Presider’s Page

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the second climax of the Easter season. We celebrate ‘the great beginning of the Church’, the day the Holy Spirit first came to confused and frightened disciples.

The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated today. The Church also calls this Sunday ‘World Communications Day’. As he left his disciples, Jesus sent them out to spread the Good News. This is our task too. We ask for the grace we need.

We gather for this Easter celebration in the love of God, redeemed in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are people with a mission, challenged to grow in love each day. We ask God for divine help with this mission, today and during the coming week.

Like branches of one tree, we are held together by our faith in Christ. Because we are all part of this one living plant, we come together in thanksgiving and praise.

This Easter morning we celebrate the central mystery of our faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. He suffered on the cross and died for us, but now he is risen! Filled with the spirit of Easter joy, we proclaim the might and glory of God.

We gather around the Easter candle, celebrating the Lord’s resurrection. With that light to illumine our way, we remember how God has cared for humanity from the dawn of time. The readings from both testaments remind us what happened at the highpoints of our history.

The liturgy that begins this Thursday evening continues until we reach Easter. We are at the start of a three-day celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. We journey from the Last Supper to Gethsemane tonight, from there to Calvary tomorrow, and from the tomb to resurrection and new life at the Vigil of Easter Sunday.

In the heart of Lent, we keep the feast of Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. We mark the day by praising God the creator, who sustained Patrick, and who sustains the Church, in good times and bad.

This Sunday we come to the midpoint of Lent. The season is half over, and the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus is nearer to us. On this midway Sunday, it is traditional to honour mothers, praying for those still with us and remembering those who have died.

We gather in cold weather for worship this March Sunday in Ireland, praying that God will warm our hearts with love during the Lenten spring. The Lord has the message of eternal life: we come to know this message and deepen our relationship with our Saviour.

The gospel of the transfiguration is read on this lenten Sunday each year, to remind us to hold firm to a vision of glory, on dark days. Easter and its joy will follow this season of penance, just as the resurrection followed the passion and death of Jesus.

Today we celebrate the first Sunday of Lent. All over the world today, people of all ages are beginning their preparation period for baptism at the Easter Vigil. Like them, we begin our own preparations for Easter, looking forward to renewing our baptismal vows and being blessed with Easter water.

‘Whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God.’ The words are St Paul’s, from today’s second reading. We gather here to give glory to God, praying for the sick, marking the Day of Prayer for Temperance and preparing for the Lenten Spring.

As we Christians come together for worship, each of us brings worries, anxieties and fears. We gather them all together and entrust them to the one who heals his suffering people.

We come together to listen to God’s word and share the bread of life together. As God’s family here, we praise the one who has rescued us from sin and darkness, and brought us the hope of heaven.

Now that the Christmas season is behind us and we are moving into the New Year, the liturgy challenges us to reflect on what following Christ means. We gather as God’s people, called to follow the Lamb of God and we praise God, with thanksgiving.
• This is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees.

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.