By Jer Kennelly
ASH WEDNESDAY February 17th, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick and new Moon on Feb. 11th. This year Knock Shrine will host a new series of online discussions to help engage Christians during Lent, under the title ‘Living Christian Faith – Lenten Conversations’. Many give to Trócaire which was established by the Catholic Church in 1973 as a way for Irish people to donate to development and emergency relief overseas.
HAPPY 90th Birthday to Margaret Sweeney of Woodgrove, Knockanure Road Moyvane.
Congratulations also to Mary Leahy who recently celebrated her birthday, they are neighbours almost across the road from each other.
SYMPATHY: To the family of Kathy Scollard, Dromcollogher, whose funeral took place recently. Kathy was older sister to Nora Carr, Aughrim and to Anna Mulvihill, Glenalappa. To Mary Collins & family, formally of Moyvane Post Office on the death of her brother Pat Guiney, Coolaclarig.
DEATH of Sr. Deborah O’Flaherty rsm- member of the Sisters of Mercy, Brisbane Congregation, died on the 26th January, 2021 at Mercy Community Aged Care – Mary Damian Centre in her 68th year of Religious profession. Eucharist to celebrate Sister Deborah’s life at St Vincent’s Chapel, 131 Queens Road, Nudgee, on Tuesday, 2nd February, Deborah’s burial will follow at Nudgee cemetery. Sympathy to Tom O’Flaherty, Murhur and to the O’Flaherty & Hanlon families on the death of sister Deborah.
DEATH of Mary O’Carroll, ex N.T. of Knockanure School, on Thursday, 4th February, 2021. Predeceased by her brothers Jerry (died 1970), and Michael. Sadly missed by her sister Joan (Co.Mayo), brothers John (Naas, Co. Kildare) and Teddy (Tralee, Co. Kerry), sisters in law, cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family, kind neighbours and many friends. It would take a book to chronicle her involvement in local activities. She lost he mother young and was a mother figure to her siblings.
DEATH of Dr. John Corridan (Bishopstown, Cork and formerly of Listowel.):On Feb 3rd, 2021 in his 101st year, husband of the late Patricia and father of Mary-Pat and Candy (O’Callaghan).
Sadly missed by his daughters, son-in-law Mattie, grandsons Jack, Kevin, Daniel, Gary and David, sister-in-law Ella, nephews, and nieces.
DEATH of Sr. Immaculata Buckley, Presentation Sisters, Chapel Street, Carrick-on-Suir, formerly of Clounmacon, Listowel. Died 1st February 2021, Predeceased by her parents Timothy and Mary Anne, her brother Diarmuid (Deemie), her sisters Lizzie Bambury, Mary O’Shea, Srs Barbara and Vincent PBVM. She will be sadly missed by her sister Sr. Vianney PBVM (Texas), her nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, her Presentation Sisters, extended family relatives and friends.
DEATH of John Moloney, Clarr, Moyvane, on January 31st, 2021, Predeceased by his parents Mick and Mary, brother-in-law Liam Casey. Survived by his wife Marian, daughters Ciara, Niamh and Deirdre, grandchildren Aoibhín, Jack, Erin, Keela, Sive, Joe and Darragh, brother James (Clonakilty), sons-in-law Daniel, Ian and Alan, brother-in-law John (Bristol U.K), sisters-in-law Joan, Kathleen and Nora, nephew Conor, niece Claire (Australia), and extended family.
DEATH of Eileen O’Loughlin, nee Kelleher, Sandville, Castleisland, Co. Kerry, on February 2nd 2021 in her 101st year.
ANNIVERSARIES: Con Hanrahan, Neily McCarthy, Margaret O’Brien, Bridie McNeil, Irene Nolan, Joanie McKenna, James G O’Callaghan, Vera McDermott, Cecelia Doyle, Johnny Enright, Sr. Austin Brosnan, Bridie Mulvihill, Margaret Higgins, Ned O’Keeffe, Sr. Eileen Brosnan, Nan Hurley, Sr. Mary O’Connor, Sr. Patricia O’Brien, Hannah Murphy, Mary Cronin, Patrick J Dowling, Sr. Aquin Enright, Mary Fitzmaurice, Stephen Casey, Hannah Ferguson. Mass Moyvane on Radio; Sat 6th at 7.30pm for Sheila O’Carroll, (Months Mind); Sun 7th at 11.00am for Jack Shine, Glin Road (1st Anni); Mon 8th at 7.30pm for Tom O’Connor, Bishopstown & l/o Gortdromagowna (Rec Dec); Tues 9th at 7.30pm for Kathleen O’Brien, Church Road (Months Mind); Wed 10th at 7.30pm for Pat Foran, Bedford (Anni);
Thurs 11th at 7.30pm for Catherine Culhane, Ballyguitenane, (Anni) & deceased of the Sheahan & Culhane families; Fri 12th at 7.30pm for Denis O’Flaherty, Tubbertoureen (Months Mind); Sat 13th 7.30pm for Denis Murphy, Ballyphehane, Cork (Anni) and Mass on Sun 14th at 11.00am for Donal Cunningham, Kilbaha (Anni), his sister Breda & Andy Thomas Dick Cunningham, Kilbaha (Months Mind). Mass Knockanure on loudspeaker; Sun 7th at 9.30am for Mary Savage, Charleville (1st Anni)
(mother of Brenda Clancy, Lisaniskea), and Mass on Sun 14th at 9.30am for Nora Gould, Pilgrim Hill (Rec Dec).
