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Fáilte, Welcome

to the website for the Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland

Bishop William Crean

01 October 2024

Sunday Oct 20th 2.00pm - 5.30pm

Pre-booking is essential

Contact the Parish Office:
021-4623749 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Parish Family Day 20th Oct 2024

01 October 2024

The Parish of Youghal is delighted to welcome the return of the image of Our Lady of Youghal in conjunction with the celebration of the 8th centenary of the Dominican presence in Ireland.

All are welcome to participate in this joyful celebration of the Dominicans contribution to our history of faith and their spreading of devotion to Our Lady of Graces.

For full details please see below.

Visit of the image of Our Lady of Graces to Youghal

Sunday 8th September, Mass was celebrated for the Indian Community in St. Mary’s Church, Carrigtwohill to celebrate the Birthday of Our Lady, followed by a Procession to Our Lady's Grotto and a celebration.

Munster Konkans, a community of families originating from Mangalore in South West India, and currently living in and around the Munster region, gathered together for the celebration of ‘Monthi Fest’ (Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) on Sunday, 8th September.

This is the biggest family feast of the year in the Konkan culture, and is also celebrated as a harvest festival, where the first fruits, vegetables, and grains of the season are offered to God in a gratitude for His blessings.

Carrigtwohill Parish - Mass celebrated for the Indian Community

Bringing Lourdes to the Faithful

September 15^th - 16^th 2024

The visitation of the holy relics is an opportunity to have Lourdes come to our diocese so that we can all experience the pilgrimage in Lourdes at home in Cloyne.

Petitions

There will be an opportunity for pilgrims to leave petitions and personal intentions to Our Lady of Lourdes and St Bernadette.

Petitions should be written at home and brought to the churches. A petition box will be located at the Marian shrines in the churches.

Veneration of the relics ends at 9pm each evening in both churches.

Our Lady of Lourdes help our faith!

Visit of the Relics of St. Bernadette to the Diocese of Cloyne

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29 Sep 2024 - Benemerenti Presentation Sr. Perpetua O'Donoghue

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Coram Fratribus

On ‘Gender Diversity’

While the big synod is going on in Rome, a more modest synodal enterprise has taken place in Norway, showing the usefulness of walking together towards a shared goal. A broadly ecumenical conversation about a controversial issue, so-called sexual and Read More

Coram Fratribus

28. Sunday B

Wisdom 7.7-11: The spirit of Wisdom came to me.
Hebrews 4.12-13: The word of God is alive and active.
Mark 10.17-27: Sell everything you own.
Our first reading is a paean to wisdom. Incomparably wonderful is wisdom! The text literally praises Read More

Coram Fratribus

Not Divided

Homily given at the Mass concluding a retreat preached at Palendriai, during which the monks renewed their vows. You can find an English version by scrolling down.
Luc 11.15-26: Le règne de Dieu est venu jusqu’à vous.
L’évangile de ce jour nous Read More

