exhibits are on display for public viewing.
================================
Her husband, Walter Burley Griffin, is far better known. In 1912, he won the international competition for the design of Canberra, a new capital city for Australia. Korporaal tells us that Walter was hesitant to enter the competition and only did so at Marion’s insistence. We also learn that many professional observers say it was Marion’s fine renderings of the city design that charmed the jury and earned him the award. Due to delays, rising costs, and changing local political conditions, Walter’s design was compromised as control of the project was taken from him.
After his removal from work on Canberra, new architectural commissions soon filled his time. He executed larger projects in Melbourne and many house designs.
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/188566992/posts/193837
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Julia A. Moore Biography
Julia A. Moore, also known as Julia Ann Moore
She was born Julia Ann Davis on the 1st December 1847 on the family farm in the Kent County, Michigan settlement of Plainfield Township. She had to grow up fast when, at the age of ten, she took on her ailing mother’s responsibility for looking after her three siblings. Understandably this impacted on her education but she seemed to have a love of, and a talent for, writing poetry which developed during her teenage years.
https://mypoeticside.com/poets/julia-a-moore-poems
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Opium pills, morphine injections, and laudanum (a blend of opium and alcohol) were some of the Civil War’s most widely used medicines. Opiates were marvelous painkillers—morphine and synthetic opioids are still standard palliatives today—and the medicines were also surprisingly useful for suppressing symptoms like diarrhea and coughing. Civil War armies could not have functioned without opiates, which surgeons doled out widely during and after the war to ailing soldiers.
Opiates are addictive, however, and doctors’ prescriptions all-too-predicably led to addiction for Civil War veterans. Not only was opiate addiction dangerous and unhealthy, resulting in thousands of overdose deaths between the 1860s and the early twentieth century, but the condition was also deeply stigmatized in Civil War America.
=========================
CATS: Furthermore, there is no evidence that anyone in the Middle Ages ever even interpreted this letter as a call to arms against cats, nor would it have made any sense for them to interpret the letter in such a way. In addition to the description of the cultists kissing the cat statue’s anus, the letter also contains descriptions of the cultists engaging in activities with demons in the forms of a giant frogs, a pale, skinny man, and a man with glowing genitals and hairy legs. Interpreting the letter as a call to arms against cats makes about as much sense as interpreting it as a call to arms against pale, skinny people.
Finally, even if the Vox in Rama did contain some kind of injunction to kill cats (which it manifestly does not), it is highly unlikely that this would have triggered any kind of widespread cat-killing phenomenon since, as far as we know, copies of the letter were only sent to five people: Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire, King Henry (VII) of Germany, Bishop Conrad II of Hildesheim, and Konrad von Marburg. The letter only concerned a particular region of Germany and was probably completely unknown outside of the region that it concerned.
================================
Weekly Newsletter
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
7th July 2024
Dear Friends of Sacred Heart Church,
Highlight of the Week: Ordinations in Florence, Italy
The highlights of the week for our young community were the ordinations that took place in Florence, Italy.
We thank God for all the young men who received various degrees of the sacrament of Holy Orders.
A special congratulations to Yonathan McDermott, who received the cassock last Monday. He will now be addressed as Abbe McDermott. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to his devout parents.
We also congratulate Jorge Fernandez del Rio, who holds fond memories of Ireland and his time with us at the Sacred Heart Church.
There were a total of 18 young men who received the cassock.
Celebrating Minor and Major Orders
Congratulations to the 54 seminarians who received minor orders, among them four Irish vocations. We also extend our congratulations to the new sub deacons and deacons.
Abbe Baxter has taken his first step in major orders, now being a sub deacon.
What is a Sub Deacon?
A sub deacon is the first rank in the major orders within the hierarchy of the Church. This role involves assisting the deacon and priest during Holy Mass such as singing the Epistle. It is also the commitment to celibacy and recitation of the daily breviary.
Support and Prayers for Vocations
Thank you for all your prayers for vocations and your financial support, which is also so necessary. The formation of good priests comes with significant expenses, and our community depends solely on people’s donations.
Newly Ordained Priests
We thank God for five newly ordained priests who celebrated their first Masses on Friday. Our renewed gratitude goes to all the bishops who came to celebrate and as friends of our community, especially Cardinal Burke. Our community was blessed to serve him during the Pontifical Mass in Limerick, the consecration of the altar in Ardee, and an additional Pontifical Mass in Belfast.
In Memory of Bishop Giovanetti
On Saturday, June 29th, we were informed of the death of Bishop Giovanetti. He has been a very close friend to our community since its foundation and has visited the seminary several times to confer holy orders.
He is the bishop who ordained me on July 4th, 2003. Please join me in prayer for the repose of Bishop Giovanetti’s soul. This Tuesday, I will will celebrate a Requiem Mass for him.
The following day, Wednesday, July 10th, I will celebrate his monthly Mass for the holy souls. If you have any special prayer intentions, please send them before Tuesday.
Upcoming Events
There will be joy, hymns, games, and fun in a good Catholic atmosphere in Ardee this week. The Sister Adorers of the Royal Heart will lead the young girls’ summer camp. It is a great joy to see the response of so many families. Please keep all of them in your prayers.
The pilgrimage to Lisieux for vocations promises to be very successful. Thanks to your prompt registrations, the event is already full. If you are still interested, your name can be added to our waiting list.
Summer Schedule and Devotions
The summer schedule has started, so there will be no 5 PM adoration. Confession times remain the same.
Do not forget the beautiful devotion to the Most Precious Blood this month of July. On the feast day, July 1st, the liturgy mentioned several references to the Most Precious Blood, providing us with a beautiful subject for meditation, such as: the Blood of Christ as the price of our redemption, the Blood of Christ as the source of our salvation.
And we know that through the Blood of Christ we are washed clean of sin in the sacrament of confession. So make this month holy by going to confession more than once if you can. This is God’s mercy in action to forgive and cleanse because of Christ’s Redemptive work.
May the Grace of Christ permeate your souls and deepen your faith in Him,
Have a blessed week!
Canon Lebocq
Prior of Sacred Heart Church
Live stream from the Sacred Heart Church
==================================
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Weekly Newsletter
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
23rd June 2024
Dear Friends of Sacred Heart Church,
We are deeply grateful and honoured to welcome Cardinal Burke to the Sacred Heart Church on
this Fifth Sunday after Pentecost! Despite his busy schedule at the Vatican, he has graced us with his
presence, bringing immense privilege to all local residents and our community members.
Last night, His Eminence Leo Raymond Cardinal Burke administered the sacrament of confirmation to thirteen souls. We congratulate these new soldiers of Christ, who are now guided by the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. These divine gifts empower the confirmed to live out their faith with courage and conviction, enabling them to bear witness to the Gospel in their daily lives.
Today, we have the privilege of attending a Pontifical Mass. The term “pontiff” originates from the Latin word for “bridge,” symbolising the connection between God and His people, much like a bridge that spans the banks of a river, bringing together two separate lands.
During this ceremony, a part of the liturgy will take place at the throne specially erected for this event. It is a rare honour, reserved only for the bishop of the diocese and a cardinal outside of Rome.
Cardinal Burke’s visit also coincides with the completion of the beautiful new painting in our church, which he will see for the first time today. This adds an extra layer of significance to his visit!
Your Eminence, thank you once again for all your support and prayers to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus since our community began serving in Ireland, the land of your ancestors. Your presence and blessings fortify our vocations and inspires us to continue fostering faith and devotion within this land blessed by Our Lady of Knock, Saint Patrick and so many saints!
This ceremony is also a beautiful opportunity for you to meet with more of our community members. They are delighted to make your acquaintance:
Canon Wagner, Cardinal Burke’s secretary; Abbé Van Vanderstuyf, Deacon and Abbe Sulkowski, an Institute seminarian. Please give them a joyful “Cead Mile Failte”
We are also blessed to have the Sister Adorers with us. Thank you, dear sisters, for your presence and for lifting our souls with your angelic voices.
Looking ahead, next week His Eminence will be in Belfast. He will celebrate the first Mass at the newly restored Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The most significant part of this restoration is now complete: including the shortening of the balcony, the completion of a new sanctuary with marble, and the opening of the central aisle. The altar, altar rail and side doors are still in preparation.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Canon Heppelle, Canon Ong and all volunteers from the north, for their dedication and hard work. Your efforts truly embody the spirit of family within our Institute.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Hildagard Hansert who died last Wednesday, 19th June in Germany. She is Angelika’s mother. Angelika has been attending the Sacred Heart church faithfully since her arrival in Limerick a few years ago.
Remember her in your prayers also because her father has recently been diagnosed with dementia and is no longer able to live alone. She is now responsible for his care. We ask the Sacred Heart to help the Hansert family at this difficult time and to have mercy on Hildagard’s soul. “Go n-Deana Dia trocaire ar a h-anam dilis”.
May the Most Sacred Heart bless each and every one of you.
Canon Lebocq
Prior of Sacred Heart Church
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NOTE FROM FR JIM Lenihan .....
I read an article one time on the brilliant English rugby out half Jonny Wilkinson.
It highlighted the fact that while he played for Newcastle Falcons he used to
show up 90 minutes before everybody else and spend that time practising his
kicking. And after the team session he would stay on for a further hour. All top
professionals in sport become as good as they are simply by practice. They develop
what’s called muscle memory. So when that one moment came where Jonny
Wilkinson kicked the winning score to claim the 2003 Rugby World Cup, it was
muscle memory that he called on, those hours of dedication paid off. As human
beings we tend to forget easily. We see amazing scenery and say wow but after a
while it fades from our thoughts. We enjoy a beautiful meal and later when we’re
hungry we don’t even recall it. When teaching children anything, once is never
enough. They need to hear it over and over again or else they’ll eventually forget
it. In our first reading this weekend from the Book of Deuteronomy Moses
noticed how quickly the people of Israel forgot all the miracles and wonders that
God had worked for them. Moses pleaded with the Israelites and the generations
to follow them to never forget God’s love and power in their lives which will define
them as a people of God. Jesus told his disciples at the last supper to do this in
memory of me. The only way his memory would be kept alive was to recall often
the sacrifice he made on the Cross which was celebrated liturgically at the last
supper. Only by practicing our faith every week, worshiping him by recalling his
great sacrifice can we hope to make our Christian faith second nature. When Billy
Graham was asked why did he have to pray all the time he said ‘I leak’. And so do
we. For about 80% of Catholic’s who don’t attend mass on a weekly basis they run
the risk of forgetting the Christian story, moreover in an anti religious society
like ours. We must all accept that our memories are not as good as we think. To
keep the memory of Jesus Christ alive we must practice our faith over and over
again until His ways become second nature to us
===========================
NOVENA TO THE SACRED HEART – 30TH MAY TO 7TH JUNE:
O Divine Jesus who said “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened to you. I knell at Your feet. From whom shall I ask if not from You, whose Heart is the source of all blessings. O Divine Jesus your Heart was moved by compassion for the men and women who came to you in need. You healed the sick, you forgave sinners. You are the Way, the Truth and the Life. O Divine Jesus your Heart is still full of compassion for us today in our many needs. Assured of Your love we turn to You and ask… (pause, here mention your request). I admit I am most unworthy of Your favour, Jesus, but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged. You are the God of mercies and You will not refuse a contrite Heart. Look with pity on me, I beg You so that Your compassionate Heart will find in my weakness a motive for granting my request.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.
--------------------------------
How to start your day will likely set the tone for your whole day. So focus on positivity, kindness and on relaxing instead of stressing.
Today is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as
you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever. In its place is something you have left behind.
Let it be something good.
Dear God, Touch the people around me, keep them happy and safe. Give them love, compassion and care. Blass them all with good health, peace in mind and kindness in their heart.
LAST WORD: Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it will always get you the right ones.
==========================
Novena Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ your heart was moved with love for those who sought You.
You healed the sick, fed the hungry and forgave sinners.
You showed to those who would listen the way to true life,
for You are the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Your heart is still moved today by your people and their needs.
Open my heart to hear your word, to accept your love and to respond to your call.
In particular, I beg you to grant me the favour that I ask
during this Novena, (make your request silently)
provided that it will contribute to my own eternal good
and to the building up of your Kingdom of love, peace and justice here on earth.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in You.
========================
Joseph Pearce Blogs- May 23, 2024
It is not often that the name of Enid Blyton, the bestselling children’s author, is mentioned in the same breath or the same sentence as literary giants, such as Homer, Virgil or Dante. The reason for the unlikely association is in relation to the title of two of her popular series of books featuring the Famous Five and the Secret Seven. These sprang to mind with respect to a consideration of the poets whom everyone should know, irrespective of whether they are famous or forgotten. It might be fun, I thought, to name a “famous five” poets and also a “secret seven” poets who have been hidden beneath the sands of time, sadly and unjustly neglected.
==============================
Pope Francis names Bishop Joseph Williams as coadjutor bishop of Camden, New Jersey
============================
Feast of Our Lady of Fatima – 13th May
The six apparitions of Our Lady to the Children of Fatima took place in the summer
and autumn of 1917, beginning on 13th May when the ‘Lady’ asked the three
visionaries to pray for sinners and an end to the First World War. In the final
apparition on 13th October, the ‘Lady’ identified herself as Our Lady of the Rosary
and called for prayer and conversion. On 13th May 2017 Pope Francis canonised the
two younger visionaries, Francisco Marto, who was born on 11th June 1908, and his
sister, Jacinta Marto, who was born on 11th March 1910. Francisco died on 4th April
1919 and Jacinta on 20th February 1920. Both suffered greatly before their deaths.
The third visionary, Sr Lucia de Jesus dos Santos, who was born on 28th March 1907,
became a nun and was 97 years old when she died on 13th February 2005. The
process for her beatification and canonisation is underway.
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Prayer in honour of St Brendan. God, our heavenly father, we thank You for the
wonderful life and example of St Brendan. May we like him, dedicate our lives to the
work You have given us to do. We ask You through the intercession of St Brendan for
an outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Ireland to awaken in our generation the precious
treasure of the gift of the Holy Faith given to our ancestors. The Faith was revered by
our forefathers who in their lives have given a wonderful example of courage under
persecution and of faithfulness to the Gospel. Grant this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, Amen
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NOVENA TO OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS 15TH – 23RD MAY
Mary, help of Christians, you listen with a mother’s love to all who look for your guidance. I ask you to
keep all those I love in your tender care. Give me the strength to face up to life’s difficulties and protect
me from all spiritual and bodily harm. Grant me an abundance of love so that I too, may be a help to
others sharing with them in their need, and caring for them in their moments of distress. Amen. Mary,
help of Christians, pray for us. Our Father.. Hail Mary… Glory be to the Father…
---------------------------------
Life is full of give & take. Give thanks and take nothing for granted.
Life is like a piano – what you get out of it depends on how you play it.---------------------
----------------------------
A NOTE FROM FR JIM. Lenihan ......
This coming Thursday evening we will begin the ‘Our Lady of the Wayside Novena’.
Novena (which literally means nine) was first celebrated the days between Jesus’
ascension into heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon Our Lady and the
disciples nine days later at Pentecost. The nine days of prayer in Our Lady of the
Wayside Church Clonkeen will consist of the Holy Mass, a talk followed by the
rosary before the blessed sacrament. I’m hoping that it will be like a mini Life in
the Spirit Seminar with Our Lady of the Wayside accompanying us on a journey
into a deeper relationship with her son Jesus. You’re more than welcome to join us
in person or join us virtually via the Glenflesk Facebook page or text your name
and number to 0871081588 to receive a YouTube link.
These are the themes, times and dates for our Novena:
Day 1: Thursday 16th 7.30pm: - Youth. (Mass will be offered for up for our
young people but especially for those sitting exams and preparing for both Junior
and Leaving Certs).
Day 2: - Friday 17th 7.30pm - God's Love.
Day 3: - Saturday 18th 9.30am - Our Lady of Guadalupe by Scott Watts.
Day 4: - Sunday 19th 9.30am - Salvation.
Day 5: - Monday 20th 7.30pm - The New Life in Christ.
Day 6: - Tuesday 21st 7.30pm - Receiving God's Gifts
Day 7:- Wednesday 22nd 7.30pm - Baptised in the Spirit.
Day 8: - Thursday 23rd 7.30pm - Growth.
Day 9: - Friday 24th 7.30pm - Transformation in Christ.
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Hundreds of thousands of people attended the canonization of Pope John Paul II, and since he became a saint, millions have asked for his intercession. This Saturday marks 10 years since that moment, and while the Vatican is holding its own celebration, there’s a place where you can find a connection to the pope a lot closer to home.
https://youtu.be/tNBOQenseQU?si=p0XWidLOe0Ma7K-S
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The All-Ireland Rosary Rally will take place on Saturday 1st June at Knock Eucharistic and Marian Shrine, County Mayo. Ireland.
www.allirelandrosaryrally.com
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Bishop Phonsie Cullinan & Mother Adela Galindo
https://youtu.be/XuKQ-3DLZdk?si=293KIoo23KbTDygQ
--------------------------------
By Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
ACI Prensa Staff, 17 April, 2024 / 8:00 pm (ACI Africa).
The World Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod on Synodality will be held April 29–May 2 in Sacrofano, Rome, and will reflect on the theme “How to Be a Synodal Local Church in Mission.”
With a view to the second and last session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will be held at the Vatican next October, the General Secretariat of the Synod has invited a number of parish priests to travel to Rome.
https://www.aciafrica.org/news/10765/rome-to-host-world-meeting-of-parish-priests-in-preparation-for-synod-on-synodality?utm_campaign=ACI%20Africa&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=303225218&utm_content=303225218&utm_source=hs_email
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Jesus of Prague
(Toni L. Kamins)
This statue on Prague’s Charles Bridge combines a crucifix with lines from the Kedushah prayer and has a backward aleph. (Toni L. Kamins)
In Prague, the 15th-century Charles Bridge across the Vltava River connects Old Town to Prague Castle. Some 30 statues line its pedestrian-only walkway, but only one is likely to make Jews cringe – Jesus on the cross surrounded by the Hebrew words “kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Adonai Tzva’ot” (holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts) from the Jewish prayer known as the Kedushah. The statue and inscription, whose origins are disputed, essentially appropriate Jewish liturgy to imply that Jews regard Jesus as God.
https://www.jta.org/2015/03/20/archive/from-notre-dame-to-prague-europes-anti-semitism-is-literally-carved-in-stone
=================================
A short history
M. Assunta Pallotta was born in Force on 20 August 1878. On 5 May 1898, she entered the fmm postulancy at Grottaferrata, took the habit on 9 October of the same year, made her first vows on 8 December 1900 in Rome and her perpetual profession on 13 February 1904 in Florence.
On 19 March of the same year, she left for China aboard the Tong-eul-keu. A year later, during a typhus epidemic, she fell ill and died on 7 April 1905.
There was nothing extraordinary about her life, apart from the normality lived out in love, readiness to serve, fidelity and the joy of living
https://fmm.org/april-7-passover-of-blessed-maria-assunta-pallotta/
===========================
Introduction: SVP Region is composed of Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Philippines. Last January 6, 2023, Vietnam Provincecelebrated the 90th anniversary of FMM presence. Representatives from Sri Lanka and the Philippines were invited to the celebration. Below are the reflections of our three representatives – Sr. Angelita Santos, Sr. Olivia Villanueva and Sr. Concepcion Jomen
https://fmm.org/philippine-province-journey-of-transformation-towards-regionalization/
=========================
We are thrilled to congratulate the FMM Japan Province on their 125th anniversary! This is a significant milestone for the province and a testament to the dedication and hard work of all its members.
Throughout its history, FMM Japan Province has been committed to promoting the teachings of the Gospel and serving the community. The province has played a significant role in spreading goodwill across Japan and beyond.
https://fmm.org/fmm-japan-province-125th-anniversary/
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A NOTE FROM FR. JIM. Lenihan .....
I read recently that when the Cure d’Ars was asked what wisdom he had gained
about human nature from his many years of hearing confessions, he responded,
“People are much sadder than they seem.” I have observed in recent times that as
a people we’re becoming increasingly more angry. On a recent article in the
Guardian newspaper it said that the best data we have suggests that, overall, we
are indeed getting angrier. Last year, 22% of respondents around the world told
the Gallup organisation they felt angry, a record since the question was first
asked in 2006. Michele Moran the top Catholic evangelist of our time said recently
after observing a few incidents in her home town of Leeds said ‘The atmosphere
was like a tinderbox and one spark would set it off’. I suppose in light of the
recent riots in our capital city things are no different on this side of the pod. I
believe myself that anger comes from a deep seated sadness in our lives. A
sadness coming from a frustration where even though we’re living in a time in
history where our country has never before experienced such wealth and
prosperity and never did we have it as good in a materialistic sense. Yet the
expected and presumed peace, happiness and contentment hasn’t come with it.
This week the Church is giving us Holy Week to prepare us to celebrate the joy of
Easter!! Are you feeling it? On a scale of 1 to 10 how joyful are you? Now we have
to be careful not to confuse joy with Happiness. Because happiness is an emotion
based on circumstances where Joy is a gift of gratitude that we have from God.
My prayer for all of us this Holy Week is that we’ll allow ourselves to enter into
the sufferings of Jesus and just allow the experience to touch our hearts that we
may see what God was willing to endure and put up with to save our soul. It’s in
this space I believe we’ll begin to appreciate the true blessings in our lives and in
gratitude experience His amazing love and then experience the joy we desperately
seek. Over the page you’ll find one of
my favourite reflections by St. Mother
Theresa of Calcutta called ‘I Thirst’ the
actual words spoken from the cross.
Now as you read it slowly and
prayerfully you’ll begin to experience
the intimate love God has for you
personally and begin to appreciate how
blessed you are and from that
experience comes ‘The Joy of Easter’
==========================
Lord in peace I take my rest knowing that you will make me rest safely. I entrust to you my hopes and my fears so that tomorrow I may arise refreshed and be better able to serve you.
You will never get ahead if you keep trying to get even !!
LAST WORD: Remember sometimes a minor adjustment can produce spectacular results!!
=========================
Quote of the Day
In a nutshell the Council tells us that the priest and laity must work together in order that the Church, the Body of Christ, may fulfil its mission to preach the gospel to every creature.
Without the priest there can be no fullness of the lay apostolate. Without the laity there can be no fullness of the priesthood for the priest must have members just as Christ himself had members.
Without the twelve, without the seventy-two, above all without Mary, there would be no Church, no Body of Christ in the modern world. Without the priest the vast potential of the laity remains untapped. A great reservoir remains just that - it does not flow into life-giving circulation. Instead it stagnates.
Dr. Finola Kennedy, Economist
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Legion of Mary
https://www.legionofmary.ie/news/article/concilium-bulletin-july-2013
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The Queen of the Holy Rosary Vancouver Comitium Legion of Mary started the Legion Lay Apostolate in 1937 at the request of Archbishop William Mark Duke, DD.
The Legion of Mary started from one praesidium into numerous praesidia, from one Curia and soon more Curiae and from there a Comitium was established to supervise the other Curiae in the other parts of British Columbia.
