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Presider’s Page for Sunday 17 March (Lá Fhéile Pádraig)

SONGS AT MASS (Suggestions) ‘Dóchas Linn Naomh Pádraig’; Be Not Afraid’; ‘Christ Be Beside Me’; ‘Hail Glorious St. Patrick’.

Opening Comment
As the second week of Lent begins in other countries, we pause from our lenten penances to honour Patrick, the apostle of the Irish. In our celebration of this solemn feast, we worship God, creator, redeemer and sanctifier, who brought our ancestors into the Christian fold through the preaching of St Patrick.

Penitential Rite
As we enter into this solemn celebration, let us call to mind the times we failed in love, placing our trust in God’s mercy, as St Patrick always did (pause)
Lord Jesus, you have shown us the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy (A Thiarna, déan trócaire).
Lord Jesus, you have given us the consolation of the truth: Christ, have mercy (A Chríost, déan trócaire).
Lord Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd, leading us into everlasting life: Lord, have mercy (A Thiarna, déan trócaire).

Alternative Opening Prayer (1998 ICEL Missal)
Lord God,
in your loving providence
you sent the holy bishop Patrick
to preach your glory to the people of Ireland;
grant through his merits and prayers
that all who rejoice in the name of Christian
may proclaim your wonderful deeds to all the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.

An Chomhurnaí
A Thiarna,
de bharr shaothar Naomh Pádraig in Éirinn
tá sé tar éis teacht linn rúndiamhair an aon fhíor-Dhia
amháin a admháil
agus buíochas a ghabháil as ár slánú i gCríost;
de bharr a idirghuí deonaigh go gcoinneoimidne,
a cheiliúrann an fhéile seo,
tine an chreidimh, a d’adhain sé, beo i gcónaí inár measc.
Trínár dTiarna Íosa Críost do Mhac,
a mhaireann agus a rialaíonn leatsa,
mar aon leis an Spiorad Naomh, ina Dhia, trí shaol na saol.

Introduction to the Scripture Readings
Amos 7:12-15 — The call of Patrick reflected the call the prophet Amos received: to go to people not his own and be their shepherd.
Thessalonians 2:2-8 — Paul describes the motivation of an apostle; Patrick could have applied these lines to his own ministry in Ireland.
Luke 5:1-11 — When Peter was called by Jesus, he was overwhelmed by a sense of his unworthiness. Patrick, who called himself a sinner, must have felt as Peter felt.

BIDDING PRAYERS

Introduction (by the Presider) Because God’s love for us is strong, we can present our needs with confidence.

  1. That Pope Francis may receive gifts of joy and courage, as he begins his seventh year as our pope (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.
  2. That the leaders of the Church in Ireland may have the strength and wisdom of St Patrick (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.
  3. That peace and reconciliation may continue to grow in our land (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.
  4. That Irish emigrants may have the help they need, particularly those who feel lonely or lost (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.
  5. That those who enter Ireland as refugees and asylum-seekers may experience friendship and support (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.
  6. That the people of this parish may have the blessings of heaven today, particularly those who are sick or troubled (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.

The Presider prays for the dead: That our loved one who have gone on the Way of Truth (‘ar Shlí na Fírinne’) may enter the promised land of heaven (pause and pray quietly a moment). Lord, hear us.

Conclusion (by the Presider) God of all nations, you are faithful to your people: hear the prayers we bring on the feast of Patrick and grant them, we implore you, through Christ our Lord. Amen

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Os Cionn na nOfrálacha
A Thiarna,
glac leis an íobairt fhíorghlan seo
a ofrálann do phobal buíoch duit
de bharr shaothar Naomh Pádraig
chun glóir d’ainm.
Trí Chríost ár dTiarna. AMEN

PREFACE (as Gaeilge)
Is ceart agus is cóir dúinn, go deimhin, is cuí agus is
tairbheach,
buíochas a ghabháil leat de shíor agus i ngach áit,
a Thiarna, a Athair naofa, a Dhia uilechumhachtaigh
shíoraí,
agus thú a mholadh go cuí
agus sinn ag tabhairt ómóis do Naomh Pádraig.

