The First Seán Fagan Memorial lecture will be given on Monday 13 November 2017 by Theologian Angela Hanley.
Venue: Arrupe Room, Jesuit Communications Centre, Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin 4
Time: 7.30pm to 9.00pm
Date: Monday 13 November 2017
Chris McDonnell, writing in this week’s Catholic Times, reminds us again of the need to look to new models of leadership and priesthood. “The idea of a person being called from their community, to serve their community has lost credibility. It is this concept that we ought to explore. That is why the first tentative steps in formation for pastoral leaders in parishes rather than the closure of parishes or the creation of ever-increasing numerical entities is a courageous and welcome initiative.”
On All Saints Day and today, we remember all the dead, those in heaven and those still be on the way there: God alone knows where each soul is. Today we pray for all souls, for the faithful departed still on the journey to their heavenly home.
Gabriel Daly in this homily ‘celebrating’. not ‘marking’, the centenary of the Reformation tells us that ‘We have a divided church as a result of the Reformation, but great progress is being made in ecumenical dialogue to bring us together again. There have to be changes if unity is to come. We have much to learn from each other.’
Today and tomorrow we remember all the dead, those in heaven and those still be on the way there: God alone knows where each soul is. Today’s feast celebrates the saints in heaven, holy men and women of every time and place: we hope some of our people are among them.
Richard R. Gaillardetz writing in the National Catholic Reporter maintains that Pope Francis’ correcting Cardinal Sarah’s misrepresentation of ‘Magnum Principium’ is but “another concrete confirmation of the pope’s single-minded intention to realize the council’s reformist agenda. He may be the first post-conciliar pope not to have played a role at Vatican II, but no pope has more comprehensively summoned forth the council’s comprehensive call for reform and renewal.”
There’s a reminder of the two great commandments in today’s celebration: we are called to love God and our neighbour: friend, visitor and stranger alike.
We Are Church International (WACI) is inviting us to join in supporting Pope Francis.
Mary Smiddy, a member of Killeagh-Inch Pastoral Council, was recently involved in a “Spiritfest” which ran the last weekend of September.
Here she gives a report on a very successful event.
“At a time when the church gets much negative publicity I feel that much that is good in our churches and parishes is not acknowledged or recognised. Because of that I would like to share some of our experiences and learning over the Spiritfest weekend.
The event illustrates the vibrancy, excitement and joy that can be found in parishes throughout the country and what is possible with a little planning, preparation and willingness to try something different while remaining true to our faith and traditions.”
Tony Flannery reports on the conference in Birmingham organized by ACTA, the Catholic Church Reform Movement of England and Wales.
The main theme was to reflect on the future of parishes in the context of the rapid decline in numbers of priests available for ministry.
A new book book by Gerry O’Collins takes a systematic look at the 2010 English translation of the Roman Missal and the ways it fails to achieve what the Second Vatican Council mandated: the full participation of priest and people.
Paddy Ferry offered the following as comments concerning the latest attempt by Cardinal Sarah to undo reforms to the liturgy and his challenge to the recent decision by Pope Francis granting authority to local conferences of bishops over the translation of liturgical texts.
These comments are carried here as a separate item due to the importance of the issue but also to highlight the opposition Pope Francis faces as he tries to decentralise decision making processes from departments in Rome.
Also attached is commentary by Fr. Anthony Ruff from his praytellblog.com
As God’s family in this place, we gather to worship. God is our king, we heed his Word and share the Bread of Life.
We Are Church International is asking all WAC Groups around the world to take part in an international action to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
Seamus Ahearne gives his thoughts on “mission” informed by his own life experiences.
“I’m a believer:
My Mission here may distract me, out to the byways and highways where the Church is forgotten and where the gibberish of sacred language is irrelevant. But I cannot go out there, unless I am enjoying the living God, where I am. I need to be taking off my shoes, seeing the burning bush, hearing the gentle breeze and finding the teasing- God of the caster-oil plant (Jonah.) I need to be telling people and showing people that God and Church, isn’t like the scarcely remembered version, which is a caricature of the Christ-picture from the Gospels. But I shouldn’t tell anyone, anything, if I am not alive myself. Possibly, the only Mission I have now, is to create some kind of oasis, where the refreshment of God, makes a little sense in the desert of our modern world. I have to do this with total humility and must exude some personal serenity, believing that nothing can ever happen, that is beyond the goodness and love of God. Mission now might just mean: Believing and living as if I/we believe.”
We gather as fellow-pilgrims at this Sunday’s Eucharist, all journeying to the great banquet of heaven. In our Communion today, we get a taste of what is to come.
Bishop Lobinger (South America) has written creatively about the future of ministry in the Catholic Church, in view of the impending, or real, shortage of priests in many parts of…
With acknowledgement to La Croix, this article is a disturbing account of the impact of clerical sex abuse on the Australian Church. It is crystallised in the trial of George…
Phil Greene, an occasional commentator on this site, attended the conference, and has sent us these notes to give some idea of what went on. Like Phil, I too found…
Seamus Ahearne reflects on life and death, and threats of death, amid all the other day to day happenings in a busy life.
“The brush strokes of nature are also hints and whispers of life. They scatter the colours carelessly. They ask us to notice them and not to forget them. But maybe like nature and autumn, we need to throw around the unruly and incomplete brush strokes in our ministry. The unfinished days; the little celebrations; the Godliness of daily life; the laugher among us; the colours that we cannot take for granted. Possibly nature is talking to us. We too can be so serious (so immersed in the quicksand of problems). What are we doing to God’s world? Is that love song wasted on us?”
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