At present, the Queen of the Holy Rosary Vancouver Comitium Legion of Mary is serving in almost all parishes in the Archdiocese of Vancouver with 14 Curiae and 20 Praesidia affiliated to it and with more than a thousand active members and several thousand auxiliary members
https://www.hrvancouvercomitium.com/
--------------------------------
===========================
The Quiet Man. One of my St. Patrick’s Day traditions is to watch John Ford’s The Quiet Man. John Wayne plays an American boxer who returns to his native Irish village and falls in love with his fiery, gorgeous neighbor played by Maureen O’Hara. It’s an old-school rom-com filled with hilarious one-liners courtesy of Barry Fitzgerald (“Homeric!” “Impetuous!” “Who taught you to be playin’ patty-fingers in the Holy Water?”). It also has one of the longest bare-knuckle fight scenes in cinema history
https://www.artofmanliness.com/odds-ends/odds-ends-march-8-2024/?mc_cid=7d121923d9
=============================
By Zoe Romanowsky
Vatican City, 08 March, 2024 / 8:00 pm (ACI Africa).
On the day before International Women’s Day, Pope Francis addressed participants of the international conference “Women in the Church: Builders of Humanity” on Thursday at the Vatican.
The conference highlighted the witness of 10 women noted for their holiness: Sts. Josephine Bakhita, Elizabeth Ann Seton, Mary MacKillop, Laura Montoya, Kateri Tekakwitha, Teresa of Calcutta, Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, Venerable Magdeleine de Jesus, and Blessed Maria Beltrame Quattrocch.
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LEAVING JOB: Judy Roberts Features- February 22, 2024
For much of the time Matt Lorens worked at Planned Parenthood Federation of America as an IT professional, he didn’t question whether it was right for him as a Catholic who opposed abortion to be there.
“Working at the headquarters in New York City,” he told the Register, “I never witnessed anything that happened in a clinic. It was strictly an office environment, and I was just doing my work, designing graphics, programming websites. For a good number of years, I never gave much thought to what this company is doing.”
But when his son, Michael, was born with cerebral palsy, someone asked him why he and his wife hadn’t aborted their baby after learning he would be disabled. “I said, ‘How could you say that? He’s a gift from God,’” Lorens said. “Maybe that was one of the ways God was talking to me because I was working there.”
Lorens eventually began to consider leaving Planned Parenthood but spent a year struggling over how he would support his family if he did.
“I tried to make excuses, like, ‘They don’t just do abortions — they do a lot of other good things, like breast cancer testing,’” he said.
Ultimately, after almost 11 years at Planned Parenthood, he gave up a good salary and a generous benefits package to take a step that led him into a deeper faith life and a career change. Lorens now runs Traditio Designs, a business that seeks to restore people’s faith in God with handmade holy cards, framed pictures, rosaries and other items such as bookmarks and note cards.
-----------------------------------------------------
County Kerry search
https://catholicherald.co.uk/?s=County+kerry&filter=all
=======================
Congo Floods
By Jude Atemanke
Kinshasa, 09 February, 2024 / 8:55 pm (ACI Africa).
Officials of Caritas Congo Asbl, the development and humanitarian arm of the Catholic Bishops in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), are appealing for humanitarian aid to reach out to thousands of people affected by deadly floods.
Thousands have been affected after River Congo burst its banks, “rising to levels not seen in more than 60 years” and causing deadly flooding, UNICEF has reported. The Wednesday, February 7 report indicates that “eighteen out of DRC’s 26 provinces are affected following exceptionally heavy rainfall over the past couple of months, leaving more than 2 million people – nearly 60 per cent children – in need of assistance.”
===================================
Br. John M. Samaha
What is the significance of the apparitions at Lourdes and other places? What is the meaning of Marian apparitions in general?
In our world of rationalism and secularism, of materialism and consumerism, God and the supernatural realm seem far removed from most people. Yet He continues to intervene in human history by sending the mother of Jesus when the Christian faith is challenged and under attack.
The human family needs to be reminded, sometimes in a dynamic and supernatural way, that God exists, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a universal call to goodness and holiness, that we are all responsible before our Maker for our choices.
===============================
Lost Cause mythology, Jim Crow-era monument building, The Birth of a Nation (1915; based on Thomas Dixon Jr.’s 1905 novel, The Clansman), Gone with the Wind (1936 book, 1939 movie), and racist historiography that spilled over into textbooks right through the 1960s all left a legacy of portraying white womanhood as the heart and soul of the South.
But what Glymph describes as the “resistance, patriotism, and unionism” of enslaved and freed Black women in the midst of the Confederacy is an epic story, one that’s infinitely more interesting than Gone With The Wind’s romanticization of a woman suddenly bereft of her slave-based family wealth and position.
“Southern black women unionists played a large and significant role in the Union war and in the emancipationist turn the nation took over the course of the war,” writes Glymph. “Having made spaces for themselves in the Union’s war, which from the outset they saw as inextricably tied to the slaves’ war, in freedom black women worked to build out and extend those spaces.
==================================
The Genealogical Society of Victoria (GSV) and Family History Connections (FHC) are proudly presenting two full-day seminars delivered by Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt, two internationally renowned experts in Irish research from the Ulster Historical Foundation.
Sunday 18 February 2024 – 9.00 am at Docklands Library
Irish resources at the GSV & FHC
Understanding Irish townlands
Sources for famine research
Importance of gravestone inscriptions
Newspapers for Irish research
Plantation & 17th century records
Examples of successful searches
Q&A and solving brick walls
Monday 19 February 2024 – 9.30 am at Blackburn RSL
Irish archives & their websites
Records for churches in Ireland
Using landed estate records
Census substitutes and other sources
Using wills & testamentary records
Using the Registry of Deeds
Q&A and solving brick walls
Book now. https://www.gsv.org.au/general-public-non-members-online-bookings-researching-your-irish-family-history
https://tintean.org.au/2024/02/10/whats-on-february-24-and-beyond/
------------------------------------
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Weekly Newsletter
First Sunday in Lent
18th February 2024
Dear Friends of Sacred Heart Church,
On this first Sunday in Lent, I extend a warm welcome to Canon Gribbin, who kindly made the journey from Co. Louth to be the celebrant and homilist today at the Sacred Heart Church.
Canon Gribbin, usually serving as a chaplain to the Sister Adorers in Ardee, brings a wealth of spiritual insight and guidance, and it is indeed a privilege to commence our Lenten journey with him. Thank you for gracing us with your presence dear Canon!
Our Ash Wednesday Mass saw a remarkable turnout. It was truly edifying to witness such a large congregation coming together to mark the beginning of this sacred season of Lent. In our unity, we strengthen one another, supporting each other through prayer!
For those who may have missed receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday, they will be available at the end of today’s Mass.
This week, several Canons of the Institute will embark on a retreat at the House of the Sister Adorers in France. Among them will be Canon Lebocq and Canon Heppelle. Let us hold these priests in our prayers as they undertake this five-day silent retreat.
Canon Ong in Belfast has graciously initiated “Daily Thoughts for Lent.” I encourage you to partake in these reflections as they guide us through this blessed season.
Have you had the chance to explore the Institute priests’ new series of articles in the Catholic Voice Newspaper entitled “Navigating Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae”? Take the time to examine these insightful writings as they delve into the rich teachings of our faith.
As we approach the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas on March 7th, let us remember that he is one of our patron saints. This year, the occasion will be marked by a special ceremony at the Noviciate of our sisters in Naples, Italy, where five sisters will pronounce their vows. We will keep you updated on this prayer intention.
May this Lenten season be a time of profound spiritual growth and renewal for each of us, by fasting, practicing abstinence, prayer, almsgiving and Sacramental Confession.
Let me conclude with an excerpt of the sermon I delivered last Ash Wednesday, inspired by St Francis de Sales:
“We must fast with our whole heart—willingly, whole-heartedly, universally, and entirely. Our penance must involve depriving ourselves of foods prohibited and forbidden by the Church, recognising that sin entered the world through the mouth.”
“It is not just our mouths that have sinned but also all our senses.
Our fast must be comprehensive, involving all the senses of our body. If we have offended God through our eyes, ears, tongue, and other senses, we must make them fast as well.”
“Not only must we make the bodily senses fast, but also the soul’s powers and passions – yes, even the understanding, the memory, and the will must fast, since we have sinned through both body and spirit”
Wishing you a blessed week,
Canon Lebocq
Prior of Sacred Heart Church
================================
Sidney M. Wolfe’s legacy
A Cleveland-born doctor and son of a workplace safety inspector, Wolfe saw how important concerns about public safety were from a young age. He attended Cornell University and earned a degree in chemical engineering, but he decided that a career in the field wasn’t in his future after receiving chemical burns at a summer job. He went on to Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University), where he earned a medical degree in 1965.
Wolfe went into research and joined the National Institutes of Health in 1966. After meeting consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Wolfe joined forces with Nader to get contaminated intravenous fluids recalled from the market. For decades, Wolfe made an impact on public safety by advocating against pharmaceuticals he believed were dangerous, often sparring with major drug companies and the FDA in the process. For example, he led a long campaign to remove the opioid propoxyphene – the primary component in the drugs Darvon and Darvocet – from the market for causing heart issues. He waged similar efforts against Oraflex, Zomax, Vioxx, and Baycol, among other prescription drugs.
================================
It’s a very Catholic practice to make reparation for the wrongs of others.
Every day the holy name of our Lord is blasphemed. Insults are hurled at our Lord. Churches and Catholic Statues are vandalized. And so, we have this Act of Reparation to the Blessed Sacrament.
Unfortunately, many of us are currently unable to even do a holy hour. Some parishes are closed due to the dictates of tyrannical government. However, some of us do have access to the Blessed Sacrament.
Surely it is an act of charity to pray an extra act of reparation to make up for those who cannot? We have so much reparation to do for all the acts, insults and aggression toward our Lord and his Church.
So, if you can make an act of reparation to the Blessed Sacrament, please do.
Act of Reparation to the Blessed Sacrament
Jesus, my God, my Saviour, true God and true Man, with that most profound homage with which the faith itself inspires me, I adore and love Thee with my whole heart, enclosed in the most august Sacrament of the Altar, in reparation for all the acts of irreverence, profanation, and sacrilege, which I may ever have been so unhappy as to have committed, as well as for all such like acts that ever have been done, or which may be done, though God forbid they should be, in ages yet to come.
I adore Thee, therefore, my God, not indeed as Thou deservest, nor as much as I am bound to adore, but as far as I am able; and I would that I could adore Thee with all the perfection of which all reasonable persons are capable.
Meantime I purpose now and ever to adore Thee, not only for those Catholics who adore Thee not, and love Thee not, but also in the stead of, and for the conversion of all heretics, schismatics, impious atheists, blasphemers, impostors, Mahometans, Jews, and idolaters.
Jesus, my God, mayest Thou be ever known, adored, loved, and praised every moment, in the most holy and divine Sacrament. Amen.
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Current Notre Dame president Father Jenkins congratulated Father Dowd after the board elected him as the next president.
“I thank and congratulate our Board of Trustees on selecting Father Dowd as Notre Dame’s next president,” Father Jenkins said in a statement. “An accomplished scholar, a dedicated teacher and an experienced administrator, Father Bob [Dowd] is also a faithful and generous priest. He will lead the university to being even more powerfully a force for good in the world.”
Father Dowd will serve as Notre Dame’s 18th president. The university was founded in 1842 by a Congregation of Holy Cross priest. Every president since its founding has been a Congregation of Holy Cross priest.
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01/13/2024 @ 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Facing some big decisions in your life? Let the wisdom and witness of Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi offer guidance! Join our next online Life Decisions/ Discernment in the Franciscan Spirit retreat on Saturday, Jan.13, 2024, from 12 to 6 P.M. Eastern and 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. Pacific. This free retreat is open […]
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The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia 2023 Jubilee Celebration was held the weekend of June 3-4, 2023. Jubilarians celebrating 50 and 70 years of religious profession gathered at Our Lady of Angels Convent in Aston, Pennsylvania, for a weekend of recalling memories and celebrating both the years past and the years to come. On Saturday afternoon, congregational leadership hosted a special Mass of Remembrance for members of the jubilee set who have died and an honorary dinner for all the jubilarians at Assisi House, our retirement residence in Aston. On Sunday morning both jubilarians and guests gathered in Our Lady of Angels Chapel for a joyous jubilee liturgy. Father Cyprian Rosen, OFM Cap., presided over the liturgy during which the jubilarians renewed their vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience—vows which they first professed 70 or 50 years ago. Following the liturgy both jubilarians and their guests gathered for a luncheon at Our Lady of Angels Convent.
In her Jubilee reflection, Sister Theresa Firenze, congregational minister, thanked the jubilarians and said, “Today as we celebrate the Feast of the Trinity, we reflect upon the unique relationship God established with the people of Israel and upon God’s desire to cultivate a relationship with each one of us. We celebrate the faithfulness of our God made visible in the lives of our jubilarians.”
Collectively the nine jubilarians represent 610 years of service in 15 dioceses throughout the United States.
Diamond Jubilarians (70 Years)
Sister Marietta Culhane, OSF, a native of Chicago, Illinois, graduate of Providence High School, and member of St. Peter Canisius Parish, entered the community in 1951 and professed her first vows in 1953. With a Ph.D. in Philosophy, MA of English, and BA in secondary education, Sister Marietta served primarily in education and pastoral ministry and has ministered in the dioceses of Baltimore, Wilmington, and Philadelphia. Currently Sister Marietta serves as a volunteer at Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement residence in Aston, Pennsylvania.
Sister Marie Patrice Feeney, OSF, was born in Sligo, Ireland, where she was a member of St. Joseph Parish. She entered the congregation in 1949 and professed her first vows in 1953. After earning a BS in English and MA in elementary education, she served in education, pastoral work, and social services in the Philadelphia, Allentown, Metuchen, and Trenton dioceses. Currently she serves as a volunteer at Assisi House.
Sister Eileen Hennessy, OSF, (formerly Sister Felicine Marie) was born in Kilkenny, Ireland where she attended St. Lactain Parish. She entered the congregation in 1951 and professed her first vows in 1953. She earned a BS in business management and certification as a radiology technician from St. Francis Hospital. She ministered primarily in radiology in the Trenton, Baker, Baltimore, Wilmington, and Allentown dioceses and currently serves in the health office at Our Lady of Angels Convent in Aston, Pennsylvania.
Sister Leonora Juliani, OSF, (formerly Sister Marie Rita) a native of Philadelphia who attended St. Mary the Eternal Parish and graduated from Hallahan High School, entered the congregation in 1950 and professed her first vows in 1953. After earning her BA in education, she went on to teach in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Wilmington, and Philadelphia. Currently she ministers in prayer and hospitality at Assisi House.
Sister Ann McFadden, OSF, (formerly Sister Thomas Mary) was born in Wilmington, Delaware, where she was a member of St. Thomas Parish and a graduate of St. Peter High School. She entered the congregation in 1950 and professed her first vows in 1953. After earning a BS in education and MA in science she ministered primarily in education and parish ministry/counselling. Sister Ann ministered in the dioceses of Wilmington, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Philadelphia. Currently she serves in prayer and hospitality ministry at Assisi House.
Sister Marie Michelle Michel, OSF, a native of Baltimore attended St. Paul Parish and is a graduate of The Catholic High School of Baltimore. She entered the congregation in 1950 and professed her first vows in 1953. She ministered primarily in education and office work in the dioceses of Washington, DC, Oklahoma City, Wilmington, Allentown, and Baltimore. Currently, she ministers in prayer and hospitality at Assisi House.
Sister Nuala Kathleen Swan, OSF, (formerly Sister Fintan), was born in Kilmessan, Co. Meath, Ireland. She entered the congregation in 1950 and professed her first vows in 1953. After earning her BS in education and MA in religious studies, she ministered in education and parish ministry in the dioceses of Orlando, Charleston, Antigua, Wilmington, Baltimore, Raleigh, Miami, and Philadelphia. Currently she serves as a volunteer at Assisi House, as well as at Anna’s Place in Chester.
Sister Mary Agnes Walsh, OSF, (formerly Sister Philomene) was born in New York but grew up in Ireland. She entered the congregation in 1948 and professed her first vows in 1953. After earning a BA in education and MA in pastoral counseling she went on to minister in the dioceses of Charleston, Allentown, Trenton, Boston, Metuchen, and Philadelphia. She currently serves as an associate with the Franciscan Spiritual Center in Aston, Pennsylvania.
Golden Jubilarian (50 Years)
Sister Mary Dawson Smith, OSF, a Baltimore Native, attended Immaculate Conception Parish and graduated from Towson Catholic High School. She entered the community in 1970 and professed her first vows in 1973. After earning a BS in history and MSW in mental health she has served in the dioceses of Baltimore and Philadelphia. Currently she serves as the school counselor at St. Ann School in the Diocese of Wilmington.
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A NOTE FROM FR. JIM Lenihan.....
In a recent survey in the USA Catholic’s were asked. Why does the Church exist?
90% replied to provide them with a service! Priests and religious were asked the
same question, they replied, To Evangelise. Obviously there’s a major disconnect in
our understanding of what God had done for us and His expectations of us.
Unfortunately with our modern consumer mindset we might end up thinking as
consumers in our spiritual life and not coming to God in humility with our offerings
of worship and “sacrifices of praise” but rather with a sense of entitlement and
looking for a service provider. On this weekend when we bring our Christmas
season to a close with two wonderful feast days ‘The Epiphany’ and the ‘Baptism of
the Lord’ we see God giving Himself to us in pure ‘Gift’, grace. The three Wise
Men give us the perfect example of how to respond to God’s graciousness, by
falling to their knees and doing Him homage and presenting Him with appropriate
gifts. The Magi or Wise Men were people of great knowledge. They were
philosophers, astrologists, astronomers and scholars of many different subjects.
They were people of holiness who prayed and reflected. They saw themselves in
the bright light of God’s glory and His magnificent creation and were humbled and
in awe with the world God created for them. They knew the God they came to
worship intimately and we see this in the gifts they brought, of Gold, Frankincense
and Myrrh. All very expensive because nothing but the best would do for a God
made Man. Gold is the rare and precious gift one gives to a King. Frankincense:
Again rare and precious. Frankincense was traditionally associated with liturgical
worship of God. Myrrh: is a specific kind of costly perfume made from rare thorn
bushes in Arabia and Ethiopia that is used as an antiseptic anointing oil and
embalming fluid. As someone said embalming fluid isn’t something you’d bring to a
Baby Shower!! Yet it reveals that the Wise Men knew that this Divine Baby King
was here to be sacrificed and die on behalf of humanity so that He could lead his
people to heaven. So as we begin this new year, be wise and instead of asking what
God or the Church can do for you rather ask yourself do know what God has done
for you? and how He wants you to live and worship in response to His amazing
benevolence.
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A Prayer for the Synod in Rome
Holy Spirit, breath of Pentecost, you send us to proclaim Christ and to welcome into our communities those who do not yet know him. Come down, we pray, upon the participants of the Synod and upon all who are present in this church, filling them with your wisdom and courage in order to be servants of communion and bold witnesses of your forgiveness in today’s world! We make this prayer through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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Gathering of the People: A time of ecumenical prayer and reflection to mark the opening of the Synod on Synodality beginning in Rome held in: St. John’s Church, Castle Street, Tralee on Saturday, 30th September 3pm to 4pm.
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LOVE: None of us know how much time we have let on this earth. What is left in the end are your actions, the memories you left behind, and how you made other people feel.
And what you want to leave behind is for people to remember you with Love.
Every sunrise is an invitation for us to arise and brighten someone’s day
LAST WORD: Wise people are not always silent - but they know when to be!
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A NOTE FROM FR. JIM Lenihan, Glenflesk....
Just a note to thank Fr. Mark Moriarty for presenting week 1. of the Rescue
Project (Still available on our Parish FaceBook page). In the video he showed, Fr.
John Ricardo said for centuries we viewed the world through the ‘Lens’ of the
Christian universal story which shaped our world of politics, family, art, music,
architecture, society, everything. But today since we no longer have the universal
Christian Lens "If we don't understand ourselves as a part of a greater story... we
will have no idea what we are supposed to do with our lives. In our modern world,
we have lost the story that for centuries gave people in our culture a way to make
sense of their lives: the biblical story. In our secular age, we no longer believe we
are part of any universal story. We are free to choose our own narratives, which
means we can follow our hearts. If it feels good, do it. If it feels right, believe it.
This is how many people think today". In this individualistic world there can be no
unity and peace. In the next six weeks every Tuesday night @ 8pm we’ll discover
what the rescue project proposes.
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History Kilmoyley Church, County Kerry
Next Thursday, 5 October 2023, marks the 150th anniversary of the consecration of
the Sacred Heart Church in Kilmoyley on Sunday, 5 October 1873, by the Very Rev
Dean Mawe, Parish Priest of Tralee and Vicar General of the Diocese of Kerry. This is
a real milestone in the history of our parish. We remember with love and affection
and include in our prayers all who helped to build that church including those who
contributed financially from the little that they had at that time which was shortly
after the Great Famine in our country. We similarly remember and include in our
prayers all who worshipped in the church over the last 150 years. We would like to
think of them smiling down on us from on high on this auspicious occasion.
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The feast of Our Lady of Ransom was officially added to the liturgical calendar in 1960 to be celebrated on Sept. 24.- Maria de las Mercedes
September 22, 2023 — Share this post
our lady of ransom, who is our lady of ransom, our lady of mercy
Our Lady of Ransom, by Domenico Ghirlandaio (c. 1472), Public Domain
September boasts a good number of Marian feasts and memorials: Our Lady's Nativity (Sept.8), the Holy Name of Mary (Sept.12), Our Lady of Sorrows (Sept.15), and Our Lady of La Salette (Sept.19).
But have you heard of Our Lady of Ransom (changed to Our Lady of Mercy after Vatican II)?
Not many Catholics in North America have, but in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, the feast is widely known, particularly in Barcelona as she is the city's patroness.
The feast of Our Lady of Ransom was officially added to the liturgical calendar in 1960 to be celebrated on Sept. 24.
So what is the story behind this title of Our Lady?
Saracens, or Moors, captured much of Spain in the 13th century. They forced Christians into slavery.
In 1218, Our Lady appeared to three men at the same time but in separate visions. These men were Saint Peter Nolasco, Saint Raymond of Penafort, and King James of Aragon.
Our Lady expressed to each that it would please her Son if an order was established to help ransom the Christians from their captivity.
Saint Peter Nolasco, his confessor Saint Raymond of Penafort, along with King James, established the royal, military, and religious Order of Our Lady of Ransom in Barcelona.
This order later became the Mercedarians, who collected monetary alms to buy back Christians.
In addition, the members were required to take a fourth vow promising to die, if necessary, to save those in danger of losing their faith. This vow is still required of the members today.
Many of the members during the 13th century gave themselves up to slavery in exchange for their fellow Christians (when alms were not available) until a debt could be paid.
Our Lady of Mercy wished to come to the aid of her children those many centuries ago, that they might be freed from physical and spiritual captivity.
Today, we are in no less dire need of being set free from captivity from ideologies that distance us from God and bind both our souls and bodies in demonic chains.
Our Lady continues to help set captives free.
Let us ask Our Lady of Ransom, or Our Lady of Mercy, to restore the enslaved areas in our lives to the freedom of the children of God.
In this way, may we help free others and serve Him who is the King of Mercy.