Óir trína phaidreoireacht laethúil
le linn dó bheith i ngéibheann agus ag fulaingt cruatain
thug tú air thú a aithint mar Athair grámhar.
Thogh tú é as a raibh ar domhan
chun filleadh ar thír na ndaoine a rinne príosúnach de
i dtreo is go n-admhóidís Íosa Críost, a Slánaitheoir.
Trí chumhacht do Spioraid threoraigh tú a bhealaí
ionas gur éirigh leis clann mhac agus iníonacha na
nÉireannach
a iompú chun seirbhís Dé Thrí-aonta.
Uime sin, mar aon leis na hAingil agus leis na hArdaingil,
agus le sluaite iomadúla na Naomh,
gabhaimid iomann molta duit á rá (NÓ á canadh) gan stad:

Is Naofa, Naofa, Naofa thú, a Thiarna Dia na Slua.
Tá neamh agus talamh lán de do ghlóir.
Hósanna sna harda.
Is beannaithe an té atá ag teacht in ainm an Tiarna.
Hósanna sna harda

A Thiarna, is Naofa thú go fírinneach; is tú tobar na
naofachta go léir.
Naomhaigh, mar sin, impímid ort,
na bronntanais seo le drúcht do Spioraid,
chun go ndéanfar díobh inár gcomhair Corp agus + Fuil ár
dTiarna, Íosa Críost.

Nuair a bhi sé á thabhairt suas chun na Páise dá dheoin
féin,
ghlac sé an t-arán, agus ag gabháil buíochais leat, bhris,
agus thug dá dheisceabail é, á rá:
GLACAIGÍ AGUS ITHIGÍ UILE AS SEO:
ÓIR IS é SEO MO CHORP
A THABHARFAR AR BHUR SON.

Ar an gcaoi chéanna, tar éis an tsuipéir,
ag glacadh na cailíse, agus ag gabháil buíochais leat arís,
thug sé dá dheisceabail í, á rá:
GlACAIGÍ AGUS ÓlAIGÍ UIlE AISTI SEO:
ÓIR IS Í SEO CAILÍS MO CHUID FOLA,
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Rúndiamhair an chreidimh (The mystery of faith)
MoThiarna agus mo Dhia.

Dá réir sin, a Thiarna Dia,
ag cuimhneamh dúinn ar bhás agus ar aiséirí Chríost,
ofrálaimid duit arán na beatha agus cailís an tslánaithe,
agus gabhaimid buíochas leat
toisc gurbh fhiú leat
sinn a bheith i do láthair agus ag fónamh duit.
Iarraimid go humhal ort go n-aontófar le chéile,
le cumhacht an Spioraid Naoimh,
sinne atá páirteach i gCorp agus i bhFuil Chríost.

Tabhair chun cuimhne, a Thiarna, d’Eaglais ar fud an
domhain mhóir
chun go ndéanfá í a neartú sa charthanacht
i gcuideachta lenár bPápa Francis, agus lenár nEaspag A.,
agus leis an gcléir uile.

Cuimhnigh freisin ar ár muintir féin
a fuair bás agus iad ag súil le haiséirí agus orthu siúd uile
atá imithe ar shlí na fírinne faoi do ghnaoi
agus fáiltigh rompu isteach i solas do ghlóire.

Déan trócaire orainn uile, impímid ort, ionas gurbh fhiú
sinn a bheith páirteach sa bheatha shíoraí
chun tú a mholadh agus a ghlóiriú
i gcuideachta na Maighdine Beannaithe Muire, Máthair
Dé, Pádraig Naofa, aspal mór na h-Éireann, na Naomhaspal agus na Naomh uile
a rinne do thoilse riamh anall
trí do Mhac Íosa Críost.

