Holy Trinity Church, Ratoath

16 August 2009

Opening hours for the Parish Office: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 9.30am– 4.00pm

Please pray for Patrick (Pudsar) Toole (Curkeen) who died this week. May he rest in peace.

Congatulations to Celine Creighton and Alan Sherlock; to Christine Scanlon and Ciaran Leneghan and to Gemma Fitzpatrick and Paul McCarthy who were married this week.

We are looking for some adults who would be willing to assist us with the Children’s Liturgy.

It is not a big commitment (usually 3 to 4 times a year). If you are interested, please speak to Fr. Gerry or Fr. Patrick or call the parish office.

Creative Approaches to Personal and Faith Enrichment: Short courses for autumn 2009.This series of short courses is part of All Hallows’ ongoing commitment to produce quality programmes in Personal and Faith enrichment. Explore aspects of Spiritually in a living Faith context. Enhance and enrich your own journey in a relaxed, informal and welcoming environs of all Hallows’. For more information Phone 01 852 0702 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Study Theology from Home. The Dominicans are offering a theology programme specifically for lay people, offered by distance learning. You can study for a certificate, diploma or degree in theology from the comfort of your home. Please contact The Priory Institute, Tallaght Village, Dublin 24. Tel 01 404 8124/7 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Eddie Stone will be in St Bridget’s Church Blanchardstown on Friday 21^st August at 7.00pm.

There was no winner of this week’s Community clubs lotto draw. The numbers drawn were 2.5.21.23. next week’s jackpot will be €930.00

Viatores Christi lay missionary development workers are assigned to projects which deal with a range of social and justice issues throughout the world including AID/HIV projects, displaced peoples, healthcare, intellectual disability, education, and indigenous peoples. We need people from all disciplines, from teachers to electricians, doctors to administrators, farmers to childcare workers. If you are interested in learning more, please come along to our information and recruitment session in Dublin on August 29^th from 11.00am – 2.00pm in the Irish Aid Volunteering & Information Centre 27-31 O’Connell Street Dublin 1. For more information contact Colette Rooney at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or tel 01 8689986 or log onto www.victoreschristi.com

Free stop smoking service in Navan every Monday to Friday in Oaklawns Community House, Clogherboy, Navan and Claremont Stadium, Navan. Also free 6 stop smoking courses starting 7^th September in Navan and Trim and Kells. Call Mary on 085-1206338 or  Bridie on 085-1206336

Monday     Special Intention               Tuesday   Gerry Smith                         Friday  Sean Carroll  

Excerpt from Bishop Smith’s letter

re Co-Ordination of Masses in the Diocese

Recently Pope Benedict commented that ‘a Sunday without Mass, the great communal prayer of the Church, is not truly a Sunday: it lacks the very heart of Sunday and so also the light of the week’. The Eucharist must be at the centre of parish life and this is particularly true of the Sunday celebration.

The obligation to attend Sunday Mass is one that rests on each person baptised into the faith. The Mass is the central liturgical prayer of the Church, re-enacting Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary and fulfilling His promise to continue His abiding presence with us, ‘yes to the end of time’. It is through the Eucharist that our faith is nurtured and nourished. As people baptised into faith in Christ, we are called to make every effort to fulfil this obligation and not expect that Masses can be arranged for our convenience.

Over the past twenty years the population of the Diocese has more or less doubled and development plans predict a further significant increase over the coming years. While the Diocese has been blessed with a considerable number of ordinations, these do not replace deaths and retirements. The demands on priests have increased immeasurable over recent years even with the greatly increased involvement of lay faithful in the pastoral life of the parish. The number of priests will not increase in the immediate future and significant changes in regard to the time and number of Masses in the parishes is necessary.

All parishes have been asked over recent times to become involved in the process that examines the number of Masses in the individual parishes and the times at which they are celebrated. The Sunday Mass calls us to worship as a community, to listen together to God’s word and to witness to the Lord’s presence among us. Parishes have to accept that it will not be possible to continue providing a Sunday Mass for a small number of people just because it is convenient for some and the Mass has always been at that particular time. The time and places of celebration must respond to the needs of the parish communities and to the constraints posed by the number of priests available. In his letter on the Eucharist, the late Pope John Paul stated quite clearly that ‘as regards the time and number of Masses to be celebrated in parishes, the good of the parish community should be kept in mind and the number of Masses should not be so multiplied as to weaken the pastoral effort’ This process within deaneries and within groups of neighbouring parishes must lead to a reduction in the number of Masses celebrated.

Discussions have already taken place in the deaneries and I am asking that this process be continued and quickly brought to a conclusion.

It is important that all parishes in the deanery – and where necessary neighbouring parishes engage with serious intent in this process. It is intended that it be completed before Advent 2009.