Our Lady of Good Counsel Church

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1 Our Lady of Good Counsel Church Masses Sunday Sat 7.00 pm (Vigil) Sunday am, am, pm. January Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Johnstown /Killiney Parish Churchview Road Killiney Co Dublin Weekday Monday To Saturday am Miraculous Medal Devotions and Benediction following Monday Mass The Parish takes responsibility for Mass, Fridays 4.00 pm Holy Year Oratory Dunne's Store Sacrament of Reconciliation-Confession Saturday after am Mass Reconciliation Services as announced. Sacrament of Baptism 1st. Sunday of the month at 1.15 pm Please allow two months notice to secure your chosen date. People who play the lottery are always hoping for that big chance to win a super jackpot. Against all odds (literally!) they imagine winning millions. After all, someone has to win. It might as well be me. It's almost contradictory that lotteries have become part of state budgeting, when many of us believe in the values of hard work and earning a living as opposed to the gratuitous windfall that a lottery would give someone. Everybody who wants something for nothing is involved. For the outlay of a miniscule amount of cash, a player dreams of an immense return. And the state gets a bonus to its income without having to tax its citizens more. In today's Gospel, the people of Nazareth are acting a bit like lottery hopefuls, with high expectations for a significant pay-out with the investment of very little. They've heard about all the great things that Jesus did in Capernaum, and now they are expecting to cash in on the local boy made good. Surely he has got to work some astounding miracles here. But Jesus is not a lottery ticket. And faith in him is not a something for nothing proposition in which all the benefits are reaped with very little investment. As we will learn as we read from Luke's Gospel in the weeks and months ahead, Jesus is headed on a journey to Jerusalem. His destiny lies in that city where he will suffer and die, and finally, through his resurrection, he will usher in the era of the Spirit that is poured out on the church. For us, following Jesus is a lifelong journey to our own Jerusalem in which we empty ourselves in the service of others. It is no lottery that we hope to win, but a share in Christ's journey through death to resurrection Liturgical Publications Inc

2 World Day of the Sick 2016 The Mass of Healing and Anointing of the Sick is on Sunday 7 th February at 3.00 pm in Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Merrion Road (opposite St. Vincent s Hospital). Main Celebrant Archbishop Diarmuid Martin All are welcome New Parish office hours The Parish office will be open Monday, Wednesday, Friday am to 1.00 pm Why the need for change.? Below is a list of general responsibilities for a parish secretary: Catholic Schools Week is an all-ireland annual event which invites Catholic schools to give expression in a special way to the ethos of Catholic education. It is a celebration of Catholic schools throughout Ireland, North and South which acknowledges the tremendous contribution that our Catholic primary and post-primary schools make not just to Irish society, but to the mission of the Church The schools in the parish will celebrate Their Classroom Sacred Spaces Fr. John will visit the classes and award the great work of the pupils and staff. The schools will celebrate the contribution of Grandparents to the life of the schools with a thanksgiving prayer service 2016 life in the Spirit Seminars The Life in the Spirit seminars will be run during Lent This is a 7 week course starting at 8:00pm on Wednesday 17th Feb 2016 Receiving Year of members Mercy of the parish and public and dealing with enquiries Providing an administrative service to the parish Managing the parish office with the effective use of up-to-date office systems. Maintaining & up-dating computerised parish accounts Recording and managing parish records. And more. The first responsibility is the most common for the general parishioner. Our parish secretaries provide a wonderful service to the parish, but they also need time to attend to other responsibilities. So on Tuesday and Thursday the parish office will be closed to general enquires. However, Mass intentions may be recorded after morning mass, in the Sacristy. Please plan to make phone calls, to send s, if possible on Monday Wednesday or Friday. Urgent Parish business please call or johnstowmkillineyparish.com