Is trid agus leis agus ann a thugtar gach onóir agus glóir
duitse, a Dhia, an tAthair uilechumhachtach, in aontacht
an Spioraid Naoimh, trí shaol na saol.
Amen.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
An Iarchomaoineach
Neartaigh sinn tríd an tsacraimint seo, a Thiarna,
i dtreo is go ndéanfaimid an creideamh a theagasc
Naomh Pádraig
a admháil agus a fhógairt
trínár modh maireachtála.
Trí Chríost ár dTiarna. Amen.

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14 Comments

  1. Joe O'Leary says:

    Meditation on St Patrick

    1. Night after night on the cold hillside he watched over the sheep, wakeful while they slept, and among those misty green valleys his thoughts took on a serious cast. Son of a deacon and grandson of a priest, he had paid no attention to religion. The shock of being yanked from his home by pirates at sixteen and made a slave in this mysterious green land had created an inexplicable turmoil in his heart, and now amid the silence of the damp hills a quite new thought was forming, a sense of being protected by a gracious presence.
    He would weep, not from homesickness but — what was it? — repentance? For what? For slighting a precious gift that these strange pagans knew nothing of, the story of Christ and the holiness of His sacraments.
    As the language become easier for him he began to murmur to his fellows the name of Christ, and to teach them Latin using the few prayers he knew. It was astonishing how eagerly they devoured this lore, as if recognizing in it some long-expected divine spark. The name of Rome and the name of Christ held a magic for them, as signals from a world beyond the familiar rites of their fields.
    It pained him that he could explain so little of the faith that began to glow ever more warmly in his own heart. He pieced together his scanty catechism: a good God, creator of everything, angry at sin, yet sending his Son to die for our sins and ascend gloriously into Heaven; a Holy Ghost coming down in tongues of fire; a Last Judgement to cast down the proud and exalt the lowly.
    Put into the new language, this took on a fresh power, seeming to rise in his own mind and those of his companions as a mighty tide.

    2. Back home, he was dogged by a sense of something missing. Could it be those damp hills, those green valleys? They had become, in his six years of captivity, the very landscape of his soul. Was he missing the boisterous drinking companionship with the pagans? But what was he to them or they to him? Wasn’t he lucky to escape back to freedom and civilization? Still something pressed obscurely on his heart, and it came to bursting point in a haunting dream: “a man seemed to come from Hibernia and gave me a letter headed ‘the Voice of the Irish’; I trembled on reading that inscription, and then a multitudinous murmur flooded my mind, voices from the wood by the Western sea: ‘We implore you, holy youth, come and walk among us again. We implore you…’”
    His parents’ shock when he said “I want to go back to Ireland” was allayed when he spoke of the need first to study in Europe.

    3. Patrick looked out on the huge crowd gathered for Easter on the hill of Slane, humbled at their goodness and faith and cheered as always by their merriment. The years of study had given him the words and ideas he needed to explain the Faith to them in all its majesty and to lay firm foundations for this new people of God.
    He had chosen from what was taught in Auxerre and Lérins only what he knew would nourish their minds and touch their hearts: not the complex controversies about the homoousios and the soul of Christ and the procession of the Holy Ghost, but the simple essence of these doctrines: the living God, one in three and three in one, and the blessed Saviour, born of Mary, atoning for Sin, risen to new life.
    He learned more from the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, the supreme missionary, meditated on day in and day out, than from any of the professors. Once or twice among the thronging Mediterranean peoples in the great port of Marseille he would thrill to the sound of a never-forgotten language, the voice of the Irish. Joyfully embracing the seafarers, he reanchored his thought in a vivid perception of their need. Greeks, and Libyans, and Spaniards suddenly seemed old and decadent beside the Irish, with their open countenances and their sharp minds, fresh and bracing as the dawn. They spoke his language and he theirs.
    His return to Ireland, armed with flawless doctrine and papal backing, but still a stranger like the scared boy of so long before, was a moment of risk and blind trust. But everything had gone so well! His life’s labours, his controversies worthy of St Paul, had exhausted him, but he could lay down the staff without any misgivings, for the Faith had taken hold, the carefully selected seed had borne fruit a hundredfold or a thousandfold, and the Irish had developed their own ways of spreading the story of Christ to future generations and to foreign lands.

