AUTUMN TALKS SERIES 2019
(download Brochure)
A series of 4 mornings on what it means to be a Christian today.
Is this your way? Explore these four guiding principles for Christian life and see how they resonate with your life.
click here for more information
COLLECTIONS
Last week Collection: Church € 500 Share € 338. The Blue Bag is for the Church Collection (St Francis Xavier’s Gardiner Street), The red bag is for Share. Thanks for your generosity!
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER APPEAL
Every October we normally make an appeal for some building project in the church. Your support has helped us construct a new prayer room which houses the beautiful Harry Clarke Stained Glass window of our patron St Francis Xavier. You have also funded the repainting of the Pope Francis Corridor. This year the appeal will be part of a wider appeal for a large piece of work to save the walls and interior of the church. You may have noticed the paint peeling. Well behind this is a build-up of moisture which could cause the plasterwork to fall away. We have some serious remedial work to do. For this reason, we are postponing the October Appeal until November when we will have a better understanding of the cost and work to be done. Thank you for your support in the past and counting on your support in the future.
OCTOBER IS MISSION MONTH!
This year’s theme, “Together we are mission”, is asking you to move away from the idea that mission is solely the work of priests and sisters, catechists and lay missionaries, and to consider the part you play. After all, it is because of the prayers and generosity of people just like you that hope, love and joy can continue to be shared with the suffering and neglected.
Please consider using your generosity right now. Donate €4 to the work of the missionaries overseas, many of whom work in impoverished communities, text the word ‘Mission’ to 50300. (Texts cost €4. World Mission Ireland will receive a minimum of €3.60. Service Provider: LikeCharity. Helpline: 0766805278. The Republic of Ireland only) World Missions Ireland, the Church’s charity for overseas mission, is responsible for the coordination of Mission Month. Go to www.wmi.ie to learn more about the work.
BLESSED JOHN SULLIVAN MONTHLY HEALING MASS
Monthly Mass for Blessed John Sullivan SJ with Blessing of the Sick and Thanksgiving for his Life will be celebrated on Saturday the 19th October at 1 pm
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN CANONISATION
On 13th October, Blessed John Henry Newman will be declared a Saint by Pope Francis.
The Diocesan Office for Catechetical Formation has produced a leaflet of Prayers and Reflections of John Henry Newman, which you can download from a special post on the Diocesan website
https://www.dublindiocese.ie/canonisation-of-blessed-john-henry-newman/
‘Into your hands O Lord, I commend myself, my spirit, soul and body.
It was you who made me and redeemed me,
and together with me all my friends and loved ones.
You have entrusted them to me, Lord, in your great goodness.
Guard my lying down and my rising up,
may I lie down in peace and may sleep come at once, for you alone Lord make me dwell in safety.’
‘HEART SPEAKS TO HEART
‘HEART SPEAKS TO HEART: THE STORY OF BLESSED JOHN HENRY NEWMAN’ by Dermot Mansfield SJ. This book presents a clear and vivid account of the life of John Henry Newman and offers a fresh perspective on Newman’s life, with contemporary Church issues and questions of faith and unbelief never far from mind.
The book is available in the Parish store at the price of €9.99
NEXT WEEKEND OUR PARISH WILL CELEBRATE WORLD MISSION SUNDAY
It is a way, chosen by Pope Francis, that gives support to those suffering within our Church family. On the 20th October, every single parish worldwide will give what they can. It will be used to support overseas missionaries, many of whom work in some of the world’s most impoverished communities. Next week, if you can, please be extra generous during Mass.
Being a Christian means: Working together to care for our common home
“Last Saturday was the first of the Autumn series talks with the title 'Working together to care for our common home'. We were a group of about 16 people, and it began with a very interesting and personal input from Dr Ciara Murphy, a young enthusiastic environmental biologist who recently has started working with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. Then Fr Brian Grogan SJ took over by asking us to name the key messages of Laudato Si (Pope Francis ' encyclical on the environment). For him, Community was the key theme of the encyclical and he invited us to make a gesture in the room to create a sense of community. So we moved our chairs from rows into a circle and a very interactive and reflective morning followed (including time for tea and biscuits and a simple lunch of soup and sandwiches at the end!). I particularly liked that he invited us to connect with our own experiences of the beauty and wonder of nature and he had brought a leaf for each of us to examine and to imagine what story the leaf might have to tell us. He also peppered the talk with many inspiring quotes, my favourite being from Thomas Merton, 'Every moment and every event in a person's life, plants seeds of spiritual vitality in our souls'. The group also heard from Maura and Maryclare from the parish council, about initiatives by the parish to be more environmentally aware especially as Gardiner St is an eco-congregation. Finally, the morning ended with many positive suggestions of how as a parish we can continue to care for our common home at this very vital time in the earth's history”.
Review of the first of the Autumn Series Talks by Orla Cunningham
Padraig Swan
Callum Douglas
What can I expect?
