WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY 18th to 25th January 2022

WPCU-2022

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY: Prayer/Reflection/Meditation Day By Day

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 16th January

Building Hope- Task Force Report Dublin Diocese

NEWSLETTER 9th JANUARY 2022-Baptism of Our Lord 9th January

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

Do you remember the first time you heard the story of the three Kings? We hear the story every Christmas, especially on the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. This is the feast we celebrate to remind ourselves that Jesus revealed Himself not only to God’s chosen people, but to all people who seek Him.

The twist in the story is that it is the three pagan kings who find the “Newborn King of the Jews”, the “Saviour of the world”. Instead, the people who had kept the promise of this saviour alive, who were able to recall the prophecy about him, were not interested in finding Him. They greeted the news of His birth with fear and trembling, rather than with joy. The Person they had awaited for centuries, whose birth the three kings announced, had finally come. And they could care less.

What is the difference between the three Magi and the priests and scribes and Herod? The need for salvation – this is the difference. The Magi were looking for God because they knew that the unsatisfied longing in their hearts was for their Maker. And their search was satisfied because they engaged in a process of seeking and understanding the signs created by God that in the end lead them to God-made-Man, God-with-us.

What were the signs from God that were revealed to the Magi that accompanied them on their search? A star and the words of the Prophet Micah. The Book of Creation written by the finger of God and the Book of Sacred Scripture written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The Magi were able to read the first book; the priests and scribes were able to read the second book. But only the Magi were able to put the two books together to gather enough meaning to make their search fruitful. They heard God speaking through these two books. The light of that word captured their hearts and, like the disciples going to Emmaus would one day experience, they were accompanied by the Word of God which then led them to recognise the Son of God, the Saviour of the world in a Babe lying in a manger. In the end, they enter into God’s plan of salvation just like Joseph did. For instead of being told through a created sign not to return to Herod, they are told in a dream.

Who am I? Who are you? Are we like the Magi who allow the signs in creation and in Sacred Scripture to accompany us on our search for meaning, for God, for the Saviour of the world, for salvation? Or are we like the priests and scribes, or like Herod who have become anesthetised to God’s voice speaking to us through these two books because we are seeking ourselves?

“What does it matter?” you ask. Those who search for what their heart desires will find it. They might make a mistake along the way, but they will know who to ask in order to get back on track. For us Christians who seek the Lord, if we allow God to guide us through what He has made and His word, we will surely find Him.

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

MASSES: No Vigil, 9.00 a.m. 10.30 a.m. & 12 Noon.

When they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.” Joseph rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” … When Herod had died, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” He rose, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go back there. And because he had been warned in a dream, he departed for the region of Galilee. He went and dwelt in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He shall be called a Nazorean” (Mt 2:13-15, 19-23).

Family in movement

If there is a fact that is striking when reading today’s Gospel text, it is all the “motion” verbs: depart, arise, flee, take refuge, stay…. There is even a map that is no less impressive: Bethlehem, Egypt, then Nazareth. Certainly, the key to all this “movement” is found in the citation of the Prophet Hosea: “Out of Egypt I have called my son” – a place of refuge for the persecuted and the place of departure for Israel’s Exodus. The Family of Nazareth thus traces the journey of many persecuted people and refugees down through history. At the same time, it recalls the powerful hand of God who knows how to liberate His people.

The experience of the family of Nazareth cannot but make us think of the many families today who are also “in movement” – certainly of those families forced to leave their homes and their own land in search of peace, serenity and work, but also of those families who live with the apprehension and anxiety of not making ends meet, of unstable marital situations, the fear of illness…

In the family of Nazareth, our families, as well as the human family, can learn to allow ourselves to be guided by God’s powerful hand. If it is true on the one hand that in many situations people feel like “refugees”, “strangers in their own homes”, or in the heart of a dear one, it is also true that every obstacle, every difficulty can be transformed into an opportunity to “depart”, an opportunity for a “journey toward conversion” which alone can lead to serenity, peace, stability.

