May 27th 2007 – Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost
Pentecost saw the birth of a new community, the Church. This is the day the apostles left the upper room, where they had been hiding for fear of the Jews, and went out fearlessly to preach the Gospel to the world. They could not have done this had they not received ‘power from on high,’ that is, the Holy spirit. We too need the Holy spirit to live as Christians and to speak a new language,
On Pentecost day the Apostles spoke a new language.
What was this language?
It was the language of peace rather than of war;
the language of cooperation rather than of competition;
the language of forgiveness rather than of vengeance;
the language of hope rather than of despair;
the language of friendship rather than of hostility;
the language of unity rather than of division;
the language of love rather than of hate.
Through the gift of the Spirit, the people of different
languages learned to profess one faith
to the praise and glory of God.
That is the real miracle of Pentecost,
and it is a miracle which, thankfully, still happens.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.
Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray: O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that, by the gift of the same Spirit, me may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Death
We offer sincere and prayerful sympathy to the Family of Phil Warner, Maiville Tec.,   Lord grant her eternal peace and joy, and to her son Stephen, familiy & friends strength and comfort.

Masses for Exams
Shared Masses will be offered each Friday Morning at the 10am Mass for students sitting exams at this time.  Special Exam Mass Cards are now available from the Sacristy. We wish all doing exams every good wish at this time.
Prayer for those doing Exams
Lord pour out Your spirit of Wisdom on those students doing exams.  Help them to remain calm, to attend carefully to the questions asked, to think clearly, to remember accurately and to express themselves well.  Grant  that they may reflect the best of the work they have done and the best of teaching they have received.  Accept their best efforts in these examinations and in the great test of life on Earth.  ‘May your love be upon them, O Lord, as they place their trust in you’  Amen.

Pentecost Sunday – Commissioning Ceremony
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday The New Ministers of the Word and Eucharist will be commissioned at the Masses.  We welcome our new ministers onto the team of existing ministers. 

CUH FM,  Cork Hospital Radio
Frequency 102 fm
Daily Mass from Hospital Chapel  8.30am & 12 noon
Rosary Mon.- Fri. 7.30pm
Stations of the Cross Sat.12.30pm
Sat. Vigil Mass 7.15pm  Sunday Masses 8.30am & 10am

Catholic Papers
The Catholic Papers are on sale at the back of the Church
The Irish Catholic €1.  The Universe €1.50.   Catholic Times €1.50

Date for Your Diary
The Corpus Christi Eucharistic Procession celebrating its 81st Anniversary this year. The Procession takes place on the afternoon of Sunday 10th June. Bishop John Magee Bishop of Cloyne will preach the sermon. Try to keep this Sunday free to make the Procession a family event and an expression of our faith.

A Thought
There’s a story told about a frog that fell into a deep rut in a farm laneway. A couple of days later he was still there. Frog friends found him and urged him to get out of his predicament. The frog made a few feeble efforts but remained stuck below in the rut. For the next few days his friends encouraged him to try harder but they finally gave up and returned to their pond. The next day the frog was seen sunning himself along the shore of the pond. ‘How did you get out of that rut?’ his friends asked. ‘Well, as you know’ said the frog ‘I couldn’t. But then came a tractor along the laneway and I had no choice but to jump.’
Every one of us has the potential to do so much more, if we only believe in ourselves.

First Friday
Fr Kerry will visit the sick and housebound at his usual times this Thursday and Friday and Fr Charlie will visit during the week.

Parish Steering Group
Meeting on this Monday May 28th at 8.15pm in Fr Kerry’s house

Do this in Memory
Meeting of the co-ordinating parents group will take place in Fr Charlie’s house at 7.30pm on this Monday May 28th.

Questions People Ask
Q. Just a small point. If we believe that the Holy Spirit has come to the Church and is dwelling in us, then why must we pray ‘Come, Holy Spirit’?
A. The coming of the Spirit must be matched by our co-operation with the divine presence. It’s like our co-operation with God’s forgiveness. God always desires to offer us 100% forgiveness but our acceptance is not 100%, so long as we remain hard of heart, or our purpose of amendment is not completely honest. Our repetition of ‘Come, Holy Spirit’ is a prayer that we might grow in acceptance of the Spirit’s gifts.
Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap

Come Holy Spirit
‘When Pentecost day came round, the apostles all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.'  Acts 2:1-2

The Spirit of God is something alive and active in each person.
It brings out the best in each of us. 
The Holy Spirit awakens energies within each of us that we aren't even aware of, enabling us to do so much more.
With the help of the Spirit we are encouraged to make choices-
positive instead of negative, growth rather than comfort
and life rather than stagnation.
We invite the Holy Spirit into each of our lives this weekend.
Fr. James McSweeney    www.2u.ie