The Presbytery, Abbeydorney. (066 7135146)

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 3.2.2013

Dear Parishioner,

When I heard a person being interviewed, on RTE Radio 1, about a TV programme, due to be shown later in the week with the title, ‘Lifers’, I thought the programme might be about people who got a life sentence in prison for a crime they had committed. I was surprised to find later in the interview that the subject of the programme, a documentary, was very different. The programme, shown last Thursday night on RTE 1, was about three Irish missionaries who have spent a substantial part of their lives out of Ireland.

The oldest of the three is 74 year old priest, Fr. John Glynn working in Papua New Guinea. Loreto nun, Sr. Pat Murray, is 64 years old and is working with other members of her religious congregation in Southern Sudan. The third person featured was a 64 year old priest, Fr. Pat Brennan in the Amazonian rain forest in Brazil. Was there any special reason why a television programme was made about these three Irish people, far away from their homeland? We often say that only bad news gets media coverage. That may indeed be true quite but it is good to see that there are people, like Ruán Magan, the director of this documentary, who hear about unusual stories and what can seem to the onlooker to be very heroic people, even though they would not make that a claim.

What stays in the memory after watching a programme, like this? It might be the size of the problems faced by the people where the three missionaries are working. It might be the courage of Sr. Pat, Fr. John and Fr. Pat or one might feel that their presence in these faraway places can make very little difference because of the lack of attention on the part of the respective Governments. Because I got the chance to work in Kenya for a total of nine years, I have to admit that I may have a certain bias in favour of those being helped because of seeing what helping communities to help themselves can mean. Ruán Magan, had become aware, from the work he has been engaged in, that it is unlikely that priests, nuns and brothers from Ireland, like those featured in his documentary, will be replacing an older generation because of the lack of vocations in Ireland to the missionary priesthood and religious life.

(Fr. Denis O’Mahony)

Fr. Jack McKenna R.I.P.

Fr. Jack McKenna was appointed C.C. of Abbeydorney in September 1963 and he enjoyed a very fruitful ministry in the parish until 1975. I can say, without fear of contradiction, that those twelve years were among the happiest of his long life. Shortly after coming, he became involved in all parish activities. The hurling and badminton clubs and the drama group were his favourites. He started a badminton club for the youth of the parish and it was tremendous success. He had the ability and the youthful energy to make everything, that he was involved in, a success and to get the support of the parishioners. The old church was to be replaced and raising funds for that was a mammoth task. He was involved in organising bazaars, concerts, raffles etc. and the money was pouring in and it was a pleasure to be part of it. In the course of all the activities, it was a very happy time for all of us and I have nothing but fond memories of the years he spent in the parish. When recalling those happy and fun times, I cannot forget our dear friend, the late Dan Dillane, who was part of everything that happened in those years.

Fr. Jack saw the following success stories unfold during his ministry in the parish.

The badminton team won many competitions.

The drama group won awards at the Final of the All Ireland Drama Festival in Athlone.

The new church was blessed in 1968.

The local hurling team won the County Championship in 1974, after a wait of sixty one years.

Even though we knew he would not be with us forever, we were devastated when he left for Sneem in 1975. Any history of Abbeydorney is not complete without a mention of Fr. Jack McKenna. His love of Abbeydorney was obvious in the number of times he came back to visit and all the functions he attended here. He always said that, when he turned ‘Dillon’s Cross’ and he could see the village in the distance, his heart would rise. He attended the Mass in the ‘Abbey’ every year and he often left Abbeydorney at 11 p.m. to go to Dingle via the Connor Pass. I asked him one night if he had a mobile phone and he said, ‘Not at all. I say my prayers and trust in the Lord.’ Our friendship continued down the years. I knew Fr. Jack was genuinely interested in the news from the parish, so I always kept him informed of what was news from here and he loved hearing it. At the end of the phone-call, he

would say, “Ring soon again, Eileen.” Our final conversation was on Christmas Eve and that brought to an end a beautiful friendship that spanned fifty years. Ar dheis De go raibh a anam uasal.

Eileen Flaherty

Feast of St. Mel, 7th February: He died in 488. He is said to have been a Briton, who came to Ireland with Patrick, with whom he worked until he was ordained in Ardagh. He is one of the earliest Irish saints and gave the religious veil to St. Brigid. (Liturgical Calendar for 2013.)

Vatican City – Wide Open

With Pope Benedict XVI’s new presence on Twitter, people from all over the world can now post papal messages with just the push of an on-screen button. While many have welcomed the pope’s foray into the virtual world, his @Pontifex handles and “reply-able” posts have also meant that rude and crude comments have come with the mix. Twitter is “an open communications platform,” and the Vatican has already embraced what the fully-fledged exercise of freedom of speech entails, said Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, which organised and runs the pope’s eight language-based Twitter accounts.

“We knew there would be negative stuff,” he commented the day after the pope first tweeted more than 1 million ‘followers’. The number of followers of the pope’s multi-language accounts nearly doubled to more than 1.7 million just 24 hours later. The Irish-born Msgr. Tighe said that in sifting through the feedback, “what stuck with me most was all the lovely stuff, the positive and genuine comments and queries in the midst of the ugly.”

(Reality Magazine, February 2013)

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life and don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your most inner voice. Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. (Steve Jobs)

I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t and find out there is.

(Albert Camus)

(The two items above are taken from Reality Magazine, February 2013.)

Fr. Jackie McKenna: The thing that I think Fr. McKenna should be remembered for most in Abbeydorney Parish is the amount of work he put into the Sportsfield, when the field was first bought. He travelled to almost every house in the parish, with club members, fundraising and he worked on the field doing all kinds of jobs like picking stones etc. Of course, during this time, he did not neglect his duties as the curate in the parish. (Michael Buckley)

Blessing of throats on the memorial of St. Blaise. (3.2.2013)

St Blaise, bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, is believed to have been martyred in the early fourth century. Very little is known about him. Tradition states that he was a physician before becoming a bishop. Since the 8th century, he has been venerated as the patron of those who suffer from disease of the throat. He is said to have healed a boy who was choking. The blessing of St. Blaise is a sign of our faith in God’s protection and love for us and for the sick. Using two blessed, crossed and unlighted candles, the minister touches the throat of each person, saying: Through the intercession of St. Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from all ailments of the throat and from every other evil (or from every disease of the throat and from every other illness) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Questions People Ask

Q. The words at the consecration of the wine at Mass are changed from ‘shed for you and for all’ to ‘poured out for you and for many’. Why the change from ‘all’ to ‘many’? Does it mean that others are excluded?

A. The word ‘many’ is not meant to exclude anybody. There are several places in the New Testament telling us that Jesus died for the salvation of all people. However, the accounts of the Last Supper speak of the precious blood shed for many. The text of the Mass follows the words of the Last Supper as closely as possible and that is the reason for saying ‘many’ rather than ‘all’.

(Fr. Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap, in Intercom February 2013.)

The Pope’s Intentions for February 2013

General – Migrant Families: That migrant families, in particular mothers, may be sustained and accompanied in their difficulties.

Mission - Peace: That peoples, experiencing war and conflicts, may lead the way in building a future of peace.