Rathfarnham Church of the Annunciation

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Building Hope Rathfarnham Parish

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Building Hope Overview

In his Easter Pastoral letter, Archbishop Dermot said it is time now for the whole diocesan family to address the specific challenges we face as a diocese. The Building Hope Task Force Report proposed a strategy for renewing  our mission as God’s people, keeping in mind that our primary purpose is to accompany people today towards an encounter with the Lord Jesus.

Building on the recent Synodal Gathering held in March, the Archbishop is inviting all parish teams, parish pastoral councils and parish finance committees to lead their parish in a discussion of the gifts and talents available to them, the education and formation they need, and the parish partnerships that make most sense in their locality.

Our Parish Gathering:

When: Wednesday 8th June from 7.30pm to 9.30pm

Where: St. Mary’s BNS, Grange Rd.

How: There are questionnaires and a Parish Profile containing statistical information available at the back of the church and on the Parish Website.

1. We are asking all parishioners who can attend the meeting on the 8th of June to fill out the questionnaire at the link: Building Hope Parish Resources Response Form and take it filled out to the meeting.

If you can attend the meeting please reserve a place by letting Jason, our parish secretary know by Wednesday 1st June either by email: ParishOffice@rathfarnhamparish.com or telephone 01 4958695

2. We are asking all those cannot attend the meeting to fill out the form at the link: Building Hope Parish Resources Response Form and leave it in a box which is at the back of the church marked ‘Building Hope’

Please click links below to view ‘Building Hope’ Literature

Building Hope Parish Resources

Building Hope Parish Resources

Building Hope Parish Resources Response Form

Building Hope Parish Resources Response Form

Building Hope Task Force Report

Building-Hope-Task-Force-Report

Rathfarnham Parish Profile- Building Hope

Rathfarnham Parish Profile- Building Hope

 

Findings from the Synodal Pathway Process

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Young Adults

There were 81 respondents in this category.

Overall, 70% noted that they had a relationship with God. Some indicated that they prayed regularly while others noted their prayers often occurred at times of need. Many felt that they were influenced by demands on their time, their peers, their family, and issues within the church when it came to practising their faith, whether positively or negatively. Many noted feeling disconnected from the church due to perceived lack of a shared value system Many ideas manifested when replying to a question around what would encourage them to be stronger and more regular participants in the church. These centred mostly around feelings of belonging, having a voice, of inclusiveness and having something of value to contribute.

All other responses

There were 61 respondents in this category.

The synodal questionnaire and parish gathering focused on four main themes

a. When thinking of church, what brings joy?

Clerical leadership featured highly, most especially Pope Francis and our own parish clergy, Fr Martin, and Fr Michael. The sense of community that exist within the parish is viewed as a source of comfort and solace for many, as is the beauty of our church itself and the many ministries in which our parish engages. This was followed up with suggestions as to how parish activities can be improved upon.

b. When thinking of church, what brings sorrow?

While the toil that Covid-19 has taken on practising faith was observed by many, other areas came under scrutiny too: The lack of visibility of young people was to the fore in many responses as was the underrepresentation and acknowledgement of the role of women. Some responses noted that not all those in positions of power and privilege in the church, model good practice, while some noted that a desire to embrace inclusivity left others feeling that the church does not adhere to its own basic tenets. There were those also who felt left out and unwelcome if their family structures were understood to be outside of the norm. .

c. When thinking of church, what brings fear or anxiety?

There was considerable crossover between participant responses in this section and those in sections a and b above. What emerged in this section as provoking most anxiety about the future of the Church, was that of aging clergy and no new numerically corresponding vocations to the priesthood. This was followed by many comments about the necessity to recognise the work of the laity, especially women, and the need to welcome our younger parishioners. Suggestions as to how we can move forward as a parish, as a community and as a church, given the fears that exist, reiterated many noted in the previous two sections, while also adding the role of a continuum of faith development over the course of a child’s sacramental journey with staged modules throughout. The role of social media as a way of promoting events and the use of our parish centre as a focal meeting point were also included in suggestions for fostering and maintaining relationships and communication.

d. When thinking of church, what brings hope?

The parish and the work of the laity was singled out by many as helping to present and create a feeling of positivity and purpose. Others noted that hope came from a feeling of belonging and together change could occur. Major church celebrations were a feature of these responses, noting the effort that went into them and the ensuing success. Pope Francis featured again as being a beacon for those who feel marginalised and forgotten.

