Autumn Seminar
It’s that time of year again. All parish groups and committees are starting up. Our Autumn Liturgy Seminar will take place on Saturday 3 October in Clonliffe College. Once again we offer a range of workshops on various topics which we hope will interest you in your ministry to your parish community. You will meet others involved in liturgy throughout the diocese and attend two workshops of your choice from the five on offer. Registration is at 9.00 a.m. and sessions begin at 9.30 a.m. There is a 20 minute break at 11.00 a.m. and the next session will continue until 12.50 p.m. Then we will go to the church for a Prayer Service which will incorporate elements from all five workshops. Booking is essential as it helps us decide the location of the workshops since the size of the rooms available vary. Forms are included with this newsletter or are available in the download section of our website.
- Keep Up With the Programme
Anna Maloney, Diocesan Adviser for Post Primary Schools will introduce you to the music of Emmanuel 2016 – the Second Level School Music Programmewhichwill be presented by amusic team. This repertoire includes music in a range of styles and traditions including ideas for the Jubilee of Mercy and World Youth Day. Music Books and CDs will be available on the day. - Mass From Within
Colette Furlong, a member of the Bishops’ Committee for Liturgy, will speak about a new initiative on understanding the liturgy that can be introduced at the start of both the Sunday and Weekday Celebrations. The aim is to inform and deepen the experience of those who attend the celebration of the Eucharist in a gentle and creative way. Colette will share her experience from a pilot programme that has been well received and will point out how it can be developed at a parish level. - Liturgical Feng Shui
DamianMcNeice, Master of Ceremonies, is also a member of the Diocesan Art and Architecture Commission and he will explore the topic of liturgical space including the placing of elements and objects in the church to best advantage while respecting good practice in this area. Be prepared for a de-cluttering experience. - AMixed Bag
Pat O’Donoghue, Director of the Liturgy Resource Centre, will present a varied menu of ideas for the celebration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. These will include models of Services of Reconciliation inspired by the core document Misericordiae Vultus issued by Pope Francis to announce this special time of reflection and action for mercy. He will also offer a model of a prayer service drawn up from the encyclical of Pope Francis, Laudato Si, on Care for Our Common Home. - The Universe Story
This experiential workshop is very timely with the emphasis this month on Creation and Pope Francis’ Encyclical Laudato Si. Sr. Colette Kane O.P., An Tairseach, Dominican Farm and Ecology Centre will explore this topic and lead people into a deeper understanding of the Universe Story. This is definitely food for the soul.
Two Nights on Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults
Last year there were 84 candidates and catechumens at the Rite of Election in the Pro-Cathedral from many parts of the Diocese. It is clear that many parishes need help in the preparation of those going forward and the completion of the necessary paperwork.
Father Dermot Nestor, over two evenings, will guide parish RCIA groups on the elements of this initiation process and the work of preparation needed. These will take place on Tuesday 6 and 13 October in Clonliffe College from 8.00 to 9.30 p.m. Booking is essential and forms are included with this newsletter or are available in the download section of our website. Please note that this is for Parish RCIA Teams who accompany Catechumens and not the Catechumens themselves. If you have been accompanying a catechumen for a full year or more and have discerned that they are ready for Christian Initiation at next year’s Easter Vigil, please download the appropriate form from our Litmus website (in the downloads section) and return it completed to Fr Damian McNeice in the Liturgy Resource Centre. Please return these forms by the end of this November at the latest to allow plenty of time for them to be processed by the Liturgy Resource Centre and the Chancellery in good time for the Rite of Election in the Pro-Cathedral on the first Sunday of Lent 14 February 2016.
CULTURE NIGHT 2015 at Clonliffe
For the third year in a row Clonliffe College will feature in the very successful Culture Night 2015 that will be rolled out across the country and particularly in Dublin on Friday 18 September. Once again we have a varied programme of events in the College from
6.00 – 9.30 p.m. to attract your interest. Gems from the Archives – An exhibition of archival material about The 1916 Rising – Abraham Lincoln’s death on Good Friday 1865 – Yugoslavia play Ireland 1955 and much more… with Ms. Noelle Dowling, Diocesan Archivist. (Informative Talk at 6.15 p.m. and 7.15 p.m.)
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) – 30 years after his death – an illustrated talk on his inspirational religious art by Father Damian McNeice, Art Enthusiast. (6.45 p.m. and 7.45). Chagall’s biblical themes offer much fruit for thought and reflection.
The members of the Dublin Diocesan Music Group celebrate their 30th Birthday this year. Their concert will present snippets of their 30 years of providing liturgical music in the Diocese from plainchant to contemporary directed by Father Pat O’Donoghue, Diocesan Director of Music. (8.15 p.m. to 9.15 p.m.)
Why not begin your evening with Vespers (5.15 p.m.) and Mass (5.45 p.m.) at the Monastery of St. Alphonsus, St.Alphonsus Road, Drumcondra where the Redemptoristine Community will make you very welcome.
Discover Dublin Culture Night in Drumcondra by availing of complimentary buses from 6-11p.m., kindly provided by Dublin Bus, which will depart every 20mins from bus stop A – Bachelor’s Walk (opposite Arlington Hotel), Parnell Square West, Parnell Square North (Hugh Lane Gallery), Croke Park, Parnell Square East and Bachelor’s Walk. Drumcondra is also accessible by train with a convenient stop on Drumcondra Road near the junction of Clonliffe Road.
