Author: kilfidane

We pray for the children in our parish who are preparing to receive the Lord in Holy Communion for the first time on Sunday, 13 May 2018 in St Benedict’s  Church, Coolmeen.

May the Lord bless them, their parents, families and teachers during this important time in their lives.  As we discussed at our parents’ meeting with Joanne O’Brien and Cora Guinnane, preparation for sacraments is a three way partnership between home, parish and school.

Our parish preparation programme will include the following liturgies:

• Enrolment Mass                      St Mary’s Church, Cranny Saturday 18 November at 7pm;
• Preparation Mass                     St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen Sunday 28 January at 9.00am;
• Preparation Mass                     St Mary’s Church, Cranny, Saturday 10 March at 7pm;
• Preparation Mass                     St Mary’s Church, Cranny, Saturday 14 April at 8pm;
• Sacrament of Reconciliation    St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen Tuesday, 24 April at 7.00pm;
• First Holy Communion             St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen, Sunday 13 May 2018

We thank the parents who are organising these liturgies, we thank our teachers  and pray God’s blessing on all our children, their families and all who care for them.

2018 will be an important year for those families in our parish who have a son or daughter preparing to receive the Holy Spirit through the Sacrament of Confirmation. Bishop Fintan Monahan will visit us on Thursday, 22 February 2018 to celebrate the sacrament of confirmation with the sixth class children from Kildysart and Coolmeen-Cranny parishes in St Michel’s Church, Kildysart.

These final months of preparation will involve the families, schools and parish working together for the good of the young people preparing to receive the sacrament. The parish part of our preparation will include the ceremony of enrollment which will take place during Sunday Mass and a liturgy of light which will take place during a special liturgy.

The list of dates is as follows:

• Enrollment Mass on Sunday, 12 November 2017 at 10.30am in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart;
• Ceremony of Light on Tuesday, 24 Janusry 2018 at 7pm in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart;
• Confirmation, Thursday 22 February, 2018 in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart.

We are also planning a retreat for the young people who will be confirmed in 2018.

During our meeting with parents on 17 September last it was suggested that our confirmation class might wish to adopt a confirmation project. One proposal is that after their confirmation, each child is invited to make an anonymous donation (€10 is suggested as a guide) to help the work of Crumlin Children’s Hospital in Dublin. This would be a lovely example of the fruits of the Holy Spirit as our children use a part of the gifts they receive for their confirmation to help sick children

 

 

 

 

We congratulate the members of our tidy towns group and all who work so hard to enhance our beautiful village.

This year Cranny was awarded an additional threes points. In their concluding remarks the judges noted that ‘Cranny is hidden deep in rural Ireland and is a lovely place to live in and visit and you obviously love it very much.’

The full text of the report may be found here Cranny Tidy Towns Report 2017

 

The Bishop of Killaloe, Most Revd Fintan Monahan has made a series of appointments in the Diocese.

Appointments – Diocese of Killaloe – 2017

A Prayer Inspired by Archbishop Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No programme accomplishes the Church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an
opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master
builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

*This prayer was composed by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw.

The 2017 Cemetery Masses in Coolmeen-Cranny Kildysart Parishes will be celebrated on the following dates:

• Kildysart Cemetery – Friday, 2 June at 8pm;
• Cranny Cemetery – Friday, 23 June at 8pm;
• Kilfidane Cemetery – Friday, 14 July at 8pm;
• The Cillin at Clondrina – Friday, 11 August at 8pm.

May He support us all the day long,
’till the shades lengthen and the evening comes,
and the busy world is hushed,
and the fever of life is over,
and our work is done.
Then in His mercy may He give us a safe lodging,
and a holy rest and peace at the last. Amen
John Henry Newsman (1801-1890)

The month of May is the month of Mary, the Mother of God.

During May we will pray the rosary at the shrines to Our Lady in our parish, at the following dates:

• Tuesday, 16 May at 8pm at the Grotto in Coolmeen;
• Tuesday, 23 May at 8pm at the Grotto in Shessive;
• Wednesday, 31 May at 8pm at the Cilleen in Clondrina.

 

The Rosary helps us keep in mind certain principal events or mysteries in the history of our salvation, and to thank and praise God for them. There are twenty mysteries reflected upon in the Rosary, and these are divided into the five Joyful mysteries, the five Luminous mysteries,  the five Sorrowful mysteries, and the five Glorious mysteries. As suggested by Pope John Paul, the Joyful mysteries are said on Monday and Saturday, the Luminous on Thursday, the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Glorious on Wednesday and Sunday.