 

Follow link below to the view the ‘Findings of the Rathfarnham Paish Synodal Pathway Questionnaire’

Preliminary Report from 1Rathfarnham Parish Synodal Pathway Questionnaires

Easter Newsletter

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Easter Newsletter

To view the Rathfarnham Parish Newsletter Easter 2022 please click the image below:

EASTER SCHEDULE

TUESDAY 12th April 2022

  • Sacrament of Reconciliation in Holy Week 7.30pm (Several priests will be available)

WEDNESDAY 13th April 2022

  • Short Reflection on Holy Week: 12pm

HOLY THURSDAY 14th April 2022

  • Morning Prayer: 10am
  • Mass of the Lord’s Supper: 7.30pm
  • Watch & Pray Vigil: 10pm

GOOD FRIDAY 15th April 2022

  • Ecumenical Walk for Justice: 9.30am (Starting at the Annunciation Rathfarnham, walking to Ballyroan & finishing at the C.O.I. Rathfarnham)
  • Morning Prayer: 10am
  • Children’s Stations of the Cross: 12 noon.
  • Solemn Liturgy of the Lords Passion: 3pm
  • Taize – Prayer around the Cross: 9pm

HOLY SATURDAY 16th April 2022

  • Morning Prayer: 10am
  • Confession: After morning prayer until 12 noon.
  • Solemn Easter Vigil: 9pm

EASTER SUNDAY 17th April 2022

  • Son-Rise Celebration at Montpelier Hill (Hellfire Club) assemble at the Hellfire Carpark 5.45am (Followed by refreshments in the Ruah Centre, Ballyroan T.B.C.)

Easter Sunday Masses:

  • 8.30am
  • 9.30am
  • 10.45am (Family Mass)
  • 12 noon

EASTER MONDAY 18th April 2022

  • Mass: 11am

TUESDAY 19th April 2022

Normal Mass Times Resume

  • Monday – Friday 10.00am
  • Saturday: 11.00am (The only Mass at this time in our grouping) & 6.45pm
  • Sunday: 8.30am (Irish Mass), 9.30am, 10.45am, 12.00pm

 

Pope to consecrate Russia and Ukraine in prayer for peace

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Pope Francis will lead the Act of Consecration in a service beginning in the Vatican at 4pm Irish time.

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary 

O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you.  As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you.  Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence!  You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace.  We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars.  We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations.  We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young.  We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns.  We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons.  We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home.  We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters.  We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves.  Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life.  He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity.  By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart.  We are your beloved children.  In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion.  At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort.  Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?”  You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times.  In you we place our trust.  We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs.  To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3).  Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded.  We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace.  We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness.  How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.
Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.
Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.
Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world.
Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.
Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.
Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.
Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts.  May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew.  Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace.  May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs.  May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land.  May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26).  In this way he entrusted each of us to you.  To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27).  Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history.  At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ.  The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine.  Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love.  Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world.  The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace.  We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more.  To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days.  Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God.  May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts.  In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion.  You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace.  Amen.

Parish Trocaire Appeal

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Last year we were asked by Paul Healy, the Director of Trócaire in Somalia, to help build a Tuberculosis ward in the town of Luuq. It was a great success and €28,482 was donated by you, the parishioners of this parish.

This Lent, Paul has again been in touch. He has described current conditions in Somalia, particularly the desperate drought crisis in Gedo and the numbers of people with extreme hunger is deeply alarming. Hundreds of thousands of  livestock are already dead and over half a million people have moved to IDP (Internally Displaced Person, is a person who has been forced to move within their own country because of conflict or disaster) camps in regions such as Gedo where Trócaire provides key health and nutrition services.

They are doing all they can with the resources they have but it’s going to be a very rough year for millions of people in Somalia.

Paul has been in touch to ask for help to support another worthy cause in Somalia, this time the area is a town in Gedo called El Waq. Currently health services there are almost non-existent.  Mothers with any complications related to delivering their babies have to go across the border into Kenya if they and their babies are to have any chance of survival.

In Pauls words:

“Our intention this year, should we have the funding is to establish CEMOC services (complicated emergency obstetric care), refurbish the health facility and build a delivery ward that can manage deliveries in the district of El Waq.  We know we can do this with support and hope that we will have funding to include El Waq in our health services for the coming few years.  Support from Rathfarnham would kick start this and make a big difference”.

To help raise the much needed funds for this special collection there are collection envelopes at the back of the Church. They can be left into the Sacristy, the Presbytery or the Parish Office. Your generosity would be greatly appreciated.

Rathfarnham Church of the Annunciation