Prayer for the Feast of Our Lady of Ransom (Our Lady of Mercy)
Merciful Father and God of all consolation,
you have shown yourself
to be wonderful in the glorious Virgin Mary,
Mother of Christ, and have given her to us
as the Mother of Mercy.
May all of us who venerate her with devotion,
always experience her powerful intercession,
and enjoy Your immense mercy.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer Source: Catholic Fire
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History Tralee Church
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Video link
https://youtu.be/sfR648MrngM
Filename
Abbeyfeale Church August 2023.mp4
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How Our Lady of Fatima predicted the World Wars. Will there be a third one?
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Modern Day Saint — Nellie Organ
She was born in Waterford the daughter of William Organ and Mary Ahern.
by Jim Fritz
Little Nellie of the Holy God — 1903-1908
Nellie was the last of four children born to Mary and William Organ (a soldier) on 24th August 1903, at the Royal Artillery Barracks, in Ireland. Both of her parents were very devout Catholics. Mrs. Organ, always pious, in her last months turned entirely to God, and her Rosary was never out of her hands. She clung to Nellie with such transports of affection towards the end that the child had to be torn, almost rudely, from her dying embrace. She died in January 1907. Now Mr. Organ was left with four motherless little ones. The priest came to the rescue and had them provided for — Thomas, the eldest, barely nine, to the Christian brothers; David to the Sisters of Mercy, and Mary and Nellie to the Good Shepherd Sisters.
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=7871
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The Significance of the Pope’s Return Visit to the Central Asian Region
“His Holiness Pope Francis' interest is not geopolitical,” remarked Bishop Jose Louis Mumbiella, head of the two-year-old Bishops’ Conference of Central Asia, discussing the Holy Father's second visit to the region with the Register.
These visits, initially to Kazakhstan and now to Mongolia, primarily reflect the Church's engagement with the periphery and interreligious dialogue. The Kazakhstan visit included participation in the Congress of the Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions, while the Mongolia pilgrimage will strengthen dialogue with Buddhists.
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Timmerie Geagea works as a radio host and Catholic speaker educating in areas of theology and is an expert at responding to current trends of sexuality, feminism, and gender ideology. She hosts Trending with Timmerie on Relevant Radio. She holds a Masters Degree in Biblical Theology and Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Media with an emphasis in the New Evangelization from John Paul the Great Catholic University.
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Rome Newsroom, May 16, 2023 / 09:45 am
Six months after Pope Francis dismissed its top administrators, Caritas Internationalis’ new leadership team elected Alistair Dutton, who also serves on the board of Stop Climate Chaos and Jesuit Refugee Services, as its new secretary general Monday night.
Dutton is the chief executive of Caritas Scotland, which works to build “a green and just world” by putting faith into action, according to its website.
He is now tasked with leading the second-largest humanitarian aid organization in the world until 2027. Caritas Internationalis is the Church’s main charitable arm, made up of a confederation of more than 160 Catholic charities operating in 200 countries and territories.
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Tribute
The end of an era for the Sisters of Charity of New York
By Luis Andres Henao | AP
May 9, 2023 at 9:25 a.m. EDT
Sisters Claire E. Regan, center, and Dorothy Metz, right, members of the leadership council of the Sisters of Charity, stand in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception, at the College of Mount Saint Vincent, a private Catholic college in the Bronx borough of New York, on Tuesday, May 2, 2023. They had taken their vows in the chapel. In more than 200 years of service, the Sisters of Charity of New York have cared for orphans, taught children, nursed the Civil War wounded and joined Civil Rights demonstrations. Last week, the Catholic nuns decided that it will no longer accept new members in the United States and will accept the “path of completion.” (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Comment1
Gift Article
NEW YORK — Through more than 200 years, the Sisters of Charity of New York nursed Civil War casualties, joined civil rights and anti-war demonstrations, cared for orphans, and taught countless children.
They’re proud of their history of selfless service. But they can’t ignore their current reality: The congregation continues to shrink and age — and not a single new sister has joined their U.S. group in more than 20 years.
After much prayer and contemplation, they made a tough decision that marked the beginning of the Catholic congregation’s end. They will no longer accept new members, and announced in an April 27 statement that they are now on a “path to completion.”
Sister Margaret Egan recalled that day and the emotional silence that filled the meeting room on their leafy Bronx campus when she and the other members of the order’s executive council accepted their reality and charted a new future. Grasping a roster of every sister who had ever served the congregation, they honored the women who preceded them.
“We just held up that book and said, ‘They’re here with us.’ (It’s) recognition that we’ve all done what God asked us to do,” said Egan, sitting in that same meeting room days after the announcement.
It was Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton who set their lengthy mission of service into motion when she sent three sisters to New York City in 1817 to start an orphanage. Eight years prior, in Maryland, Seton had founded the Sisters of Charity — the first community for religious women in the U.S.
In New York, their mission expanded to schools and hospitals. In 1846 the Sisters of Charity of New York spun off into a separate order.
Over the decades, they opened schools, colleges and hospitals; launched missions in the Bahamas and Guatemala; protested the Vietnam War and were arrested for doing so during Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1972. They continued to serve people on society’s margins, including immigrants, the homeless and the aging.
Their numbers ballooned, peaking in the 1960s with 1,300 nuns. Today, they have 154; their median age is 85.
That drop reflects a global trend. The number of Catholic nuns is in a free fall as fewer young women devote their lives to religious orders.
The number of religious sisters in the U.S. peaked in 1965 at 178,740, and has sharply declined to 39,452 sisters in 2022, according the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.
Several of the Sisters of Charity in New York serving today made their vows in the 1950s and the 1960’s; they have witnessed this drop in real time. But that has not diminished their congregation’s legacy nor the many ways they’ve personally changed the lives of New Yorkers.
On a recent day, six sisters on the executive council shared their hopes and reminisced as they gathered at their headquarters on the College of Mount Saint Vincent, which evolved from an academy founded by the congregation in 1847.
Sister Donna Dodge, the congregation president, recounted a favorite memory — the unsolicited praise that followed them as they marched along Fifth Avenue in a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
“As we passed, many of them came out and said, ‘Thank you for teaching me. Thank you for helping me in the hospital. Thank you! Thank you!’” she said. “It was the first time in my life that I’ve ever heard that from so many people at once, because we don’t do what we do to look for thanks. We do what we do because it’s right … and it’s a Gospel mandate.”
In decades past, operating the order’s hospitals and schools afforded the sisters leadership opportunities that were off limits to women elsewhere in society, said Sister Margaret O’Brien.
Eventually more avenues for leadership opened up for all women, including nuns across the U.S. who’ve become champions for social justice causes and leaders of vast hospital networks. In a recent historic reform, Pope Francis gave women voting rights at a global meeting of bishops.
But members of the Sisters of Charity in New York had hoped for more, said O’Brien, who lamented that women still cannot be Catholic priests.
“Back in the ‘70s, in a lot of our documents and assembly minutes, you can see the hope that we had at the time for the ordination of women,” she said. “And that’s much slower in coming … but it will come.”
The sisters took turns sharing their experiences while sitting beneath a 19th century painting of the order’s founder, Seton, who became the first saint born in what would become the U.S. A word that guides their life — charism — came up repeatedly. It is defined as “an extraordinary power (as of healing) given a Christian by the Holy Spirit for the good of the church.”
They also spoke of all the changes. In their beginnings, the Sisters of Charity nuns wore long black dresses and bonnets. They gradually began to wear a modified version of the habit and eventually secular clothes.
This came after reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council, which brought the 2,000-year-old church into the modern era. Some wondered if the updates to the life of the church eventually contributed to their recent decision to stop accepting new sisters.
“When something like this is looming, you think, ‘What did we do wrong?’” O’Brien said. “I’m sure there were many times when we questioned all those changes that we made back in the seventies — the habit, leaving schools, going into other various ministries.”
“But when you stop and think, you recognize that each person who did any of those things was doing it in faith, trying to read the signs of the time, and do what they’re called to do. And that can’t be wrong.”
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The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (066 7135146; 087 6807197)
abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry.ie
2nd Sunday of Lent, 5th March 2023.
Dear Parishioner,
The topic of education is one that is of interest to most
people – to parents who have children in school, to children in primary
school, to students at second level who are wondering what they will study
at third level or those who may wish to get a job immediately, after
finishing secondary education. One might say that Kerry people, when
they think about education at this time, may remind themselves that a
Kerry woman has the top job in education as Minister for Education. In
recent years, there has been a lot of talk (and a lot written) about
education in Ireland and about the power of the Catholic Church in this
area.
The March edition of the Furrow magazine has a lengthy
article, entitled ‘Divestment of Catholic Primary Schools in the Republic of
Ireland.’ The word ‘divestment’ may be a new word for many of us. It
means. ‘Taking from’, ‘Depriving’, Dispossessing.’ In relation to the
heading of the article it refers to what has been happening in Ireland in the
past few years – transferring patronage of some primary schools from the
Catholic Church to other patronage bodies. The Furrow article is the
combined work of three priests – Frs. Patrick Connolly, Eugene Duffy &
Eamonn Conway – all of whom have worked in teacher education and
continuing professional development of Catholic teachers for many years.
The following is taken from the article. It begins, ‘The ongoing delay in
progressing the divestment of Catholic primary schools in Ireland is not in
the interests of children, of parents, of the Church or of the Irish State. It
doesn’t serve the mission of the Church or the demands of those who,
justifiably, seek greater diversity in primary schools patronage in this
country. This discussion document details the key challenges and
opportunities that divestment presents, in an effort to move the debate
towards a negotiated settlement that is reasonable and respectful towards
all parties.’
‘In an effort to move the debate forward..... That phrase, taken from the
last sentence of the first paragraph of the Furrow article is a phrase that is
often used in political circles, when there are different views about the
topic being debated or examined. One would hope that the debate
referred to, in the Furrow article will happen in the time ahead. (Fr. Denis
O’Mahony)
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The Seventh Commandment
Thou Shalt Not Steal
As in the case of all the other commandments, it is important that we
explore how the seventh commandment applies to the situation in which
we live today. I think it may be helpful to begin by noting the positive
values which it seeks to protect. These values apply both at the
interpersonal level and at the far wider global level. I think the most
fundamental value which the seventh commandment seeks to foster is
respect for others. When we obey the seventh commandment, we are
refusing not only to steal from others but also committing not to cheat
them or to take advantage of them in all our economic dealings with them.
This is one of the most important and obvious ways in which we show
respect for them and, of course, we cannot claim to love or care for others
if we do not value and respect them.
A Challenge by the Prophets
In the time when the commandment was first proclaimed it forbade the
Jewish people not just from stealing from others. It also prohibited other
less obvious but equally serious ways of robbing vulnerable people. All of
the great prophets warned their people against such abuses. The prophet
Amos spoke out very strongly about various serious mistreatments of
poor people by those who were rich and powerful: ‘They trample on the
heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the
oppressed.’ ‘You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their
grain.’ ‘Hear this, you who trample the needy and do away with the poor of
the land....skimping on the measure, boosting the price and cheating with
dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of
sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat.’ (Amos 2:7; 5:11; 8:4-
6). The prophet, also, spoke harsh words not only against the men but
also against wealthy self-indulgent women who were abusing the poor:
‘Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who
oppress the poor and crush the needy.’ (Amos 4:1).
Our Present-Day World
These strong condemnations by Amos show clearly that he and the other
prophets were well aware that what is forbidden by the seventh
commandment is not just one individual robbing another. They took a very
strong stance on issues of social justice, where a whole wealthy class take
advantage of the poorer class. But the people of their time could scarcely
imagine the extent and severity of the social injustice that is a key aspect of
today’s world. The situation at present is that there is a huge and ever-
growing gap in wealth and economic power between what is called the
‘West’ or the ‘North’ (which is taken to include Japan, Australia and New
Zealand) and all the rest of the world. To make things worse, in both the
rich countries and the poor ones, there is a similar wide and ever-
increasing gap between a tiny number of super-wealthy people and all the
rest of the population. The reason why the gap between the rich and the
poor is constantly increasing is that wealthy countries, companies, and
individuals have an enormous degree of economic power. The rich
countries also have overwhelming military power but they have to
intervene militarily, only rarely, because the huge multinational companies
and those who control them have such a stronghold on the whole
economic system and the poorer countries find they have little or no
bargaining power.
The Source of the Problem
About five hundred years ago the countries of the Western world were not
significantly more wealthy than the countries in other parts of the world.
So, how did the present-day huge imbalance of wealth and economic
power come about? The most reliable scholars tell us that it was brought
about primarily by a combination of exploitative colonialism and an
extremely abusive form of capitalism practiced by a few European
countries. Wealthy and unscrupulous bankers funded kings and queens to
send out so called explorers to the Americas, Asia and Oceania. Their task
was to take possession of these lands in the name of the Christian
monarchs who had sent them. They convinced themselves that they were
bringing civilisation and Christianity to the indigenous peoples of these
‘new’ lands and, in doing so, they exploited and enslaved these people
and brought back untold amounts of gold to Europe, as well as millions of
African slaves to suffer and die harvesting the cotton on the plantations
of European settlers in the Americas. The military and political supremacy
of the colonial powers quickly led to the establishment of an Economic
system in which the traditional economic fabric of the colonised countries
was completely undermined. It was replaced by a system in which the
economies of very many of the non-Western countries were reshaped.
Instead of functioning primarily to produce food and other products for
the benefit of the indigenous population, they were made to become the
producers of primary products wanted by people in the Western world.
Unsustainable Exploitation Means Stealing
It has become increasingly clear that this present-day system is not only
grossly unjust but is also quite unsustainable. It is causing major and
irreparable damage to the environmental system on which the continued
flourishing - and even survival – of plants, animals, birds, insects, fish and
humans depend. So, we already have advancing deserts, much worse
storms, more frequent flash floods, pollution of water, land and air, as well
as the emergence of new diseases which can be pandemic and we, soon,
have not just thousands but millions of environmental refugees. All this
means that through our present system we are stealing the livelihoods and
the lives of enormous numbers of people. Equally bad is the fact that we
are robbing our children and grandchildren of a liveable future. We see
then that the Seventh Commandment: ‘You shall not steal’ is even more
relevant at present than it has been over the past 2,500 years.
Is it any wonder then that Pope Francis has been begging us, time and time
again, to ‘hear the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor’ and we see
why, on the 24th September 2022, the Pope went to Assisi and signed a
radical agreement with young economists – a pact which calls for an
economy that is respectful of creation, which values and safeguards
different cultures and traditions, which creates secure and dignified work
for everyone, which protects and embraces those who are poor and which
creates wealth and promotes joy for everybody. (Fr. Donal Dorr, Africa
March 2023)
A notice appears almost every week in our Parish Newsletter about the
get-together in the Community Hall of the ‘Active Retired Group’ and an
invitation is offered to others to come and be part of the group. I don’t
know if the author of the article from the Africa magazine, Fr. Donal Dorr is
a member of any ‘Active Retired Group’. He is in that age group above the
four score years, but he never seems to stop writing articles as well as
books. The blurb attached to the article in the Africa says, ‘Fr. Donal Dorr is
a theologian, a writer and a priest of St. Patrick’s Missionary Society. His
latest book ‘A Creed for Today’ is published by Veritas in Ireland and Orbis
Books in the USA.’ Fr. Donal is not the only member of his family who is
known outside of Ireland. His brother, Noel, served as Permanent
Representative to the United Nations in New York in 1980-1983 and as Irish
Ambassador to Great Britain from 1983 to 1987 and has held a number of
other Government appointments since then. (D. O’M)
======================
Denver Newsroom, Sep 21, 2022 / 15:00 pm
A major gas station chain in Brazil is building chapels for the Blessed Sacrament on the country’s highways to be an “oasis” for travelers.
Although it’s normal for travelers to stop at a service station or gas station to fill the tank of their vehicle, eat something, or rest, in Brazil there are some stations that have chapels where travelers can adore the Blessed Sacrament, go to confession, and attend Mass.
===============================
At the source of all Edel’s activity was her deep union with God, sustained by constant prayer. The Eucharist was the centre of her life: “What a desolation life would be without the Eucharist”, she wrote. Her devotion to Mary was marked by childlike trust and utter generosity. She said she could never refuse Our Lady anything she thought she wanted. Mary’s rosary seemed to be always in her hand.
Edel died in Nairobi on May 12, 1944.
https://www.legionofmary.ie/causes/profile/edel-quinn
==============================
The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (066 7135146; 087 6807197)
abbeydorney@dioceseofkerry.ie
15th May 2022, 5th Sunday of Easter.
Dear Parishioner,
I am writing this page on Saturday morning. Two hours
from now, I will be celebrating the First Communion Mass for the children
of Abbeydorney and Killahan Second Class. As I do on most Saturdays, I
listened to the first part of Countrywide, presented by Damian O’Reilly, on
RTE Radio 1, following the 8 a.m. News. He started the programme by put-
ting a question about the TV programme that is watched by a large number
of farmers during the month of May. I didn’t have the answer! It was the
Sunday Farming Forecast for the week ahead. So, there you have it – the
link between First Communion and silage making. Both are happening dur-
ing the month of May. When you read this ‘Dear Parishioner’, all the chil-
dren in our parish who were due to receive First Communion, will have
done so. Parents and family members, who were in attendance, together
with their extended families and those who have seen the Masses
livestreamed will have heard me appealing to the parents not to see First
Communion, as a once-off occasion but as the start of a journey with their
child – bringing their child to receive the Bread of Life on many occasions in
the future.
When I am preparing a homily for First Communion, I have to ask myself,
‘How do I connect with all those in front of me today?’ The age range is
from 8 to ? Well, there are the parents of the children, brothers and sisters
of the child receiving, grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. To do that effec-
tively, I would want the skill and charm of the late Gay Byrne! Those that I
hope will hear what I have to say (and maybe who will talk about it after-
wards) are the parents of the children. You may have thought I would be
directing my words at the children, as some priests will do! In trying to get
across to the parents that their task of spiritual parenting goes on side by
side with ‘ordinary parenting’ into their child’s teenage years, I am hoping
they will see me as offering encouragement to them as well as appealing to
them to give witness to their faith in what they say and do.
Do I think that those listening to me are in the mood for hearing a challeng-
ing message! Are their thoughts, maybe, more taken up with the festivities
that will follow the Mass? Parents don’t usually contact me to discuss
what I said but I leave the rest to the Holy Spirit. (Fr. Denis O’Mahony.
-----------------------------
Loneliness (Carmel Wynne- Reality May 2022)
We All Experience Loneliness From Time To Time, But In Different Ways
The first Report on the Social Implications of COVID-19 in Ireland set out a
range of issues impacting the general population including a lack of social
interaction, mental health problems and loneliness. Cut off from our loved
ones, loneliness emerged as a key public health challenge for the Irish pop-
ulation during the pandemic. Loneliness is often assumed to be an issue
that predominantly affects the elderly but, according to Professor Roger
O’Sullivan from the Institute of Public Health, loneliness increased more
among 18-34-year-olds than for any other age group. In 2018, data from
Prof. O’Sullivan showed that 3 per cent in the 18-34 age group said they
were lonely all or most of the time. By November 2020, this figure had ris-
en to 28 per cent. Extreme loneliness increased for all, bar the over 70s,
who remained at 5 per cent – from 3 to 9 per cent among 35- to 44-year-
olds; from 3 to 15 per cent among 45- to 54-year-olds; and from 3 to 7 per
cent among 55- to 69-yearolds. It’s hardly surprising that more people
than ever reported feeling lonely during the past two years. The reasons
are obvious. Lockdown was incredibly difficult for everyone, but especial-
ly for people who were living alone, single-parent families and those who
were not allowed to visit their terminally ill loved ones in hospital.
There are no words to describe the emotional pain, suffering and sense of
abandonment that many lonely, socially isolated and terminally ill patients
had to endure alone. Window visits were of little consolation to family
members whose only wish was to sit by the bedside and hold the hand of a
loved one, in what might be their final days. We will never understand the
loneliness and sorrow of people who did not get to say their goodbyes in
person. Bereavement is always difficult, but for people who were de-
prived of the emotional support given and received at a traditional wake
and funeral, the grieving process will continue to be arduous and painful.
Subjective: No two people experience loneliness in the same way because
loneliness is subjective. It can and does affect everyone at some time in
their lives. Left unchecked, it can have as serious an impact on our health
as alcohol, smoking or obesity. Different people need different amounts
of social contacts. Some people can spend a lot of time alone and suffer
no loneliness. Others can feel lonely in a crowd.
Prof. O’Sullivan wisely said that “Not everyone who is lonely is socially iso-
lated and not everyone who is socially isolated is lonely.” There are good
reasons why so many of us put on weight – jokingly referred to as the
‘Covid stone’ – during lockdown. People who rate themselves as lonely are
more likely to sleep fitfully and this may cause them to feel tired the fol-
lowing day. Lonely people are more likely to eat unhealthily, drink more
and fail to exercise. A meta-analysis of nearly 150 studies showed that a
lack of social interaction had the same negative effects on risk of death as
smoking, alcohol, lack of exercise and obesity. Both alcohol and loneli-
ness increase the risk of mental health problems such as anxiety, stress
and depression. The most cited reasons for drinking are to ease boredom,
relax and unwind. In the face of the unprecedented stresses and anxieties
of an uncertain future, alcohol consumption increased for many who could
no longer socialise in pubs and restaurants. A couple of glasses of wine or
a few beers in the evening helped people cope with the loneliness. Some
believed alcohol helped them get a good night’s sleep. A study by
‘Drinkaware’ found that in the 30-day period leading up to April 24, 2020,
52 per cent of adults were drinking on a weekly basis and the frequency of
consumption of alcohol had also increased.
One of the most underreported and ignored health problems in Irish socie-
ty is the perceived isolation of lonely people who stay at home and assuage
their loneliness by lolling in front of the television with junk food, overeat-
ing and rationalising that an alcoholic drink will cheer them up. Technology
has changed the way we shop, work, socialise and maintain personal rela-
tionships with family, colleagues, classmates and friends. People wrongly
assume that social media should be an antidote to loneliness but there is
research that suggests that heavy users of social media are lonely people.
The jury is still out on whether social media generates loneliness or lonely
people use social media more.
The month of May is the pleasant time; its face is beautiful; the blackbird
sings his full song, the living wood is his holding, the cuckoos are singing
and ever singing; there is a welcome before the brightness of the summer.
(Lady Gregory in Reality Magazine, May 2022)
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know
peace. (Jimi Hendrix in Reality Magazine, May 2022)
Seeing your Life through the Lens of the Gospel John Byrne OSA
1.Judas leaves and Jesus announces that the moment has come for God’s
power to be made manifest. This is unexpected at a moment of imminent
betrayal. Have there been times for you when the power of God was made
manifest in strange circumstances?
2.‘I shall not be with you much longer.’ Jesus announces a parting of the
ways. There are places we have to go in life where others cannot come
with us. There are places others have to go and we cannot accompany
them. When have you experienced this going on alone as necessary for a
fuller life for yourself, or for someone else?
3.Jesus proclaims love as the distinguishing characteristic of his followers.
Have there been times when reaching out to others has heightened your
sense of walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
4.Who are the individuals or communities whose love for one another and
for others has been a witness to you? Perhaps you have seen examples of
this during the Covid pandemic, or in the response to the plight of refugees
from Ukraine or from other countries in crisis.
