THE NOVENA OF GRACE
In honour of St. Francis Xavier’s begins on 4th March and continues until the 12th March. Our preacher this year will be Fr. Dermot Preston SJ.
Please take flyers at the back of the Church and spread the news,
Mass times:
Mon-Sat: 11 am, 1 pm &6 pm
Sunday11 am, 12.30 pm & 3.30 pm
FAITH AND FLOWERS
A Lenten Journey
We are inviting you to journey through Lent this year by choosing to take up something new. Come join us as we explore different approaches to prayer while also tapping into our God-given creative gifts through the art of flower arranging!
When: Tuesdays 11.30 am-1 pm
(14, 21, 28 March & 4 April)
Facilitators:
Ann Smyth & Christine Halloran.
Suggested Donation: €5-€10 per weekly session
Sign up at reception or at the website: https://tinyurl.com/LentSignUp
OUR RECENTLY DECEASED
We remember in prayer those who have died recently:
Gabrielle Dowling
David Byrne
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
LOYOLA LENTEN LECTURE SERIES
In 1950 the Dominican theologian Yves Congar wrote ‘True and False Reform in the Church’. In three lectures we will explore Congar’s thought, and the our synodal journey. Tuesday February 28th, ‘True and False Reform in the Church: What is Reform?’ (Dr Cornelius Casey); Tuesday March 14th , ‘Is Reform Possible? Conditions for Authentic Reform’ (Dr Fáinche Ryan); Tuesday March 28th, ‘True and False Reform Today’ (Dr Gemma Simmonds)
Lectures are free and all are welcome. Venue Loyola Institute, Trinity College Dublin at 7.30pm.
SYRIA NEEDS YOU
Irish Jesuits International has launched an appeal to help those impacted by the devastating earthquakes in Syria on Monday, 6 February 2023. You can phone
+353 1 8366509 or visit Donate Now – Irish Jesuits International (iji.ie) to donate.
Irish Jesuit Tony O’Riordan SJ reports:
“The situation here in Aleppo and Syria remains indescribably grim. Images and words cannot capture the depths of pain and misery. Words also fail to capture, how alongside this darkness, grace is also at work. I noticed with many of the JRS Aleppo team today, that with some help and now one week on, there was light back in their eyes. One father of two young children who said last week he could never go home out of fear- has gone back to his home tonight. But the journey is long. Even those with light in their eyes once more confess that they cannot sleep at night. They have nightmares. They remain fearful and they face all the struggles that pre-existed the earthquake to make ends meet. They grieve – one of our team has lost 15 members of his family!”
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Sacred Space for Lent 2023
This is a practical guide to daily prayer into the daily prayer and to creating a space for encounters with the Holy Spirit. Featuring daily Scripture readings, points for reflection, weekly meditations and structured prayer, Sacred Space nurtures the new growth of Lent, preparing us for the Easter that is to come. Available in the Parish shop.
LAST WEEK COLLECTION
Church: € 872
Share: € 154
IDonate & card readers: € 277
Thanks for your generosity!
The blue bag is for the Church Collection (St Francis Xavier’s), The red bag is for Share.
LENTEN PENANCE AND THE SYNODAL JOURNEY
(Excerpt from the message of Pope Francis for Lent 2023)
The Lenten journey of penance and the journey of the Synod alike have as their goal a transfiguration, both personal and ecclesial. A transformation that, in both cases, has its model in the Transfiguration of Jesus and is achieved by the grace of his paschal mystery. So that this transfiguration may become a reality in us this year, I would like to propose two “paths” to follow in order to ascend the mountain together with Jesus and, with him, to attain the goal.
The first proposal, then, is very clear: we need to listen to Jesus. Lent is a time of grace to the extent that we listen to him as he speaks to us. And how does he speak to us? First, in the word of God, which the Church offers us in the liturgy. May that word not fall on deaf ears; if we cannot always attend Mass, let us study its daily biblical readings, even with the help of the internet.
Listening to Christ often takes place in listening to our brothers and sisters in the Church. Such mutual listening in some phases is the primary goal, but it remains always indispensable in the method and style of a synodal Church.
Here is the second proposal for this Lent: do not take refuge in a religiosity made up of extraordinary events and dramatic experiences, out of fear of facing reality and its daily struggles, its hardships and contradictions. The light that Jesus shows the disciples is an anticipation of Easter glory, and that must be the goal of our own journey, as we follow “him alone”.
(Read the full text of the message at
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2023/02/17/230217c.html)
