17th May 2015

Ascension of the Lord

Parish Team Fr. Enda Cunningham PP St Mary’s Parochial House Saggart. Tel: 4589209 Mob: 087-1380695 Fr. Aidan Kieran CC 1 The Glebe Peamount Road Newcastle. Tel: 4589230 Mob: 087-6397744 Fr. Aloysius Zuribo C.C. 2 Carrigmore Place Saggart, Co. Dublin Tel. 01-4589209 Parish Pastoral Worker Mr Sean O’Rourke c/o The Parish Office St. Mary’s Parochial House Tel: 4589209 Mob:087-0540695 Fr. Michael Shortall PC 87 Beechwood Lawns Rathcoole Tel: 4587187 Mob: 087 -2861765

We pray for those who have died recently: Gerry O’Brien Jnr (Rathcoole) We extend our deepest sympathies To his family and friends. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord And may perpetual light shine upon him. Cemetery Masses The Cemetery Masses in our parish will take place as follows: Brownstown Saturday 13th June at 2.00pm Newcastle (Ballynakelly) Sunday 14th June at 2.00pm St. Finian’s Church Cemetery Newcastle Sunday 28th June at 10.30am Saggart (Mass in Saggart Church) Sunday 28th June at 11.30am Colemanstown (Mass in St. Finian’s Church) Monday 29th June at 7.30pm First Holy Communion Congratulations

Congratulations to the boys and girls of 2nd Class in St. Mary’s Fr. Michael McGowan PC NS Saggart and Scoil Chronain Rathcoole who received their 7 St. Patrick’s Crescent, First Holy Communion on Saturday 16th May. May you always Rathcoole Tel: 4589210 know the love of the Lord Jesus who gives himself to us most intimately in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Parish Secretary Martina Hopkins The Parish Office St. Mary’s Parochial House Opening Hours: 9.30-1.30 Monday to Thursday Tel: 4589209 www.saggartparish.com [email protected]

Confirmation Congratulations St. Finian’s Newcastle Congratulations to the boys and girls of 6th Class in St. Finian’s NS Newcastle who were confirmed by Bishop Eamonn Walsh on Tuesday 12th May. May the Holy Spirit fill your hearts with His gifts and always guide and direct you.

Mass Schedule Saggart: Sunday: 9 am & 11.30 am Weekday: 9.30 am Rathcoole: Saturday Vigil: 6.30 p.m. Sunday: 10 am & 12.00 pm Weekday: 9.30 am Saturday: 10.00 am Brittas: Sunday: 10.30 am Newcastle: Saturday Vigil: 7.00 p.m. Sunday: 10.30 am Weekday: 10.00am Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri. Confession Saggart: Friday after 9.30am Mass Rathcoole: Saturday after 10.00am Mass Newcastle: Saturday after 7.00pm Mass Baptism Saggart 2.00pm Sunday

Items for Newsletter

Ecumenical Bible Week 2015

A series of presentations offered in a range of venues, aimed at the interested ordinary believer or enquirer. Looking at the Bible from different perspectives: film, music, ethics, law and so forth, as well as more obvious approaches such as prayer (lectio divina) or organising a Bible Study group. This year, the overall [email protected] topic is “What is the Spirit saying to the Churches?” Ecumenical Bible Week is from Pentecost Sunday to Trinity or Sunday, 24th-31st May. Further information on events and [email protected] activities at www.bibleweek.ie

Items for Junction 4 should be sent to the Parish Office or emailed to the addresses given below. Many thanks.

Rathcoole 4.00 pm Saturday Newcastle 2nd Saturday 4pm Last Sunday 2pm Please contact the Parish Office Marriage Please contact the Parish Office

Pastoral Reflection on Marriage and the Family in the light of the upcoming referendum Archbishop Diarmuid Martin Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I write on the subject of marriage and the family in the light of the upcoming referendum. I have asked parishes to make available in Churches some material to aid your reflection. Marriage is linked with the family where mothers and fathers bring different, yet complementary gifts and strengths into a child’s life. Marriage is not simply about a wedding ceremony or about two people being in love with each other. I ask you to reflect on why humans exist as male and female? It is not an accident or a social construct. There is a unique complementarity between men and women, male and female, rooted in the very nature of our humanity. I believe that this complementarity belongs to the fundamental definition of marriage. The vast majority of States in Europe and worldwide interpret marriage in that sense. I encourage you to consider very carefully the profound implications which the constitutional amendment on marriage would have on the family and on our understanding of parenthood. Some say that the change will not affect those who do not agree with it and will not affect marriages which take place in Church. No politician can promise that, since it will be exclusively up to the courts to interpret the changed Constitution. In the debates around same sex marriage in Argentina, Pope Francis was very clear that he was against same sex marriage yet he was consistent in telling people not to make judgements on any individual. I know that the severity with which the Irish Church treated gay and lesbian people in the past – and in some cases still today – makes it difficult for some to understand the Church’s position. The change is not simply about extending marriage rights to others; it is not just a debate about religious views; it is a fundamental change in the philosophy which underpins cohesion in society and thus affects and concerns every citizen. I remind all of you of your civic responsibility to vote. I urge you before voting to remember that marriage really matters and to reflect carefully and be informed before changing its definition. With prayerful good wishes, yours very sincerely in the Lord + Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop of Dublin

Extract from Talk of Archbishop Diarmuid Martin - May 6th 2015 I think that I should begin by saying that I intend to vote No in the upcoming Referendum on Marriage. For me the fundamental question is about the complementarity of men and women, of male and female, in the nature of humanity. This is a philosophical concept which some will easily put aside, but for me it is the fundamental one. Why do humans exist as male and female? What does that complementarity of male and female entail? Pope Francis said this: “Man and woman alone are made in the image and likeness of God: the biblical text repeats it three times in two passages: man and woman are the image and likeness of God. This tells us that it is not man alone who is the image of God or woman alone who is the image of God, but man and woman as a couple who are the image of God. The difference between man and woman is not meant to stand in opposition, or to subordinate, but is for the sake of communion and generation, always in the image and likeness of God”. My position is that there is something irreplaceable in the fundamental complementarity between a man and a woman and that complementarity is not irrelevant to our understanding of the transmission and the nurturing of human life, within an intergenerational framework which contributes to the stability of society. I take up on what I said at that Iona Institute talk: “No person exists who is not the fruit of a male and a female. Even if it were possible to clone a child, that child would still bear the genetic imprint of a male and a female. An individual man or an individual woman cannot generate another human being just on their own. Genetic parentage is not irrelevant. We are all children of a male and a female and this must have relevance to our understanding of the way children should be nurtured and educated. Genetic make-up is a fundamental dimension of the intergenerational reality of family. The fundamental male/female relationship inevitably has significance when we come to reflection of generating and nurturing children.