Points to Ponder Intercom May 2022.
Loving those with whom we agree or are partial to is the easy part. Loving
the rest of those we come in contact with is a much harder proposition.
Reality is ... it’s easier to love those who are more loving and lovable. It is
said that John, in his old age, would remind those around him to love one
another. When questioned why he told them this so very often, his reply
would be, ‘Because it is what our Lord commanded. If it is all you do, then
it is enough.’ The way Jesus talks about loving each other is a precursor of
the spread of Christianity. As he loved and that love spread within his in-
ner circle, so too will love spread after he is gone when love is done in his
name. This act, to love others, is a distinguishing mark of the followers of
Christ then and will continue to be. Some would say that one of the weak-
nesses of the church today is the way many Christians do not embody this
commandment – or the others – commanding his followers to love their
neighbour. Jesus makes plain his call to the disciples. ‘Let me give you a
new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love
one another. This is how everyone will recognise that you are my disciples
– when they see the love you have for each other’. Jesus was bold and
clear then. How much clearer do we need Jesus to be for our own lives of
discipleship now?
(Karyn Wiseman in Intercom Magazine, May 2022
===========================
=============================
St. Johns' Church - Tralee - Window of Reconciliation
=====================================
Tralee Tourism 1960's YouTube Tommy Collins Tralee
===================================
Fr Kevin McNamara, Rest in Peace December 2021
DEATH on Tuesday 21st December 2021, of Fr. Kevin Mc Namara of Killarney, Kerry / Cooraclare, Clare. Son of the late Mary and Tom and survived by his sister Geraldine Condren, his brother-in-law Dave, niece Niamh, nephew Caimin, his extended family, neighbours, the Bishop and Priests of the Diocese of Kerry, Conferees in the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, his parishioners in Glenflesk and a wide circle of friends. Fr Kevin reposing in St. Agatha's Church, Glenflesk on Sunday 26th December 2021 from 10.00am to 12 noon and in the Church of the Assumption, Moyvane on Sunday evening from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm. Requiem Mass on Monday, 27th December in St. Senan's Church, Cooraclare at 2.00 pm, burial afterwards in Dromelihy Cemetery
Bishop Ray Browne expressed the shock and sadness on the death of Fr Kevin:
There is widespread shock and sadness at the sudden death of Fr. Kevin McNamara, parish priest of Glenflesk. Currently he was parish priest of Glenflesk, having served previously in Kenmare, Killarney , Rathmore and Moyvane. Fr. Kevin was in hospital for a number of days, when Tuesday morning he suddenly took ill and died. Fr Kevin was a man of huge energy and colour. We all regret his passing. Rest in peace, Fr. Kevin.
Fr Kevin was born in 1955 in Cooraclare Village in Co. Clare. He was ordained as a Missionary of the Sacred Heart in 1981. He joined the diocese of Kerry in 2004 and spent a short while in Kenmare. Killarney was his next parish in July of that year. Rathmore followed in 2012 till 2015 when he moved to Moyvane. His current parish was Glenflesk. Fr. Kevin was a gifted writer and communicator. He put great work into his parish newsletters.
=========================
From: Sean Sheehy <frlistowel@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2021, 12:20
Subject: 26th Sunday B
To:
Is there a Hell?
In today’s world hell is rarely mentioned by the Church’s preachers. We hear it when people yell, “Give
‘em hell!” urging on a team or an individual to conquer the opposition. The word ‘hell’ means “the place of torment for the wicked after death.” In the Bible ‘Gehenna’ is used to describe Hell as the abode of the damned. When I was growing up most of the sermons in Church were labelled as “hellfire and brimstone.” But since Vatican II the focus has been on God’s love rather than on fear of spending eternity in hell. But we need to realize that God’s love doesn’t preclude the possibility of ending up in hell. The fact that we can say “Yes” to God’s love doesn’t preclude the fact that we can also say “No” to what He offers us. This abuse of human freedom to reject God’s love by disobeying His Commandments became a reality when Adam and Eve freely chose to follow Satan, thus dooming the human race to a painful eternity.
God is love (1 Jn 4:8) and so He continues to love. That love became visible when His Word took on human flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, God-become-man, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Jesus began His public ministry proclaiming to the world: “This is the time of fulfilment. The reign of God is at hand! Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1:15)He came, as He said Himself, “to call sinners, not the self-righteous, to repentance.” (Mk 2:17) Jesus’ mission extended God’s love to every man and woman by calling them to avail of His mercy through repenting of their sins and seeking His forgiveness. He didn’t call the self-righteous because they believed they hadn’t sinned and didn’t need to seek forgiveness. Why did Jesus come to call sinners? Because He didn’t want anyone to go to Hell and be separated from God for all eternity. Jesus also knew that sin is the cause of all human miseries. God created everyone out of love for love and to love. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost to Him. This is why Jesus is the Shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep. This is why He founded His Church so He could continue to seek out the lost sheep through her ordained leaders and lay members.
Hell matters to Jesus. It’s one of His central teachings which He handed on to His Apostles and through them to His Church under the leadership of her duly ordained bishops and priests. Hell mattered so much to Jesus that He advises us in the Gospel for this Sunday (Mk 9:47-48) to get rid of anything that might prevent us from entering Heaven. He stresses that whoever causes a believer to sin would be better off with “a great millstone tied around his neck and thrown into the sea.” (Mk 9:42) To further emphasize that Hell matters, Jesus advised: if your hand, foot, or eye is causing you to sin it is better to get rid of it than “be thrown into Gehenna where the worm dies not and the fire is never extinguished.” (Mk 9:48) He stressed that it’s better to enter God’s Kingdom maimed than to enter Hell with all your limbs.
Jesus shows that Hell is real. What’s hell about Hell is the pain of separation from God and all those who love us. The pain of separation from God is like the pain a child experiences when a mother or father dies. It never goes away. Unlike the child’s pain, those in Hell caused their own pain. God gave them every opportunity in this world to repent and be forgiven but they refused to admit their sin, repent, and amend their lives. Heaven is filled with love and all that’s beautiful because of God’s presence. Hell is filled with hate and everything that’s ugly because Satan is present there. There’s no friendship, community, companionship, joy, or happiness in hell. This is why the Psalmist prayed so urgently: “From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me. Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin.” (Ps 19:14)
The greatest gift, next to Himself in the Holy Mass, is the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation which Jesus bestowed on His Church to be administered by her bishops and priests. Here God expresses His love in the form of mercy extended to all who repent and seek forgiveness. This is why Jesus said following His parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin: “I tell you there will be the same kind of joy before the angels of God over one repentant sinner.” (Lk 15:10) Sadly, today, fewer and fewer people who call themselves Christian benefit from this Sacrament. Why? Because they think they have no sin, even though the Holy Spirit warns us that, “If we say, ‘We are free of the guilt of sin,’ we deceive ourselves; the truth is not to be found in us. But if we acknowledge our sins, He who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins, and cleanse us from every wrong. If we say, ‘We have never sinned,’ we make Him a liar, and His word finds no place in us.” (1 Jn 1:8-10) Perhaps the main reason why so few people today participate in Jesus Church is because they believe they have no sin. If they think they haven’t sinned then they don’t need a divine Saviour with the power of forgiveness. If they don’t need a Saviour, they have no interest in Jesus’s presence in His Church and so see no need to thank and worship Him, especially on Sunday. The more people recognize their sinfulness and the reality of Hell the more they’ll embrace Jesus in His Church because only He can save them by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Bishops, priests and deacons need to take a leaf out of Jesus’ book and start proclaiming the necessity for everyone to “reform your lives, and believe in the Gospel.” Jesus warned us that, “The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it.” (Mt 7:13-14) Jesus, present in His Church, is that narrow gate. We reform our lives by recognizing how prone we are to sinning; how we need to repent in order to be forgiven and receive absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If we don't, we doom ourselves to Hell and the everlasting pain of a loveless existence through our own fault. Yes, Virginia, there is a Hell! (frsos)
==============================
WINDSOR TERRACE — April 29 marks the day Polish Catholics solemnly remember when nearly 2,000 of the country’s 10,000 diocesan priests perished during the Nazi German occupation in World War II. The day coincides with the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.
“The number of Polish priests murdered there exceeded all other victims from the clergy of other European countries,” said Jan Żaryn, director of the Institute for the Heritage of National Thought in Poland.
The event’s formal title, Day of Martyrdom of the Polish Clergy, was instituted by Polish bishops in 2002. This year, a Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Grzegorz Suchodolski of Siedlce at St. Joseph’s Church in Kalisz, which is located more than 100 miles west of the country’s capital, Warsaw.
The city of Kalisz had a significant role with the priests who survived the camp. It’s said that the clergy entrusted themselves to St. Joseph and vowed that if they survived, they would make an annual pilgrimage to St. Joseph’s Church in Kalisz. After the camp was liberated by the U.S. Army on April 29, 1945, the surviving priests fulfilled their promise and made the pilgrimage. The last Polish priest who survived Dachau, Father Leon Stępniak, died in 2013.
-----------------------------------------
Adoremus
Clergy Seating through the Centuries
Aug 15, 2014
Clergy Seating through the Centuries
By Daniel DeGreve
Online Edition
August 2014
Vol. XX, No. 5
Clergy Seating through the Centuries
Part II — The Enclosed Choir in the Medieval Cathedrals and Abbeys
by Daniel DeGreve
Part I of this exploration of the history and development of clergy seating in churches appeared in the June-July 2014 issue of AB
The above sketch shows a comparison of clergy seating layouts from various historical periods before Vatican II (sketch by Daniel DeGreve ©2014)
The ecclesial institutions of the medieval Church are sometimes maligned by contemporary-minded liturgists and church historians as having been exaggeratedly clerical in nature. Perhaps the most obvious artifact of this so-called clericalism is the fully enclosed choir or chancel, a relative few of which still exist in some of the celebrated cathedrals, abbeys, and collegiate churches of Europe that render the effect of a church within a church.
Such choirs are partitioned by monumental, richly carved stalls on either side in the antiphonal arrangement and, sometimes, along the short end opposite the altar to form a U-shape, and by the occasional surviving choir screen — which according to its particular function and provenance may go by the term pulpitum, jube, lettner, trascoro, tramezzo, or rood screen.
Yet, for a proper and accurate understanding of the transformation of the early basilica bema-choir and presbyterium into the lengthy eastern limbs of the late medieval great churches, it is helpful to keep in mind that as the liturgy evolved through the centuries while its essential form and purpose were maintained, so too did the accommodations that served it.
One of the pivotal contributions was made by the eighth-century Frankish bishop Saint Chrodegang of Metz, who developed a rule of communal life for the priests of his cathedral based on Augustine’s earlier rules for the same, and, in so doing, laid the foundation for the systematic erection of cathedral chapters during the Carolingian era — courtesy of the Council of Aachen in 816. The principal duty of the canon priests who belonged to these chapters was the daily celebration of the Office in the cathedral. Although the life of a canon was distinct from that of a monk, the introduction of canonical chapters did advance a more monastic paradigm for the layout of cathedrals; although some, like Canterbury in England and most of those in the British Isles, had been monastic from their foundation. Similarly, the emergence of chapters attached to non-cathedral churches gave rise to the quasi-monastic collegiate churches of ascendant European towns and cities, especially in those of the Low Countries.
Another critical development that propelled the need for a compartmentalized choir was the growing popularity of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. As the veneration of relics became more widespread throughout Europe, the large influxes of pilgrims crowding into shrine churches gave rise to choirs that provided more privacy for the monks or canons attached to them as they celebrated the Office. While privacy and protection from irreverence fed the pragmatic impetus for this spatial detachment from the nave, there was a corresponding liturgical symbology that tended toward the increased enhancement of the Solomonic attributes of a church as the Christian temple.
The invention of choir stalls was a gradual process that grew out of the use of subsellia and sedilia. The Rule of St. Chrodegang refers to the standing posture of the singers and other lesser members of the community, and, as late as the eleventh century, Saint Peter Damien wrote against seating: “Contra sedentes in choro.”1 However, this attitude weakened as choir service became longer and more elaborate. Sometimes the use of T-shaped crutches (reclintoria) by the elderly or infirm was permitted, and even the plan of St. Gall included choir seats with backs (formae or formulae), which were likely moveable appointments. However, by the eleventh century, fixed seats divided only by arms — stalli — had come into existence, and from that time they took on an increasingly architectural form that defined the choir space even more distinctly than it had been previously.2
By the fifteenth century, wooden choir stalls in universal use had high, richly paneled backs, and were fitted with elaborately carved seats, dividers, and canopies. Some of the finest figural ornament can be found on the misericords, customary brackets underneath the hinged seats that, when the seats were turned up, provided relief to standing clergy who were able to lean against them. In Italy, highly detailed narrative scenes and figural decoration were executed on the backs of stalls with the use of intarsia, a method of inlay wood design.
While the senior clergy — whether they be monks, friars, or canons — occupied the high-backed stalls along the periphery of the choir enclosure, one or more rows of low-backed stalls or choir pews were placed on either side in front of them. These were used by chaplains, brothers, and lay clerks, including vicars choral, who were professional male singers introduced in the late Middle Ages for the purpose of singing the more complicated polyphonic liturgical music. Each successive row was placed a step higher than the one in front of it, and was equipped with a book ledge and kneelers supported by the backs of the preceding row. The front row of seats were sometimes provided with a continuous modesty panel topped by a ledge rail for the same purpose. The end panels of these rails and seat dividers became situations for embellishment that came to include carved floral finials and the like.
The development of the choir stall was accompanied by the prevailing tendency to locate the bishop’s cathedra or abbot’s throne along the Gospel side of the choir rather than behind the altar in the apse, which O’Connell places as early as the ninth or tenth centuries on the Continent, and no later than the twelfth in England.3 In some places, such as Canterbury and Norwich, the ancient ceremonial cathedra remains to this day on its dais at the head of the apse, although a secondary bishop’s seat, conforming to a stall, was added to the medieval choir, which became the one normally used by prelates during choir service. Clerical offices were distinguished by the articulation of their respective stalls and their locational relationship to each other. The bishop’s canopy was generally the largest and most elaborate, followed by that of the dean and/or provost. In some cases, a lay-person, generally a monarch or noble beneficiary, might also have an honorary stall for his use during state visits.
The presbyteries of cathedrals and abbeys came to be positioned in front of the high altar as they likely already had been all along in the much smaller ecclesiae rusticanae, or parish churches. Yet, the distinction between the choir and presbyterium, or chancel, remained.
It is important to note that choir stalls were typically used by the clergy during choir service, not by the celebrant and his assistants during Mass. The presbyterium was still set beyond the choir and its stalls, and occupied the area about the altar, generally raised a step above the choir and railed off from it. The celebrant of the Mass and his assisting ministers would have sat in the presbyterium on seats, which will be described in greater detail in the following section. The essential traits of this choir-presbyterium sanctuary arrangement can still be appreciated in some of the great Gothic cathedral choirs of Europe, such as at Amiens and Auch in France, and has been extensively retained within the Anglican tradition from large cathedrals to modest parish churches.
As mentioned above, in the great churches, the choir became more detached from the nave through monumental partitions, as can still be seen throughout England, Spain, Belgium, and parts of Germany, and through dramatic transitions of floor level, which is idiomatic of northern Italy. The location of an altar in front of the partitioned or elevated choir for the analogous celebration of the Mass in the more immediate presence of the laity became common in cathedrals and collegiate churches. Such altar arrangements still can be appreciated in various locales throughout Europe, such as in the monastic church of San Miniato al Monte in Florence and the former cathedral of Magdeburg. These altars do not seem to have been equipped with any fixed clergy seating that has survived in modern times, but probably included moveable wooden sedilia.
Parish churches, which became identified as such by the eleventh century, functioned primarily on behalf of the laity, so that the choir, if included, was a relatively short space with only a few stalls. Nevertheless, the Office was dutifully sung by a small community of priests, or even by some individual rectors, and the choir/ chancel was usually separated by a screen not unlike cathedrals and abbeys. Squints, which were apertures cut through the thicknesses of walls, permitted views of the high altar where heavier screens were used, and allowed the laity to venerate the Host when it was elevated.4 The rood screens and choir stalls of these village churches can still be appreciated, such as those of the Church of St. Mary in Westwell, England and a host of late Gothic churches in Swabia and the Black Forest in Germany.5
Late Medieval and Tridentine Sedilia
Briefly mentioned in Part I of this article, sedilia (plural of sedile) were benches composed of multiple seats, usually three or sometimes five in number, which corresponded to the number of celebrating and assisting ministers during Mass. It was customary for the celebration of Mass in its solemn high form to include either two deacons or a deacon and subdeacon to assist the celebrant. The primitive sedilia of the first millennium was an undivided wooden or stone bench, usually fixed and always placed near the altar, and probably without much of a back and certainly no arms, so as not to compete with a cathedra.
A couple of the earliest surviving examples are from Sant Climent in Taüll, Spain (1200), and the monastery in Gradefes, also in Spain.6 As previously described, the sedilia came into common use during the Middle Ages, from cathedrals to simple parish churches, especially as the apsidal synthronon of the early basilicas tended toward eventual obsolescence in favor of an altar visually engaged to the apse wall in its stead.
As Christendom “cast off its old garments to cover itself in a white vesture of churches,” the design of sedilia took an innovatively architectural turn. By the second half of the twelfth century, sedilia began to be incorporated, quite literally, within the masonry structure of the Epistle side (pictured below this paragraph) wall of the presbyteries. Recessed and articulated with one or more arches, the pattern of wall sedilia often followed that of the blind arcading that lent visual relief to the heavy walls, and were complemented by the adjacent piscina niche, where the ritual ablution of the Eucharistic vessels was performed. Often the stone seats of recessed sedilia were separated by small columns or mullions supporting their capping arches, and were not uncommonly placed at a stepped profile analogous to the floor elevations — the one closest to the altar raised at the highest level and being reserved for the celebrant. Otherwise, the seats were placed in alignment to each other, as seen in the ruins of Ardfert Cathedral in County Kerry, Ireland. In village parish churches, only a single sedile recessed in the wall might be provided. In other cases, a single stone bench was made long enough for two or three persons. Whereas brightly painted, stenciled, or glazed tile designs often decorated the back surfaces of recessed sedilia, small stained-glass windows may also punctuate them, as can be found in France and England, such as at Dorchester Abbey in Oxfordshire. Small curtains sometimes were used at the back to keep away cold drafts from their occupants, and were color-coordinated with the vestments in liturgical season and occasion. As Gothic architecture flowered with increasing ornamental elegance, especially after the thirteenth century, the ceiling surfaces of some recessed sedilia became vaulted compartments detailed with delicate ribs and bosses, and intricately executed stone canopies — not unlike those of the wooden choir stalls.
At the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame, the presider’s and assisants’ chairs are canted at an angle on the traditional Epistle side of the Sanctuary, a common solution seen today. (source:http://www.ndneighborhood.com/)
Recessed wall sedilia were employed throughout European locales, especially in the North and in Spain, with the notable exception of Italy, where the articulation of wall mass tended to be more planar than sculptural in design. There, freestanding sedilia with low backs were placed near the Epistle wall. The low back distinguished the sedilia from the cathedra, and also allowed for the long vestments donned at the altar. As a Classical architectural grammar of Italian persuasion gradually spread northward beyond the Alps, the sedilia tended to revert to a piece of wood furniture, even in locales where the recessed wall sedilia had been previously favored. Similarly, faldstools continued to be used by prelates when not officiating in their own cathedral.
The spirit of the Counter Reformation and the Council of Trent brought about an attitudinal shift regarding the size and prominence formerly assigned the choir and chancel. Improving visibility of the high altar and the ritual of the Mass for the edification of the laity was the overriding priority and impetus for this transformation, and it was accompanied by a gradual diminishment of obligation to the communal profession of the Office by canons and the secular clergy in their churches.
Although Saint Charles Borromeo did not offer a preference for the position of choir stalls relative to the high altar in his book of instructions to the priests of his archdiocese regarding church layout, the second half of the sixteenth century onward witnessed the reordering of choirs throughout Italy. The Italian solution, as it might be called, was to locate the choir stalls in the chancel completely behind the high altar in the curvature of the apse, as at the cathedral of Piacenza, or to allow them to surround the high altar, as at Borromeo’s own cathedral of Milan, where they begin well in front of the high altar and continue behind it.
Even in monastic churches, such as Andrea Palladio’s masterpiece of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, the Benedictine choir with its wooden stalls was placed in the apse behind the high altar, and visually partitioned by a handsome trabeated organ case. One might see this ‘retro-choir’ (not in the British sense), whereby the function of the patristic bema-type choir was now wed to the apsidal presbyterium, as a natural answer in a tradition-laden part of Christendom that had tended to cling to ancient forms and semiotics all along. It is even defensible that such arrangements had existed prior to the Counter Reformation, as has been elucidated in the research of Donal Cooper on the function of double-sided altarpieces in pre-Tridentine Franciscan choir enclosures in Umbria.7
High altars in Italy were moved forward to accommodate relocated choirs in pre-existing churches. Frequently, new large canvas altarpieces were still applied to the apse wall, although the altars themselves now stood some distance in front of them, as at the cathedral of Cremona. The cathedra and its associated faldstools for lesser prelates might be kept on the Gospel side of the shortened chancel space in front of the altar, placed at one end of the horseshoe-shaped apsidal choir, or in the midst of the choir stalls, as at Spoleto and Orvieto. Classical taste favored the use of brocaded testers over the cathedra to bolster its visual prominence when placed on the Gospel side, just as the wooden Gothic canopies of northern Europe had done. The wooden bench-like sedilia for the celebrant and his assistants remained essentially unchanged in form although some with seat dividers do exist from the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Additionally, wooden stools known as scabella were provided for lesser ministers, such as acolytes and other servers, and were placed along the side walls of the sanctuary in proximity to the sedilia and high altar.
The Jesuit mother church of Il Gesu in Rome has been held up by historians as a poster-image of the ideal Tridentine church layout. In describing it, we may temporarily dispense with the terms choir and chancel, and refer to the sanctuary instead. The sanctuary of Il Gesu is relatively shallow and is separated only by a step or two and a low altar rail, which is a dematerialized version of the ancient cancelli. The high altar and tabernacle are unencumbered by choir stalls. Across Catholic Christendom, shallower sanctuaries and clearer sightlines of high altars ubiquitously prevailed in Tridentine layouts.
The Second Vatican Council and the Presider’s Chair
In 1955, seven years before the solemn opening of the Council, the Reverend J.B. O’Connell wrote the following on the sedilia in his book Church Building and Furnishing: The Church’s Way:
For the sacred ministers (celebrant, deacon and subdeacon, and sometimes an assistant priest) … the only seat appointed by the rubrics is a movable bench, long enough to seat three persons comfortably, with no divisions (making any distinction between its three occupants), without arms and un-canopied… This bench must be placed on the floor, not on a platform so that it is approached by steps. It may have a low back, over which the vestments of the ministers can hang, when they sit, to avoid crushing them. By a series of decrees, [the Sacred Congregation of Rites] has forbidden the use of armchairs, or separate chairs of a domestic pattern, by the sacred ministers, since the former are reserved for higher prelates, and the latter are unsuitable for liturgical use… The bench is placed, normally, on the Epistle side of the chancel facing the side steps of the high altar.8
O’Connell goes on to describe the tradition of covering the sedilia with a color-coordinated non-silk cloth according to the day, ritual, and/or Office. Yet the centuries-old side placement of the sedilia described above was generally discarded during the dramatic changes that were made according to the spirit of Vatican II less than 20 or 30 years after this preceding passage was published. Sacrosanctum Concilium never mandated any formula for seating, but the revisions to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal that were released following the Council did offer the ancient Roman model of the apsidal cathedra as an option for the celebrant.
