Remembrance Sunday
Our Masses this weekend are times for reflection and prayer when we remember our dead and the previous times spent with our loved ones. It is an opportunity to recall the good days and the difficult days when we shared our hopes, dreams and our actions together. Watching a memorial service recently on TV for the victims of a horrific plane crash. I realised that those who survived, those who lost their beloved and the traumatised were being as remembered as those who died. The same will be the case in our Masses this Remembrance Weekend. It is also an opportunity to give thanks for the wonderful gifts of family, kind neighbours and friendship.
All of us are shaped today by all that has happened in the past. We need to realize that the life, culture and experience of those gone before us still have an influence in our lives. That is why during this month of November we pray for those who have died in a special way. Some might ask why March or April wasn't picked when new life is in abundance all around in nature. But November has been picked so that we are indeed in touch with the darkness of our own lives and our own significant losses. In remembering all those who have died we acknowledge their influence in our own lives today.
Thank you for taking the time to come to share our Masses this weekend.
Remembering
Everyone loves to be remembered
But if we want to be remembered
We have a duty also to remember
Memory is a powerful thing
Wrongly used it can bring death rather than life
It keeps the past alive
Those we remember never die
They continue to walk and talk with us
There is nothing stronger or more helpful
than a good remembrance.
Dear departed friends, we want you to know
that we haven't forgotten you
We remember you
and your memory most definitely brings life to us today.
May it also assure us of life for you,
that eternal life Christ came on earth to give us.
Reflection
In the rising of the sun and its going down…………………. We remember them
In the blowing of the wind and the chill of the winter….. We remember them
In the opening of the buds and the warmth of summer… We remember them
In the rustling of the leaves and in the beauty of Autumn.. We remember them
In the beginning of the year and when it ends……………… We remember them
When we are weary and in need of strength……………… We remember them
When we are lost and sick of heart…………………………… We remember them
When we have joy and yearn to share ……………………….. We remember them
So long as we live, they too shall live for they are part of us We remember them
When we grow old and forgetful we still know ……. God remembers them
Marriage Care Collection
The Diocesan Annual Collection for marriage care services will be taken up at all Masses next weekend Nov. 18/19. The Cork Marriage Counselling Centre, Paul St., worked with 864 couples in 2005 in the area of marriage preparation and 1000 couples or individuals have been seen for counselling.
Your support in this collection will be appreciated to enable the organisation to continue the excellent service they provide to married couples and those preparing for marriage.
AUTUMN DUES
We would appreciate if the Area Collectors would collect the envelopes for the Autumn Dues and Parish Calendar in the Sacristy after Mass today 11th/12th Nov. Thank you.
Prayers and Blessing of Graves in St. Finbarr's Cemetery and in St. Catherines Cemetry, Kilkully on this Sunday 12th November at 3pm.
Christ King Secondary School, South Douglas Road.
Mass for the deceased Staff & Students will be celebrated in the School Library on this Monday 13th Nov. at 7.30pm. All are welcome.
Parish Christmas Card
Parish Christmas Cards and Triduum Cards will be available from Friday on in the Parish Office.
Ballyphehane Meals on Wheels
Drivers are needed for delivery in Turners Cross & Ballyphehane areas. Phone 4311808.
St. Joseph's Young Priests Society
Monthly meeting in the Parish Centre this Tues. 14th Nov. after the 10am Mass. (Note change of time).
Death
We remember in our prayers Thelma Jugi (nee Barry) late of St. Joseph's, Derrynane Rd., who died in Germany. We extend our sympathy to her family. May she rest in peace.
A Thought
It is always difficult to understand death or make sense of the loss of a loved one. Death is not an end, only a beginning. We trust, hope and pray that all who have died are at peace and happy. Today and throughout this month of November we remember them in a special way.
Lord, we miss our loved ones who have died.
Sometimes words fail to express the sadness we feel,
particularly when our loss is recent. We trust and believe that they are now in a loving relationship with you.
May all our loved ones who have died rest in peace.