Coram Fratribus

Uverdig lovforslag I mars i år sendte Norsk katolsk bisperåd inn et høringssvar til forslag om ny abortlov. Vi bad om at loven forkastes. Appellen har fått liten resonans. Forslag har vært oppe til muntlig høring på Stortinget. En siste mulighet til “innspill” foreligger nå med first 16. oktober. Her er teksten bisperådet i dag har innsendt:
Til Helse- og omsorgskomiteen, Stortinget
FORSLAG TIL LOV OM ABORT
Norsk Katolsk Bisperåd (NKB) viser til Helse- og omsorgskomiteens invitasjon til å komme med skriftlige innspill til Prop. 117/L Lov om abort (abortloven), som Stortinget nå skal behandle.
NKB består av de biskoper som leder Den katolske kirke i Norge, bestående av Oslo katolske bispedømme, Den katolske kirke i Midt-Norge/Trondheim stift og Tromsø stift/ Den katolske kirke i Nord-Norge, fellesregistrert som trossamfunnet Den katolske kirke i Norge. Etter Den norske kirke er dette trossamfunn landets største blant tros- og livssynssamfunnene, med mellom 150 000 og 200 000 registrerte medlemmer. For tiden består NKB av biskop Bernt Eidsvig (biskop av Oslo) og biskop Erik Varden (biskop-prelat i Trondheim stift og apostolisk administrator i Tromsø stift).
NKB avgav i mars høringssvar til departementet vedrørende NOU 2023:29 Abort i Norge – Ny lov om bedre tjenester. Høringssvaret er nevnt et par ganger i proposisjonen. Etter dette har regjeringen Støre fremmet lovproposisjonen som nå er til behandling. NKB har med tilfredshet merket seg at statsrådene fra Senterpartiet ved behandlingen av proposisjonen for Kongen i statsråd dissenterte på vesentlige punkter.
NKB viser til sin uttalelse til departement og kan ikke se at det under den videre saksbehandling er fremkommet noe som innebærer svekkelse av våre sterke reservasjoner mot lovforslaget. Vi ser heller ikke at regjeringen har tatt noe som helst hensyn til våre sterke innvendinger mot forslaget.
NKB mener at nåværende abortlovgivning og -praksis i seg selv er høyst problematisk. Dette forsterkes ved det fremlagte lovforslag, dels ved nye prinsipielle utsagn, dels ved at ved at «selvbestemt abort» foreslås utvidet fra 12. til 18. svangerskapsuke, og ved at det gis ytterligere åpning for abort inntil utgangen av 22. svangerskapsuke.
Lovforslaget foregir å balanser gravides rett til selvbestemt abort og respekten for det ufødte liv (§ 1). Men NKB finner ingen nedslag av dette i de materielle bestemmelser.
Det tidligere formål om å redusere antall aborter er forsvunnet fra lovteksten. Departementets forslag om «en ny abortlov bedre tilpasset dagens samfunn» fremstår utelukkende som propaganda, uten basis ny vitenskapelig belagt forståelse av fosteret og dets forhold til mor eller samfunn. Enhver vurdering opp mot det medisinske faktum at menneskelivet begynner ved unnfangelsen, er totalt fraværende i proposisjonen.
I NKBs alt avgitte høringsuttalelse heter det: «Selvsagt skal ikke staten umyndiggjøre kvinnen. Selvsagt skal kvinnen, som mannen, ha autonomi og råderett over egen kropp. Men abortspørsmålet lar seg ikke redusere, slik notat i realiteten gjør, til kjønnsrollekonflikt. Det som gjør spørsmålet komplekst, er at det omfatter, ikke bare ett subjekt (den gravide kvinne), men to subjekter», nemlig også morens ufødte barn.
De eneste tilfeller der abort faktisk avvises, er «selektive svangerskapsavbrudd», «basert på fosteret egenskaper som kjønn eller funksjonsnedsettelse». Derved fremstår «kjønn» som mer beskyttelsesverdig enn menneskelivet som sådan.
NKB merker seg også at «levedyktighet» ikke lenger skal være et avgjørende kriterium mot abort, men at denne «rett» prinsipielt skal kobles opp mot nøyaktige beregninger av svangerskapets lengde. I middelalderen koblet også katolske filosofer og teologer som Thomas Aquinas fosterets status som menneske opp mot svangerskapets varighet, basert på gresk filosofi. Dette har Kirken for lengst distansert seg fra som fantasi uten noe som helst medisinsvitenskapelig dekning. Men dette ønsker man nå å gjøre bærende i lovgivningen. Fra den tidligere avgitte uttalelse gjentas: «I klartekst innebærer dette et hypotetisk scenario hvor to kvinner i 18. uker ankommer ved samme sykehus: Den ene, som vil avbryte svangerskapet, henvises til abortavdelingen; den andre, som vil beholde sitt foster, henvises til barselavdelingen.» Lovforslaget legger opp til at de minste og mest beskyttelsestrengende mennesker blir objekt og ikke subjekt, som kan rammes av en ganske vilkårlig skjebne.
Vi taler ikke primært på vegen av oss selv, Den katolske kirke eller katolikkene i Norge. Vi gjør det som alltid har vært Kirkens kall, å tale de aller svakestes sak, i dette tilfelle ufødte barn med inntil fire eller fem og en halv måneders liv bak seg, overfor de sterkere, i dette tilfellet politikerne på Stortinget med makt over liv og død.
NKB oppfordrer Stortinget til å avvise hele lovforslaget som uverdig et humant samfunn med respekt for ethvert menneskelig individ.