The option of celebrating the Mass versus populi, or toward the people, necessitated the provision of freestanding altars without the visual impediments of retables, tall candlesticks, and altar crucifixes, which in turn freed up the space behind them for the cathedra or presider’s chair, as well as chairs of assisting ministers, including members of the newly re-established diaconate. The result, especially in cathedrals, was an arrangement not unlike the synthronon of old. While the sedilia itself was not specifically forbidden by the rubrics, its association with what became the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite and its antiphonal (sideways) orientation made it seem antiquated and unconducive to the engagement of the laity’s active participation. Hence, many bishops, pastors, and liturgists saw to their removal, relocation, repurposing, or outright disposal.
Practically speaking, and not necessarily in sight of the tradition thus covered here, there are occasions when placing the clergy seating behind the altar may be a viable programmatic and aesthetic response to a design problem, particularly when dealing with limited side space in a small chancel or seating in-the-round. Generally, the best way to accomplish this is to place the seats off to the side and at a cant (angle), so as to not obstruct the visual axis between the altar and the tabernacle.
From an archaeological perspective, however, it is interesting to note that there seems to be a persisting sense amongst many modern liturgists that the presider’s chair — versus populi — is representative of a return to the liturgical patrimony of the early Church, or at least its spirit. In the latest edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the versus populi orientation of clergy seating continues to be viewed as a more compatible position for leading the assembly in prayer than the antiphonal orientation, which somewhat obscured the priest’s face from the laity, but fashioned an essentially uniform prayerful posture of celebrant and congregation toward the altar of Christ’s Sacrifice. While seating of a domestic type — once prohibited according to the Sacred Congregation of Rites — is seen just about everywhere, and though some may think questioning its use is an insignificant matter, it will be fitting to close with these words taken from Pope Pius XII’s encyclical Mediator Dei:
62. …But it is neither wise nor laudable to reduce everything to antiquity by every possible device. Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive table form; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer’s body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See.
63. …Just as obviously unwise and mistaken is the zeal of one who in matters liturgical would go back to the rites and usage of antiquity, discarding the new patterns introduced by disposition of divine Providence to meet the changes of circumstances and situation.9
If ever there should be a movement to restore the sedilia to common use — and its traditional antiphonal position, which the author dares to say is the more critical of the two related issues — the defenders of the versus-populi poised presider’s chair may readily invoke the preceding passage as an injunction for dispelling reversion to a previous form and arrangement.
Yet, any examination of the Church’s heritage will demonstrate that divine Providence works through timeless means and methods — even occasional follies.
NOTES:
1. T. Poole. “Choir (Architecture),” The Catholic Encyclopedia. (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908). www.newadvent.org
2. Ibid.
3. J.B. O’Connell. Church Building and Furnishing: The Church’s Way. (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1955), 93-94.
4. John Henry Parker. A Concise Glossary of Architectural Terms. (New York: Crescent Books, 1989), 264-265.
5. Justin E.A. Kroesen. Staging the Liturgy: The Medieval Altarpiece in the Iberian Peninsula. (Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2009), 162.
6. Ibid.
7. Donal Cooper. “Franciscan Choir Enclosures and the Function of Double-Sided Altarpieces in Pre-Tridentine Umbria,” Journal of the Warburg & Courtald Institutes. (2001), Vol. 64, 1-54.
8. J.B. O’Connell. Church Building and Furnishing: The Church’s Way. (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1955), 67-69.
9. Pope Pius XII – Mediator Dei. 1947 encyclical.(adoremus.org/MediatorDei.html )
***
Daniel P. DeGreve is an architect with David B. Meleca Architects LLC in Columbus, Ohio. He has contributed articles to both The Adoremus Bulletin and Sacred Architecture Journal. Specializing in traditional ecclesiastical architecture and furnishings in addition to urbanism, Daniel has led the design for several church restoration and renovation projects, including that of his native parish in Ohio. He is presently involved in the design of additions and improvements to an 1837 Greek Revival church, which will incorporate a new clergy sedilia inspired by the patterns of Asher Benjamin. Daniel holds a Master of Architectural Design & Urbanism from the University of Notre Dame (2009), and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati (2002).
https://adoremus.org/2014/08/clergy-seating-through-the-centuries/
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Continuing Tributes to Fr Tom Hickey.
Heartfelt sympathy to his sister Maire ,brother Ben and the Hickey family on the unexpected passing of An tAthair Tomas. When he was assigned to Balloonagh as Chaplin we have good reason to be very grateful for it. He introduced us to a whole new world of the arts and drama which broadened our horizons. He was an accomplished actor and mime artist . He was held in the highest esteem as a director by professionals at home and abroad. He was very generous with his talents and had an unerring ability to identify them in other people.
Through the medium of Educational Drama his goal was to help individuals fulfill their potential. In keeping with his vocation he had a particular devotion to Religious Drama. His presentations were Stunning and Uplifting. Through this medium he reached out to people of other Faiths and none. For many years his tutorials and classes were appreciated and enjoyed by the Radius community in Great Britain.
Whether he was directing a solo silent performance a school Panto or one of his many epic productions he dedicated all of his expertise to it. The results were awesome and magic. Often the ticket sales helped with the renovation of the Parish Church, local charities and Emigrant services received a financial boost thanks to the involvement of whole communities.
Fr. Tom Go raibh mile mile maith agat . Slan agus Beannacht.
Anne Liz and Tom Gallivan
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Comhbhrón óm' chroí le muintir agus cáirde an tAthair Tomás. Bhuail mé leis don gcéad uair i 1980 nuair a bhí dráma á dhéanamh aige linne i mheán scoil Eoin Baiste i dTrá Lí. Níor dheineas faic ó thaobh na leabhair 's an staidéar fad a bhí an cleachtadh agus an dráma ar siúl ach bhaineas níos mó tairbhe ón méid a d'fhoghlaimíos ón Athair Tomás. Mhúscail sé suim agus grá ionam don drámaíocht agus na healaín rud a d'fhan liom ó shin. Sagart, aisteoir agus fear ana-dhaonna ab ea é.
Suaimhneas síoraí dá anam uasal.
Nuala Kelly, Ardfert
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Maura deepest sympathy to you and your family on the passing of such a wonderful brother.
Grant, O my God, that Thy servant may consort with Thy chosen ones, Thy saints and Thy Messengers in heavenly places that the pen cannot tell nor the tongue recount.
Frances Moran
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To all the many wonderful tributes posted here, we wish to add our own loving salute to our uncle, Fr. Tom HIckey. We grieve with our parents, Ben and Margaret, and extend heartfelt sympathy to our Auntie Maura and Family in Ireland. If only we could be with you right now!
From belting out “Jug of Punch” on the Slea Head road to his annual visits to NJ, we have innumerable happy memories. Always kind, always easygoing and content, we knew our uncle was a special man. His wit, his erudition, his love of Irish culture and history all left a deep impression on us, and enriched us immeasurably.
We will miss him!
AnnMarie, Ben, Maureen & Margaret Hickey, our spouses, children and grandchildren, with love.
RIP, Uncle Tom!
Hickey Family, USA
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My deepest sympathy to Maura, Ben and extended Hickey family on the passing of Fr. Tom. My classmate in Rosemount school. May he rest in peace.
Mary Ann Smyth McLoughlin
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So very sad to hear of Fr. Hickey's passing. My sincere condolences to all the Hickey family at this time.
Im sure his legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of many of us who were fortunate enough to take to the stage under his expertise.
His talent as a stage director, patience, sense of humour and creativity gave many youngsters in Kerry the courage to 'tread the boards'. His love of the theatre was infectious.
I treasure the memories and the fun we had rehearsing and performing in school productions directed by Fr. Hickey.
Take a bow Fr. Tom, may you rest in peace.
Irene Kavanagh, Kinsale
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Our deepest sympathies to The Hickey Family, Bishop Ray and All the Priests of The Kerry Diocese at this very sad and difficult time of huge loss and grief on the death of Fr. Tom. His love and passion of all things drama and stage were infectious, He has left an untouchable legacy. Thank you Fr. Tom . Wonderful fond memories , May you rest in peace dear Fr. Tom.
John and Catherine McGrath née O' Riordan Killorglin
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Deepest sympathy on Fr. Tom’s passing to his sister Maura and family, his brother Ben and Family, Bishop Ray and all the priests of the Diocese.
My first of many happy memories of meeting Fr. Tom took place 55 years ago participating in Moyvane ,Wren Boys competition during Harvest Week In Listowel. And afterwards on many other occasions with Siamsa. Always gentle and smiling.
May Fr. Tom Rest In Peace.
Patricia Hanafin Nolan Tralee
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Sincere sympathy to the Hickey family on the passing of Father Tom.
Such a lovely gentle kind man
I have lovely memories of a childhood drama that I was involved in and that he directed .
After many years I met him again last year and was so happy to have had a chat with him.
Rest in Peace Fr Tom
Liz Keane, Castleisland
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More at https://rip.ie/cb.php?dn=455571
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PRAYER TO THE CREATOR On this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Lord, Father of our human family, you created all human beings equal in dignity: pour forth into our hearts a fraternal spirit and inspire in us a dream of renewed encounter, dialogue, justice and peace. Move us to create healthier societies and a more dignified world, a world without hunger, poverty, violence and war. May our hearts be open to all the peoples and nations of the earth. May we recognize the goodness and beauty that you have sown in each of us, and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects, and shared dreams. Amen.
from Pope Francis' encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, 4 October 2020
“There’s always been the practice in the Church to place ourselves under the patronage, under the beneficial, beneficent care of the Virgin,” he said. “And that was exactly what they were doing in 1849, and probably something that Catholics should still do today.”
“It’s this idea that the caring Mother of God will take care of us, and that helps us to get out of our own selves and our own fears.”
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/a-sickness-and-a-silver-crown-how-saint-louis-university-survived-the-cholera-epidemic-of-1849-62593?utm_campaign=CNA%20Daily&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=104550696&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9-A6Yq_UzG9ng17Wz6p-_YPOP91A7uIqw018QgHSQZVWjCRpsWmarDLpNkha088bOg-Vd9eCQ4ks--2VsNaDRHlNGOaA&utm_content=104550696&utm_source=hs_email
Mass for Fr D Leahy of Knockanure 14 Oct 1909
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/arti...&searchLimits=
The subject' of my discourse, the late beloved pastor of the district, was born in March, 1867, ordained priest 1890, died August 21st, 1909. He was born in the parish of Knockanure, Kerry, Ireland, ': of truly Catholic and wealthy parents, and at an early age he was sent to the well-known classical school at Listowel, and from there to the great Missionary College at Carlow, where he read a distinguished course and was ordained priest in June, 1890. Soon after he left for Australia, and was appointed by the late Dr. Lanigan, then Bishop of the Diocese of Goulburn, to assist the Very Rev. Father Butler at Cootamundra,
28 Nov 1940 The Catholic Press (NSW : 1895 - 1942)
Thursday 28 November 1940.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/arti...&searchLimits=
War, Redmond, Craig Missions.
The death has occurred in Ireland of the Very Rev. Canon P. J. Fitzgerald, P.P., V.F., Listowel, Ireland, who had been for a number of years attached to the Archdiocese of Melbourne. He was for a time at St. Mary's, Geelong, and will be remembered by many in Australia. Canon Fitzgerald, who had been ill for some months, was born at Kilmoyley, Ardfert, County Kerry, 69 years ago, was educated at St. Brendan's Seminary, Killarney, . and at Maynooth, where he was ordained. Having served as curate in some Kerry parishes, he was appointed Administrator at Killarney, and later P.P. of Castletownbere. He became P.P. of Listowel in June, 1935. He was brother to Dr Maurice Fitzgerald, Dublin, and of Mrs. Lawlor, ex National Teacher.— R.I.P.
Catholic Press 2 June 1938
Rev. Father L J. Barry, one of the Mill Hill Fathers who came specially to assist at the Newcastle Missionary and Eucharistic Congress, is returning to his missionary outpost at Sarawak, Borneo, being anxious to continue his activities among the Dyaks in that little known island territory. For 50 years the Church did not make much progress among the tribes of the Dyaks, but to-day there are 12 missions with 24 priests, carrying on the divine work of saving souls, while the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, founded by Cardinal Vaughan in England, are doing heroic work in the schools attached to each missionary centre. To-day there are about 6500 Catholics in Sarawak under the wise leadership of the Very Rev. Father A. 'W. Hopfgar, Prefect Apostolic. Father Barry left Sydney by the Dutch liner Nieuw Zeeland on Monday, 23rd ult. 23 May 1938.
Very Rev. Father Maurice Byrne, parish priest of Wangaratta (Vic), will celebrate the golden jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood on June 24. Born in County Kerry, Ireland, he was educated at St. Michael 'b College, Listowel, and All Hallows College, Dublin, where lie was ordained on Juno 24, 1888. To mark this great occasion a Solemn High Mass will be celebrated at Wangaratta on June 21. The celebrant will be Rev. Father J. Egan, with Rev. Father Armstrong as deacon, and Rev. Father Bowman as sub-deacon. Rev. Father Lehane will act as master of ceremonies, and the occasional sermon will be preached by Rev. Dr. Flynn.
26 Feb 1931 Freeman’s Journal
Formerly parish priest at Warrackna beal, Rev. Timothy P, Lynch passed to his eternal reward, aged 62 years, at East Malvern (Vic.) on Thursday night, 12th Feb. 1931. Father Lynch, who, because of failing health, retired twelve months - ago, was a native of Kilgarvan, County Kerry, Ireland. He was educated at, St. Michael's College, Listowel, and pursued his studies at All Hallows, where he was ordained. Coming to Australia in 1892, Father Lynch became attached to the Ballarat diocese. He was stationed at Casterton first, and was subsequently Administrator at Koroit. He was, later, appointed parish priest at Portland, and in 1905 was given charge of the Warracknabeal parish. Rev. P. Lynch, Bungaree, is a nephew, and Mr. P. B. Lynch, Parkville, Mr. John Lynch, Ireland, and Mr. Jeremiah Lynch, San Francisco, are brothers. Rev. Sister Philomena, of the Presentation Convent, Killarney, - Mrs. O'Carroll and ''Mrs., ' Walsh, Ireland, are sisters.
Freeman’s Journal 17 April 1924
A zealous and devoted pioneer, priest in the archdiocese of Melbourne, the Rev. Father D. B. Nelan, P.P., died on Tues Say night of last week at St. Monica's Presbytery, Essendon. For some time he had been seriously indisposed, and his death therefore was not unexpected. By his parishioners he was held in the greatest affection, and his demise is keenly regretted throughout his extensive parish. Deceased was one of a family of six to enter the religious life — four priests and two nuns. His brother priests, who predeceased the pastor of Essendon, were the Very Rev. Dean Nelan (Colac), Rev. Father John Nelan, and Rev. Father Daniel Nelan. Sister Mary Brendan (Convent of Mercy, Gee long) and Mother Austin (Presentation Convent, Elsternwick) are his sisters. The Sisters of Charity were in constant attendance on the deceased, and Sister Brendan was at her brother's bedside before he died. The Rev. Father R. Collins, P.P., of South Melbourne, a lifelong friend, was with Father Nelan for the greater part of Tuesday. Father Nelan, who was close on 72 years of age, had given forty-five years of his life to the sacred ministry. Born in Ballybunion, North Kerry, Ireland, deceased studied in a classical school at Listowel, and completed his ecclesiastical studies in All Hallows College, where he was ordained in 1879. He was a classmate of his Grace the Most Rev. Dr. P. Delany, Archbishop of Hobart, and the Very Rev. Father T. Lynch, P.P., of St. Kilda. Arriving in Victoria soon after his ordination, Father Nelan's first appointment was to North Melbourne, then known as Hotham. Father Nelan's curacy ended at Kyneton, and he was afterwards ap pointed by Archbishop Goold as parish priest of Keilor. With the growth of population, Essendon supplanted Keilor as the chief centre, and Father Nelan eventually removed to Essendon, where he was parish priest for thirty-nine years. His Grace the Archbishop of Melbourne (the Most Rev. Dr. Mannix) pre sided at the Requiem in St. Monica's, Essendon, on Thursday. Among the 100 priests present was the Right Rev. Dr. John Barry (Bishop-Elect of Goulburn. The various Orders of Sisters and the Christian Brothers were represented, as likewise parish organisations. The Archbishop gave the Final Absolution at the catafalque. The funeral, headed by the children of the parish schools, proceeded to the Melbourne General Cemetery. R.I.P.
Catholic Schools Week
https://www.dioceseofkerry.ie/catholic-schools-week/
The Legion of Mary is a lay catholic organisation whose members are giving service to the Church on a voluntary basis in almost every country.
Sneem Churches (Co. Kerry)
To-day it is Sneem, requested by a reader. A history of the village and church. I am quoting directly here from the 2005 publication The Diocese of Kerry formerly Ardfert: Working in the Fields of God, edited by Fr. Kieran O’Shea:
“The Catholic Parish of Sneem comprises the eastern portion of the medieval parish of Kilcrohane. It extends from Derreensillagh in the west to the Blackwater River (An Doinn) about 20km to the east, with the mountain range to the north and the Kenmare River to the south. The name of Baile an Bhogaigh (Ballybog) was applied in former centuries to that part of the parish east of the pass of Béal na Méine on the main road, about 5km from the western boundary. This name derives from the dominantly boggy nature of the terrain prior to draining commenced by Nathaniel Bland in the later 18th century, who initiated the settlement first called Blandford, and later Sneem (from the Sneem river), Sneem (A tSnaidhm, ‘the knot’) derives its name from the many loops in the river above the village.
Subsequent to this development Sneem became a separate parish in 1784. Lord Dunraven, owner of nearby Garnish Island, had the present church built in 1865.
St. Patrick’s Church, Tahilla
The eastern end of the parish has its church at Tahilla. The date of a church ruin in the nearby graveyard of Baile na hEaglaise (townland of the church) in the townland of Ankail is unknows, bu the name might indicate a post 12th century date. There may have been an early Christian foundation here, as the site was also as a ‘cill’. The names of ten other ecclesiastical sites contain the elements, ‘cill’, ‘cillin’ or ‘ceallúnach’, which allows them, together with an unnamed small burial place, to be assigned to the early Christian period.
An additional place of worship was provided at the western end of the parish in Glanlough, with the conversion of a school to a church there in 1960. It is worth noting that a plaque in Sneem church commemorates the Sisters of the Presentation Order who served here from 1878 to 1891, before moving on to Western Australia.
Sneem is one of the most attractive tourist villages in Ireland exhibiting a number of fine piece of sculpture on its green, one commemorating the most distinguished resident in recent time, Cearbhail Ó Dálaigh, former President of Ireland, who retired to Sneem and was buried there in 1978.”
Kieran O’Shea, The Diocese of Kerry Formerly Ardfert, Working in the Fields of God, (Strasbourg 2005),p. 122.
https://mykerryancestors.com/sneem-churches-co-kerry/
FROM BISHOP RAY -Turn to Our Lady, Queen of Peace for strength and peace. With Covid-19 many people will find this May upsetting and distressing. Prayer to Our Lady each day can be a source of calm, hope and resilience. She will bring your prayer to the ear of the Lord Jesus. When Our Lady appeared in Knock in August 1879 poverty and disease was common in Ireland. In the years since, Knock has always been a place of comfort and hope for Irish people in need. Lourdes has always been a special place of peace and hope for the sick. The sick, the bereaved and the troubled have always turned to Our Lady. Pope Francis issued a letter to the world for the month of May. He writes: “I want to encourage everyone to rediscover the beauty of praying the Rosary at home in the month of May. . . . I keep all of you in my prayers, especially those suffering most greatly, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. I thank you, and with great affection, I send you my blessing”. Some people like to join with others praying the Rosary. An Irish radio station, Radio Maria, prays the Rosary each night at 9pm. Pope Francis has also written a prayer that he asks us to pray at the end of the Rosary and he himself will pray it too during the month of May ‘in spiritual union with all of you’. O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of salvation and hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross, were united with Jesus’ suffering, and persevered in your faith.“Protectress of the Roman people”, you know our needs, and we know that you will provide, so that, as at Cana in Galilee, joy and celebration may return after this time of trial. Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. Amen. We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin.
Reflection
There are fears that cripple us –
Of being let down, of losing the capacity to trust,
of how children will turn out, of death, illness and old age.
Of losing a job or never getting one, of failure in a college course,
of not being loved or liked.
Fear is like a red light stopping us moving forward
and it’s crippling if it gets us stuck like a light never changing to green.
Jesus answers us simply …”be not afraid”, because he is always with us.
We have the security of a constant companion.
Lord, help us to trust in your loving presence today and every day. AMEN.
FORMS OF FRIDAY PENANCE DURING LENT
Abstaining from meat or some other food;
Abstaining from alcoholic drink or smoking;
Making a special effort at involvement in family prayer;
Making a special effort to participate in Mass on Fridays;
Visiting the Blessed Sacrament;
Making the Stations of the Cross;
Fasting from all food for a longer period than usual and perhaps giving what is saved to the needy; Helping the poor, sick, old or lonely.
Listowel Parish
INTERESTING STATISTICS FROM OUR PARISH
FOR THE PAST 5 YEARS
Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Baptisms 70 69 64 69 71
Confirmation 81 75 86 67 71
Marriages 17 16 22 14 19
Funerals 71 48 57 87 75
Slow Me Down Lord
Slow me down Lord
Ease the pounding of my heart
by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace
with a vision of the eternal march of time.
Give me amid the confusion of the day,
the calmness of the eternal hills.
Break the tension of my nerves and muscles
with the soothing music of the singing streams
that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art of taking MINUTE vacations,
Of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend,
to pat a dog,
to read a few lines of a good book.
Slow me down Lord
and inspire me to send my roots
deep into the soil of life's enduring values.
Saint Colette
Saint of the Day for February 7
(January 13, 1381 – March 6, 1447)
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SODFeb07.mp3
Saint Colette’s Story
Colette did not seek the limelight, but in doing God’s will she certainly attracted a lot of attention. Colette was born in Corbie, France. At 21, she began to follow the Third Order Rule and became an anchoress, a woman walled into a room whose only opening was a window into a church.
After four years of prayer and penance in this cell, she left it. With the approval and encouragement of the pope, she joined the Poor Clares and reintroduced the primitive Rule of St. Clare in the 17 monasteries she established. Her sisters were known for their poverty—they rejected any fixed income—and for their perpetual fast. Colette’s reform movement spread to other countries and is still thriving today. Colette was canonized in 1807.
