Parish of Lismore and Ballysaggart news update

We have done everything right. The children who chose to be Confirmed in the faith have been Confirmed by their bishop, Dr Alphonsus Cullinan, Bishop of Waterford and Lismore.

The chosen sponsors have stood by their candidates with their hand on the shoulder. Now the great work begins for all. The journey of faith will not be easy or direct. So many questions will be raised by the children as they grow to teenage years. They will ask questions for which there are no answers. The best their faith friends can do is to encourage the children to hold on to those very good questions and maybe as they grow through life they may themselves get glimpses, or even intimations of answers.

With humility we can say that each life is not a problem to be solved but a life to be lived with as much faith, hope and love. Teachers in the class room teaching the children to pray, teaching them to meditate is such rewarding work. Even those children who are not blessed with the beginnings of the Christian journey can be taught to meditate using the King, and Queen images. We are all made in the image and likeness of God, so everyone without exception can come to a living relationship with the Lord.

It might be Vocations Sunday, or Good Shepherd Sunday. Above all the Church needs men and women called to the discipleship or to the Christian way of life. By the grace of God from committed lay people will arise responses to the priesthood, brotherhood and sisterhood.

I have written before that we need to truly revisit what any parish faith community seeks of those who are called to ministerial priesthood. There are too many assumptions both on the part of lay people and those called to the ministerial priesthood. Go back to the Acts of the Apostles for a concise answer. Due to the demands of handling the material goods of the community the apostles called the community together; it would not be right of us to neglect the prayer, the preaching of the Word and the Eucharist for the sake of these new demands. So we direct you to elect persons of faith and who are trustworthy and put them in charge of the distribution of the food while we will devote ourselves to the prayer, to the preaching of the Word. We include Pastoral Care as a vital ingredient of the ministerial priesthood.

In the bigger parishes a non-ordained person could either be chosen by the parish or elected to serve either voluntarily or be remunerated depending on the workload. A group of smaller parishes could link up together and get the same work done. At the moment those who are ordained deacons and who do much work are simply doing as far as possible the work of the priest. I may very well not live to see these changes but these changes will come sooner or later.

As disciples of Jesus not just interested in politics but are actively political in outlook. Now is the time to be looking at the matters of social justice that need solid commitment. As taxpayers we have every right to be in the public arena. At the moment faith people are silenced as far as possible. We will not go away. We need to be critiquing the social, political structures of our society. Reading history is very valuable.