MASS on TV: Daily Mass on RTE News Now TV on Tuesday February 9th at 10.30 am will be from St. John’s Church, Tralee.
DINNERS are available in Knockanure, thanks to the cook and delivery persons, who bring solace to many.
HELP and support available at 0818 222 024.
BUS: Local Link Kerry, Island Point, Tralee Road Industrial Estate, Tralee Road, Castleisland. V92 E894
Phone: 066 714 7002. Email: [email protected]
During Level 5 restrictions, Local Link Kerry along with all public transport will be limited to 25% of maximum seating capacity; and should be used for necessary journeys only. Face coverings must be worn. Public transport is for essential workers and essential purposes only. Do not use public transport if you are experiencing any of the symptoms of COVID-19. Pre- book your seat if you wish to travel on one of our door to door bus services. For the latest public transport COVID-19 Information visit. https://www.transportforireland.ie/…/covid-19-information/
NEW MOON on 11th February.
HOMELESS: Limerick council have spent E3.4m over past two years providing hotel beds for homeless.
TRALEE Accord is open for face-to-face counselling for couples and individuals to explore, reflect upon and work to resolve difficulties that arise in their marriage and relationships. Appointments are arranged for daytime or evening to suit client needs. Contact 066 7122280
WORLD Day of Prayer for the sick Feb. 11th. Feb. 17th Ash Wednesday.
NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES Killarney Parish Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes began Wednesday 3rd and concludes on Thursday 11th February (the Feast of our Lady of Lourdes). The Novena prayer will be prayed in St Mary’s Cathedral 10.30am, 6.15pm Masses online and Saturday 6.15pm and Sunday 8.00am, 10.30am & 12noon.
WRITERS’; Listowel Writers’ Week are committed to celebrating literary talent. Extensive catalogue of competitions aim to both encourage and promote this wonderful talent. The continued support of sponsors and patrons give them a prize fund of up to €30,000 that is awarded across 8 categories including the prestigious Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award and Pigott Poetry Prize.
TOASTMASTERS: The February issue of the Toastmaster magazine, you’ll meet a few Toastmaster comedians who share their best tips and techniques for using humour onstage, in the board room, and anywhere else you’re presenting. Do you have humour tips for fellow Toastmasters? Visit www.toastmasters.org/Magazine
HUNT Museum are celebrating Sybil Connolly this year, born in 1921, see their web site.
ART: Texaco Children’s Art Competition, closing date 24th March, this is the 67th year of the competition.
LITERARY festival, formerly known as The Kate O’Brien Weekend, began in 1984 to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of Limerick-born Kate O’Brien. Following a difficult year and anticipating ongoing restrictions the festival returns for 2021 in a digital format to allow book lovers continued access. The Festival officially opens on Friday February 26th at 7 p.m. See details on social media, Facebook – @limerickliteraryfestival
ROOTS of the UK’s Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, her great-great-great grandparents were married, on January 23rd, 1860, at Dublin’s Donnybrook Church of Ireland parish church. Thomas Bird was a private in the 22nd Cheshire Regiment, and Belfast Catholic Mary McCague was living at Merrion Strand.
PLAY Oberammergau, Germany, Nearly 400 years ago the history of the Passion Play began. The plague raged in many parts of Europe and did not spare Oberammergau either. In 1633 the Oberammergau villagers promised to perform the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ every tenth year, which has continued to present time, last play was due in 2020.
MOTHER: It’s true that, when you have a toxic mother, it’s difficult to imagine what life is like in a less dysfunctional family. But that doesn’t mean you don’t subconsciously crave a healthy, close relationship – the kind you may have seen your friends enjoying with their mothers.