3 A word from Fr. John January Dear Parishioners, I was shopping, last week and already Easter eggs were on sale, and just before lent. Lent begins on the 10th. February, Ash Wednesday. The earliest Ash Wednesday can be, is the 4th. February, which is very rare. The last time was 1818 and the next time will be Start planning for it now! Ash Wednesday begins Lent, preparing for Easter, 46 days later, or 40 days not counting Sundays. The distribution of ashes comes from a ceremony of ages past. Christians who had committed grave faults performed public penance. On Ash Wednesday, the Bishop blessed the hair shirts which they were to wear during the forty days of penance and sprinkled on them ashes made from the palms from the previous year. The penitents did not enter the church until Holy Thursday. Later all could receive ashes, out of devotion and as a sign of penance. The day before Ash Wednesday is called Shrove Tuesday, which has its origins in the word strive which mean to go to confession. In Ireland we call the day Pancake Tuesday reminding us in the past, to use up all extra eggs and fat before fasting during lent. In France the day is called Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, for the same reason. We are already, remarking that there is a stretch in the evenings. The days are hopefully, getting brighter and longer. But this year we have an extra bonus, one full day extra day! This year is a leap year, so we have a 29th. of February. Will this extra day be just another day? I am planning to make the most of this extra day by doing, please God, something special on that day. How about you? Kind regards Happy and Fruitful Lent Fr. John Mon 01 Feb Feast of St. Brigid Tue 02 Feb The Presentation of the Lord Candlemas Day Blessing of Candles Wed 03 Feb St Blaise Blessing of throats Sun 07 Feb Temperance Sunday World Day of the Sick Tue 09 Feb Ceremony of Light (Girls) Wed 10 Feb Ash Wednesday Mass am & 7.30 pm With blessing of Ashes Thur 11 Feb Our Lady of Lourdes Rosary prayed at 3.00 pm Wed 17 Feb Life in the Spirit Seminars Thurs 18 Feb Jewish/Christian Celebration Tue 23 Feb Ceremony of Light (Boys) Parenting Course Continues of Wed 8.00 pm Next Sunday Masses Repose of the Souls of Peter Madden Mary Walsh Peter Tracy Ursula and Justin Bradbury Caroline Heeney Died in Christ 24 Jan 2016 Betty Clifford RIP

4 Day Care & Respite Centre, Blackrock Presents Aspects of Love (A musical journey for Valentine s Day) Featuring The HX Brass Cluny Quartet (St. Joseph of Cluny Secondary School Killiney) & Choirs from Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Johnstown/Killiney At 8 p.m. Friday 12th February 2016 Admission Tickets on sale before & after Sunday, 7th February Masses johnstownkillineyparish.com

5 Pope Francis Speaks 10Th February 2016 Mass Times am and 7.30 pm Blessing of Ashes at each Mass Johnstown Volunteer Drivers needed Lunch time 1 hour Contact Siobhan about Lent 2016 The season of Lent in this Jubilee Year is a favourable time to overcome our existential alienation by listening to God s word and by practising the works of mercy. In the corporal works of mercy we touch the flesh of Christ in our brothers and sisters who need to be fed, clothed, sheltered, visited; in the spiritual works of mercy counsel, instruction, forgiveness, admonishment and prayer we touch more directly our own sinfulness. The corporal and spiritual works of mercy must never be separated. By touching the flesh of the crucified Jesus in the suffering, sinners can receive the gift of realizing that they too are poor and in need. By taking this path, the proud, the powerful and the wealthy spoken of in the Magnificat can also be embraced and undeservedly loved by the crucified Lord who died and rose for them. This love alone is the answer to that yearning for infinite happiness and love that we think we can satisfy with the idols of knowledge, power and riches. Yet the danger always remains that by a constant refusal to open the doors of their hearts to Christ who knocks on them in the poor, the proud, rich and powerful will end up condemning themselves and plunging into the eternal abyss of solitude which is Hell. The pointed words of Abraham apply to them and to all of us: They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them (Lk 16:29). Such attentive listening will best prepare us to celebrate the final victory over sin and death of the Bridegroom, now risen, who desires to purify his Betrothed in expectation of his coming. Let us not waste this season of Lent, so favourable a time for conversion! We ask this through the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, who, encountering the greatness of God s mercy freely bestowed upon her, was the first to acknowledge her lowliness (cf. Lk 1:48) and to call herself the Lord s humble servant (cf. Lk 1:38).

