Pages for presiders (including bidding prayers for the Sundays and holydays of August) have now been published on the ACP website. This is to facilitate those who prepare the liturgy, who may be planning several Sunday liturgies in advance due to key personnel taking summer vacations. Topical needs can be added by prayer ministers at the Mass time.
You can access the August presiders pages here
Our God seeks out sinners to forgive them. At this Sunday’s gathering, we worship our loving and compassionate God.
Seamus Ahearne muses on the special moments of life we mark with Sacraments and he wonders how can we help to let the world of God be glimpsed?
Seamus Ahearne has been reflecting on his life’s vocation and work, and “has been thinking” and thankfully writing for us.
As always his thoughts are a wonderful antidote to the often banal, myopic, clichéd and uninspiring writing that is done about church and religion in Ireland.
His words challenge all of us to find new ways of ministering to each other.
“there is an absence of gratitude. There is a crudity in our public discourse. How can there be Eucharist if we don’t come in humility to say thanks to God? If we don’t stop to be aware of the ‘gracefulness’ of life; if we don’t stop in utter amazement at the very mystery of life in nature, in people, in moments. If we don’t look at a baby and become more human; if we don’t look at a leaf and become more human; if we don’t look at the exuberance of a child for First Communion and become more human; if we don’t look at the act of faith of two lovers in marrying and become more human; if we don’t see the selflessness of parents and become more human; if we don’t see the prayerfulness of our faithful and become more human.”
Pádraig McCarthy pays tribute to the late Ronan Drury Ronan Drury, editor of The Furrow since 1977, died on 16 November 2017, at the age of 93. His funeral…
As a preparation for our discussions ‘The Vocations Crisis, will clustering work?’ at our AGM on 01 October, we commend to our members two articles from the September Furrow, On the Edge by Donagh O’Meara and The Last Priests in Ireland by Donald Cozzens, which map out the context for our discussion.
We encourage as many of our members as possible to attend the AGM in the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone, 01 October 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Report of Annual General Meeting, 01 October, 2014
In relation to weekly Prayers of the Faithful, Sean O’Conaill recently queried whether the handing down of these from the diocesan authorities, as in the Dublin Archdiocese, was another form of episcopal control. One would hope that this is not so but a recognition that many parishes do not have active Pastoral Councils or groups that could create these on the regular basis they are required. The ACP, by augmenting these is undoubtedly providing a welcome service to hard pressed PPs and curates. A further resource, where topical needs are added weekly, is to be found on the Association of Catholics in Ireland website under Resources – Liturgy. Reference is http://www.acireland.ie/category/liturgy/. To ensure these are relevant to the weekend masses, these are only uploaded each Friday evening.