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Weekly Connect From: Dermot Cowhey dermot.cowhey@limerickdiocese.org

3rd October, 2022:

Dear Chaplains/RE Teachers,

‘Good educational leaders delve into life’ – Archbishop Dermot Farrell

To mark the opening of the Academic Year 2022/23, Archbishop Dermot Farrell of Dublin, celebrated Mass at Saint Patrick’s Campus DCU, on 22 September.

Emphasising the vocational nature of teaching, the Archbishop of Dublin said, “When we pray for vocations, does it not also make sense to include the vocation of teaching?” He continued, “Must we not continue to foster networks of community involvement, and develop ways that encourage those called to be teachers to enter deeply into the life and mystery of this vital service of all God’s people? Is this not what Pope Francis means by ‘Synodality’?”

In conclusion. the Primate of Ireland said, “I put before you the closing lines of a reflection from the late Bishop Ken Untener (d. March 27, 2004), of Saginaw, Michigan in the USA. Reflecting on all that can be expected of any who undertake a life of service, and that’s what a life in education truly is, he remarked:

‘We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realising that. This enables us to do something and to do it well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.’

The Pope's Monthly Intentions for October, 2022:

A Church Open to Everyone …

We pray for the Church; ever faithful to, and courageous in preaching the Gospel, may the Church be a community of solidarity, fraternity and welcome, always living in an atmosphere of synodality.

https://www.popesprayer.va/popes-prayer-intentions

To watch the Pope Video - https://youtu.be/aJpxgGQywX8

Thought for the Day:

‘Always leave people better than you found them. Hug the hurt, kiss the broken, befriend the lost. Love the lonely.’

https://www.facebook.com/dioceseoflimerick

Liturgical Calendar: October, 2022

Please see Attachment 1, the October Liturgical Calendar. There is a lot happening this month with information on St Thérèse of Lisieux (Oct 1st); Mahatma Gandhi (Oct 2nd); Francis of Assisi (Oct 4th); World Teachers’ Day (Oct 5th); World Mental Health Day (Oct 10th), including WMHD Toolkit; World Food Day (Oct 16th); International Day for the Eradication of Poverty; Mission Sunday (Oct 20th) including, once again, a tool kit.

We are deeply grateful to Colette O’Doherty, Director of Religious Education & Youth Ministry, Diocese of Ferns for generously sharing these resources.

Season of Creation 2022 : 

The final Season of Creation event takes place this Saturday, 8th October (10 a. to 1.30 am) when Dr Niamh Brennan (10am to 1:30pm) will deliver a reflective workshop on this year’s Season of Creation theme “Listening to the Voice of Creation” at the Don Bosco Centre, Milford, followed by outdoor prayer/reflection (weather permitting!) at the LCM Infinity Woodland Pathway adjacent to Milford Care Centre.  Places will be limited so please book your place here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VoiceOfCreation.  A €10 contribution requested for this workshop.

Diocesan Ministry Training & Reflection: Training for Ministers of the Word (4th October), Ministers of the Eucharist (11th October) and two nights of training for Funeral/Bereavement Teams (18th and 25th October) all in the Diocesan Centre.  Further details on the Limerick Diocese website.

Vocations Retreat. The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia, Limerick are hosting a ‘Come and See Retreat’ for those who wish to explore religious life. This will run from 14th to 16th October, 2022. For more information and registration details, please see Attachment 2.

Public Lecture and Book Launch. Public Lecture on ‘Credible Christian Communication Today’ by Prof. John Sullivan and launch of his book ‘Lights for the Path’ by Bishop Brendan Leahy on Wednesday 12th October at 7:30pm in Mary Immaculate College, see poster Attachment 3 attached for further details.

‘Of Saints and Seekers’ – Book Publication. In ‘Of Limerick’s Saints and Seekers’ we journey through a millennium and a half of Limerick history with scholars and scribes, poets and preachers, martyrs and missionaries and founders of churches and religious communities. Drawing from early Ireland to present day, this collection of stories details the lives of extraordinary people from a variety of faith traditions and perspectives from well-known saints to unknown and unsung religious and lay people. With fascinating contributions from modern day people of Limerick, this book illuminates the diverse richness of Limerick’s story by highlighting the saints and seekers who have shaped its history.

This new publication from Veritas is edited by David Bracken, Limerick Diocesan Archivist, who is rooted in the heart of Limerick. The volume is available for special price of €20 through the diocesan office. Please contact David Bracken at david.bracken@limerickdiocese.org or at 087-2247701


Attachments –

  1. Liturgical Calendar for October
  2. Vocations Retreat poster
  3. Book Launch poster
  4. Attachment containing the usual links and resources. If you can add to this list, please forward all information to me. Nothing added since last week.

  If you are accessing this from the diocese website and would like to have these resources, please email dermot.cowhey@limerickdiocese.org. Also, if you have not received the September Liturgical Calendar, contact me and I will send it.

To conclude …

‘A Gift of Joy and Hope’ by Pope Francis (translated by Oonagh Stransky) is published by Hodder and Stoughton (£16.99)

‘A Gift of Joy and Hope’ includes a sampling of ancient truths, for example:

1. Helping others is good for you: “If we do not give of our time ... we will end up wasting it on things that, at the end of the day, will only leave us feeling empty and confused.”

2. A sense of wonder is key to flourishing: “An education is not complete if it does not know how to shape people into poets.”

3. When faced with a challenge stick in there: “In my country, a saying goes, ‘When you’re riding a horse and have to cross a river, please, don’t change horses in midstream.’ ... Moments of crisis demand perseverance and silence; you need to stay put, be steadfast.”

One of the texts Pope Francis refers to is Prayer for Good Humour’
by St. Thomas More …

Grant me, O Lord, good digestion, and also something to digest.
Grant me a healthy body, and the necessary good humour to maintain it.
Grant me a simple soul that knows to treasure all that is good
and that doesn’t frighten easily at the sight of evil,
but rather finds the means to put things back in their place.
Give me a soul that knows not boredom, grumblings, sighs and laments,
nor excess of stress, because of that obstructing thing called “I.”
Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humour.
Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke to discover in life a bit of joy,
and to be able to share it with others.

Fós le Buíochas agus Dóchas

Dermot