Day Three: "Look to the future with hope"
On the final night of our Three Evenings of Prayer and Reflection in preparation for Christmas, Congregation Leader of the Presentation Brothers, Brother Martin Kenneally, delivered an inspiring address on the real meaning of Christian hope. "It is much more than a pious cliche", he said. "It is something which affects how we live our lives".
Left: Brother Martin Kenneally, Congregation Leader.
Presentation Associates Louis Moiselle and Sr. Patrica Milner were the readers tonight and the final part of the ceremony involved the lighting of seven candles, seven being the biblical number for perfection or completeness.
Right: Louis Moiselle reads the story of Simeon and Anna.
Parish Priest, Fr. Brian O'Sullivan, closed the ceremony with the comment that something remarkable had been born during these days in Glasthule. He said he looked forward to further close collaboration between the Presentation Brothers and the parish of St. Joseph's in Glasthule.
Afterwards, the Brothers house was opened for hospitality.
Below left: Trish Madden (Family Mass Group), Karl Goulding (Chairman, Pastoral Council) and Nadine Goulding.
Below Right: Andrew O'Connell (Organiser), Claire McNamara (Associate), Fr. Denis Kennedy, CC, Glasthule.
Earlier in the day, several hundred children from the local Harold School participated in a special Advent Mass in the parish Church. Communications Director, Andrew O'Connell, showed the children a ten minute PowerPoint on the life of Blessed Edmund Rice.
Left: After the Advent Mass on Wednesday, left to right, Andrew O'Connell (Presentation Brothers), Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Principal Harolds School, Glasthule), Anne Moore (Deputy Principal Harolds School, Glasthule).
Right: A Nativity banner prepared by the pupils from the Harolds School, Glasthule.
Day Two: Focus on the Family
The focus of our second night of prayer and reflection in Glasthule has been the family. Jacki and Tom Ascough from nearby Loughlinstown gave a dynamic presentation on how they have managed to keep the real meaning of Christmas alive in their young family with five children; Katie, Andrew, Hope, John and Christopher.
Left: Jacki and Tom Ascough explain how they pass on the real meaning of Christmas in their family.
Advent calendars, advent stockings, celebrating feastdays and even using chocolate eyeballs are the tools of their trade. Everyone present was struck by the energy, creativity and enthusiasm of the couple.
Right: "The Church is Alive! The Church is Young!" - Andrew O'Connell, Communications Director.
Jacki is a well known media commentator writing regularly in the ALIVE! newspaper. She is also a fertility care practioner. Her husband, Tom, is a mechanical engineer and sits on the board of The Iona Institute which is dedicated to arguing the case for marriage in civic society.
We wish them both well as they look forward to the birth of their sixth child in February.
The ceremony reached its climax with Benediction and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Afterwards, another large crowd crossed the road to the Brothers House for refreshments.
Left: Fr. Brian O' Sullivan, PP Glasthule, leads prayers before the Blessed Sacrament. At the front of the photograph is the Sigillum of the Presentation Brothers.
Below: All hands on deck- Presentation Associates, left to right: Sheila McLoughlin, Lori Kelly and Claire McNamara.
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Left: Brother Andrew Hickey, Frank Kelly and Liam Madden.
Below: Geraldine, Jacki Ascough (speaker) and Fr. Denis Kennedy, CSSp, Curate St. Joseph's, Glasthule.
Below (left): Fr. Brian O'Sullivan, PP, with (left to right) Paul Wallace (Cantor), John Reid and Catherine Reid.
Below (right): Standing room only in the Brothers' dining room.
Day One: 250 parishioners join Brothers to prepare for Christmas
"This has been a marvelous night". The words of Glasthule Parish Priest, Fr. Brian O'Sullivan, captured the mood of the 250 people who braved the cold to attend the opening night of our three days of prayer and reflection in preparation for Christmas.
Left: Crowds gather for last night's service.
The ceremony began with Conor Lynch and Daniel O'Callaghan giving a talk entitled, "Christmas will never be the same again". The two sixth year students from Presentation College Bray visited Ghana on an Immersion Programme with the Presentation Brothers in November 2006 and have described it as a life changing event.
They were followed by recently elected Senator Ronan Mullen who explored the issue of "Christmas and the Celtic Tiger". Ronan spoke about how recent technological and medical advances, financial prosperity and decreasing religious practice had blinded us to the "bigger questions of life", such as "where did we come from?", "why are we here?", "where are we going when we die?". Christmas, Senator Mullen suggested, is a time of year when these questions burn most brightly since it is a time when we celebrate our belief that God became man.
At the close of the liturgy, Conor and Daniel led the congregation in reciting a Christmas pledge (Word doc).
After a roof lifting rendition of "Come, O Come Emmanuel" with organist Ronan Murray and cantor Paul Wallace, large numbers of people joined the Brothers for refreshments in their house opposite the Church.
Left: Presentation Associates meet afterwards in the Brothers House (Back: Sheila McLoughlin, Louis Moiselle, Br. Martin Kenneally, Everaldo Ferreira, Daragh Walsh, Phyllis Brady, Ellen Moiselle. Front: Br. Andrew Hickey, Gerard Reilly, Andrew O'Connell)
Right: Daragh Walsh (Associate), Katherine Barry (Youth Ministry Office), Ellen Moiselle (Associate).
Left: Ellen Moiselle, Phyllis Brady and Andrew O Connell, Chairman Organising Committee
Below: Louis Moiselle and Brother Martin.
Below: St. Joseph's Church floodlight on Monday night
Day One: Three Days of Prayer Begins!
Our three days of prayer in preparation for Christmas began this morning when our Parish Priest, Fr. Brian O'Sullivan, celebrated Mass at 7.30am. Sheila McLoughlin, a Presentation Associate, read a reflection during Mass to focus our minds on reaching out to others this Christmas. Read the text of Sheila's reflection here.
Then at 10am Mass 120 pupils from the fifth and sixth classes from the local Harolds School joined us for a special Advent Mass. Anyone present could not but be impressed by the beautiful singing, excellent behaviour and prayerfulness of the children. Congratulations to their teachers and parents.
Left: Phyllis and Everaldo take a break from the preparations
Right:
Phyllis, Andrew and Brother Majella
St. Joseph's Parish Church,Glasthule, Co. Dublin.
Presentation Brothers, Glasthule, Co. Dublin.