  2. Paddy Ferry says:

    A really lovely meditation, Joe. Thank you. I have shared it on the Scottish laity Network Facebook page.

    And a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all our correspondents at home and abroad.

  3. Eddie Finnegan1 says:

    Paddy Ferry@2, I am glad to see you are still allowed to recognise and praise Joe O’Leary for his excellent meditation on St Patrick. Perhaps only one lay offering is allowed as my own earlier comment on Joe’s offering has been mysteriously consigned to oblivion. This does not greatly surprise me as it’s been happening to my efforts increasingly frequently over the past year or so. Anyway, I’m glad to see you both meeting so amicably on liturgical grounds rather than trading long and tedious articles about George Pell.

    1. Joe’s excellent meditation appeared in two different posts in the Liturgy section.
      Presider’s Page for Sunday 17 March (Lá Fhéile Pádraig)
      and
      17 March: St Patrick, Patron of Ireland

      Please see comment 2 under 17 March: St Patrick, Patron of Ireland

  4. Eddie Finnegan1 says:

    Ah thank you, ACP@4. Mysterium nunc dissolutum est, and my two middle sentences @3 may now be a little redundant. Indeed Joe’s meditation was worth a repetition. You can say that again, Joe. And I might at least have noticed the two language versions for the feast before jumping to conclusions. Mea maxima culpa grovel grovel.

  5. Joe O'Leary says:

    Eddie, here’s another Pell piece — I don’t find it tedious at all; rather it’s exciting in the way the Dreyfus Affair was.

    https://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2019/03/did-australia-convict-an-innocent-cardinal/

    http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/calling-cardinal-pells-prosecution-what-it-is-religious-persecution

    https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2019/02/catholics-sex-and-cardinal-pell/#

    More and more we Catholics are bumping into people full of rage against the church, which is often based on false information. I think it’s time to stop being doormats and internalizing the negativity in self-hatred. We need to formulate a better response, if we are not to end up subject to the sort of thing that we saw in Squirrel Hill and Christchurch.

  6. Paddy Ferry says:

    Joe, I am pleased that in your response to Eddie you have given us some kind of explanation as to why you wander so far beyond the pale whenever you are confronted with this issue. I have struggled to understand how someone normally so full of good sense and an obvious great and enlightened intelligence can have such a mental block when presented with this horrible phenomenon. And, God knows, it seems we will forever be plagued with it as we continue to be presented with even more revelations. It just never seems to end.

    You said in your reply to Eddie:

    “More and more we Catholics are bumping into people full of rage against the church, which is often based on false information. I think it’s time to stop being doormats and internalizing the negativity in self-hatred. We need to formulate a better response, if we are not to end up subject to the sort of thing that we saw in Squirrel Hill and Christchurch.”

    Now, Joe, an explanation it may be but I think it is bordering on the delusional. And, that final sentence is really terrible, completely out of order.

    On another related issue, Joe, as I was watching Leaving Neverland I thought about you from time to time. I watched both programs. If you have watched them I would be really interested to hear your take on the accusations the two alleged victims made.

  7. Eddie Finnegan1 says:

    Indeed, Paddy@9, I had expected the Polish Bishops’ Conference to conclude by saying, “We are grateful to Pope Francis that he is not a canonised Pole.”

  8. Paddy Ferry says:

    Thanks, Colm, for sharing the link to Fr. Peter Murnane’s response to those who think Pell is innocent.
    It is a must read for everyone exercised by this case.

    1. At this stage there has been extensive comment on this site about the Cardinal Pell case.
      Sincerely held opinion has been expressed as to the innocence or guilt of Cardinal Pell following the recent trial.
      Until the appeal has been adjudicated upon I feel there is little that can be added to our knowledge about this case and I suspect that even following the appeal many people will still maintain their firmly held opinions.
      For these reasons I think that there is little point posting further comment on our site at this stage about this case.
      Mattie Long
      Editor

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