Church of the Assumption and Sts. Columbanus & Gall, Milltown Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 18th 2022
Church of the Assumption and Sts. Columbanus & Gall, Milltown
Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 18th 2022
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel” Matt. 1
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Parish Contact Details: Fr. Peter Briscoe: 2196600
Parish Office: 2196740
Parish Centre: 2680041
Parish Email Address:
milltownparishcentre@gmail.com
Parish Web Site: www.milltownparish.ie
Registered Charity Number: RCN 20016166
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MASS TIMES
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday 10am.
Vigil Mass on Saturday – 6pm
Sunday Mass – 10am and 11.30am.
Thursday – Prayer and Communion Service 10am
All Masses and Prayer Services in Milltown Parish will be available online.
These can be viewed at:
http://www.mcnmedia.tv/camera/milltown-parish
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CHRISTMAS 2022
Christmas Eve: 6.00pm – Family Mass & 9.00pm Mass
Christmas Day: 10.00am & 11.30am Mass
Monday 26th, Tuesday 27th & Wednesday 28th: 11am Mass
Thursday 29th: Holy Communion and Prayer Service – 11am
Friday 30th: 11am Mass
Saturday, December 31st: Vigil Mass 6.00pm
Sunday 1st January: 10.00am & 11.30am Mass
Monday 2nd January: 11am Mass
The Parish Pastoral Centre will close from Thursday, December 22nd until Tuesday, January 3rd
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Our thanks to John Brennan, from the Colonnade Milltown Road, who once again kindly donated a Christmas tree to our church
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We offer our condolences to the family and friends of Nuala Ni Shuibne whose funeral took place here on Thursday morning
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CAROL SERVICE
Our Carol Service will take place at 3pm today. All are welcome!
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ADVENT PENITENTIAL SERVICES
Parishioners from Milltown are invited to attend an Advent Penitential Service in the Church of the Three Patrons, Rathgar tomorrow evening (December 19th) at 7.30pm or in Donnybrook Church on Wednesday December 21st at 7pm.
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FAMILY MASS ON CHRISTMAS EVE
Our next Family Mass will be on Christmas Eve at 6pm. If you would like your child to participate in the Mass or join a children’s choir, please email Clodagh or Mairead at milltowngathering@gmail.com
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CLOSING TIME OF CHURCH – Please note that the church closes at 4.30pm, with the exception of Saturday evening when it is closed after the 6pm Vigil Mass.
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Thank you for your donations to last Sunday’s Collections. The Offertory Collection amounted to €770. A final figure for donations to the St. Vincent De Paul Collection will be published in next week newsletter.
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Effective 2023 we will be in a Parish Partnership with Donnybrook, Merrion Road and Booterstown.
Each parish will retain its identity, particular sense of community and its financial independence.
However, the Partnership will be a more formal collaborative arrangement and will focus on the development of a Partnership Council with representatives from all four parishes, reviewing Mass scheduling, setting up Funeral Ministries and extending and supporting Lay Ministries in each parish.
Parishioners will be kept informed of progress.
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REMINDER: Closure of our account in Ulster Bank is rapidly approaching.
We would kindly request donors to complete their new Standing Order Forms. If you are not already a donor to the Family Offering we would ask you to consider doing so.
Bank Standing Order Forms for donations to the new Family Offering Account are available at the church doors.
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Our thanks to Paula Jennings for her generous donation of €2,033 to the parish. This sum of money was raised from Paula’s recent Art exhibition which was held in the Parish Pastoral Centre.
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We have received a thank you letter from The Peter McVerry Trust for parishioner’s recent donations of €1,118.89 to their recent church gate collection at Milltown Church.
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CROSSCARE CHRISTMAS FOOD POVERTY APPEAL
2022 has been very difficult for families coming to Crosscare needing help. For the first time in many years, they have seen a rise in the number of working families struggling with ongoing increases in the cost of living. The demands of Christmas put even more pressure on people already finding it hard to make ends meet.
This Christmas, they are asking for help for the Food Poverty Service, where Crosscare supports families who find it hard to provide nutritious food. Sadly, almost 800 families and individuals, including 1,000 children, have needed help from the Service this year and demand is likely to increase in the coming months. Crosscare ensures they have a good supply of food while at the same time looking at all the issues that may have brought them into food poverty.
