From May 21st-29th we are all invited to make a Novena to the Holy Spirit for the renewal of the Church in the Archdiocese of Dublin. A prayer has been specially written and will be spoken aloud at every Mass, in every church, in every parish uniting the whole Christian community in asking the Spirit to ‘revive and renew us, inspire and enthuse us, unbind and release us’.
Archbishop Farrell and his team have taken on the task of Building Hope and we can all benefit from this positive expression of faith and be encouraged on the road to renewal. So, do please respond generously to this invitation to prayer and know that the Spirit can and will convert hearts and minds and transform our parishes.
Another part of the ‘Building Hope’ process is to ask parishes to work ever more closely in partnership, sharing resources and priests and making the most of what we can do in common. We were asked to form a ‘partnership parish council’ and the first task to be considered was the review of the Summer Mass Schedule. This group has met for the first time and reflected on the guidelines given by the diocese and suggested reducing the number of Masses this summer. It is proposed to have a Vigil Mass in Kilmacud and Mount Merrion at 6.00pm and one morning Mass in each parish, 10.00am in Mount Merrion, 10.30am in Clonskeagh and 11.30am in Kilmacud and then one Sunday evening Mass in Mount Merrion at 7.30pm. I am sharing this with you now for consideration, reflection and comment and then a final decision will be made and the times published before the end of the month. Parishioners are welcome to email me or drop a note into the parish office. The guidelines given by the Diocese are available on their website under ‘Building Hope’