Pre-Baptismal Information Meeting
The pre-baptismal information sessions announced a fortnight ago have now been arranged.
Any couple who intends to have a baby baptized after 1st March will
need to attend an hour long meeting in advance of the baptism.
The dates of these meetings are as follows:
Saturday, 13th February, at 12 Noon Tuesday, 2nd March, at 8.00 pm Monday, 15th March, at 8.00 pm |
Choose one of these dates and inform Eileen in the office of your intention to be present at the meeting of your choice.Each of these meetings will be led by members of the Glanmire Parish Baptism Team. The purpose of the meeting is to meet the team, all of whom are parents themselves, and to explore the meaning of the sacrament you have chosen for your child. One of the priests will call to your home nearer the date of the baptism to discuss the baptism ceremony and to prepare the readings etc. You will have the opportunity during that visit to fill out the Baptismal Registration Form which will be used to record the baptism in the parish register.
Tragedy in Haiti
THE TOTAL COLLECTED AT MASSES IN GLANMIRE LAST WEEKEND FOR HAITI AMOUNTED TO €5, 620
THIS IS A FINE SUM FOR A CHURCH COLLECTION. MILE BUIOCHAS TO ALL
This past week we have witnessed a disaster of horrendous proportions
unfolding before our eyes in Haiti. We feel so helpless in the face of a tragedy
of devastating proportions. We pray for the survivors and the bereaved.
It was remarkable to see these people putting their trust in God at Sunday Mass
as they sang their hearts out in the ruined cathedral. We also have the opportunity
to do something practical by contributing to the relief funds.
Our second collection this weekend (23-24 Jan) will go to the aid
of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
Jesus said: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink.’ (Matthew 25: 35)
Celebrating the Eucharist together has practical implications
in how we react to the needs of our brothers and sisters.
This is how St John Chrysostom (347-407) expressed
the relationship between the Eucharist and our care of the neighbour:
‘Would you honour the body of Christ? Do not despise his nakedness;
do not honour him here in church clothed in silk vestments and then
pass him by unclothed and frozen outside. Remember that he who said,
‘This is my body’, and made good his words, also said,
‘You saw me hungry and gave me no food’, and,
‘in so far as you did it not to one of these, you did it not to me’.
In the first sense the body of Christ does not need clothing
but worship from a pure heart. In the second sense it does need
clothing and all the care we can give it.’
What happens in Baptism?
A person who is baptized enters into the life of Christ, becomes part of Christ, is a member of the Body of Christ.‘Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.’ St Paul to the Romans 6: 3-4 The baptized person enters into the death and resurrection of Christ. The technical term for the death and resurrection of Christ is the Paschal Mystery. The child/adult who is being baptized is plunged into the death and resurrection of Christ. This is exactly what the word ‘baptism’ means: it is a Greek word meaning ‘to plunge’ or ‘to immerse’ (baptizo). The child is plunged into Christ. Total immersion in water is a symbol of this plunging. That is why water is the main symbol in a baptism ceremony. We no longer use total immersion but the pouring of wateron the head is intended to have the same symbolic effect. The child is baptized using the symbol of water and the words, ‘I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’ The action (the pouring of water) and the words amount to what we call a sacrament. A sacrament is a symbolic action which brings about what the action and words signify. For example, at Mass the bread and wine, together with the words ‘This is my Body,’ ‘This is my Blood’, bring about the presence of Christ. By the action and words of the priest at Mass Christ is truly present on the altar though the externals remain the same. The action and words at baptism create a new Christian: ‘And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here.’ St Paul to the Corinthians: 2Cor 5: 17.
Surprise for Upper Glanmire
Parishioners attending Mass in St Michael’s Church, Upper Glanmire this weekend will be surprised to find two new stained glass windows. This is a first for the 200 year old church. This great enrichment of an already beautiful church is the gift of the late Mary Buckley, Ballinvriskig: the windows are in memory of her and her late husband Paddy. One window is a depiction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the other is of St Michael the Archangel, who is patron of the church.
The Sacred Heart represents the love of God made visible in Jesus Christ. The visions of St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) have contributed enormously to popularizing what has always been part of Christian faith. The feast of the Sacred Heart is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. Next year it will be on 11th June.
St Michael the Archangel is recognized in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions. He is usually depicted overcoming evil. In the Catholic Church, Saint Michael has four main roles or offices.
He is the Christian angel of death, carrying the souls of all the deceased to heaven. At the hour of death, Michael descends and gives each soul the chance to redeem itself before passing, thus consternating the devil and his minions. St Michael is the special patron of the Chosen People in the Old Testament and is guardian of the Church. Lastly, he is the supreme enemy of Satan and the fallen angels.In the Catholic calendar of saints and the Lutheran Calendar of Saints, his feast day, once widely known as Michaelmas, is celebrated September 29
Thanks to the late Mary Buckley we have constant reminders of the eternal love of God (the Sacred Heart) and the power of God overcoming evil (St Michael) every time we enter this beautiful church in Upper Glanmire. May she and her husband, Paddy, rest in peace.