If you can, you can donate online at www.crosscare.ie or call 01 8360011 or send a cheque or postal order to Crosscare Christmas Appeal, 2 Saint Mary’s Place North, Dublin D07 Y768. Envelopes will also be made available in all Parish Churches.
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Additional volunteers are required for our Eucharistic Ministry Group.
If you are interested in becoming a Eucharistic Minister here in our parish please contact Geraldine at 0879933719 or leave your contact details into the Sacristy or the Parish Office.
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This Week’s Feast Days
Tuesday 20th: St. Fachanan, bishop
Wednesday 21th: St. Peter Canisius, priest and doctor of the church
Friday 23rd: St. John Kanty, priest
Monday 12th: Our lady of Guadalupe
Tuesday 13th: St. Lucy, virgin and martyr
Wednesday 14th: St. John of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church
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Weekly Quote from Laudato Si
“If we are truly concerned to develop an ecology capable of remedying the damage we have done, no branch of the sciences and no form of wisdom can be left out, and that includes
Laudato Si is a worldwide wake up call to help humanity understand the destruction that man is rendering to the environment and his fellow man.
Laudato Si can be downloaded from the laudatosi.va website.
Copies of the encyclical are available from Veritas for € 4.99.
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Rathmines & Rathgar Bethany Bereavement Support Service (incl. Milltown & Ranelagh
The Bethany service is confidential, non-judgmental and open to all who have suffered bereavement or other significant loss and who need to speak in a supportive setting. Our trained listeners are here to help.
Individual meetings can be arranged at Milltown: please phone 087 2243787.
This is a free service. For further information please phone: 087 2841276 (Siobhán) or 086 3282151 (Marie). We wish all of you who are grieving a peaceful Christmas.
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An Information sheet on the activities in the Parish Pastoral Centre is available on the tables at the back of the church.
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COINS – CHANGE FOR GOOD
Help save children’s lives by donating your non euro coins to this voluntary organisation. They upcycle these coins in order to provide a pediatric MRI scanner that will save lives into the future. For further information please see our notice boards and the koinsforkids website.
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Joint Church Community Project CLG
Milltown Parish has a Vacancy for a Project Worker / Caretaker
Community Employment Ref: CES: 2220302
Duties to include:
Routine setting up of facilities for service users.
Reception – Meet and Greet Visitors
Operation of Coffee Dock – Prepare and Serve Refreshments
General Cleaning Duties
Sale of Mass Cards
Light Gardening Duties
Other Ad hoc duties as required.
Applicants must supply suitable character references and be prepared to complete Garda vetting application form.
Apply to DEASP Employment Services / Intreo office to make an application.
Eligibility to participate on CE is generally linked to those who are 21 years of age or over and in receipt of an Irish Social Welfare payment for 1 year or more.
For further information please call Milltown Parish Office at 2196740/2680041 or email milltownparishcentre@gmail.com.
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For your information:
For security reasons we have our CCTV cameras back in action in our parish church.
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Copies of our Child Safeguarding Policy Statement are on display in the Church porches and in the Parish Pastoral Centre.
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In April, Archbishop Dermot Farrell established a Task Force called Building Hope. The Task Force was asked to assess the needs of the people of the Archdiocese emerging from Covid-19 and to work to support parish communities as they undertake a radical renewal, looking to the future with creativity. 3,000 people, mostly lay faithful, responded to the invitation to share their views. The Task Force report is now available on the Diocesan Website.
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If you are interested in starting a Rosary/Divine Mercy Group in the parish please contact Mary at 0872959518
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The Legion of Mary has resumed its meetings in Bird Avenue Church, Clonskeagh. They meet in St. Joseph’s Oratory every Wednesday at 7.30p.m. New members and visitors are always welcome. For further information please contact Una 087 2253845
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MILLTOWN PARISH ACTIVE RETIREMENT GROUP continues their GENTLE EXERCISE TO MUSIC CLASSES In the Parish Pastoral Centre on Thursday at 11am.
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The Dodder Action is an umbrella group of volunteers who want to maximise the potential of the River Dodder as an amenity for the people of Dublin.
They organise working groups to regularly go out and clean the river banks with equipment from Dublin City Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dublin South County Council.