6 Our Church Windows Jewish/Christian Celebration Thursday 18th. February Johnstown Parish Pastoral Centre, Killiney The Catechism states that When she delves into her own mystery, the Church discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God." There is a wonderful opportunity to be enriched by looking at the Jewish roots of our faith on Thurs. 18th Feb at 8pm till 9.30pm in Johnstown Parish Pastoral Centre Parish Centre, Killiney. The guest speaker is Benjamin Berger, a Messianic Jewish leader from Israel. As an adult, questioning the meaning of life and of being a Jew, Benjamin moved from Orthodox Judaism. It was only when he came to know the God of his fathers, and to recognize Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world that his questions were resolved. Benjamin has a passion for unity in the Body of Christ and has been involved in the Roman Catholic/Messianic Jewish international dialogue for the past 9 years. There is no cost. There will be a free will offering. All welcome. Stained glass window Our Lady of Good Counsel Church Killiney Historians say we know a lot more about St. Brigid than we have facts, a polite way of saying that legends swirl about Ireland s most celebrated woman. But even legends may have cores of truth. In 471, Brigid founded a monastery for both women and men at Kildare. This was the first convent in Ireland, and Brigid was the abbess. Under her leadership Kildare became a center of learning and spirituality. Her school of art fashioned both lovely utensils for worship and beautifully illustrated manuscripts. Again following Patrick s model, Brigid used Kildare as a base and built convents throughout the island. Brigid s hallmark was uninhibited, generous giving to anyone in need. Many of the saint s earliest miracles seem to have rescued her from punishment for having given something to the poor that was intended for someone else. For example, once as a child she gave a piece of bacon to a dog, and was glad to find it replaced when she was about to be disciplined. Brigid exhibited this unbounded charity all her life, giving away valuables, clothing, food anything close by to anyone who asked.

7 Temperance Sunday 7th. February 2016 Temperance is a virtue which can help us to moderate the attraction to substances like alcohol and so avoid excessive use. Alcohol, when used in moderation, can be good and a part of our social life. However we must remember that alcohol is also the number one drug in our country, and does affect us in some way. Heavy drinking affects the health and well-being of many of our friends, family and neighbours We know anecdotally that every family is in some way affected by alcohol harm in Irish society. Parents have the greatest influence, power and responsibility over their children especially when it comes to alcohol misuse. Parents and guardians are in the position to show by example, not getting drunk, or showing that alcohol is not the way to cope, or the only way to have a good time. A practical suggestion to consider at this time is to refrain from alcohol during Lent. Fr Theobald Mathew ( ) Fr Mathew was a Capuchin friar from Tipperary whose 19 th century crusade against the abuse of alcohol gained him the title of Apostle of Temperance. Fr Mathew s call to sobriety has relevance to modern Ireland. The cost to the nation by way of, human suffering, abstention from work, criminality and social upheaval is inestimable. Fr Mathew s Prayer Compassionate Lord and Saviour, you inspired the Capuchin Friar Theobold Mathew to show your compassionate face to those addicted and burdened by the abuse of alcohol or addicted behaviour, and to promote temperance. May we today, continue to serve our brothers and sisters with love and joy, And to foster balance, and moderation in our life styles with the help of God. So, we pray, here goes in the name of God. Adapted from Irish Bishops Conference 2012 Entry Forms at the back of the Church Family Faith Formation Johnstown - Killiney Parish Confirmation Ceremony of Light Girls Tuesday 09 Feb 7.30 pm Boys Tuesday 23 Feb 7.30 pm The Ceremony of Light is a pre-confirmation ceremony, which has been added to the Confirmation preparation process in recent years. The key part of the service is when parents hand the lighted Baptism candle to their child as an acknowledgement that the child is now ready to be a responsible Christian. At their child s baptism parents light the baptismal candle from the paschal candle, this is a sign that they are willing to hand on their faith to their child. In the same way, at the service of light, parents once again light their child s baptismal candle from the paschal candle and hand the lighted candle to their children; in doing so parents promise to help and support their child live out the call of their Confirmation. They are agreeing, together with their child, to keep the light of faith burning in all of their lives