Remembering our Dead
In our Irish tradition we have kept alive that commandment in honouring, remembering and praying for our dead. Coming down to us from early Celtic times, there is a strong sense that our dead do not live far away. Our faith tells us that though the body is dead the person is living in eternity. In the rule attributed to St. Colmcille, he exhorted his monks To perform the prayers for the dead with fervour, as if everyone of the faithful who died were a special friend.
November is the month when each family and the entire community remember their dead. The other world is always around us and is very manifest in the month of November. The Irish are known for the way we celebrate death. Certainly our love of neighbour emerges in so many ways at the time of death, in visits to the bereaved family, in the prayers said in the house, in the shouldering of the coffin, attending the funeral Mass and graveside and the months mind.
To be surrounded by a supportive community is an expression of faith in loving kindness that helps the bereaved family to express their grief. It is an incredible privilege to be with someone who is making that final journey into eternal life. To be present at the sacrament of someones death is the greatest act of love that can be shown to someone. For a person of faith, death is a gateway to another life and to a deeper union with God.
Remembrance Weekend
All our Masses this weekend are offered for our dead. It is a time for reflection and prayer, when we remember our dead and the times we spent with them. It is an opportunity to recall the good days and the difficult days when we shared our hopes, dreams and our actions together. Those who lost their loved ones will be remembered in a special way at all our Masses this Remembrance Weekend. An opportunity to give thanks for the wonderful gift of family, kind neighbors and friendship.
All of us are shaped and influenced by what has happened in the past. That is why during November we pray for those who have died and acknowledge their influence in our own lives today. Thank you for coming to share our Masses this weekend.
Reflection:
In the rising of the sun and its going down………………….
All. 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 gather for prayer………..
We remember them.
When we grow old and forgetful we still know …….
All: That God remembers them
The Novena of Masses for the Holy Souls continues until Sat,. 10th Nov.
Novena daily Masses at 10am & 6pm If you wish your loved ones to be remembered place their names at box at Altar rails. Lists available at back of Church.
A Thought
It is 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, 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.
St Josephs Young Priests Society Day of Prayer Ennismore, Montonotte 17th or 18th Nov. 9.30an-5pm.each day 30 (includes lunch) Director Fr. J.P. ORiordan CSsR. Contact Margaret 4961581
November Blessing of Graves & Prayers
Sunday 4th Nov: St.Josephs Turners Cross. 2.30pm (bring a little container for Holy Water that will be blessed during the ceremony)
Douglas 3pm
Sunday 11th Nov: St. James, Chetwynd 3pm St. Michaels Blackrock 3pm
St. Catherines Kilcully 3pm
Sunday 18th Nov. St. Finbarrs Glasheen Rd. 2.30pm Rathcooney 3pm
Liam Lawton in Concert in Christ the King Church on Thurs. 6th Dec. at 8pm with Ballinora Church Choir. Special guests Christ The King Church Choir and Bunscoil Chriost Ri Choir . Tickets 20 available from Busscoil Chriost Ri. Tel 4963629
Servant of God Frank Duff: Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary, will be commemorated at Mass to be celebrated at St. Augustine’s Church, Washington St., on Saturday, 10th. November at 4p.m. All welcome!
Cork Institute of Technologys Open Day will take place on Friday the 16th of November from 11am 3pm and Saturday the 17th of November from 10am 2pm. This will take place on three of its four campuses, Bishopstown, CIT Crawford College of Art and Design, and CIT Cork School of Music. The National Maritime College of Ireland, based at Ringaskiddy, will be represented in the Bishopstown campus.
Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko.
At 7.00pm, on the evening of Tuesday 13 November, in the Boole I lecture theatre in UCC, there will be a showing of a recent film on the life of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko. Fr Popiełuszko was the chaplain to Solidarity, the independent trade union, inspired by the philosophy of Pope John Paul II, whose emergence in Poland after the Gdansk shipyard strike of August 1980 marked a crucial turning point in post-war Polish and European history. Fr Popiełuszko was murdered in October 1984 by members of the Polish Secret Services as a result of his work on behalf of the union. The screening of the film (which is in Polish, but with English subtitles) will be preceded by a short talk (in English) on the challenge of the making of the film, and of the significance of the life and work of Fr Popiełuszko, by the films director, Rafał Wieczyński.