Becoming a Catholic did not make me pro-life; becoming a mother did. Motherhood unmasked the illusion of my own autonomy. The illusion that an unborn human being is not a human being. The illusion that maleness and femaleness are incidental to human existence, rather than a powerful and purposeful reality that tethers us to the created order. Catholicism, which swept in soon after I became a mother, provided me with words to name these recognitions—and, more importantly, permission to accept them, even though it meant transgressing, and ultimately abandoning, this central dogma of feminist orthodoxy.
https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/confessions-of-a-feminist-heretic/
poem from St John of the Cross:
If
you want
the Virgin will come walking down the road
pregnant with the holy,
and say,
‘I need shelter for the night, please take me inside your heart,
my time is so close.’
Then, under the roof of your soul, you will witness the sublime
intimacy, the divine, the Christ
taking birth
forever,
as she grasps your hand for help, for each of us
is the midwife of God, each of us.
Yet there, under the dome of your being does creation
come into existence eternally, through your womb, dear pilgrim—
the sacred womb in your soul,
as God grasps our arms for help; for each of us is
His beloved servant
never far.
If you want, the Virgin will come walking
down the street pregnant
with Light and sing ...
One of the miracles documented by Matar at the end of December, when he spoke to CNA, was that of a 45-year-old Italian woman. Suffering from a neurological disease, she was hospitalized after it was discovered she had tried to commit suicide by consuming acid.
In the hospital, the doctors discovered that the damage to her esophagus and intestines was so extensive, “the last way possible to cure her was believing in God and praying,” Matar commented.
The woman’s parents began to pray, inviting others to pray with them. A religious sister of the Maronite rite heard about the prayer request and gave them holy oil from St. Charbel. After they spread the oil on the suffering woman’s stomach, chest, and head, she was cured.
This was just one of seven miracles archived in December, Matar said, calling
each one “a phenomenon.”
“St. Charbel is a tool to reach God,” he said.
The Shrine of St. Charbel is composed of the Monastery of St. Maron, where the saint lived for 19 years with great devotion to prayer, manual labor, and contemplative silence; and the nearby hermitage where he lived a rigorous asceticism and profound union with God for the last 23 years of his life.
At the monastery, pilgrims can visit a church built in 1840, a small museum with artifacts and relics from the saint, and the site of his first grave. St. Charbel’s tomb, since 1952, is located inside a special cave-like chapel built into the property.
Even while he was alive, Charbel’s superiors observed God’s “supernatural power” at work in his life, and even some Muslims knew him as a wonder-worker.
Deeply devoted to God’s Eucharistic presence, he suffered a stroke while celebrating the Divine Liturgy of the Maronite Catholic Church on December 16, 1898, dying on Christmas Eve of that year. He was canonized in 1977 by St. Pope Paul VI.
Taken from Catholic News Agency 2019
Two martyrs are mentioned in connection with Listowel. Thaddeus Clancy of Co. Limerick was arrested, speared and beheaded on September 15 1584, on refusing to renounce his religion. His head was taken to Listowel and exposed to the mockery of the heretics.
In 1691 Fr. Gerald Fitzgibbon, OP, superior of Kilmallock was captured by Williamite forces near Listowel and summarily executed.
Source: The late Fr. Kieran O'Shea.
Video: Did USA Founding Fathers Plagiarize Thomas Aquinas? with Timothy Gordon
By Dr. Taylor Marshall
Were the Founding Father plagiarizing Thomas Aquinas?
Timothy Gordan, author of Catholic Republic: Why America Will Perish Without Rome, sits down with Dr Taylor Marshall to discuss Natural Law, Catholicism in Founding Fathers, Federalist Papers, and Right of Revolt in Thomas Aquinas.
Listen to the podcast below or (better) watch the Youtube video version:
Godspeed,
Dr Marshall
http://taylormarshall.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/NSTI-banner-with-girl.jpg
The post Video: Did USA Founding Fathers Plagiarize Thomas Aquinas? with Timothy Gordon appeared first on Taylor Marshall.
Native of Listowel; Catholic Press 22 Aug 1929
Dean Kennelly,' who was parish- priest of Colac for 13 years, has proved himself a great organiser. The parish was in. a backward state when he went there, but he at - once set about building a hall and a new school .Then he added a wing to St. Joseph's College, purchased land for a church at Becac, and remodelled the old church for a school. As Colac had no sports -ground, he offered £100 towards making an oval, but as he obtained no outside support, he secured a fine piece of 'land and erected a sports ground, which is widely used. Other ventures were tennis courts, grounds for hockey and basketball, the renovating and re-furnishing of St. Mary's Church; All of these works have run into an -outlay of considerably more than £20,000, and, as the. Dean said in the church during Mass on a recent Sunday morning, everything is free of debt in Colac, there is a credit balance at Pirron Yalloak, and but little debt left on the £6000 Beeac ' church. It is also understood a nice little nest-egg is in the; 'bank for a big -church at Colac. Out of a carnival he raised £2000 for the local football association. His public spirit was recognised by the whole community when he recently returned from a trip to the old land.
Abbeyfeale Priests and Sisters, Taken from J. M. Feheney, Good Seed Fertile Soil.
Brothers; James Mathew Barrett, 1881-1952; Pat Luke Barrett 1898-1919; Tim Justin Cahill 1872- 1942 and his brother Pat Hilarian Cahill 1897- 1958; Dan Christopher Colbert 1885-1956; William Andrew Colbert, 1871-1950; Richard Collins 1863- 1931; Tom Edward Collins; Francis Clement McCarthy 1930- 2016; Thomas Baptist Moloney 1842- 1910; Michael Hilarian Murphy 1908- 1970; John Luke O’Connor, 1875-1913; Daniel Eligius Roche 1901- 1966;
Priests; John Browne1916-1990; Con Collins 1927- 2013; Dan Collins 1912-1999; Michael Collins 1918- 2010; Pat Collins 1902-1976; Tim Cotter (Bishop) 1916- 1988; James Cotter 1889- 1954; Michael Lawrence Curtin 1925- 1992; Con Daly 1904-1953; Dan Daly 1909-2005; John Joseph Danaher 1927- 2008; Seam Danaher 1917- 1985; Stephen Danaher 1839 1918 (Athea); Jer Downey 1913- 1997; John Enright 1886- 1966; Michael Enright 1871- 1931; Pat Enright 1867- 1917; Pat Firzgerald (Glin) 1905- 1957; Garrett Galvin 1900- 1987; Maurice Galvin 1904- 1984; Michael Galvin 1888- 1974; Tim Galvin 1897- 1975; Con Greaney 1903- 1947; Tom Greaney 1916- 1988; Dan Hackett 1903- 1992; Dan P Harnett 1906 1987; Fr. Dan Harnett 1910 -1983; John Harnett 1873-1946; Pat Harnett 1914 1994; Peter S Harnett 1914- 1985; Richard Harnett 1879- 1959; Richard Harnett 1920- 1984; John Healy 1916- 1975; Tom Lane,1902- 1997; William Lane 1926- 2013; Michael Langford 1896- 1936; Pat Leahy 1914- 2009; Tim Leahy 1929- 2008; John Leen 1881- 1902; James Leen (Bishop) 1888 1949; Dan Leen 1882- 1941; Edward Leen 1885- 1944; Dermot McCarthy 1919- 1993; John McCarthy 1939- 1883;Dan McEnery 1898 1998; Denis McEnery 1912- 1998; Pat McEnery 1901- 1987; Tom McEnery 1903- 1983; John Moloney 1875- 1957; Michael Moloney 1913-1984; Humphry Moynihan 1892- 1967; John Mullane (Athea) 1897- 1982; Dan Murphy 1899- 1990; Michael Murphy 1906- 1967; Sean Murphy1922- 1998; Tim J Murphy 1911- 1992; John O’Callaghan 1896-1963; Tom O’Callaghan 1898 – 1963; Con O’Connell 1910-1995; Denis O’Connell 1925- 2012; James O’Connell 1908- 1947; Michael O’Connell, 1911- 1994; John O’Connor 1835-1919; John C O’Connor 1916- 1976; Morgan O’Connor, died 1977; John J O’Donnell, 1901-1937; William O’Donnell 1896-1977; James O’Donoghue 1921-1999; Tom O’Donoghue, 1901-1981; William O’Neill 1915- 1999; Tom O’Rourke, 1906-1985; Vincent O’Rourke 1906- 1934; Dan O’Sullivan 1889-1921; John O’Sullivan 1906-1950; Christopher J Roche1903-1998; Jerry Roche Athea 1941- 2009; Tom Roche 1905- 1986; Con Woulfe 1919-2006; Maurice Woulfe 1912- 1989; Michael Woulfe 1922- 1995; Richard Woulfe 1919 2003;
Abbeyfeale Sisters
Sr. Mary Begley 1912-2007; Sr. Catherine P Broderick 1854-1931;Sr. Catherine Teresa Broderick 1870-1919; Sr. Elizabeth Joseph Broderick; Sr. Margaret Benignus Broderick 1857; Sr. Mary Cecilia Broderick 1855- 1935; Sr. Mary Ita Broderick 1920 -1976; Augstins Cahill 1875 1962; Bridget Angela Connolly 1870- 1933;Catherine Benedicta Cotter 1933-2012; Eileen Martina Cotter 1897- 1994; Helen Augustine Cotter 1918- 1995; Margaret Denise Cotter 1895-1994; Teresa Josephine Cotter 1914- 2011; Elizabeth Antoninus Culhane 1889- 1910; Ellen Canice Culhane 1896- 1995; Margaret Canice Culhane (Glin); Margaret Concepta Culhane1892-1988; Mary Ursula Culhane 1882-1956; Anne de Pazzi Curtin 1850- 1937; Catherine Joseph Curtin 1867-1954;Elizabeth Curtin 1899- 1922; Ellen Gonzaga Curtin 1857 1929; Hanora Augustine Curtin 1855- 1929; Joan Brendan Curtin 1864- 1911;Kathleen peter Curtin 1892-1982; Sheila Borgia Curtin 1923- 2012. Mary Fidelma Danaher (Athea) 1918- 2007; Bridget Gregory Dillon 1917- 2002; Ellen Immaculata Doody; Mary St Vincent Doody 1922- 2010; Una Elfrida Downey 1918- 2005; Kathleen Dunne 1899-1970; Teresa Peter Enright died 1998; Alice Dorothy Fitzgerald (Loughill) 1872-1945; Hannah Anna Fitzgerald 1914- 2000 (Athea); Margaret Ethna Fitzgerald 1915- 2014 (Athea); Mary Anabilis Fitzgerald 1906- 1984; Bridget Magdalene Flynn 1920- 2008; Bridget Nicholas Greany 1907-1976;Bridget Kieran Harnett 1978; Catherine Joseph Harnett 1888- 1914; Catherine Magdalen Harnett 1922- 2014; Ellen Lorenza Harnett 1922- 1994; Madge Celsus Harnett 1876- 1942;Mary Annunciata Harnett 1931- 2015; Mary Gerard Harnett 1919- 2002; Nora Veronica Harnett 1875- 1956; Mary Agnes Magdalene Harnett 1872- 1941; Bridget Anthony Leahy, 1880- 1957; Catherine Seraphina Leahy 1882- 1964;Ellen Leahy 1914- 1993; Hannah Paschal Leahy 1911-208; Ita Leahy 2015; Johanna Bonaventure Leahy 1916- 2006 (Athea); Mary Josephine Leahy 1909-2009; Mary Stanislaus McCarthy, 1900-1980; Teresa Margaret McCarthy, 1911- 2009; Enda McElligott 1898- 1953; Margaret Fintan McEnery 1916- 2003; Mary Rosary McEnery 1906- 1984; Bridget Consilio Moloney 1916 -1987; Margaret Moloney 1886-1960; Catherine Anthony Mulvihill (Athea) 1915- 2005; Bridget Berchmans Murphy 1916- 2015; Margaret Juliana Murphy 1916- 2009; Anna Maria Vianney O’Connor died 1996; Ann Patricia O’Connor 1911- 2011; Bridget Mary Biga O’Connor, 1901- 1979; Hannah Vianne O’Connor 1939- 1970; Carmel O’Donnell 1903-1981; Katie Barbara O’Donoghue 1884-1957; Eileen Benedict O’Riordan 1914-1993; Nora Carmel Sheehy 1910-1970; Elizabeth Baptista Ward 1895- 1980; Hanora Ida Woulfe 1915- 2015; Johanna Agatha Woulfe 1914- 1997;
a ‘Jumper’ is someone who changed from R.C. to Protestant- usually as a result of hunger and proselytising. He or she ‘jumped ship!’ Or took the soup and became known as a ‘Souper.’
Dingle was noted as a Colony of Soupers/Jumpers.
Brosna also had a colony (though some were ‘economically’ inspired and did it for gain. Others did it to stay alive, which was o.k. in 1847 or thereabouts. Many went back to their old faith when their bellies were full again.
Fealebridge on the Kerry-Limerick border (near the creamery on the old main road) had its small colony. There was a proselytising Minister, the Revd. ‘Ned’ Norman there, and he had a church in the middle of no-where. (It is reduced to rubble now- with some fine cut limestone).
Glin Parish Newsletter. Posted on 22/01/2016 by glinnews
Synod Sports Conference: Limerick is a city and county in love with and passionately interested in Sport. One of our themes for the Synod is ‘Building Community’ and sporting organisations have much to teach us in this regard. This one-day conference will be a mix of keynote speakers and workshops.
Keynote Address One: ‘Building Community – Lessons from the World of Sport’. Michael “Mickey” Harte is the current and most successful Gaelic Football manager of the Tyrone senior inter-county team. He has led Tyrone to three All-Ireland titles, four Ulster titles, one National League, and eight Dr. McKenna Cups to date. Harte has been very forthcoming with his Christian views.
Keynote Address Two: ‘The Fellowship of Sport’. Gerard Hartmann is a native of Limerick City, who over the past twenty two years, has developed a reputation for treating many of the world’s elite sport stars. Gerard has treated 61 Olympic medal winners, 47 World Champions including World Record holder. He has worked with a record seven winners of the London Marathon including world record holders Paula Radcliffe and Khalid Khannouchi. In this input Ger will elaborate on the concept that sport connects people and communities giving identity, purpose and unity.
Venue: Mary Immaculate College. Date: Wednesday 24th February. Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Synod Culture Event:
This evening of culture will incorporate elements of poetry, music, Gaeilge and local history marking the tercentenary of the birth of Tadhg Gaelach Ó Suilleabháin.
The poet Tadhg “Gaelach” O’Suilleabháin was born in Tournafulla in 1715. Most of his well-known poems were of a religious nature and he wrote these poems while he was living in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford. Tadhg also lived in East Cork for a while. From about 1760 on, his life changed and he became a pilgrim and it was at this time that Tadhg began to write his religious poems. He died in Waterford Cathedral in 1795 and after his death, the first edition of his poetry was published in Limerick. The evening will be hosted by Neilus de Róiste.
The key note address will be given by Salvador Ryan with poetry readings by Canon Micheál Liston and music by a variety of local musicians.
Iomainn á chanadh Gile mo Chroí do- chroí-se
Mo Ghrá-sa mo Dhia
Dr. Salvador Ryan is Professor of Ecclesiastical History in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth since 2008. Alongside Bishop Brendan Leahy he has co-edited two volumes of Treasures of Irish Christianity.
Date: Friday 29 January. Venue: Devon Inn Hotel Time: 7.30p.m.
DEATH: Monsignor Edmond Whyte, of Rathea was instrumental in building up several Catholic churches across South Florida, died after a 10-year battle with cancer, served in the Archdiocese of Miami. Msgr. Edmond Whyte: Born Jan. 29, 1938; ordained June 6, 1964; died Jan. 23, 2016.
DEATH took place recently of Fr. James Noonan, a Kiltegan priest from Loughill. Fr James was ordained in 1962, and worked in Nigeria and Ireland.
Death has taken place of Fr. Kevin Gaffey California / Carhoona,Tarbert.
Fr. Kevin passed away peacefully, January 12th, 2016 at Nazareth House in San Rafael. Fr. Kevin was born in San Francisco on November 26, 1931 to the late S.F. Police Chief Michael A. and Mary Cashel (Whelan) Gaffey. Fr. Kevin was a graduate of St. Paul's Grammar School, St. Joseph's College, and St. Patrick's Seminary, Menlo Park. He was ordained to the priesthood June 15, 1957.
He is the treasured brother of Mary G. Hutchings (the late Dr. John J.,) of Millbrae, Brendan J. Gaffey of San Francisco, William W. Gaffey of Sutter Creek and the late Michael J. Gaffey and Dennis D. (Barbara) Gaffey.
He is survived by nephews and nieces, Michael Gaffey (Pauline), Patrick Gaffey (Anne), Mary Frances Quinn (Robert), Daniel Gaffey (Karen), John J. Hutchings (Helen), Mary Tuli (Bill), James Hutchings (Penny), Roseann Perez (Rene), Mark Hutchings (Linda), and by twenty-four grandnephews and nieces.
In his 59 years as a priest in the Archdiocese of San Francisco,
PLANS FOR NEW RECONCILIATION WINDOW IN ST JOHN’S, Tralee. St. John’s Parish Pastoral Council are planning a new Stained Glass Window in the church on the theme of Reconciliation and are seeking the support of parishioners and friends of Tralee at home and abroad. The window is being commissioned to coincide with the Tralee 800 celebrations in 2016. The artist is Tom Denny, of Tralee Denny family and a famous stained glass artist, who is giving his services as a contribution to the project. The central themes are Reconciliation, Healing and Renewal. It will be the first stained glass window to be installed in St. Johns in over 60 years. A fundraising drive seeking to raise €20,000 is being launched over the weekend of August 14-16th. Donations from individuals and businesses are welcome.
A former superior said of him “Dan always wanted the hard assignments; he worked hard, played hard and prayed hard”.
Fr Daniel ("Dan") Baragry died 9th Jan 2015, was born on 11 May 1930 in Tipperary. Educated at CBS Tipperary and The Abbey School, Tipperary. He came to Dalgan in 1948 and was ordained priest on 21 December 1954.Dan was assigned to the Philippines and spent the next 45 years happily working in that country. The first 35 years were all spent in parishes in the southern island of Mindanao. He served in Pagadian, Mahinog, Malabang, Tangub, Bacolod, Anakan, Alubijid, Marihatag, and Linamon.
The Rev. Michael Kennelly ,Born: May 22, 1914. Died: Jan. 3, 2011.
Survivors: Sister Mary Jane Conlon; brother Timothy Kennelly; numerous nieces and nephews.
Service: 7 p.m. Thursday; Jesuit High School, St. Anthony's Chapel, 4701 N Himes Ave., Tampa.
TAMPA — The Rev. Michael Kennelly, an Irish immigrant who played a major role in the history of Jesuit High School, died Jan. 3 in New Orleans. He was 96, the oldest priest in the Jesuits' New Orleans province, which stretches from New Mexico to South Carolina.
Related News/Archive
Under his leadership, the school founded in 1899 moved from its downtown Tampa location to Himes Avenue, on what was then rural land.
"He bought the land back when everybody thought it was a crazy thing to do, because nobody would ever take their kids there," said Richard Gonzmart, a 1971 Jesuit graduate who owns the Columbia Restaurant.
Father Kennelly left Tampa Jesuit to found another high school in Houston, then served four years as president of Loyola University in New Orleans before returning to Tampa.
"He was a visionary," said Father Richard Hermes, Jesuit's president. "He was a man who had a deep conviction in what his purposes were, knew the mission of the school and always had his eyes on the goal."
Considered a legend by many, Father Kennelly tackled his largest tasks with an approachable demeanor, friends say.
"He was just a regular guy," said former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco. "Take the collar off, and you would never know he was a priest."
He spoke with a thick Irish accent and was a good storyteller.
"Whenever you were saying goodbye to Father Kennelly, he would always reply with, 'Keep the faith,' " said David Agliano, who owned the Valencia Garden Restaurant.
Agliano, 54, recalled an incident that brought Father Kennelly's character into sharp relief. Agliano wanted Father Kennelly to baptize his children in Agliano's church.
The church refused because Father Kennelly, a Jesuit, did not belong to the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
"I called father and he said, 'When do you want it done?' " Agliano recalled. Agliano gave him a date.
"You show up and I'll be there," Father Kennelly replied.
The baptism went off without a hitch — in the same church that had refused permission.
The incident was typical of Father Kennelly, who ploughed through obstacles without fear or bluster.
Michael Kennelly was born in Kilbaha, Ireland, on May 22, 1914, just before the outbreak of World War I.
He immigrated to the United States in 1929 and graduated from a New York high school in 1933.
He spent the next 20 years equally dividing his time between postgraduate studies and leadership of Jesuit high schools, including his first teaching stint at Tampa Jesuit from 1940 to 1943.
Antoinette Midili, who used to answer phones at the adjacent Sacred Heart Church downtown, said she used to tease Father Kennelly for his stern demeanour with students.
"I said, 'Those poor boys are scared of you the way you talk,' " said Midili, 85.
At the same time, she said, "If you needed him, it seemed like he was always there."
He was ordained a priest in 1946 and returned to Tampa Jesuit as president in 1953.
By then, the school founded in 1899 had outgrown its downtown location at Florida Avenue and Madison Street.
Father Kennelly raised the money for the $600,000 school and additional properties of both sides of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, pulled the permits and designed the campus with St. Anthony's chapel at its center.
Along the way, he befriended everyone from construction workers to contractors. "He baptized their children," said Hermes. "He had a knack for being a part of their lives."
He left Jesuit in 1959 and founded Strake College Preparatory School in Houston. He served as Loyola's president from 1970 to 1974.
He spent a decade at Sacred Heart Church in Tampa, adjacent to the old Jesuit campus. He returned to Tampa Jesuit as vice president from 1990 to 1997, then went back to Sacred Hart as pastor emeritus.
He retired in 2002 and moved to a Catholic assisted living facility in New Orleans, where he died.
"If you live 96 years, and you touch as many lives as that man did, you've done your job," said Greco.
A memorial service at Tampa Jesuit on Thursday, in St. Anthony's Chapel, will allow friends and former students to say goodbye — or "keep the faith," as the case may be.
Andrew Meacham can be reached at (727) 892-2248 or ameacham@sptimes.com.
AMERICAN BISHOPS OF IRISH Descent
William R Griffin born Chicago Ill. Sept. 1st 1883 son of Patrick and Mary Burke. Parents of Limerick
James A Griffin Born Chicago , Ill. 27-2-1883, son of Tom and Catherine Woulfe, both parents Ardagh.
Tom Langton Grace OP , born Charleston SC, Nov. 16- 1814, son of Garrett Pierce and Bridget Boland, parents near Newcastle West.
William R Griffin born Chicago, Sept 1st 1883 son of Pat and Mary Burke.
Francis W Howard born Columbus Ohio 21 June 1887, son of Francis and Catherine Sullivan, father Limerick, mother Kerry.
Michael J Keys SM, born Dingle, Feb. 28th 1876 son of Maurice and Mary McKenna.
John J Lawlor, born Rochester Minn. 4 Aug. 1862, son of John and Elizabeth McElligott, both parents of Kerry.
Joseph E McCarthy, born Waterbury, Conn. 14 Nov. 1876, son of Eugene and Joan Colloty of Tralee.
Bernard J Mahony, born Albany NY. 24 July 1875, son of Dan and Hanora O Connor of Duagh.
