Presider’s Page

God’s Word calls us to recognise the transience of life, to keep our eyes on what is lasting: we gather in that spirit today.

As Christians called to follow Christ in good times as well as bad, we gather to praise our God who sustains us on that journey. (Today is celebrated as Father’s Day, so in the Mass we remember and pray for our fathers.)

God’s forgiveness sweeps away all that holds us back. God, who forgave King David and who through the ages took away the sins of everyone who asked, invites us to expererience that same healing power today.

God’s power is absolute: God is not defeated by death. Jesus shows divine power in today’s Gospel, raising the widow’s son from the dead. We celebrate his compassion and pray for the grace to imitate it.

Opening Comment The Ascension of Jesus will be celebrated next Sunday. As the Easter Season moves towards its second climax at Pentecost, we take heed of the Lord’s final words…

Opening Comment (for Mass without Procession – otherwise as in Missal) A week from now we will be celebrating Easter. But before we reach that feast, we must recall the…

Opening Comment As we journey through the fifth week of Lent, we pause to keep the feast of Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. We mark the day by praising…

Opening Comment We gather to worship our compassionate God, who heals our sinfulness and challenges us to leave sinfulness behind. Penitential Rite: To prepare ourselves for this celebration, let us…

Opening Comment We have reached the midway point of the season of Lent. The joy of Easter is within our reach and the parent of the prodigal son encourages us…

Opening Comment Today, as we gather to listen to the Lenten call to repentance, we worship our God of kindness who, like a patient gardener, always gives people a second…

Opening Comment In today’s Liturgy, we praise the Lord of glory, who leads us through the darkness of Lent to the light of Easter. Penitential Rite To prepare ourselves for…

Opening Comment The 40-day pilgrimage to Easter that began on Ash Wednesday is just a few days old. We pray that God, who sustained Jesus in his 40 days of…

Everyone who believes God’s word is called to pass on the Good News. Like many who have gone before us, including the prophet Isaiah and the apostles Peter and Paul, we may not feel up to the task. But God helps us every day.
• Today, the last Sunday before Lent, is celebrated as Temperance Sunday in Ireland.

We gather as people loved by God, people called to pass on the love we have received. The love God has put into the world will never fail, but will last as long as humanity lasts. We praise God for the gifts lavished on us. (Today is the first day of Catholic Schools Week in Ireland.)

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity continues until this Monday. With Christians all over the world, we ask God to give us the unity for which Christ prayed.

There are echoes of the Christmas season in today’s liturgy, particularly in the Gospel story of the wedding feast of Cana, in which God’s glory becomes visible in Jesus, as it did at his Epiphany and Baptism.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord: it’s the last day of the Christmas season.
The baptism of Jesus marked the end of his quiet years in Nazareth and the start of his public ministry.

We gather to celebrate the first Sunday of 2016, with thankfulness for the year just gone. We ask God for continuing care and protection as face this New Year, not knowing what it will bring.

Today is part of the continuing Christmas celebration. In today’s Mass, we honour the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. As during this week we say goodbye to 2015, we entrust our families to their patronage, and pray for God’s help in the New Year.

In the dark of Christmas night, Christians proclaim the new light that has shone on the world: Jesus Christ is born! With the angels, we worship God who saves us — for through the life, death and resurrection of this child Jesus, salvation is ours.