28th February 2016

3rd Sunday in Lent

We pray for those who have died recently:

Parish Team

Ted Creggy (Saggart) Bernie Worrell (Rathcoole) Rose Carter (Newcastle) We extend our deepest sympathies To their families and friends.

Clergy Fr. Enda Cunningham PP St Mary’s Parochial House Saggart. Tel: 4589209 Mob: 087-1380695 Fr. Aidan Kieran CC 1 The Glebe Peamount Road Newcastle. Tel: 4589230 Mob: 087-6397744 Fr. Aloysius Zuribo C.C. 2 Carrigmore Place Saggart, Co. Dublin Tel. 01-4589209

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord And may perpetual light shine upon them. Sunday Confessions During Lent On the Sundays of Lent, a priest will be available for confession after the following Masses: Newcastle: After 10.30am Mass, Saggart: After 11.30am Mass This is an initiative for the Jubilee Year of Mercy Alliance of the Two Hearts First Friday 4th March

The monthly First Friday devotion of the Alliance of the Two Hearts takes place on Friday 4th March in Rathcoole Church as Fr. Michael McGowan PC follows: 7 St. Patrick’s Crescent, 7.30pm Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Rathcoole Tel: 4589210

Ms. Breda Carroll c/o 01-4589209 Parish Secretary Martina Hopkins The Parish Office St. Mary’s Parochial House Opening Hours: 9.30-1.30 Monday to Thursday Tel: 4589209 www.saggartparish.com [email protected]

Items for Newsletter Items for Junction 4 should be sent to the Parish Office or emailed to the addresses given below. Many thanks.

Saggart: Sunday: 9 am & 11.30 am Weekday: 9.30 am Rathcoole: Saturday Vigil: 6.30 p.m. Sunday: 10 am & 12.00 pm Weekday: 9.30 am Saturday: 10.00 am

Rathcoole: After 12 Noon Mass.

Fr. Michael Shortall PC 87 Beechwood Lawns Rathcoole Tel: 4587187 Mob: 087 -2861765

Parish Pastoral Worker

Mass Schedule

8.30pm

Rosary

9.00pm

Mass in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

9.30pm

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Confessions and Rosary

Brittas: Sunday: 10.30 am Newcastle: Saturday Vigil: 7.00 p.m. Sunday: 10.30 am Weekday: 10.00am Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri. Confession Saggart: Friday after 9.30am Mass

12 Midnight Mass in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Rathcoole: Saturday after 10.00am Mass

Newcastle Parish Pastoral Council

Newcastle: Saturday after 7.00pm Mass

New Members Required During the season of Lent, an appeal will be made for parishioners to become members of the Newcastle Parish Pastoral Council. For a number of the members of the present Council their term has come to an end and they are due to leave the Council. The work of the Pastoral Council is a life source for the continuation of the growth of the parish. We invite you to help us continue to build a vibrant Parish Community, where you will work with the Parish Team, sharing your wisdom, and planning together for realistic action.

How Does A Parish Council Work? It builds good working relationships, Listens to the needs of the people in the Parish, Plans and decides on the way forward, [email protected] Prioritises, Ensures things happen, Encourages others to get or involved, Communicates well with the Parish, Reviews its work [email protected] regularly.

Baptism Saggart 2.00pm Sunday Rathcoole 4.00 pm Saturday Newcastle 2nd Saturday 4pm Last Sunday 2pm Please contact the Parish Office Marriage Please contact the Parish Office

Saggart/Rathcoole/Brittas & Newcastle Pilgrimage to Lourdes 16 - 21 June 2016 Acommodation at the Hotel Padoue. Cost €729 pps (Single Supplement €175). 5 nights accommodation and all meals for the duration of your stay included. Deposit €200 per person. Booking forms are available in the church sacristies. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during Lent Wednesdays 10am - 11am, Rathcoole Church During the season of Lent, there will be Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Rathcoole Church after the morning Mass. All welcome. Divine Mercy Prayer Group Saturdays 11am, Rathcoole Church The Divine Mercy Prayer Group meets every Saturday morning in Rathcoole Church at 11am. All welcome. ”For the sake of his sorrowful passion,

St. Joseph’s Young Priests Society Thank you to our members for your support and prayers. Our next meeting will be held on Friday 11th. March @ 6.30pm in the pastoral room Holy Family Church Rathcoole.. We need new members..! If you would like to support vocations to the priesthood, please come and join us.. You will be very welcome

have mercy on us and on the whole world” Extract from Pastoral Latter of Bishop Francis Duffy (Ardagh & Clonmacnoise) for The Holy Year of Mercy On Saint Patrick’s Day 2013 Pope Francis spoke of mercy and said ‘Let us not forget this word: God never tires of forgiving us, never!’ God’s mercy is a central theme for Pope Francis and that is why he has introduced a special Holy Year of Mercy. In the Catholic Church a Holy Year takes place every twenty-five years; occasionally special Jubilee Years take place and this Jubilee of Mercy is one of those special times. We don’t use the word mercy that much in everyday speech. We speak of ‘mercy’ at Mass – ‘Lord, have mercy, Christ, have mercy’ and ‘Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us’. We tend to use words like compassion, kindness, understanding, reassurance, consolation and forgiveness to capture some of the meaning of mercy. Mercy is about attitudes and actions that are life enhancing; mercy can help us have a rich and warm relationship with God and our neighbour. If we want to know what mercy means we look at Jesus Christ. In his letter introducing the Holy Year of Mercy, Misericordiae Vultus (MV), Pope Francis wrote ‘Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy … Mercy has become living and visible in Jesus of Nazareth, reaching its culmination in him.’ It’s worth looking at Jesus’ mercy in action. The prodigal son felt guilty and unworthy because he had let his father down. The father’s welcome was unrestrained because his son was lost to him but had returned. God’s welcome for us when we return knows no bounds. God’s mercy is always forgiving, supportive and encouraging. God never gives up on us; like the good shepherd he searches and he is patient with us. In Jesus we see real mercy. As Pope Francis puts it ‘the mercy of God is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality with which he reveals his love as of that of a father or a mother, moved to the very depths out of love for their child.’ (MV 6). It is not about being sentimental and it does not undermine justice. Mercy is demanding because it flows from a deep seated love of God and of humanity. Pope Francis writes that mercy is the ‘beating heart of the Gospel’. (MV 12). Like a heart, mercy is life giving and it is also liberating. Pope Francis urges us this year to look again and rediscover the traditional corporal and spiritual works of mercy because they are practical expressions of our love of neighbour. The Corporal Works of Mercy are: feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting those in prison, comforting the sick and burying the dead. The Spiritual Works of Mercy are: advising sinners, instructing the uninformed, counselling the doubtful, comforting the sorrowful, being patient with those in error, forgiving offences, praying for the living and the dead. The Holy Year of Mercy is an opportunity for us to reflect on how we allow God’s love for us and his mercy towards us have an impact on how we live. It is also an opportunity to give thanks that many people are merciful in our communities and in our world. During the Holy Year of Mercy we are invited to make two journeys: the journey inward to recognise and reinvigorate our merciful attitudes, and the journey outward to allow these merciful attitudes continue to make a positive difference to people we encounter. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is at the centre of God’s mercy. Sin impacts on how we think and on how we act; it can imprison us and distance us from God and our neighbour. But the mercy of God is stronger than sin.