Oslo, Trondheim, Tromsø, 15. oktober 2024

BERNT EIDSVIG CAN.REG
Biskop av Oslo
ERIK VARDEN OCSO
Biskop-prelat i Trondheim stift og Apostolisk administrator i Tromsø stift

Coram Fratribus

Blindness & Sight The trajectory traced by St Teresa of Ávila reaches from the outset right to the loftiest end of spiritual life. She counsels souls who wobble ‘like hens, with feet tied together’ but also those who soar like eagles. Nor does she forget the perplexing darkness of the long intermediate stage when the soul, like a timid dove, is dazzled by rare glimpses of God’s Sun while, ‘when looking at itself, its eyes are blinded by clay. The little dove is blind’. Everything she writes, she tells us, is born of experience. For long years she herself ‘had neither any joy in God nor pleasure in the world’. She lived in an in-between state, a no-woman’s land. What changed it? No summary can do justice to her subtle account of the transformative miracle wrought in her by God. We can, though, get some sense of its impact. Teresa testifies how, at a decisive juncture, ‘todos los que me conocían veían claro estar otra mi alma’: her soul had become other; it was no longer what it used to be.
From a conference given in 2015.

Coram Fratribus

On ‘Gender Diversity’ While the big synod is going on in Rome, a more modest synodal enterprise has taken place in Norway, showing the usefulness of walking together towards a shared goal. A broadly ecumenical conversation about a controversial issue, so-called sexual and gender ‘diversity’, has issued in a joint statement intended to function as a roadmap by which Christians may find their bearings in difficult terrain where strong feelings are expressed and where we encounter vulnerability, sometimes great pain. Vulnerability and pain require a response of respectful gentleness; epistemological confusion, meanwhile, calls out for clear thinking and lucid definition. The statement attempts to balance these considerations, conscious of a special responsibility with regard to our society’s children. Thirty Christian organisations and denominations stand as cosignatories, the Council of Catholic Bishops side by side with the Pentecostal movement. In a spirit of parrhesia, we present this text as a constructive contribution to the public forum. Below is the text in English. It is also available in Norwegian, Polish, Spanish, and German.
You may also wish to read (or re-read) the Nordic Bishops’ Conference Pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality from 2023.

