PRIESTHOOD
During his visit Pope Francis asked us to pray for our priests as well as for new vocations. Serving priests need prayers, especially in these times of Church difficulty and shortage of priests. And as we pray also for the new parish structures which will be necessary to cater for the new situation of fewer priests we may reflect on the role of the priest, of which the Eucharist is the centre and summit. The Mass is the source of our strength and hope in times of difficulty, when God gives us the gift of himself. When Our Lord at the last supper said do this in memory of me, he was not talking simply about the ritual with the bread and wine, to become his body and blood. He referred his body which is to be given up and his blood which is to be shed. When we participate in the memorial of the Lord’s Supper, we too offer our bodies, all we have, for the brothers and sisters for whom Christ died, and our blood, our lives, as spiritual sacrifices in union with Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. We pray that the gift of the Eucharist will continue to be available to God’s people
Ministers of the Word may collect their Rota from the Sacristy.
The Irish Cancer Society’s National Conference is being held in the Clayton Hotel, Silver Springs, on Saturday, September 22nd from 10am – 4pm. Topics include exercise, diet, mindfulness, employment and more. For more information call Breda on 01-2310 533, email bcuddihy@irishcancer.ie or go to www.cancer.ie <http://www.cancer.ie> to register. The conference is free of charge but registration is essential.
Turners Cross Retired Men’s Club are set to resume on Monday 10th September at 7.30pm in the Daycare Centre on Capwell Road. The group currently has a membership of 20 men. Weekly meetings last approximately two hours to socialise and organise a wide variety of information evenings and events throughout the
year. All new members and ideas are welcome. For more information contact Pat on 086-2233152
The Poor Clares in Galway are hosting a Cloister day on Saturday, September 22nd from 10am to 5pm. The day is designed to help young women between the ages of 21 and 40 to find out more about the Poor Clare way of life with a view to vocation discernment. To book a place contact: Sr. Faustina at: poorclaresgalwayvocations@gmail.com
Cork Autism Conference 2018
Re-Thinking Autism – A Positive and Integrative Approach, Sunday September 30th, Rochestown Park Hotel, Douglas, Cork. Conference provides a unique forum for Parents, Families, Caregivers, Adults with ASD, Employers, Educators, Professionals, Agencies, Advocates and anyone with an interest in autism and Asperger’s syndrome. All are welcome. More info here: call 089 239 8900 or www.bookwhen.com/corkautism <http://www.bookwhen.com/corkautism>
NEW BISHOP OF MEATH
Canon Tom Deenihan, a priest of the Diocese of Cork and Ross and Diocesan secretary for twelve years, was ordained Bishop of Meath on Sunday last, 2nd September. Bishop Deenihan was born in Cork in 1967. He attended the North Monastery Christian Brothers School in the city. After completing post-primary education, he studied at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth and was ordained for the Diocese of Cork and Ross by the late Bishop Michael Murphy in 1991.
After his ordination, Fr Deenihan worked in Glanmire Parish (1991-1994) and taught in St Goban’s College Bantry (1994-2003) during which time he also worked in the parishes of Schull, Kealkil and Bantry. In 2003 he was appointed as diocesan adviser for post-primary catechetics and, in 2006, as diocesan secretary and diocesan education secretary. He served on the board of the Cork Education and Training Board and a member of the Catholics Schools Partnership.
Nationally, he has served as the general secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association from 2013 to 2016, and as acting-executive secretary to the Council for Education and to the Commission for Catholic Education and Formation of the Irish Episcopal Conference.
The Chief Ordaining Bishop was Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, assisted by Bishop Michael Smith, retired Bishop of Meath and Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross.
We pray God’s blessing on Bishop Deenihan as he begins his new ministry.
The address of Bishop Tom at the conclusion of the ordination ceremony included the following comments:
As I begin my new Ministry as Bishop of Meath, pray with me and for me that I and all who minister in this diocese will treasure and foster that sense of Joy that transcends our own worries, failings and shortcomings and enables us to reach out to others.
I am particularly conscious of my role in supporting, as best I can, that spirit of joy in the priests of the Diocese. They are the men who minister in so many different places, in so many different contexts and in often difficult circumstances reaching out to those whom they minister to. It is not always easy being a priest today, like the parable, the priests of Ireland have worked in the noonday sun. They deserve support from their Bishop and Parishioners.
I am reminded by a line in the address by Pope Francis to the Irish Bishops at the end
of the World Meeting of Families last Sunday, “Whenever you and your people feel that you are a ‘little flock’ exposed to the apparently irresistible onslaught of a culture so often alien to our deepest beliefs and values, do not grow discouraged. As Saint John of the Cross teaches us, ‘it is in the darkest night that the light of faith shines purest in our hearts.’”Can I conclude by quoting a sentence from Saint Augustine of Canterbury that was mentioned to me recently by a colleague, let us ‘take care of each other in love on the journey.’
Deaths: We remember in our prayers Peggy Hallahan, Mercier Park, and Elizabeth (Elsa) Collins, Summerhill South, who died recently. We extend our sympathy to their families.