Kinnegad Parish
St Finian's NS, Clonard will be hosting an open day in association with Clonard Vintage and Heritage Club on Saturday 2nd December from 3pm - 5pm All are welcome
Those who took part in the Synodal Meeting in Rome in October have issued a Letter to the People of God
Letter to the People of God.pdfA personal intervention by
Pope Francis to the Synod
Intervention of the Holy Father
I like to think about the Church as the faithful people of God, holy and sinful, a people convoked and called with the power of the beatitudes and of Matthew 25.
Jesus does not choose any political models of his time for his Church: neither Pharisee, or Sadducee, or Essene, or zealot. No “closed corporation”; he simply assumes the tradition of Israel: “you will be my people and I will be your God”.
I like to think of the Church as this simple and humble people walking in the Lord’s presence (the faithful people of God). This is the religious sense of our faithful people. And I say faithful people so as not to fall into the many ideological perspectives and models with which the reality of the people of God is “reduced”. Simply the faithful people, or also, “the holy, faithful people of God” on the way, holy and sinful. And this is the Church.
One of the characteristics of this faithful people is its infallibility; yes, it is infallible in belief. (In credendo falli nequit, says LG 9). Infallible in belief. And I explain it thus: “when you want to know what Holy Mother Church believes, go to the Magisterium because its task is to teach it to you. But when you want to know how the Church believes, go to the faithful people”.
An image comes to mind: the faithful people united at the entrance of the Cathedral of Ephesus. History says (or legend) that the people were on both sides of the street leading to the Cathedral while the Bishops were processing toward the entrance, and they were repeating in chorus: “Mother of God”, asking the Hierarchy to declare as dogma this truth that they possessed as the people of God. (Some say they had sticks in their hands and were showing them to the Bishops). I don’t know if this is history or legend, but the image is valid.
The faithful people, the holy, faithful people of God, has a soul, and because we can speak of the soul of the people we can speak of a hermeneutic, of a way of seeing reality, of a consciousness. Our faithful people have an awareness of their dignity, baptizing their children, burying their dead.
The members of the Hierarchy come from this people and have received the faith from this people, generally from our mothers and grandmothers - “your mother and your grandmother” Paul says to Timothy - a faith transmitted in a feminine dialect, like the mother of the Maccabees who spoke to them “in the dialect” of her children. And here, I would like to underline that, in the holy, faithful people of God, the faith is transmitted in dialect, and generally in a feminine dialect. This is so not only because the Church is Mother, and it is precisely women who best reflect her (the Church is woman), but because it is women who know how to wait, who know how to discover the resources of the Church, of the faithful people, who risk beyond what is possible, perhaps fearfully, but courageously, and in the chiaroscuro of a dawning day, they approach a tomb with the intuition (not yet hope) that there might be some life.
The women of the holy people faithful of God are a reflection of the Church. The Church is feminine, she is spouse, she is mother.
When the ministers exceed their service and mistreat the people of God, they disfigure the face of the Church with machismo and dictatorial attitudes (it is enough to recall the intervention of Sr. Liliana Franco). It is painful to find in some parish offices the "price list" for sacramental services, similar to a supermarket. Either the Church is the faithful people of God on the way, holy and sinful, or it ends up being a business offering a variety of services. And when pastoral ministers take this second path, the Church ends up being the supermarket of salvation, and priests, mere employees of a multinational company. This is the great defeat to which clericalism leads us with great sorrow and scandal (it is enough to go into the ecclesiastical tailor shops in Rome to see the scandal of young priests trying on cassocks and hats, or albs and lace robes).
Clericalism is a thorn, it is a scourge, it is a form of worldliness that defiles and damages the face of the Lord’s bride; it enslaves the holy, faithful people of God.
And the people of God, the holy, faithful people of God, go forward patiently and humbly, enduring the scorn, mistreatment and marginalization of institutionalized clericalism. How naturally we speak of the princes of the Church, or of episcopal promotions as getting ahead career-wise! The horrors of the world, the worldliness that mistreats God's holy and faithful people.
Kinnegad Parish
Parish Pastoral Assembly (P.P.A.) –
what it is and how to get involved.
An explanation prepared by the Parish Steering Committee.
You have heard some mention of Parish Pastoral Assemblies in church over the past few months. I am going to speak for a couple of moments to introduce the idea of Parish Pastoral assemblies (also known as Parish pastoral councils). They have been around for a long time – at least 50 years! Their establishment as part of the regular working of a parish over the years has been somewhat hit and miss. The diocese of Meath has committed itself to the establishment of a PPA in each parish before the end of this year. Work has started throughout the diocese. Like many other parishes we here in Kinnegad have begun the process of establishing a PPA locally. Our first step has been to set up a steering committee to get the process off the ground. I am a member of the steering committee, and I will speak on the PPA’.