John Francis O Hern, born Olean NY, 4 June 1874 son of Pat and Ellen Casey of Kerry.
Samuel Strich his father of Kerry born Nashville , Tenn. 17 Aug. 1887, son of Garret and Catherine O Malley , mother of Indiana.
Maurice F Burke of Irish descent, born Limerick 5 May 1845, son of Francis and Joan Casey.
John F Cunningham, born Irramore 20 June 1842, son of John and Catherine Fitzgerald.
Bernard Joseph Mahoney (July 24, 1875 – March 20, 1939) was the third Catholic Bishop of Sioux Falls (1922-1939).
Bernard Mahoney was born 24 July 1875, in Albany, New York, to Daniel and Honora (née O'Connor) Mahoney, both parents from Duagh Co Kerry. He left school early to support his family, worked as telegraph messenger boy. After attending St. John's Academy in Rensselaer, he entered September 1895, Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1899 and a Master of Arts in 1901.He worked through college as a telegrapher for Albany and Troy newspapers. Bishop Thomas A Burke of Albany sent him to the North American College in Rome , where he was ordained to the priesthood on February 27, 1904.Returning to America in 1905 He served as a curate at St. Peter's Church in Troy until 1909, Fr Mahoney again went to Rome and became spiritual director of the Pontifical North American College there. In 1912 he earned a Doctor of Sacred Theology.
On May 24, 1922, Bernard J Mahoney was appointed Bishop of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, by Pope Pius XI. He received his episcopal consecration on the following June 29 from Cardinal Gaetano de Lai, with Bishops Giovanni Maria Zonghi and Giacomo Sinibaldi serving as co-consecrators, in Rome. He was Bishop at Sioux Falls for the sixteen years, until his death at age 63 on 20th March 1939. He was popular at conducting retreats for priests.
Bishop Mahoney died at Rochester following and operation. His funeral services were held at St Joseph’s Cathedral
http://www.sfcatholic.org/
KERRY (RC) , Parish/Church/Congregation - DUAGH
Baptism of BERNARD MAHONY of NR on 4 August 1889. Father JAMES MAHONY
Mother ELIZABETH O'CONNOR
American Telegraphist. BECOMES BISHOP.
Catholic Press Sydney. Previous issue Thursday 28 December 1922
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/107967557?searchTerm=bishop%20bernard%20mahoney&searchLimits=
Two Archbishops, six Bishops, and more than 200 priests attended the installation some few weeks ago of the Right Rev. Bernard J. Mahoney, as Bishop of the diocese of Sioux Falls, U.S.A. The Most Rev. Austin Dowling, Archbishop of St. Paul, presided and preached the sermon. Bishop Mahoney was born in Albany in 1875, and was forced to leave school to aid in the support of his family. For a time he was a Western Union messenger boy, and
later became a telegraphist. He worked his way through college as a telegraphist, and entered Mount St. Mary's at Emmitsburg in September, 1895. The late Bishop Burke, of Albany, recognising his ability, designated him as a student for the American College at Rome, where he was ordained in 1904. He returned to the United States in 1905, and was assistant at St. Peter's Church, Troy, for five years,
Two American Bishops Dead. 13 April 1939 Catholic Press Sydney NSW
ON SUCCESSIVE DAYS. ROME, March 24.1939.
The Holy See has received information that Bishop Joseph Henry Conroy, of Ogdenburg, New York, died on Monday, aged 81, and that Bishop Bernard Mahoney, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.A., died on Tuesday, aged 64. — R.I.P.
http://www.archmil.org/Bishops/Former-Archbishops/Stritch.htm
His Eminence Samuel Alphonsus Stritch, D.D. 1930 – 1940
Samuel Strich his father of Ballyheigue Co. Kerry born Nashville , Tenn. 17 Aug. 1887, son of Garret and Catherine O Malley , mother of Indiana.
Samuel Alphonsus Stritch was Considered a child prodigy, Samuel Stritch entered college at age 16 and attended the North American College in Rome to complete his studies. He was ordained on May 21, 1910, in Rome. Before entering the episcopate, he served in Memphis and Nashville. He was made bishop of Toledo, Ohio, on November 30, 1921, at the age of 34.
Stritch was transferred to Milwaukee and installed as archbishop on August 26, 1930. Stritch was known for his youth, kindness and idealism though most of his years were spent coping with the Great Depression. In 1935, a fire destroyed the interior of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Stritch was sensitive to the devastating effects of the Depression on the people of Milwaukee, however, and postponed all restoration of the burned out cathedral. He also chose not to renovate Saint Francis Seminary for the same reason, though it was showing need for major repair.
Stritch called for the first National Catholic Social Action Conference, held in Milwaukee in 1938. He played a particularly important role in mobilizing support behind the Catholic Action movement sanctioned by Pope Pius XI. The movement invited the laity to participate in the apostolate of the hierarchy, and Stritch not only included important clerics in his inner circle, but also frequently consulted prominent laity. Samuel Stritch founded the Catholic Youth Organization to care for the spiritual, cultural, social and athletic needs of youth. The organization soon grew to include over 30,000 boys and girls. Stritch was transferred to the Archdiocese of Chicago on December 27, 1939, and was made cardinal on February 18, 1946. Cardinal Samuel Stritch served the people of Chicago until his death on May 27, 1958, in Rome.
http://www.saintandrewchicago.com/church/about/history/
Bishop R Griffin
1930 Monsignor William R. Griffin was named pastor. Monsignor Griffin renovated, redecorated and added an extra sixty feet to the existing church building. The new church was dedicated on October 23, 1932. Monsignor Griffin also saved $15,000 in Catholic Bonds to be used for construction of a new gymnasium in memory of Monsignor McDonald. In 1935 Monsignor Griffin was selected to be Bishop of LaCrosse, Wisconsin.
William Richard Griffin (September 1, 1882 in Chicago, Illinois – March 18, 1944 in La Crosse, Wisconsin) was a Catholic bishop. He was ordained on May 25, 1907, for the Archdiocese of Chicago. On March 9, 1935, he was appointed auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and titular bishop of Lydda; he was ordained bishop on May 1, 1935. Bishop Griffin was buried in Chicago, Illinois in Calvary Cemetery March 1944.
Bishop James Aloysius Griffin †
Deceased
Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
Events
Date Age Event Title
27 Feb 1883 Born Chicago
4 Jul 1909 26.4 Ordained Priest Priest
10 Nov 1923 40.7 Appointed Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, USA
25 Feb 1924 41.0 Ordained Bishop Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, USA
5 Aug 1948 65.4 Died Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, USA
MicroData Summary for James Aloysius Griffin:
Bishop James Aloysius Griffin (born 27 Feb 1883, died 5 Aug 1948) Bishop of Springfield in Illinois
James A Griffin Born Chicago , Ill. 27-2-1883, son of Tom and Catherine Woulfe, both parents Ardagh.
Bishop Thomas Grace †
Deceased
Bishop of Sacramento, California
Events
Date Age Event Title
2 Aug 1841 Born Wexford, Ireland
24 Jun 1876 34.9 Ordained Priest Priest
20 Mar 1896 54.6 Appointed Bishop of Sacramento, California, USA
16 Jun 1896 54.9 Ordained Bishop Bishop of Sacramento, California, USA
27 Dec 1921 80.4 Died Bishop of Sacramento, California, USA
MicroData Summary for Thomas Grace:
Bishop Thomas Grace (born 2 Aug 1841, died 27 Dec 1921) Bishop of Sacramento
Bishop Patrick Joseph James Keane †
Deceased
Bishop of Sacramento, California
Events
Date Age Event Title
6 Jan 1872 Born Ballybunnion, Ireland
20 Jun 1895 23.5 Ordained Priest Priest of San Francisco, California, USA
10 Sep 1920 48.7 Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sacramento, California, USA
10 Sep 1920 48.7 Appointed Titular Bishop of Samaria
4 Dec 1920 48.9 Ordained Bishop Titular Bishop of Samaria
17 Mar 1922 50.2 Appointed Bishop of Sacramento, California, USA
1 Sep 1928 56.7 Died Bishop of Sacramento, California, USA
MicroData Summary for Patrick Joseph James Keane:
Bishop Patrick Joseph James Keane (born 6 Jan 1872, died 1 Sep 1928) Bishop of Sacramento
Bishop William Thomas Larkin †
Deceased
Bishop Emeritus of Saint Petersburg, Florida
Events
Date Age Event Title
31 Mar 1923 Born Mount Morris
15 May 1947 24.1 Ordained Priest Priest of Saint Augustine, Florida, USA
18 Apr 1979 56.0 Appointed Bishop of Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA
27 May 1979 56.2 Ordained Bishop Bishop of Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA
29 Nov 1988 65.7 Retired Bishop of Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA
4 Nov 2006 83.6 Died Bishop Emeritus of Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA
MicroData Summary for William Thomas Larkin:
Bishop William Thomas Larkin (born 31 Mar 1923, died 4 Nov 2006) Bishop Emeritus of Saint Petersburg
Bishop John Jeremiah Lawler †
Deceased
Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota
Events
Date Age Event Title
4 Aug 1862 Born Rochester, MN
19 Dec 1885 23.4 Ordained Priest Priest of Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
8 Feb 1910 47.5 Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
8 Feb 1910 47.5 Appointed Titular Bishop of Hermopolis Maior
19 May 1910 47.8 Ordained Bishop Titular Bishop of Hermopolis Maior
29 Jan 1916 53.5 Appointed Bishop of Lead, South Dakota, USA
11 Mar 1948 85.6 Died Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, USA
MicroData Summary for John Jeremiah Lawler: John J Lawlor, born Rochester Minn. 4 Aug. 1862, son of John and Elizabeth McElligott, both parents of Kerry.
Bishop John Jeremiah Lawler (born 4 Aug 1862, died 11 Mar 1948) Bishop of Rapid City
Bishop Raymond James Boland †
Deceased
Bishop Emeritus of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri
Events
Date Age Event Title
8 Feb 1932 Born Tipperary, Ireland
16 Jun 1957 25.4 Ordained Priest Priest of Washington, District of Columbia, USA
2 Feb 1988 56.0 Appointed Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama, USA
25 Mar 1988 56.1 Ordained Bishop Bishop of Birmingham, Alabama, USA
22 Jun 1993 61.4 Appointed Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA
9 Sep 1993 61.6 Installed Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA
24 May 2005 73.3 Resigned Bishop of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA
27 Feb 2014 82.1 Died Bishop Emeritus of Kansas City-Saint Joseph, Missouri, USA
MicroData Summary for Raymond James Boland:
Bishop Raymond James Boland (born 8 Feb 1932, died 27 Feb 2014) Bishop Emeritus of Kansas City-Saint Joseph
Archbishop Thomas Aloysius Boland †
Deceased
Archbishop Emeritus of Newark, New Jersey
Events
Date Age Event Title
17 Feb 1896 Born Orange, NJ
23 Dec 1922 26.8 Ordained Priest Priest of Newark, New Jersey, USA
21 May 1940 44.3 Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, New Jersey, USA
21 May 1940 44.3 Appointed Titular Bishop of Hirina
25 Jul 1940 44.4 Ordained Bishop Titular Bishop of Hirina
21 Jun 1947 51.3 Appointed Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, USA
15 Nov 1952 56.7 Appointed Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, USA
14 Jan 1953 56.9 Installed Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, USA
25 Mar 1974 78.1 Retired Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, USA
16 Mar 1979 83.1 Died Archbishop Emeritus of Newark, New Jersey, USA
MicroData Summary for Thomas Aloysius Boland:
Archbishop Thomas Aloysius Boland (born 17 Feb 1896, died 16 Mar 1979) Archbishop Emeritus of Newark
INDIA: Sr. Alphonsa of Kerala, who was canonised and raised to sainthood on October 12, 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI — the first woman saint of India.
BISHOP O'REILLY FUNERAL; Thousands Attend Services in the Cathedral at Scranton
Funeral services here held today for the Most Rev. Thomas Charles O'Reilly, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton for ten years. Denis Cardinal Dougherty of Philadelphia celebrated the funeral mass in St. Peter's Cathedral. Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, S. D., preached the sermon.
. Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, sd, preached the sermon.
April 1, 1938 - N.Y. / Region - Article - Article - Print Headline: "BISHOP O'REILLY FUNERAL; Thousands Attend Services in the Cathedral at Scranton"
POPE WOULD WALK IN PROCESSION; Wants to Go Afoot ...
http://query.nytimes.com/search/sitesearch/#/bishop+mahoney/since1851/allresults/3/
Drumm, Bishop of Des Dloines, who was t eceived by the Pope last week, left ... Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of sioay Falls, here on his msit to the Pope, has ...
July 21, 1929 - Opinion - Article - Article - Print Headline: "POPE WOULD WALK IN PROCESSION; Wants to Go Afoot Thursday on His Emergence Instead of Being Carried. AMERICAN CLERGY HONORED Two Are Elevated to Private Papal Chamberlains--Pontiff Receives Bishops of Detroit and Covington."
BISHOP O'REILLY FUNERAL; Thousands Attend Services in the ...
Thomas Charles O'Reilly, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton for ten ... Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, sd, preached the sermon.
April 1, 1938 - Article - Print Headline: "BISHOP O'REILLY FUNERAL; Thousands Attend Services in the Cathedral at Scranton"
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POPE WOULD WALK IN PROCESSION; Wants to Go Afoot ...
Drumm, Bishop of Des Dloines, who was t eceived by the Pope last week, left ... Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of sioay Falls, here on his msit to the Pope, has ...
July 21, 1929 - Article - Article - Print Headline: "POPE WOULD WALK IN PROCESSION; Wants to Go Afoot Thursday on His Emergence Instead of Being Carried. AMERICAN CLERGY HONORED Two Are Elevated to Private Papal Chamberlains--Pontiff Receives Bishops of Detroit and Covington."
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K. OF C. NAMES TOBIN SUPREME DIRECTOR; New York Again ...
BISHOP ATTACKS KLAN Greetings From Pope and Br'ith Abraham Read at ... were tabulating returns of the . annual election Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of ...
August 7, 1924 - Article - Article - Article - Print Headline: "K. OF C. NAMES TOBIN SUPREME DIRECTOR; New York Again Honored by Catholic Order in Election of Brooklyn Man as Leader."
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BISHOP bj MAHONEY OF SIOUX FALLS, sd; Catholic Prelate ...
ROCHESTER, Minn.,. March 20. (rte.-Most Rev. Bernard Joseph Mahoney, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls,. sd, died here today at the b2ayo Clinic ...
March 21, 1939 - Obituaries - Article - Print Headline: "BISHOP B.J. MAHONEY OF SIOUX FALLS, S.D.; Catholic Prelate Began Career as a Telegraph Messenger"
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Four Other Bishops and 300 Priests Pay Last Tribute to Mrs. Duffy.
John A. Duffy, Bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse, ny Thousands of persons remained outside during the ... Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, sd: the Most Rev.
January 21, 1934 - Special lo TB - Obituaries - Article - Article - Print Headline: "PRELATES AT MASS FOR BISHOP'S MOTHER; Four Other Bishops and 300 Priests Pay Last Tribute to Mrs. Duffy."
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LIVE WIRE KILLS TWO IN STAMFORD STREET; Contact Is Made as ...
... to the fact that they remembered names." Another passenger was Bishop F. Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, Iowa, who is making his annual visit to Rome.
August 9, 1925 - Special to The New York Times. - Obituaries - Article - Article - Article - Print Headline: "LIVE WIRE KILLS TWO IN STAMFORD STREET; Contact Is Made as They Throw Copper Radio Wire Over One Carrying 4,500 Volts."
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Pope Sees Better Conditions In the Economic World Now
By The Associated Press. VATICAN CITY, July 2.-Fope Pius told Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, sd, in a"* private audience today that he thought ...
July 3, 1932 - By The Associated Press. - Obituaries - Article - Article - Article - Article - Print Headline: "Pope Sees Better Conditions In the Economic World Now"
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6500 SAIL TODAY ON TWELVE LINERS; Many Foreign Diplomats ...
:wili have among her passengers Bishop Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Fails, sd. who has been in New York for the last few days attending the convention of the ...
August 9, 1924 - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - Article - Print Headline: "6,500 SAIL TODAY ON TWELVE LINERS; Many Foreign Diplomats on Vacations Are Among the Outgoing Passengers."
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BISHOP MEETS MUSSOLINI.; II Duce Is Assured That He ... - Opinion
The Most Rev. Bernard J. Mahoney of Sioux Falls, sd, had a twenty-minute audience with Premier Mussolini today, the first American Bishop to be received by II ...
July 8, 1932 - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - Article - Article - Print Headline: "BISHOP MEETS MUSSOLINI.; II Duce Is Assured That He Is Admired by Americans."
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CARDINAL PRAISED BY NON-CATHOLICS; Protestants and Jes ...
Bishop JOHN B. , Manchester, nhhocked to learn of death of beloved Cardinal Hayes: Bishop BERNARD J. MAHONEY Sioux Falls,'sd-Deeply grieved at death ...
September 6, 1938 - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - Article - Article - Article - Print Headline: "CARDINAL PRAISED BY NON-CATHOLICS; Protestants and Jes Among the Thousands Who Send Messages of Condolence MOURNING IS WORLD WIDE Diplomats, Church Dignitaries, Persons in All Walks of Life Express Grief"
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ROME WELCOMES MARCONI.; The King Has Invited the Inventor to ...
Bernard Mahoney, spiritual Director at the institution, has come to ]Rome from Castel ... The Rector, Bishop Thomas F. Kennedy, has been received in private ...
October 12, 1913
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MUNDELEIN TO LEAD HAYES RITES TODAY; 74 Members of the ...
George L. Leech, Bish- I op of Harrisburg. Most Rev. Bernard 3. Mahoney, Bishop of Sioux , sd Most Rev. Maurice Francis Mc- Auliffe, Bishop of Hartford, Conn.
September 9, 1938 - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - Article - Article - Article - Article - Print Headline: "MUNDELEIN TO LEAD HAYES RITES TODAY; 74 Members of the Hierarchy of North America to Attend St. Patrick's Services POPE TO BE REPRESENTED Archbishop Cicognani, Apostolic Delegate, Named as Personal Envoy at the Obsequies Procession to Precede Mass Those Who Will Attend"
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POPE GREETS SAILORS FROM OUR SQUADRON; He Tells Them ...
He imparted the apostolic benediction upon the Bishop's parishioners. Archbishop Michael J. Curley of Baltimore and the Right Rev. Bernard J. Mahoney of ...
July 10, 1929 - BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - Article - Article - Article - Article - Article - Print Headline: "POPE GREETS SAILORS FROM OUR SQUADRON; He Tells Them He Has Great Love for the Sea and Calls Them Hope of Their Country."
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CATHOLICS TO HEAR ROOSEVELT SPEECH; President's Talk on ...
Five Archbishops and more than thirty-five Bishops will attend the nineteenth meeting of the National Conference of ... Bernard J. Mahoney, Sioux Falls, 8.
September 24, 1933 - SOCIETY FINANCIAL NEWS GENERAL NEWS SHIPPING AND MAILS BUSINESS NEWS - Article - Print Headline: "CATHOLICS TO HEAR ROOSEVELT SPEECH; President's Talk on Oct. 4 Will Close National Conference of Church's Charities. CENTENARY IS OBSERVED Meeting Marks Anniversary of Founding of St. Vincent de Paul Society. CATHOLICS TO HEAR ROOSEVELT SPEECH"
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THOUSANDS MOURN AT CARDINAL'S BIER; Seemingly Endless ...
Bartholomew J. Eustace, Bishop of Camden, nj This mass will be for the school .... Kan.; * Patrick H. Barry, St. Augustine; Bernard J. Mahoney, Sioux Falls, S: D.- ...
September 7, 1938 - Times Topics - Topic - Article - Article - Print Headline: "THOUSANDS MOURN AT CARDINAL'S BIER; Seemingly Endless Line Moves Through Cathedral for Last Glimpse of Prelate Thousands Pass Bier Procession to Cathedral THOUSANDS MOURN AT CARDINAL'S BIER Deep Silence Prevails HIERARCHY TO ATTEND Church Notables Who Will Go to Funeral Listed"
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FOREIGN MISSIONS.
Tablet, Page 28, 7th August 1920.
There was a crowded attendance at the meeting of the grouped Foreign .Missionary Societies—the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, St. Joseph's Foreign Missionary Society, the White Fathers, Holy Ghost Society and Holy Childhood Society. Bishop Neville, Vicar-Apostolic of Zanzibar, occupied the chair, supported by the Archbishop of Liverpool, the Archbishop of Simla, the Bishop of Brentwood, Bishop Hanlon, and many of the clergy. Interesting particulars were given, in a paper read by Father Parscns, and in addresses by Archbishop Kenealy and others, of work and needs in the mission field abroad. We hope to print later a selection from the papers read at the missionary section of the Congress.
Bishop James Dowd was born in 1907 in San Francisco. He was the son of Mr O' Dowd who came from near Abbeyfeale and his wife Margaret Corridan of Knockmaol. Margaret was one of about 8 children of the marriage of Jamesie Corridan and his first wife , Maria Dillon.
Bishop O'Dowd High School was established in September, 1951 by the Archdiocese of San Francisco as a Catholic co-institutional memorial high school named in honour of Bishop James T. O'Dowd.
Sr Joan Corridan (1921-2013)
January 23rd we learned of the sad passing of Sr. Joan Corridan. Those of us that were fortunate enough to cross her path (and there are quite a lot of people over the years who teased her ever sharp mind in search of their blood lines) felt very much enriched for the experience. She was a very warm and smart Lady, with such a welcoming and infectious smile, who only saw good in everybody . Joan spent the last decade or so of her life fighting her illness, before losing her courageous battle at the ripe old age of 92. Sr. Joan was predeceased by her brothers Tim, Ned, Moss and Mary. Her Parents were Maurice Corridan and Hanora Kelly and her grandparents were Thady Corridan(1845-1936) and Maria Walsh. Thady was 6th and youngest son of Thomas Corridan 1801-1878 and Margaret O Donnell.
http://archive.thetablet.co.uk/article/7th-august-1920/28/news-from-the
TABLET:
Page 26, 28th June 1913
28th June 1913
Tags
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT AND CATHOLICS.
To Me Editor of THE TABLET.
http://archive.thetablet.co.uk/article/28th-june-1913/26/letters-to-the-editor
SIR,—The British Catholics are, perhaps, unaware that their brethren in the Indian Empire are greatly exercised over some acts of the Indian Government prejudicial to the rights of the Catholic Church in India.
After the courteous and appreciative reply given about a year ago by His Most Gracious Majesty, our beloved King Emperor, George V, to the address of welcome presented by the Catholic prelates of India on his visit among us, wherein His Majesty thanked them, and through them, the members of the Catholic Church—after this there has fallen a bolt from the blue in the shape of an order, dated loth January, 1913, by the Government of India, that " the right to be called the Catholic Church is disputed on historical and other grounds by other Churches, and the Governor-General in Council directs that such loose phraseology may be carefully avoided in future, and that in all official communications the Roman community and its authorities may be addressed as Roman Catholics." This absurd order, which has been commented on and protested against by the Catholic Press and by a portion of the non-Catholic Press, has been followed by another order, dated 12th April, 1913, denying to our prelates their territorial titles. Thus Doctor Meulman, Archbishop of Calcutta, is no more to be styled "Archbishop of Calcutta," but simply as "the Most Reverend Dr. Meulman," and Doctor Kenealy, Archbishop of Simla, is not to be styled "Archbishop of Simla," but simply as " the Most Reverend Dr. Kenealy." And so on the other prelates.