The Joyful Mysteries

1. The Annunciation: Mary learns that she has been chosen to be the mother of Jesus.
2. The Visitation: Mary visits Elizabeth, who tells her that she will always be remembered.
3. The Nativity: Jesus is born in a stable in Bethlehem.
4. The Presentation:Mary & Joseph take the infant Jesus to the Temple to present him to God.
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple: Jesus is found in the Temple discussing his faith with the teachers.

The Mysteries of Light

1. The Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan: God proclaims that Jesus is his beloved Son.
2. The Wedding Feast at Cana: At Mary’s request, Jesus performs his first miracle.
3. The Proclamation of the Kingdom: Jesus calls all to conversion.
4. The Transfiguration: Jesus is revealed in glory to Peter, James, and John.
5. The Institution of the Eucharist: Jesus offers his Body and Blood at the Last Supper.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

1. The Agony in the Garden: Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he dies.
2. The Scourging at the Pillar: Jesus is lashed with whips.
3. The Crowning With Thorns: Jesus is mocked and crowned with thorns.
4. The Carrying of the Cross: Jesus carries the cross that will be used to crucify him.
5. The Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross and dies.

The Glorious Mysteries

1. The Resurrection: God the Father raises Jesus from the dead.
2. The Ascension: Jesus returns to his Father in heaven.
3. The Coming of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit comes to bring new life.
4. The Assumption of Mary: At the end of her life on earth, Mary is taken body and soul into heaven.
5. The Coronation of Mary: Mary is crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth.

 

Bishop Fintan Monahan has written a pastoral letter to the people of the Diocese, entitled ‘Diocese of Killaloe – A welcoming People of God’.

In his letter Bishop Fintan reflects on the many positive aspects of the faith he has encountered since he came to the diocese and speaks about the future of our faith communities.

You may download the pastoral letter here Bishop Fintan Pastoral Letter April 2017

Holy Week and Easter in Coolmeen-Cranny and Kildysart Parishes 

Palm Sunday (9 April)        –       Blessing of Palms and procession will take place before all Masses

Liturgy of Reconciliation –    St Mary’s Church, Cranny Wednesday 5 April at 8pm

• St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen Monday 10 April at 8pm
• St Michael’s Church, Kildysart Tuesday, 11 April, 8pm

Holy Thursday (13 April)    –Coolmeen – Mass of the Lord’s Supper – 7pm

-Kildysart – Mass of the Lord’s Supper – 8.30pm

Good Friday (14 April)        –Cranny – The Lord’s Passion 3pm

-Kildysart – The Lord’s Passion 5pm

– Cranny – Stations of the Cross 8pm

Holy Saturday (15 April)     –Cranny – Easter Vigil – 7.30pm

-Kildysart – Easter Vigil – 9.30pm

The Coolmeen-Cranny Parish Accounts have been completed by our parish finance committee. The summary is as follows:

 

• Opening balance (1 January, 2016):  €11,877.71
• Income during 2016:                          €29,890.17
• Expenditure during 2016:                   €31,805.16
• Closing balance (31 Dec, 2016)         €9,092.

To access the detail of our 2016 parish accounts , please click here Coolmeen-Cranny Parish Accounts 2016

We thank all the members of our parish for your very generous support for our parish. We are especially grateful to our parishioners who use the weekly collection envelopes and who take part in the tax refund scheme. This brings a substantial additional benefit to our parish, at no cost to our parishioners.

Our gratitude is also due to the members of our finance council for their diligent work in taking care of our parish finances. The members of our parish finance council are Antoinette Quinlivan (Chairperson), Des Murphy, Susan King and Catherine Corry.

The feast of our national patron, St Patrick will be celebrated on Friday, 17 March. It is a Holy Day of obligation. The vigil Mass will be celebrated on Thursday in St Mary’s Church, Cranny at 7pm. On the morning of the feast, Mass will be celebrated in St Benedict’s Church, Coolmeen at 9.45am, and in St Michael’s Church, Kildysart at 11am.

Christ with me, Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ in breadth, Christ in length,

Christ in height,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

(Prayer in the tradition of St Patrick)