The Holy Spirit speaks to today’s families

Today, the Holy Spirit still continues to guide “all peoples”, “all couples”, “all parents”. But we need to listen to the Spirit who speaks in us. If the Son of God came to live with us as a child, and only the eyes of faith can perceive His presence, how important it is to remind ourselves that everyday things are never of little importance, that daily occurrences are never useless or purely coincidental. The eyes of faith are necessary to grasp the hidden and the beyond. Everything becomes a “place” to encounter or reject God’s presence. Everything is a sign for those who believe.

The gospel of the family

To live the gospel of the family is not easy today. Those who want to defend life from the moment of conception are criticized or attacked. Yet in the Gospel we find the way to live a beautiful life on the personal and familial level, a way that is certainly challenging, but attractive and all-embracing. It is a way that still deserves to be trusted and undertaken after the example and through the intercession of the Holy Family of Nazareth itself. There are happy and sad, serene and difficult moments in every family. This is life. To live the “gospel of the family” does not exempt us from experiencing difficulties and tensions, of encountering moments of pleasant fortitude and painful weakness. Families who are wounded and marked by weakness, failure, difficulty…can rise again if they learn how to draw from the font of the Gospel. There, they can rediscover new possibilities of starting over.

Prayer

The hidden life of Nazareth

allows every person
to be in communion with Jesus
along the most ordinary paths of everyday life.
Nazareth is the school
in which we begin to understand
the life of Jesus, that is,
the school of the Gospel…
In the first place, may it teach us silence.
Oh! May an appreciation
of this stupendous and indispensable

atmosphere for the spirit return to us…
May it teach us the way to live in the family.
Nazareth reminds us what the family is,
what communion of love is,
its austere and simple beauty,
its sacred and inviolable character…

Finally, let us learn a lesson of work.
Oh! House of Nazareth,
home of the “Carpenter’s Son”!
Here, we especially want to understand
how to praise the severe but redeeming law
of human labor…
We want to greet workers throughout the world
and show them their great model,

their Divine Brother.
(Saint Pope Paul VI, discourse of 5 January 1964)

FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION Of THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

The Magnificat

CARE FOR GOD’S CREATION

NOVEMBER ALTAR LIST OF THE DEAD

All on the November Altar Lists Of The Dead are prayed for on every First Friday throughout the year. (Envelopes are available on the Church tables

Close to You Prayer
Father of Enduring Faithfulness, as a believer in Christ, to be away from the body is to be with you. I know that my loved one is with you right now in heaven, enjoying your closeness. Lord though it is difficult to accept that they are gone, I know that you love them so much and that is why you took them. Jesus may they bask in your glory as we all wait for you to come back and take us all into your presence where there is no mourning and sorrow. I pray this, trusting and believing. Amen.

Fill the Gap Prayer
Jesus, my Savior, times and seasons are in your able hand. You know when we will be born and when we will leave this earth and come back home. You knew that our loved one would not be with us today. We want to praise you for the time we had with them. As we go through this mourning season, Lord, we pray that you give us a deep sense of peace. We know that no one can ever take the place of our loved one, that is why we are asking you to fill the gap that our loved one has left in our lives with your love. May we find comfort in you alone. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

Lord God,

Whose days are without end

And whose mercies beyond counting, keep us mindful

That life is short and the hour of death unknown.

Let your Spirit guide our days on earth

In the ways of holiness and justice,

that we may serve you in union with the whole Church,

sure in faith, strong in hope, perfect in love.

And when our earthly journey is ended

Lead us rejoicing into your kingdom,

Where you live for ever and ever. AMEN    OCF,332

DIOCESAN SYNODAL PATHWAY

Archbishop Dermot Farrell launched the Diocesan Synodal Pathway at a Ceremony in St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral on Sunday 17th October. This Synodal process will take place from October 2021 to March 2022.

We pray that here in the Parish of Our Lady Help of Christians you will join us on this voyage.

This Logo for the Archdiocese Synodal path is inspired by the phrase

‘We are all in the same boat’

• The lighthouse represents the guiding light of The Holy Spirit
• The boat represents the Church, the People of God journeying together
• The water represents the waters of baptism and the equality of all baptised.

PRAYER FOR THE SYNOD:
Adsumus Sancte Spiritus

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name.

With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.

Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right.

All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son,
forever and ever.
Amen.

