Feast of the Ascension
This is a sort of here and there feast! We celebrate that the Lord’s earthly mission is over, and the Easter apparitions have finished. He prepares to go to the Father and his followers will see this. He also has said that he ‘would not leave them orphans’, so we wonder how he is still with us.
Through the holy Spirit soon to be celebrated at Pentecost Jesus lives on. The Spirit of Jesus lives on in each person, given at baptism and confirmation. This Spirit is given to us all, so it is his followers today that Jesus lives on.
Where we give and share love in the ordinary times of our lives, where are pray to God and make time to be in the presence of God, Jesus is present. When we work for peace, justice, and when we show compassion and forgive – or try to forgive – each other, Jesus is present. We are not neglected by Jesus because he has gone to the Father – we are in the presence of Jesus because of the Spirit living in all of us.
It’s a feast that links heaven and earth. Jesus who is in heaven, also lives among us today. We pray also today that ‘where he is, we one day hope to be’. The presence of Jesus ascended to the Father is an eternal presence of love for us all.
‘Today is the feast of the Ascension. To those who wonder what it’s about: it’s the day when Jesus started to work from home’ !! Donal Neary SJ,
CARE OF OUR COMMON HOME
Pope Francis invites us the people of the world to join him in prayer on this Sunday 24th May to mark the 5th anniversary of the publication of Laudato si on this day in 2015.
Bishop Fintan Gavin will lead the people of the Diocese of Cork and Ross in prayer at the conclusion of the 11:30am Mass in the Cathedral on this Sunday approx. 12:15pm – you are invited to join via the webcam at www.corkcathedral.ie
A prayer for our earth All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.
OPENING OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST KING FOR PERSONAL PRAYER
Since last Monday The Churches in the Diocese of Cork and Ross have been open for personal prayer. In a message to the priests of the diocese, Bishop Fintan issued guidelines which must be followed before each church can be opened. “This needs to proceed very carefully so that people can visit churches safely knowing that procedures are in place in line with government advice and HSE guidance,” the Bishop wrote. “This forms part of a phased plan towards being able to celebrate the sacraments with a congregation at a later date.
Our Church of Christ the King is open from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm on weekdays (Monday to Saturday). Special precautions against the spread of the Covid-19 virus will be in place, relating to cleanliness and disinfection, social distancing, designated prayer spaces, access to the church and movement within the church. Notices giving full information will be in place and volunteer stewards will be on hand to give advice.
The church will be cleaned and disinfected before being opened each day, hand sanitisers have been provided at the entrances and everyone is asked to sanitise coming in and going out. Disposable gloves are provided for use with the electric votive lights at the shrines, and may be placed in bins at each shrine after use. Tissues may be discarded in the bins at the entrance and exit points. 
From Monday the carpark gates will be opened for walking through each weekday from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm, and the Capwell Road gate will be open to cars from 2.30 pm to 6.00 pm. Access to the Church will be restricted during Funeral Masses to the permitted number of mourners (at present family members only with a small number of close friends in special circumstances, subject to the overall total not being more than ten people).
LIVE-STREAMED MASSES
Fr Billy and Fr Kerry are still unable to say Mass in the church due to the Covid-19 restrictions, and the church webcam is turned off except for Funeral Masses. From Easter Sunday, Fr Billy has says a live-streamed Mass from the Presbytery at 12.00 noon on Sundays and 10.00 am on weekdays (Monday to Saturday) on the separate internet address frbillyosullivan.ie (http://frbillyosullivan.ie). This will continue until the Church is opened for webcam Masses again. Mass is also celebrated and broadcast from the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Anne each day, Bishop Fintan celebrates the Mass on Sundays at 11.30am, and Mass on Monday to Saturday is celebrated at 10.15am. RTE 521 Mass at 10.30am. Details of other live-streamed Masses are given on the Diocesan Website.
Ignite 2020 – Be A Light In The Darkness Hosted by Saint Mary’s Dominican Church Popes Quay Ignite Conference On Saturday & Sunday (30th &31st May) Featuring: Bishop Fintan Gavin, Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Miriam James Heidland, Ralph Martin, Sr. Mara Grace and more. Register for Free at www.dominicanscork.ie
“The All Ireland Rosary Rally Conference” live on Radio Maria Ireland from 5.30pm on Saturday June 6th (The First Saturday) featuring Fr. Donald Colloway, Dr. Mary Healy, Fr. Patrick Cahill, Kathy Sinnott and Fr. Marius O’Reilly
SCRIPTURE SUMMER SCHOOL
This year the Dublin Diocese Scripture Summer School will be presented online as a series of Zoom Conferences because of COVID 19 and will be offered from 22nd to 26th June. This is instead of the normal series of workshops in Dublin each summer. The online programme is offered at a reduced cost of forty euro. Fr Sean O’Sullivan, PP Monkstown, in recommending the programme comments that he has personal experience of all three of this year’s presenters and have found each of them to offer wonderful insights into the scriptures in a way that is both accessible and engaging. He recommends the Summer School to us as an opportunity to revisit the study of the scriptures from the comfort and convenience of our own homes, while we may have a little more time because of the current restrictions. Full details of the Summer School are available online at www.tarsus.ie/page-28/