More information on this group can be found on the Dodder Action website.
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Home from Home Dodder Area Community Sponsorship Group
Community Sponsorship for refugee resettlement: Can you help?
Community Sponsorship is an alternative model to state-led resettlement under which local groups of volunteer’s source accommodation for a family and provide a ready-made network of support and friendship when the families come to Ireland.
Outcomes for both resettled families, sponsors and local communities have been demonstrated time and again to be extremely positive.
A local Community Sponsorship group was formed in this area in late 2021 and we hope to welcome a family during 2022.
To do this we need to find accommodation and raise sufficient funds to provide the required support over a two-year period.
Please consider how you might be able to help.
For more information or to donate, see https://www.homefromhomedodder.com/
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Diocesan Synodal Pathway Prayer
We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever.
Amen
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Archbishop Dermot Farrell has published a Pastoral Letter on Climate Crisis – ‘The Cry of the Earth – The Cry of the Poor’. Hard copies of this publication are available for sale on the Parish Book Stand. On line copies are on the Diocesan website. Archbishop Farrell’s introduction to this Pastoral Letter is available on this website.
Remarks by Archbishop Dermot Farrell at the launch of the Pastoral Letter, are available on our Parish Website.
A Prayer for Our Earth
All powerful God,
you are present in the universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with your peace, so that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned
and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty,
not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle,
for justice, love and peace.
A Prayer for Our Earth was published in Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’.
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Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally,
Come to me Lord, come at least spiritually into my heart,
and unite my soul completely to You.
Never let me be separated from You.
Amen.
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Glenstal Abbey – Stations of the Cross
There is a recording of the Stations of the Cross available on the Glenstall Abbey website. You can access these Stations of the Cross on the video section of the Glenstall Abbey Website: https://www.glenstal.com/abbey
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Support Services
TOWARDS HEALING is a support service, funded by the Catholic Church for Survivors of Institutional, Clerical and Religious abuse. This service provides Helpline Support and Counselling.
The Freephone number is 1800 303 416 and the website address is: www.towardshealing.ie
ALONE manage a national support line and additional supports for older people who have concerns or are facing difficulties relating to COVID-19.
Professional staff are available to answer queries and give advice and reassurance where necessary.
The support line is open seven days a week, 8am – 8pm, by calling 0818 222 024
Generation Tech
Generation Tech is a free service and is run by volunteers. Volunteer run FREE HELPLINE to help older people in Ireland with tech issues.
Our volunteers are tech experts and work in shifts from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday. Support is provided over the phone.
If you need help with smartphones, tablets, social media, apps, PCs, printers, etc. CALL US on: 01-9633 288.
Aware – Support & Self Care Groups
If you, or those with whom you work wish to connect with people in relation to your mental wellbeing, please consider using the Phone In and Zoom Support & Self Care Groups, the Support Line or Support Mail, now and throughout the holiday season. These services provide support, coping skills and information – and most importantly help people who are in distress to know and feel that they are not alone in their experience. For more information about the groups https://www.aware.ie/support/support-groups/ and all of our services on www.aware.ie
Rathmines & Rathgar Bethany Bereavement Support Service (Including Milltown & Ranelagh) Offer a monthly listening sessions for those of you who have suffered a bereavement or another significant loss. For further information on this free service please contact: 087 2841276 (Siobhán) or 086 3602198 (Anne).
Individual meetings can be arranged at Milltown. Please phone 087 2243787 if you require this service.
The Irish Hospice Foundation Bereavement Support Line is 1800 80 70 77 and is open from 10am – 1pm from Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). If the line is busy when you call, they can call you back if you leave your contact details.
The Mary Aikenhead Centre in Donnybrook operate a ‘Meals on Wheels Service’ for our area. This service provides a healthy meal delivered direct to elderly and housebound person’s homes five days a week Monday to Friday. If you are an elderly person from this area and would like to avail of this service, please contact the Centre at 01 2698995.
Marian Pilgrimages have released their pilgrimage schedule for 2021 & 2022 to Lourdes, Medjugorje, Fatima, Italy & Holy Land. For more information or to register your interest please visit www.marian.ie or ring Marian Pilgrimages on (01) 878 8159.
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