***

A Joint Christian Declaration on
‘Diversity of Gender and Sexuality’
Based on our faith in the Bible as the Word of God,
on the recognition of biological realities and
out of respect for the human rights of children
we affirm the following principles:
ON THE BASIS OF THE BIBLE
God is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He has created human beings male and female.
All people are created in the image of God. All are deeply loved by Him, have the same inherent human dignity, and are equally precious.
Marriage is a divine institution inscribed in natural law. Marriage unites one man and one woman. Founded by God, confirmed by Christ and the Apostles, this institution of marriage has been recognised by the Christian church throughout the centuries (cf. Genesis 1:26-28 and Matthew 19:4-6).
Marriage between one man and one woman constitutes the Biblical framework for sexual relationships. Other forms of sexual relationships represent a ‘diversity’ at odds with the Bible’s theology of creation and with Jesus’s ethical teaching, even when these relationships are marked by long-lasting fidelity.
The doctrine and example of Jesus teach us that every human being is our neighbour. However deeply we may disagree about matters of faith and our very worldview, about ethics and moral codes, we urge all to encounter one another with respect, in a spirit of friendship.
ON THE BASIS OF BIOLOGY
There are only two biological sexes: female and male. The sex of each individual is determined at conception.
Our sex is principally determined by the size and function of the reproductive cells. Women produce large reproductive cells (egg cells); men produce small reproductive cells (sperm cells).
Further to to the crucial importance of reproductive cells, female or male chromosomes (XX or XY) are woven into almost all the body’s thousands of billions of cells. The affirmation that there are two biological sexes, and no more, is not invalidated by the fact that some children are born with chromosomal anomalies or by the fact that an extremely small number of children (in Norway, 10-15 per year) are born with unclearly defined genitalia.
The notion that gender is a subjective category and that sexual and gender identity can be freely chosen on the basis of feelings or preference, irrespective of biological sex, is based on ideology. It has no biological or scientific foundation.
It is immensely problematic to teach children and young people that there are ‘boys, girls, and other genders’; that there exists an ‘interior gender’; that they may happen to have been ‘born in the wrong body’; and that gender is ‘fluid’. This manner of influence may lead to confusion, insecurity, and destructive life choices for many children and young people.
The relationship between mother, father, and child is biologically singular. Divinely ordained, it is the foundation of the family and of society.
OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE CHILD
Children are a gift from God. It is no adult’s right to have a child.
Human beings originate from the egg of one woman and the sperm of one man. Neither mother nor father, nor the wider family of either, is superfluous or irrelevant in a child’s life.
It is a human right for every child, as far as possible, ‘to know and be cared for by his or her parents’ (UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 7.1).
To deprive children deliberately and intentionally of the right to know their biological mother or father, and their wider families – for example through assisted fertilisation or surrogacy – violates God’s will for creation and children’s rights.
Regardless of the manner in which they are conceived, all children are equally precious, equally loved by God.
Children’s rights and the best interests of the child must take precedence over the demands and wishes of adults – in secular society and in the church.
CORE VALUES
We regard the Bible as our highest authority in matters of faith, doctrine, and life. As Christian churches, congregations, and organisations, and as individuals, we commit ourselves to the truths, values, and convictions expressed in this declaration.
We wish to encounter all people with respect, reasonably and kindly – ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15). But we will not compromise on Biblical truths, even if these truths should conflict with political pressure or societal trends.
We reject, in every setting, all forms of bullying and ostracism, manipulation and coercion, harassment and hatred, sabotage and violence.
We hold that much of the content of modern gender ideology, indeed the very concept of ‘gender and sexual diversity’, is not based on medical and natural science. We find it to be incompatible with our faith, thought, and worldview as Christians.
We stand up for a democratic, pluralistic, and open-minded society where there is space for diversity of beliefs characterised by mutual respect. Freedom of expression and conscience, as well as religious freedom, are for us central and essential values.
We hold that public authorities and governmental bodies exceed their mandate and power by attempting to pressure citizens and organisations to adapt to ‘queer theory’ on gender, sexuality, and marriage. Such activism on the part of government violates religious freedom and freedom of conscience, as well as the rights of parents.
We, the signatories of this declaration, adhere to the Declaration on Marriage published in 2016 by 36 Norwegian Christian organisations and denominations. We stand united with hundreds of millions of Christians of almost all denominations worldwide.
Some 30 Norwegian Christian organisations and denominations are joint publishers of this declaration. You may find a list of the co-publishers and familiarise yourself with resources elaborating the content of this declaration on the project website www.Felleskristen.no
All co-publishers of this declaration support the intent and message of the document. They are free, however, to express reserve regarding specific formulations in the text.
We encourage all who support this declaration to share it generously with others.