Every session of the Second Vatican Council began with the prayer Adsumus Sancte
Spiritus, the first word of the original Latin, meaning, “We stand before You, Holy Spirit,” which
has been historically used at Councils, Synods and other Church gatherings for hundreds
of years, and is attributed to Saint Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 4 April 636). As we embrace this
Synodal Process, this prayer invites the Holy Spirit to be at work in us so that we may be a
community and a people of grace. For the Synodal pathway from 2021 to 2023, we will use this
prayer.

‘Communion, participation and mission are technical terms, often used in Church
language. The following helps us to understand what this is.

Communion – Sharing God’s life with God and each other.
God shares his life with us so that we can experience this and share it with others. At
baptism we share in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit. Sharing what gives us life is
then an essential part of our call as Christians. Just as God shares his life respecting our
freedom, so we too are called to share in an environment that respects freedom, aware
that God is with us.

Participation – Taking our part.
Through our baptism we are called to take our part in building each other up. In a
synodal Church the whole community, in the free and rich diversity of its members, is
called together to pray, listen, analyse, dialogue, discern and offer advice on making
pastoral decisions which correspond as closely as possible to God’s will. In encouraging
participation, our efforts to include others must be genuine as we invite those who feel
they are on the margins to also take their part.

Mission – We are sent out to tell others about the Good News.
All of the baptized are invited to go out to others because the Church exists to proclaim
the Good News. For this reason, Pope Francis reminds us that the Church cannot be
centred inwards on itself. The dynamic of a synodal path enables the Church to better
witness to the Good News. Pope Francis is inviting us particularly to reach out to those
who live on the spiritual, social, economic, political, geographical peripheries of our
world.

Day of Prayer for Life 

‘God did not make us for death
but for life. When we touch the
mystery of death in prayer,
thought or experience, it leads us
into the greater mystery of the
eternal life of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Through our Baptism
we have already begun to live this
life. We have entered into the
mystery of death which Christ, by
his resurrection, has changed
forever. In him, death is no longer
our end but our ‘Passover’ into a
truth and a life we cannot even
begin to imagine because it is a
life forever beyond the experience
of death.’
(I Cor 13:12; 15:42-44; 1 Jn 3:2)

Day Of Prayer for Life

Prayer Cards, Mass Leaflets & Other Prayer Resources: Are available on Church tables.

PRAYER FOR SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

My Jesus,

I believe that you are present in this Holy Sacrament of the altar.

I love you above all things

and I passionately desire to receive you into my soul.

Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,

come spiritually into my soul

so that I may unite myself wholly to you now and forever.

Amen.

Support Services

Aware – Support & Self Care Groups

As we all know, during Level 5 lockdown, many people are experiencing additional feelings of isolation, anxiety and distress as well as other challenges with their mental health.  If you, or those with whom you work wish to connect with people in relation to your mental wellbeing, please consider using the Phone In and Zoom Support & Self Care Groups, the Support Line or Support Mail, now and throughout the holiday season. These services provide support, coping skills and information – and most importantly help people who are in distress to know and feel that they are not alone in their experience.  For more information about the groups https://www.aware.ie/support/support-groups/ and all of our services on www.aware.ie

Accord Dublin  has a new website.  For Sacramental Marriage Preparation Courses or for Marriage Relationship Counselling

Please visit www.accorddublin.ie

SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL -Local Conference

Due to the Covid -19 crisis, the local conference of SVP is unable to hold the monthly gate collection, which is our source of income. If you would like to support the work of St. Vincent de Paul at this time, please drop your donation into the Parish Office. Your ongoing support is much appreciated. Thank You

Our Lady Shrine Prayer Card

Prayers To Say Before The Blessed Sacrament

COVID-19 community supports are now in place to ensure vulnerable members of the community are reached and helped at this time.

These comprise the local authority, Health Service Executive, County Champions, An Post, Community Welfare Service, An Garda Síochána, other State organisations, charities and other stakeholders.

These Dedicated helplines are focused specifically on ensuring that the cocooning elderly, vulnerable members of the community or those living alone can access deliveries of groceries, medicine and fuels.

Please try to ensure any vulnerable or elderly people in your parish help are aware of these services.

Dublin City Council

Helpline 01-2228555

Email – covidsupport@dublincity.ie

Please click on image to view Webcam for this service. Mass times may vary.