These orders, especially the last, have evoked an outburst of criticism. The leading Catholic papers, the Catholic Herald of India (Calcutta), the Examiner (Bombay), the Catholic Watchman (Madras), and a portion of the non-Catholic Press of India have written against it ; and none of the secular papers have supported the order. The various Catholic associations, Calcutta, Lahore, Rangoon, Allahabad, Nagpur, Decca, Chittagong, and Moulmein, are also opposed to the order.
Leaving aside the theological aspects of the question, and taking only the logical and legal standpoints, the refusal to acknowledge the territorial titles of our Bishops is unwarranted by any continuity of practice in India, and is opposed to the laws and constitution of the Empire as a whole. Throughout the British Empire the prelates of the Catholic Church are addressed by their territorial titles. The Catholic Episcopate in India, with its territorial divisions and titles antedates the British occupation ; they receive their titles from the Pope, who is Christ's Vicar on Earth and Head of His Church, in whose hands is plenitude of jurisdiction ; and the refusal of the Government of India to recognise their titles is at once an invasion of the Pope's spiritual prerogatives and a violation of Queen Victoria's Proclamation of 1858.
The situation produced by the Government of India Order of 12th April, 1913, corresponds in some degree to the excitement roused in England in x815, when Pope Pius IX restoring the English Hierarchy and dividing the United Kingdom into dioceses bearing territorial resignations, Lord John Russell introduced the infamous " Territorial Titles Bill," which was never brought into 4plication and was repealed by Gladstone in 1871. In his life of the Great Commoner, Lord Morley writes : " The weapon that had been forged in the blazing furnace by these clumsy armourers proved blunt and worthless, the law was from the first a dead letter, and it was struck out from the Statute Book in 1871 by Mr. Gladstone's own administration."
By the Emancipation Act of 1829, when Catholics were admitted into the Legislature, England ceased to be a purely Protestant State. Here in India there is no State Church, no religion by law established. Every religion exists here merely ipso facto, and the Government is pledged solemnly to neutrality ; all religions are equal before the law. Hence every religion is free to make its own arrangements, and such arrangements are to be respected by the Government as part of the liberty of the subject. Any Government must in all official dealings with that community apply itself to their recognized head and address him with the title which he has assumed under the approval and with the adhesion of the community. The Government cannot interfere, to abolish, to abrogate, or even to ignore organizations already in existence before India came under British rule.
Such, alas! has come to be the state of affairs in this great Indian Dependency. We cannot be silent while our liberties are being trodden under foot by the Government. If the protest of our prelates, backed by the Catholic associations representing the CatholionOtIndia, to the Government be fruitless, it will be necessary to appeal to the British Parliament. And it is accordingly sought to bring the matter to the attention of the Catholics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
Yours faithfully, F. R.
Lahore, 5th June, 1913.
St PATRICK
Who was St Patrick? Saint Patrick was a Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of the island along with Saints Brigid and Columba. Two authentic letters from him survive, from which come the only generally-accepted details of his life. When he was about 16, he was captured from his home and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland as an ordained bishop, but little is known about the places where he worked. By the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.
Why is St Patrick associated with snakes?
Legends suggest that Saint Patrick drove out snakes from Ireland, although scientific evidence suggests that snakes did not exist in post-glacial Ireland. Some scholars believe that the "snakes" that Saint Patrick drove out are a metaphor for the serpent symbolism of Druids who inhabited Ireland during Patrick's time, or even heretical beliefs, e.g. Pelagianism. Saint Patrick probably did have a role in driving out Druid and Pelagian influence in Ireland.
Was St Patrick the first Irish Bishop?
No, Palladius was sent by Pope Celestine around 431 to Ireland, ‘to the Irish believers in Christ’. He is considered a saint by both the Anglican and Catholic church. Patrick worked more in the west and north of the country, principally with those who weren’t already Christian, and Patricks legacy is the one which endured. Patrick is well known because of the writings he left – they help us to feel connected with him and his faith.
Is St Patrick a Patron Saint in other countries?
Yes. In fact, Saint Patrick is a very popular patron saint. He is the patron saint of various dioceses and archdioceses, including Adelaide (Australia), Armagh (Ireland), Auckland (New
Zealand), Ballarat (Australia), Boston (USA), Burlington (Vermont, USA), Cape Town (South Africa), Dromore (Ireland), Erie (Pennsylvania, USA), Fort Worth (Texas, USA), Harrisburg (Pennsylvania, USA), Kilmore (Ireland), Melbourne (Australia), Mymensingh (Bangladesh), New York (USA), Poona (India), and Sacramento (California, USA). He is also the patron of the countries of Ireland and Nigeria. He is the patron of engineers, excluded persons, and ophidiophobics (those who fear snakes). He is the patron saint against snakes, fear of snakes, and snake bites.
What is St Patricks Purgatory?
Since the 12th century, Saint Patrick's Purgatory has been a place of pilgrimage on Station Island, Lough Derg, Co. Donegal, in Ireland. This is where Christ is said to have revealed to Saint Patrick the entrance to purgatory and the earthly paradise. The earliest recorded visit to Saint Patrick's Purgatory is by an Irish knight named Owein around AD 1146. Saint Patrick's
Purgatory became a popular pilgrimage site for knightly pilgrims from different countries in the 14th and 15th centuries. Pilgrims still visit the Island, which now has a modern basilica.
As part of our Celtic heritage and renowned throughout Europe since the Middle Ages, Lough Derg is a unique place of peace. In today's modern world - where everything is fast and instant - Lough Derg still manages to maintain a pace where people have to move more slowly, where the mind can be stilled. This small island offers no distractions, no artificialities, but instead a warm welcome, for there are no strangers here. If you are seeking
an opportunity for calm, for renewal or growth, then this ancient Sanctuary of St. Patrick might well be the place. Everyone is welcome to become part of what has been an Irish tradition since the sixth century.Given that it has survived for over a thousand years, that it continues to attract pilgrims and give them hope, there is nothing to suggest that it will not be
here in another thousand years.
For more information about visiting Saint Patrick's Purgatory, visit the Lough Derg website at http://www.loughderg.org/
Resource: Children's Drama about St Patrick
Seomra Ranga is a website offering resources for classroom use. This drama with four narrators tells the story of St Patricks life in simple understandable terms. www.seomraranga.com/2010/10/st-patricks-day-liturgy/
Le Cheile Trust also offers resources for schools - A St Patricks Day service is here: www.lecheiletrust.ie/prayers/147-prayer-service-for-st-patricks-day
LIMERICK
BISHOP Brendan Leahy has hailed the “incredible cultural depth” of Limerick.
Speaking as he launched a range of Diocesan cultural events to take place as part of City of Culture, Bishop Leahy said the designation was a “glorious opportunity for Limerick to capture the hearts and minds of the nation”.
An extensive programme of events backed by the Diocese of Limerick includes a Pipe Organ Festival, a series of reflections on ‘Cultures and Beliefs’ during Lent, a Seinn Concert involving over 400 students from 20 schools, and two Easter ceremonies which will be broadcast live on RTÉ.
The Bishop stated that it was incumbent on all organisations and people in Limerick to make the most of the great opportunity that the year-long designation is “in terms of alerting the nation to the enormous cultural depth of the city and county”.
“The City of Culture designation is giving Limerick a national platform to reveal this cultural diversity and richness to the nation and beyond and it is only right that the Diocese would seek to play its part and be much more than simply spectators in this great Limerick celebration of who we are,” he said.
RELIGION
The Cult of Reason metamorphosed into the Reign of Terror in which the streets of Paris literally ran red with the blood of its victims. The Goddess of Reason made way for Madame Guillotine who was omnivorous in her bloodlustful appetite, devouring Christians and atheists alike.
http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2014/03/guillotine-gulag-gas-chamber-glorious-gifts-atheism-and-war-humanity.html
Tipperary Priest in Siberia
Fr Robert Bradshaw born Tipperary 1929, his father was a butcher in the Town and his mother Josephine Ryan was from Hollyford, he was of a family of ten. He wrote a letter from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia in September 1993, the letter arrived the day of his death 23 September 1993. He mentioned it was a long time since he wrote and as others were receiving this bulletin for the first time, he was going to give extra details of his Parish. Which was 2,000 miles long and 700 miles wide it has only three priests in the heart of Siberia. Many towns and villages the most distant town is three hours by plane . In 1935 the communists shot the priest and converted the church into a theatre. No priest there for 57 years, 25 old Catholics heard mass for the first time in 57 years one old lady of 93 travelled four hours by train to receive the sacraments before she died. First Mass was said in classroom, later Polish priests and nuns arrived. St Vincent de Paul Society was established and the Legion of Mary was a great help. Weather in winter maybe 40 degrees below. Women pull their children behind them in a sleigh during winter. The summer, dry hot weather June, July and part of August. When the priest was taken away one lady baptised local children who in their old age are receiving their first communion now. Building new church 200 kilometres away in town of 30,000. Because of distances a newsletter is produced, the Legion are a great help in distributing it, a correspondence course is also available. Russian Academy of Science held a conference and invited Fr Bradshaw to speak. A container of clothes was donated from Iceland to his parish and distributed to the needy. He also bought a cottage and garden on the edge of the forest to grow food and have a place to rest, besides potatoes, several fruit varieties also can be grown. He was blessed with helpers Debbie Cummins and Rachel Geraghty from Dublin. He thanks all who have given help and prayers. Fr James Costelloe was with him at the time of his death. Fr. Robert Bradshaw was buried at St Michael’s Church Tipperary on 30th September 1993.
by Kay Caball
MKA Blog Knocknagoshel'Arise Knocknagoshel and take your place among the nations of the earth'. We are all aware of this slogan which was headlined on a banner carried by proud Knocknagoshel Parnellites to Newcastlewest in 1891 to protest when they got word that Parnell might not be allowed to speak at a planned rally there, on account of his marriage to the divorced Kitty O'Shea.
We might not all know though of the 440 names of those Kerry ancestors, who signed a successful petition to the Bishop of Kerry in 1916, requesting a resident Parish Priest.
On 17th August 1916, Cardinal Cassata, with papal authority, granted power to Bishop John Mangan]to establish a parish in Knocknagoshel. Knocknagoshel had been part of Brosna parish for centuries and from time to time the parish priest resided in in the Knocknagoshel area. In 1866, a delegation failed in their request to Bishop David Moriarty for the formation of a separate parish in Knocknagoshel. A later delegation in June 1888 also failed to secure Bishop Andrew Higgins’ approval. However in June 1916, four hundred and forty householders signed a petition and the people’s wish was granted by Bishop Mangan.
Knocknagoshel had a chapel prior to 1834, which was also used as a school. In that same year a new chapel was built on a site given by Lord Headley, who shared half the cost with his tenants. This church had a thatched roof and mud floor.
From The Diocese of Kerry, Working in the Fields of God (Kerry 2005), Fr. Kieran O'Shea.
Here are the signatories of the 1916 petition:
Jeremiah Long, R.D.C. Daniel C. O'Connor, R.D.C.
William Mor....., Shanavaugha Mrs. Ml. Mangan, Behenaugh
Michael Mangan, Behenaugh John Mangan, Ballinahoun
Michael Mangan, Ballinahoun Corns. D. O'Connor?, Knocknagoshel
B.J. Murphy, Knocknagoshel May Brown, Knocknagoshel
Nora Murphy, Knocknagoshel W.W. Mangan, Behenaugh
Cornelius Brosnan, Boula William Cahill, Knocknagoshel
J.M. Mangan, Lots. Jas. J. Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Johannah O'Connor, Knocknagoshel Agnes? Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Jerh. J. Long, Knocknagoshel Chas. Begley
James Begley David O'Connell, Knocknagoshel
Daniel Cronin, Knockbrack Harry Dalton, Knocknagoshel
Daniel Murphy, Knocknagoshel Adam Keane, Knockbrack
Ellen O'Connor, Meenahilly Jeremiah Long, Knocknagoshel
Denis Guiney, Knocheencreen Dan Doody, Knockbrack
Jeremiah T. O'Connor, Meenganaire Michael Connor, Knockbrack
Daniel Horan, Knockeencreen Patrick McAuliffe, Scart.
Jeremiah Brosnan, Boula Mrs. Horan, Boula
Cornelius O'Connor, Tooreenmore James Welsh
Laurence O'Connor, Ballyduff Patrick J. O'Sullivan, Feavautia
John Greaney, Meenleitrim Daniel Doody, Knockbrack
John Fitzgerald, Boula John McAuliffe, Scart.
John Brosnan, Scart. Denis Naughton, Kgoshel
Timothy Brosnan, Meen P. Charles O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
Patrick Walsh, Knocknagoshel Laurence Wren, Tooreenmore
James Carmody, Meenbanivane Con Curtin, Knockbrack
Mrs. Brosnan Thomas Wren
Daniel Ganey James L. Hickey, Ballyduff
Luke S. Keane, Knocknagoshel John J. O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
Jeremiah Brown, Knockbrack Patrick Carmody, Ballinahoun
James Griffin, Knocknagoshel Charles Bunwortt?, Knocknagoshel
Mrs. Andrew Nolan, Tooreenmore Mrs. Michael Mangan, Beheenagh
Philip Brady Michael Reidy, Beheenagh
James Doody, Knockbrack Jeremiah Piggot, Meenbanivane
John Doody, Knocknagoshel Maurice Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Con Brosnan, Meenbanivane James Nolan, Knocknagoshel
Patrick Murphy, Knocknagoshel Patrick Murphy, Ahane
Mrs. T. Doody, Knockbrack Mrs. C. Curtin, Knockbrack
James C. Lyons, Ballybawn John Sweeney, Meen
John O'Connor, Ballyduff Jerry Murphy, Meen
Patrick Herlihy, Ballyduff William Herlihy, Beheenagh
Michael Morrissey, Ahane Mrs. Leahey, Ballincartin
Maurice Murphy Daniel Reidy, Meenleitrim
Margret Cotter, Knockbrack Mrs. James O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
Denis Murphy, Meen John Walsh, Meenbanavane
Kerry S. Keane, Scart Jerry Murphy, Scart.
Michael Sullivan, Meenbanavane Daniel Nolan, Knockbrack
James Thompson, Knockbrack James Emperor, Knockbrack
Thomas Wren Cornelius Greany, Knockbrack
Mary O'Connor, Behenaugh Jame O'Callaghan, Ballyduff
Patrick Sullivan, Ballyduff Mary Brown, Feavautia
John Roche, Scart James Walsh, Ahane
Denis Scanlan, Ballyduff Maurice Murphy
James Walsh, Feavautia John Murphy, Knocknagoshel West
Daniel Nolan, Cloughane Denis C. O'Connor, Gortroe
Patrick Donoghue, Knocknagoshel Catherine Hickey, Meenbannivane
James Begley, Knocknagoshel Jeremiah Brosnan, Knocknagoshel
James Browne, Knocknagoshel John Scanlan, Knocknagoshel
Michael Neligan, Ballyduff R. Keene?, Behenagh
Michael Doody, Knockbrack Daniel Leane, Clashnagaugh
John Jay, Feavautia Jerry Murphy, Clashnagough
Patrick Heffernan, Knockbrack Mathew Dillon, Behenagh
Patrick Nolan, Tooreenmre James Hickey, Meenbanivane
Maurice Keane, Knockane John Murphy, Meen
Denis Nolan Con. Brosnan, Knockbrack
Denis Curtin, Meen Michael Ahern, Meenganaire
James Fitzgerald, Boula Jeremiah Long, Scart
Richard Walsh, Feavautia Patrick Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Patrick O'Connell, Ahane Thomas Thompson, Knockbrack
Michael Herlihy, Feavautia Robert Walsh, Knockbrack
David Morrissey, Cummer John Kennelly?, Cummer
John Cotter, Knockbrack Patrick Nolan, Tooreenmore
Thomas O'Connor, Boula Daniel Keane, Knocknagoshel
Daniel Murphy, Knocknagoshel James J. Long, Knocknagoshel
Daniel D. Murphy, Knocknagoshel Stephen Griffin, Meenbanivane
Nicholas Cotter, Knockbrack Cornelius O'Connor
Jerry? T. O'Connor, Knocknagoshel Kate Herlihy, Knockane
James Geany, Boula Edmond Sheehan, Meenbanivane
Thomas Horan, Meen John Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Maurice Brown, Scart John Brown, Scart
Mary Morrissey Denis D. O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
John Keane, Clashnagough Edward Walsh, Beheenagh
Maurice Nolan, Knockbrack James Kirby, Gortroe
Maurice Danaher, Ahane John Griffin, Knocknagoshel
Robert Dalton, Ballyduff Denis Scanlon, Ballyduff
Mike B. O'Connor, Gortroe John T. McAuliffe, Meen
John Sullivan, Feavautia Mrs. Kerry Keane, Scart
Mrs. Morrissey, Cummer Daniel Lyons, Knocknagoshel
Mathew O'Connor, Ballyduff Jeremiah Brosnan, Meenbanivane
Mrs. John Tobin, Laught.ooder? Michael Keane, Toureenard
Nicholas W. Cotter, Knockbrack Mrs. Patrick Sullivan, Feavautia
Mrs. Patrick Murphy, Knocknagoshel Mrs. J. Casey, Meenleitrim
Mrs. Jerry Reidy Florence Brosnan
Daniel Collins, Cloughane Denis Walsh
Johanna Nolan Mary Browne
Johanna O'Sullivan Timothy O'Connor
John Browne Thomas Heffernan
Mary Jerh. J. Long Mary O'Connor
Mary Heffernan, N.T. Mary O'Connor, Gortroe
David Brosnan, Knockbrack Mrs. F. Brosnan, Knockbrack
Mrs. Kate Wren, Meen Jerh. Piggot, Knocknagoshel
Mary J. O'Connor, Knockbrack James Reidy
Mrs. Murphy, Meen John Connor, Meenleitrim
Pat Nolan Pat Collins, Feavautia
Michael M. Aherne, Meengenaire John Sullivan, Knockbrack
Richard Cotter, Knockbrack Thos. Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Cornelius Moynihan, Knocknagoshel Michael Herlihy, Ballinacartin
Denis Murphy, Meen John McAuliffe
William Leane, Toureenard Ned Cotter, Toureenard
Denis Lane, Shanby Geoffrey Donoghue, Knocknagoshel
Patrick Roche, Ahane Margaret Hickie, Meenleitrim
Laurince Shine, Knocknagoshel Thomas Pigot, Meenbanivane
Patrick Riordan, Knocknagoshel John Thompson, Knockbrack
Denis O'Connor, Knockbrack Thos. Keane
Tim Cotter, Knockbrack James Hogan, Gortroe
William Cullinane, Ballyduff Timothy Griffin, Kgoshel
Jerh. Connor, Meenleitrim Kerry K. Keane
Edmond ..ralle? John O'Connor
Michael McAuliffe, Knocknagoshel West John Hickey, Meenleitrim South
Jerh. Reidy, Meenleitrim North John Downey, Laughtfouden?
Denis McAuliffe, Knochnagoshel West Denis Long, Knocknagoshel
James Mangan, Feavautia John McElligott, Knockbrack
James Reidy, Ballyduff Daniel Sullivan
James O'Connor, Knocknagoshel Daniel Sullivan, Ballinahoun?
John O'Connell, Meen Jerry Riordan, Kilmanahan West
Miss Michael Walsh, Clashnagough George O'Callaghan, Beheenaugh
Mrs. F. McAuliffe, Scart Timothy Sheehan, Feavautia
Julia Horan, Clashnagough Mary Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Johana Nolan, Scart Patt Nolan, Clashnagough
Mrs. P. Lyons, Meen
Mrs. P. Connor, Gortroe Mrs. Richie Cotter, Knockbrack
Mrs. Jeremiah Brosnan, Baranarig John Brown, Scart
Mrs. John Connor Mrs. Maurice Downey
Maurice Donoghue David Reidy, Meen
Edmond Carmody Cornelius O'Connor
Charles Curtin John O'Connor
Edmond Walsh Daniel Murphy
Thomas P. O'Connor, Knocknagoshel Denis Greaney, Meenleitrim
Tim Kirby, Knocknagoshel Patrick O'Sullivan, Ballinahoun
D.D. Curtin, Meenleitrim Redmond Roche, Lackbruder
James Murphy, Knockachur Eulick Burke, Knockbrack
Mary Doniellan? David Walsh
Timothy Connell Nicholas N. Cotter
Laurence Walsh Simon Keane
Norah L. Leane, Kockeencreen John Leane, Knockeencreen
John J. Greany, Meenleitrim Dan Cotter, Meen
.ama? Cotter, Knockbrack? Ellie Doody, Knockbrack
John Griffin David O'Sullivan, Knocknagoshel
Thomas Walsh, Meenbanivane William Riordan, Kilmanihan
Timothy O'Connor, Beheenagh? John Enright, Nat'l. Teacher
Patrick O'Connor, Knocknagoshel John Casey, Meenleitrim
William Cahill, Knocknagoshel Michael Scanlan, Ballyduff
John Griffin, Ballyduff James O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
Patrick Sullivan, Knocknagoshel James Morrissey, Gortroe
Batt O'Connor, Gortroe Daniel Sullivan, Knightsmountain
Batt P. Murphy, Meen Patrick O'Connor, Gortroe
Timothy Moynihan, Ballyduff Kerry Keane, Knocknagoshel
Michael O'Connor, Meenganeare Charles Curtin, Knightsmountain
Charles Hartnett, Knocknagoshel Dan Carmody, Knocknagoshel
Michael J. Keane, Scart Timothy O'Connor, Meenleitrim
James Walsh, Ahane Cornelius Murphy
Jerry O'Connor, Menrare? Johanna Nolan
Maggie Reidy, Meenleitrim Hanna Hickey, Meenleitrim
Lawrence O'Connor, Gortroe Dan D. Nolan, Toureenard
Joseph O'Connor, Knocknagoshel Thomas J. O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
Joseph Murphy, Knocknagoshel John O'Connor, N.T. Knocknagoshel
Charles Donoghue, Knocknagoshel Patrick O'Connor, Knocknagoshel
Tim Murphy, Knocknagoshel Thomas W. Roche, Kilmanihan
Michael Sullivan, Knocknagoshel John Riordan, Meen
Michael Walsh, Clashnagough Laurence Murphy, Knocknagoshel
Mrs. Denis Curtin, Meenleitrim Mrs. David O'Connor, Knockbrack
Mrs. Geoffrey O'Donoghue, Knocknagoshel Mary Curtin, Loughfooder
Mrs. Simon Carmody, Ballyduff Mrs. Patrick Nolan, Boula
John Nagle, Sgt., R.I.C., Knocknagoshel James Sullivan, Con., R.I.C., Knocknagoshel
John Keane, Ballyduff Joseph O'Sullivan, Gortroe
John Fitzgerald, Knocknagoshel West James Fitzgerald, Knocknagoshel
James Murphy, Knocknagoshel James F. Hickey, Ballinatin?
Timothy O'Sullivan, Ballinahoun Jeremiah Scanlon, Knockbrack