Care For Our Common Home
A creative prayer service on the theme of Laudato Si, the encyclical of Pope Francis on Care For Our Common Home, will be presented by the 3rd Year students of Mater Dei Institute of Education in the Monastery of Saint Alphonsus on Monday 12 October at 8.00 p.m. Music will be led by the Dublin Diocesan Music Group accompanied by Denise Kelly (Harp) and Ellen Cranitch (Flute). Come along and be inspired.
Remembrance Service
The 30th annual remembrance Service will take place in the Monastery of St. Alphonsus on Thursday 19 November at 8.00 p.m. This service offers an opportunity for those who are bereaved to pray and reflect in a warm atmosphere of support. The liturgy will be prepared by the 3rd year students of Mater Dei Institute of Education and the music will be led by the Dublin Diocesan Music Group.
Diocesan Advent Service
The Church of Our Lady of Mercy, Artane is the venue for this year’s DiocesanAdvent Service which will take place on Saturday 28 November at 4.00 p.m. The readings and reflections will offer a prelude to this season of preparation and the beginning of the Jubilee of Mercy on 8 December. The Liturgy will be prepared by the Full Time Chaplaincy Students of Mater Dei Institute of Education and the music will be led by the Dublin Diocesan Music Group.
Ave, Music To Our Lady
The Dublin Lourdes Choir directed by Damian Gallagher, who also prepared all the orchestrations, with soloist Sharon Lyons recorded a new CD of settings of Ave Maria. It is hoped that this CD will give people a sense of the grace-filled comfort, peace and prayer of Lourdes. Proceeds from the sale of this CD will go towards financially supporting sick children and adults who otherwise could not make a pilgrimage to Lourdes – a remarkable place of spiritual, emotional and even miraculous physical healing! The CD is available from the Lourdes Pilgrimage Office in Clonliffe after 12 September. Tel. 01 837 6820 or 01 808 7555. The Dublin Lourdes Choir was founded in 1972 to provide liturgical music for the Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage which takes place from the 7th to 12th of September each year. For over 40 years the Choir has led music at various celebrations during the pilgrimage to great acclaim.
OLCS -70 Years of Music Making
Congratulations to the members of Our Lady’s Choral Society as they carry the torch for this Diocesan Choir founded in 1945 into another decade. Their legendary Messiah season at the National Concert Hall begins Christmas preparations for so many people. In the past 70 years they have also presented a wide range of Choral masterpieces out of love for this genre of music even if some of them were not financially viable. Their 70th celebration will include a trip to Rouen in late October where they will present a concert programme featuring Missa Di Gloria by Puccini and Mozart’s Mass in C accompanied by the Opera Concert Orchestra. They will present the same concert on 4 November at 8.00pm in the National Concert Hall accompanied by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. They will also sing in Eu, Normandy where Saint Lawrence O’Toole died in 1180. They will provide the liturgical music for the Chapter Mass at 11.00 a.m. in the Pro-Cathedral on 14 November for the Feast of Saint Laurence O’Toole as part of their celebrations.
Course For Cantors
Sharon Lyons will conduct a three session beginners’ course for cantors on Wednesday 14, 21 and 28 October in Clonliffe College. Booking is essential and forms are included with this newsletter or are available in the download section of our website.
Advance Notice
Our New Year Liturgy Seminar will take place on Saturday 30 January 2016 in Clonliffe.
Funeral Ministry
Over a period of time members of a study group, which included those engaged in the funeral ministry from a pastoral and professional perspective, have been engaged in discussion and consultation on how funerals are organised and celebrated in this Diocese. Parishes and funeral ministry teams formed a part of this consultative process. A policy document will be rolled out during November throughout the Diocese. As a result we don’t plan to hold our usual seminar for funeral ministry teams this autumn.
Excerpt from Laudato Si – Encyclical of Pope Francis –On Care for Our Common Home
I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace. (Art.10)
Watch Out For
In planning liturgies keep in mind the following celebrations:
18 October Mission Sunday -Theme ‘Abundant Life’
14 November Feast of Saint Laurence O’Toole
15 November Prisoners’ Sunday and Beginning of Restorative Justice Week
29 November First Sunday of Advent
Excerpt from Misericordiae Vultus – Bull of Indiction of Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
In Sacred Scripture, mercy is a key word that indicates God’s action towards us. He does not limit himself merely to affirming his love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction. By its very nature, it indicates something concrete: intentions, attitudes, and behaviours that are shown in daily living. The mercy of God is his loving concern for each one of us. He feels responsible; that is, he desires our wellbeing and he wants to see us happy, full of joy, and peaceful. This is the path which the merciful love of Christians must also travel. As the Father loves, so do his children. Just as he is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other. (Art. 9)
Diocesan Feast Day
You might remember the beautiful icon of St. Laurence O’Toole written by Mihai Cocu and the prayer card that was produced three years ago. The prayer centred around our Diocesan Patron as a ‘Man of Faith,Man of Prayer, Man of Peace. This prayer has been revised for the Jubilee of Mercy under the headings – ‘Light of Mercy’, ‘Messenger of Compassion’ and ‘Tower of Faithfulness’. Prayer cards will be produced in time for this year’s celebration.
Sale of the Century
Much of our stock of Books and CDs will be offered at knock down prices at all of our seminars and workshops this year. Bring extra money with you to get a bargain!!