The problem is that you don’t have a good idea of what a positive, healthy relationship entails. If your mother acted in unhealthy ways toward you, she likely didn’t have a great relationship with your father, either. This creates a skewed idea of what romance is supposed to be; as such, you might start to mythologize romance.
PRESIDENT Biden announces U.S. will again fund abortions overseas ————————————–
“The NY Times’ proclaimed ‘most religious president in half a century’ is now forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions internationally, directly targeting the vulnerable women and children that actual religious observers like Mother Teresa came to serve,” said Live Action founder and president Lila Rose in a press release. “Instead of leaning into the American promise engraved in the Statue of Liberty: ‘Give me your tired, your poor/your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,’ Biden targets other nations and funds programs which dismember and kill their most vulnerable children. As my friend Obianuju Ekeocha, Founder of Culture of Life Africa, reminds us, pushing abortion on other nations is not compassion, it is ideological neo-colonization. This decision is a dark day for our nation – it will lead to more deaths of more children and for that, Joe Biden should be ashamed.”
REFLECTION: Septuagesima Sunday 31st January 2021 from Sacred Heart Church, Limerick.
Is known as Septuagesima Sunday. It registers the Pre-Lenten season. Septuagesima is Latin for “seventieth”. It signals a period of 17 days, including the three Sundays before Ash Wednesday. The vestments worn during this period are Violet in preparation for lent. We cease the use of the word ‘Alleluia’ in our chants and liturgies, except in the case of a feast. This signifies that we are entering a period of penance, since ‘Alleluia’ is indicative of celebration and joy. Equally we omit the ‘Gloria’ for the same reason. These familiar words ‘So the last shall be first and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen’ (Mathew 20:16) end the gospel.
FATHERS: Our father, and his response to us, is the first response of an ‘outsider.’ Mom’s love is body-based from the womb and the breast. It is assumed, taken for granted, relied upon instinctively, which is why a foundational ‘mother wound’ can be even more devastating to one’s very core. When one’s good mother dies, it first feels like God has died, because she is your first clear God image and Divine security.
But Dad is that other in the house, at a greater distance. He does not ‘have’ to love you. His love is not inherently felt and drawn upon, like Mother love. He must choose to love you! He decides for you, he picks you out, he notices you among the many. It redeems, liberates, and delights, therefore, in a totally different way. . . . That is the uniquely transformative experience of male love. It validates us and affirms us deeply, precisely because it is not necessary.
By Mercy Maina
NAIROBI , 25 January, 2021 / 9:05 PM (ACI Africa).-
Kenya’s President has commended members of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (I.B.V.M) commonly known as Loreto Sisters for their selfless contribution to various sectors in the East African nation in what he described as “incredible Christian ministry.”
“I commend the Loreto Sisters for a century of incredible Christian ministry, education in our country and also to the social ministry and other works of Mercy they have conducted for the last 100 years,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said during the Saturday, January 23 centenary celebrations of the Loreto Sisters in Eastern Africa Province.
He added, “Loreto’s training has contributed immeasurably to the creative and performing arts, to politics, governance, religion and theology, environmental protection, community service, among many fields.”
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(JTA) — As Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States last week, my sigh of relief was deeply, painfully personal.
My life has been defined by migration and the laws associated with it since I arrived here from Caracas, Venezuela, with my single mother and sister at the age of 6.
I remember the vibrant nature of Jewish public in Caracas, a tight-knit community that often shared almost all aspects of life with one another, from bar mitzvahs and weddings to the Jewish day school and Hebraica social club. I often vividly remind myself of the joy that was so present in the community before chaos and violence set in.
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Charles Lewis Features
February 2, 2021
Underneath the horrors brought in the 20th century from all manner of totalitarian regimes was the cheapening of life.
Individuals were worth nothing on their own except for what they could contribute to the state, this ideology purported. Human beings were simply part of a mass. The state was everything, taking the place of God.
In Germany under the Nazis one way this played out was in its euthanasia program. First, children who had mental and physical handicaps were targeted. Later, it destroyed adults who were considered unfit for life.
The Nazi logic was threefold: It ended the imagined suffering of the person; hence, the term “mercy killing”; it took away the care of such people from “burdened” families and allowed more resources, such as food, to those who could benefit the state. There was a reason the Nazis called these poor souls “useless eaters.”
The Knights of Columbus has over 2 million members in 16,000 councils worldwide. The order was founded in 1882 by a Connecticut parish priest, Blessed Michael J. McGivney, who was beatified in October 2020. It is dedicated to the principles of charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism. In 2020 members of the Knights performed over 77 million reported service hours and gave over $187 million for charitable causes.