Coram Fratribus

28. Sunday B Wisdom 7.7-11: The spirit of Wisdom came to me.
Hebrews 4.12-13: The word of God is alive and active.
Mark 10.17-27: Sell everything you own.
Our first reading is a paean to wisdom. Incomparably wonderful is wisdom! The text literally praises it to the skies. If we take it seriously, it is almost shocking to see how much it considers wisdom to be worth: ‘I loved her more than health or beauty, preferred her to the light.’
Honestly, for what purpose would we risk our wellbeing, looks, and outlook?
If we look up ‘wise’ in a dictionary, the definition is ‘learned and prudent’. Biblically speaking such a definition is quite inadequate. In Scripture wisdom appears not so much as a quality as a presence. In Proverbs, chapter 8, wisdom herself offers us a poetic autobiography: ‘I was set up at the first’, she says, ‘before the beginning of the earth’. No grain of dust had yet been brought into existence. ‘I was there, when he made firm the skies above. I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always.’ This rejoicing can be understood as play, and has often been translated thus. This is worth noticing. For the description is repeated: ‘I rejoiced [or played] in his inhabited world and delighted in the sons of men.’
When we hear the word ‘wisdom’ we associate it with something earnest and grave, with thick books, furrowed brows, and long white beards. There’s something geriatric about modernity’s wisdom. The wisdom of Scripture, by contrast, is playful and young. It represents God’s firstborn and is divine, a bridge between time and eternity, created matter and uncreated Light.
Wisdom is the principle allowing us to look on the world we inhabit, heaven and earth, and ask, not just ‘What?’ and ‘How?’, but ‘Why?’ – and provides an answer to that question. Wisdom corresponds to a longing rooted deep in man, yearning for more than just a discernment of patterns in things, seeking to understand and to know. Our world today anaesthetises this longing. It is content just to count and measure. It is concerned with algorithms, not metaphysics, and has largely shelved the question ‘Why?’. Yet that questions vibrates within us. It is good, therefore to be recalled to wisdom’s claim, to be bidden to follow it wholeheartedly. Only when once again we start considering the purpose and finality of things, of life, of the universe, will a renewal of our weary civilisation come about. Only then will we see our task as human beings no longer just as an anxious battle for survival against all sorts of political, ecological and digital odds, understanding it instead as a creative vocation. That vocation will resemble a high form of play. True play is serious: anyone who has eyes to see children play knows that. But at the same time play is marked by wonderful lightness and joy. Lightness and joy! These are qualities which our depressed world desperately needs. We are commissioned to impart those qualities.
I noted the connection between wisdom and prudence. It is real. Prudence is a desirable virtue. The Romans called it the mother of all virtues. To be prudent is to be capable of rational discernment; to know when it it is right to hold back, when to let go; to distinguish between good and evil; to plan responsibly. Prudence is praised in the Gospel. Think of the parable of the virgins with their lamps, or of the servants asked to invest their talents. Think of what Jesus said to the crowd who ambled after him, more or less committedly: ‘Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?’ The message is clear: one who wants to be a disciple of Jesus must gather and save resources – and for that purpose prudence is needed.
Prudence is a prerequisite for Christian living, but sooner or later it meets its limit. That limit is put before us in today’s Gospel by way of an example. The young man who comes to Jesus has since childhood lived prudently and well: he has kept the commandments, honoured his parents, and managed his inheritance well – it has made him ‘very rich’. Jesus approves of all this. He sees that the young man is an honourable person of good will. To live well is to him a matter of course: ‘But Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days!’ When Jesus hears this exclamation, something remarkable happens, something unique in the Gospel. Mark writes that ‘Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him’. From this we learn that a man’s good intentions can touch the heart of God. God rejoices, as on the seventh day, to see his image unfold in creation, to see men and women rise to their full stature.
Such women and men God wishes to lead further, beyond the boundaries of material virtue in order to know God’s love from within. To receive such a call is a wonderful grace. It is also scary. All at once I am faced with absolute choices: Do I really desire treasure in heaven, or do I prefer to live undisturbedly on earth? Do I want eternal life, where earthly luggage must be left behind on the doorstep, or would I rather snuggle down in a comfortable nest in time? By all means, not everyone is called to be a St Francis, who in the market place of Assisi put off his very tunic so as wholly poor to follow the poor Christ. But all of us are called to evaluate earthly goods, and earthly values, in the light of God’s kingdom. The empirical criteria of prudence are not, then, enough. We need wisdom’s creative, playful, audacious, confident strength. And all of us will, one day, stand face to face with eternity. ‘Pray for us’, we plead in each Hail Mary, ‘now and at the hour of our death.’ Whether that hour is near at hand or far away, none of us knows. But we know it will come. What will we be holding on to then? It is good to ask this question with serenity from time to time so that we can order our priorities. For where our treasure is, there our heart will be also.
Lift up your hearts! Amen.

