PARISH Archives

The Spirit and the Letter

In a letter ‘To the People of God’ this week, Pope Francis addressed the suffering caused by clerical abuse, expressing deep sorrow for the ‘heart-wrenching pain’ of victims and giving voice to the shame of the Church. James Hanvey SJ believes that, in trying to be attentive to the Spirit’s voice and presence, the pope’s letter marks a definitive moment from which there can be no turning back.

It’s time for us to fight – not leave!

We stay. We remain. We proudly, definitively and without hesitation declare that we are Catholic, and we live our Catholic faith more boldly than ever before. We are Catholic because Jesus Christ established this church, unites us in this church, and even in the midst of turmoil and confusion and hurt and fear, we do not walk away. We do not bail out. We stay. We pray. We fight. We lead.

Why do some Catholics stay?

” . . . If you have been fed by Christ within the church, you know that come what may, you have no other home. To leave the church would be to leave behind the Christ you have come to know here, the Christ who continues to feed you here.”

BULLETIN 26TH AUG 2018

The Bulletin Aug 26 2018

How parishes can welcome L.G.B.T. Catholics

One of the more recent challenges for Catholic parishes is how to welcome L.G.B.T. parishioners, as well as families with L.G.B.T. members. But that challenge is also where grace abounds because L.G.B.T. Catholics have felt excluded from the church for so long that any experience of welcome can be life-changing—a healing moment that can inspire them to go to Mass again, return them to the faith and even help them to believe in God again.

Feast of St Ignatius

We celebrate the Feast Day of St Ignatius in a Liturgical ‘Pageant’, with music, flags and banners to entertain and inspire.

Drama, intended to reach into the imaginations and hearts of our congregation, is added to the celebration through symbolic ritual and sacrament.

St Ignatius – Reflection by Caroline Coggins

We are in times of disturbance in the church, which is healthy, much about the

functioning of the church body must change. But for the faithful, or for those

called to this, we want to know ourselves, we want to be known by God, we

desire the intimacy, the lived deep faith of our experiences to live on the path

which is God’s way.

Railaco ‘Acorn to Oak’ Initiative

In 2004, we outreached to the people of Railaco. We planted an acorn. In the ensuing 14 years, we watered that little

acorn with our donations.

Now, we can proudly stand back and see a beautiful oak tree, with many

strong branches. Our humanitarian works continue; and students from the Secondary School where we built the first classrooms are graduating and continuing to University.