First, what is a PPA? The PPA is a living model with the potential to affect the collective wisdom of the faith community where people learn to become stewards of the gifts of God, live the liturgy, build up the church and serve the Gospel through a process of: Stimulating thinking, facilitating collaboration, encouraging dialogue, engaging in discernment, enabling decision-making, formulating, promoting, and implementing practical pastoral initiatives. PPA are a faith-filled consultative body of the faithful who work together in furthering the mission of Christ in their own parish.
Historically, the term ‘pastoral’ has its origin in the role of the Shepard and their care of the sheep entrusted to them, a concept later adopted by the early Christians to emphasise the watchful care and social responsibility of the Christian community. The primary concern of the PPA is promoting ‘pastoral action’. Areas of pastoral focus include (but are not limited to) Liturgy, worship, sacramental preparation, faith formation, pastoral care of the sick, bereaved, those is hospital, the dying, youth ministry and outreach.
The PPA should be representative of the entire parish. Members should be: Baptised, practising the Catholic faith, in full communion with the church, be a regular attender of mass in the parish, be at least eighteen years of age., be supporting the parish through giving of time, energy, and finances, be aware of the nature, role and work of the PPA and have an understanding that they will be working as part of a team.
The PPA are recognised bodies within the church structure. Like the Diocesan Pastoral Councils, PPA were strongly recommended by the bishops of the Second Vatican Council (It was a major meeting of the church that took place in the early 1960’s. This is the council that shaped our modern thinking of the church) as a vehicle for promoting the mission of Christ and ensuring that the ‘life and activity of the people of God may be brought into greater conformity with the Gospel.’ The PPA is structure of participation that facilitates “an organic blending of legitimate diversities” encouraging all the baptised to work together for the good of the whole community. ‘Sustaining it in all its many needs: from catechesis to liturgy, from the education of the young to the widest array of charitable works.’
The pastoral assembly is composed of members of the laity together with the parish priest and parish staff responsible for pastoral care; their task is to promote pastoral action in the parish.
The PPA is concerned with issues that affect the lives of parishioners rather than the administration or financial management of the parish. Areas of pastoral concern, which particularly affect PPA, are outlined in the pastoral activities of the parish priest described in the Vatican Documents and the Code of Canon Law. They consist of:
• The proclamation of the Word of God
• Faith formation of catechesis
• Liturgy, justice and peace
• Family life
• Evangelisation
• Caring of the sick and the poor
• Encouraging parishioners to become actively involved in the mission of the church.
In essence, the PPA is concerned with fulfilling the mission of Christ in the local community and attending to all that affects the faith life of that community. Each committee is in place for 4 years.
Why should you consider becoming a member of a PPA?
• Everyone had something to offer – its our baptismal calling.
• It is an opportunity to help others grow in their faith and continue the work of evangelisation and mission.
• You can contribute in a positive way to the pastoral care of your parish.
• Your involvement affirms the work already done in your parish.
• You can grow in your own understanding of parish and nurture your own faith.
• You can help others commit to a spirit of service, putting faith into action.
The PPA will be a decision-making body in consultation with the Parish priest as members reflect on what is important for the life of the parish. The tools to guide decision making will be prayerful sensitivity to promoting of the holy spirit (prayer), The church teaching, local diocesan norms. The idea is to allow vibrant; mission focused parish take shape under the guidance of the holy spirit. A parish where everyone can come to know Jesus.
Those who become members of PPA will have training provided. There will be support in place. Members will be formally commissioned.
We as a steering committee have decided on the following method as a pathway to become a member of the PPA.
We would like to invite those parishioners who feel called to nominate themselves to do so. Additionally of you know of someone whom you would like to nominate you may do so with their knowledge and permission. We have forms in each of our parish churches. We will be collecting all nominations in two weeks on the 6th of August.
Given the size of our parish we would be looking to have a PPA of people plus the parish priest. After your nominations are collected, we will be going out and asking people to join.
When this process is complete the steering committee will then look at who would be best in the PPA and form our first PPA. Those people will then go on for training.
Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me today.
If you would like to to nominate someone whom you think would be a great asset to our Parish, please download the form from the link and return it to the Shrine Donation box in each church.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit for Confirmation Candidates
Synthesis of the Consultation in Ireland for the Diocesan Stage of the Universal Synod 2021 – 2023
During the diocesan phase of the synodal process, a deliberate effort was made to reach as wide a spectrum of people as possible within the timeframe available. Facilitators listened to people in urban and rural areas, as well as people who are church-goers and people who are not. The document below is a compilation of the main themes identified from the listening and consultation.
National-Synthesis-17-50-Fri-12th-August-.pdf
Volunteering to Participate in the
Work of the Parish
Volunteering is the most valuable way for you to actively participate in the Church. There is a deepening awareness throughout the Church that all of us who are committed to take our Baptism seriously and live Faithful lives do this best when we participate in our local Parish – where we can voluntarily give our time to work to further the Kingdom of God. This is what Baptism set us up to do! And it is what our Parishes are fundamentally about.
If you would like to volunteer please download a form, give its suggestions some thought and volunteer!