The Andromeda galaxy. What does the boundless universe mean and towards which finality does it move? Wikimedia Commons.

Coram Fratribus

Not Divided Homily given at the Mass concluding a retreat preached at Palendriai, during which the monks renewed their vows. You can find an English version by scrolling down.
Luc 11.15-26: Le règne de Dieu est venu jusqu’à vous.
L’évangile de ce jour nous donne deux consignes claires. D’abord il proclame que ‘tout royaume divisé contre lui-même devient désert’. L’histoire biblique d’Israël nous prouve cette affirmation maintes fois. Ce n’est pas banal que le mot par lequel l’Écriture désigne le mal personnifié est diabolos, ‘le diviseur’. Mais soyons honnêtes: celui-là n’a souvent pas de grands efforts à faire. Nous savons très bien de par nous-même créer de la discorde. Il faut un acte déterminé de volonté pour maintenir l’unité d’un corps social quelconque, qu’il s’agisse d’un état, d’une association, d’une famille, d’une communauté, de l’Église. L’unité cordiale d’un groupe de personnes paisiblement uni autour d’un but commun est toujours marquée par un je ne sais quoi de miraculeux, de gracieux. Une douceur particulière en ressort et un bonheur dont le monde aujourd’hui a soif. Puissions-nous en être porteurs. Cela suppose, bien sûr, que nous aurons établi l’unité et la paix en nous-mêmes.
L’Évangile nous invite ensuite au discernement. Jésus se réfère à l’exorcisme qu’il a réalisé en expulsant, justement, l’esprit diviseur d’une personne pour qu’elle retrouve son intégrité. Les spectateurs sont admiratifs. Jésus les pousse à reconnaître la nature du phénomène qui les éblouit. ‘Si’, dit-il, ‘vous constatez que cet évènement excède les simples moyens humains, autrement dit, que c’est par le doigt de Dieu que j’expulse les démons, c’est donc que le règne de Dieu est venu jusqu’à vous.’ La nouvelle est sublime, mais qui la note? Qui a, à la longue, le courage de reconfigurer sa vie pour concorder avec une illumination d’intelligence ou de foi? Le train-train du quotidien et notre obsession avec nous-mêmes nous rattrapent vite. En plus la cohérence nous effraie. Que ne pourrait-elle pas exiger de nous, si nous l’adoptions comme principe conducteur?
Mes frères, laissons une bonne fois pour toutes ces peurs inutiles. Abandonnons-nous avec audace. Le Seigneur nous a touchés de son doigt. La vocation que nous avons voulu suivre, la profession que nous avons faite en sont les preuves. Notre don total de nous-même solennellement béni par l’Église a fait de nous des hérauts du Royaume, aptes à chanter un hymne de louange qui permet aux tonalités célestes d’embellir et de consoler ce monde rempli de larmes. Quelle grandeur dans une vie entièrement offerte! Quelle tristesse dans une offrande retirée ou compromise!
Renouvelons en ce jour, à la fin de cette semaine de retraite, notre engagement avec ferveur, sans ruse, le coeur dilaté et confiant. Alors le Seigneur saura opérer en nous, à travers nos limites et dans notre pauvreté, des merveilles qui manifestent les richesses inépuisable de sa grâce. Il est fidèle, celui qui nous a appelés et nous appelle toujours: tout cela, il le fera. Amen.

***

Luke 11.15-26: The kingdom of God has come upon you.
Today’s Gospel gives us two clear counsels. First it proclaims that ‘every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste’. The Biblical history of Israel proves this affirmation repeatedly. It’s no coincidence that the name with which Scripture designates the personification of evil is diabolos, ‘the divider’. But let’s be honest, that old fellow often hasn’t much of an effort to make; we manage quite well by ourselves to create all sorts of discord. It takes a determined act of will to maintain the unity of any corporate body, be it a nation, an association, a family, a monastic community – or the Church itself. The cordial unity of a group of persons peacefully united among themselves around a shared purpose has something miraculous about it, something gracious. Such unity exudes a particular sweetness and a happiness for which today’s world is hungry. May we be its bearers. This presupposes, of course, that first of all we establish unity and peace in ourselves.
Next the Gospel summons us to discernment. Jesus refers to the exorcism he has just performed by expelling, precisely, a dividing spirit from a man so he might recover his integrity. The lookers-on are amazed. Jesus pushes them to recognise the nature of the thing they have observed admiringly. ‘If’, he says, ‘you ascertain that this event exceeds purely human means, or to put it differently, that it is by God’s finger that I cast demons out, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.’ The news is sublime, but who takes any notice? Who has, in the long run, guts enough to reconfigure his life to concord with an illumination of the mind or of faith? The humdrum business of ordinary life and our obsession with self soon catch up with us. Further, aren’t we fearful of the call to coherence? Who knows what it might ask of us, were we to adopt it as the governing principle of our lives?
Brothers, let us once for all ditch these useless fears. Let’s abandon ourselves with audaciousness into God’s hands. The Lord has touched us with his finger. The vocation we once determined to follow, the profession we were graced to make: these are proofs of his touch. Our utter self-giving, solemnly blessed by the Church, made of us heralds of the Kingdom, apt to sing a hymn of praise that lets celestial tonalities embellish and comfort our weeping world. What dignity in a life wholly given up! What sadness in an offering withdrawn or compromised!
Let us on this day, at the end of our retreat, renew our commitment with fervour, without deceit, our heart enlarged and confident. Then the Lord will work in us, notwithstanding our limits and in our poverty, his marvellous works, manifesting the boundless riches of his grace. He who called us, and calls us still, is faithful. He will do this. Amen.
Today happens to be the feast day of Pope Saint John XXIII, a man wholly of a piece, conscious that one person’s fidelity can have a tremendous impact on the lives of many others. He wrote in his encyclical on priesthood: ‘Because of human liberty and of events beyond all human control, the efforts of even the holiest of men will sometimes fail. But a priest ought to remember that in the mysterious counsels of Divine Providence, the eternal fate of many men is bound up with his pastoral interest and care and the example of his priestly life. Is not this thought powerful enough both to stir up the lackadaisical in an effective way and to urge on to greater efforts those who are already zealous in the work of Christ?’

8 Likes

Posted: 4 hours ago

Today we celebrate St Teresa of Ávila.
1515-82, deeply contemplative, highly active and practical, established Carmelite convents under a reformed rule and wrote much on prayer and the spiritual life. Patron of Spain.
Pray for us St Teresa 🙏 5 Likes

Posted: 17 hours ago

Photos from Cloyne Diocese's post Next Sunday is Mission Sunday - envelopes will be available in all Parishes and a special collection will be taken up at weekend Masses
www.missio.ie
#missionsunday2024 4 Likes

Posted: Yesterday

Today we remember Pope St Callistus, a venerated martyr.
He went from slave to freedman to moneylender to convict to church administrator to pope.
His name is especially associated with the catacombs in Rome. He is the patron saint of Read More 7 Likes

Posted: Yesterday

Some of the many great Jubilee of Hope events planned for the eternal city, along with many similar events in local dioceses.

Posted: 3 days ago

Ballymacoda & Ladysbridge Parish Family Day 20th Oct 2024

Sunday Oct 20th 2.00pm - 5.30pm

Pre-booking is essential Contact the Parish Office:021-4623749 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Visit of the image of Our Lady of Graces to Youghal

The Parish of Youghal is delighted to welcome the return of the image of Our Lady of Youghal in conjunction with the celebration of the 8th centenary of the Dominican presence in Ireland.

Carrigtwohill Parish - Mass celebrated for the Indian Community

Sunday 8th September, Mass was celebrated for the Indian Community in St. Mary’s Church, Carrigtwohill to celebrate the Birthday of Our Lady, followed by a Procession to Our Lady's Grotto and a celebration.

Visit of the Relics of St. Bernadette to the Diocese of Cloyne

Bringing Lourdes to the Faithful

September 15th - 16th 2024

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Pre-booking is essential

Contact the Parish Office:
021-4623749 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

September 15^th - 16^th 2024