Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
Today’s feast presents God as a mystery. We can never fully know God – at least not in this life. The greatest temptation for people of all religions is to seek to domesticate God, to reduce God to our image and likeness or simply to what we want God to be for us. This enables us to control God, a subtle way of ensuring that God does not challenge us. God is perceived as being on our side.
The mystery of the Trinity reminds us that we cannot control God, because we do not fully know God. God is always beyond our imagination. We need to respect God’s otherness. Like Moses before the burning bush, we need to take off our shoes and acknowledge mystery. On Mount Sinai Moses encounters both the nearness yet otherness of God: ‘A God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in kindness and faithfulness’. And yet God has chosen to make us in God’s image and likeness and has given us the faculty to yearn for him. God has also chosen to reveal God’s self in human history: in creation and nature, in the history of the Jewish people and, more fully, in the person of Christ. As Jesus reveals in his relationship to the Father, when we truly love we no longer seek to control. We allow the one we love to take possession of our hearts.
There is only one God, but there is more than one way of understanding God. The Trinity gives us various perspectives on the Divine nature. In the Bible we encounter God as Father, Mother and creator, who calls; as beloved Son and Word Incarnate who saves; and as life giving Spirit, whorenews.
What matters is not so much that we understand everything about God. Far better that we own our ignorance, for then we are open to learning something new about God. The mystery of the Trinity invites us to be always willing to expand our understanding of God, to let go of false images that we may have acquired. The Trinity presents God as dynamic reality, always creating, always redeeming, always renewing and reconciling.
Live streaming of Mass
You will find the link to 10am mass this Sunday on our new Parish Website which will be live streamed from St Gobnait’s Church, Keel. www.castlemaineparish.com or htpps://castlemaineparish.com
Helpful Contact Numbers
COVID-19 Community Response: Freephone 1800 807 009 Text 50555
Alone: Monday- Friday 8am-8pm 0818 222 024
AWARE Depression Support 1890 303 302 www.aware.ie
Pieta House 01 6010000 www.pieta.ie
Samaritans 066 7122566 Lo Call 24hr: 1850 609 090
Senior Help Line: Call 1850 440 444 10:00am-1:00 p.m.
7: 00 p.m. -10:00 p.m.
| Castlemaine Parish Feast of the Most Holy Trinity 6th/7th June 2020 |
| Fr. Kevin Sullivan (087) 6277638 Email: castlemaine@dioceseofkerry.ie Castlemaine Presbytery: 066 9767322 Parish Office hours Tues & Thurs 9:30am – 12:30pm |
A Letter from the Castlemaine Parish Pastoral Council June 2020
Dear Parishioners,
As we continue to journey and find our way through these times, the Parish Pastoral Council want to convey to you a message of hope, courage, and prayerful support. We are very conscious of how you might be finding these extraordinary days and weeks, in some instances trying to navigate it all in isolation, without the reassurance and warmth of human contact. We have all had the great days and the not so great days… We have had to stretch and challenge ourselves to look at other ways of communication, keeping in touch. We have had to reach out for help to do the things we cannot freely do right now. We have had to become more creative and resourceful in how we pray and participate in the Eucharist. We have adapted to new ways of home schooling and taken on GAA challenges to keep us motivated. There are many things we have had the time to do now when we didn’t have such precious time before… We have had more time at home, more time with our loved ones, more time to enjoy creation, more time….
We have been blessed with the kindness and generosity of volunteers and those who work to make the world a safer place. We thank them for going beyond the call of duty.
We are particularly mindful of –
- Those who were due to be married in Church and the excitement of preparation for this life event.
- Families who have joyfully welcomed new babies and now wait to have their child welcomed into our faith community through Baptism.
- Our children who eagerly anticipated receiving First Holy Communion. Your very special day will come.
- The 6th class pupils who are now preparing to take the next step to Secondary school. Endings are important before moving on. We acknowledge the mix of emotions that you may be feeling.
- Our students who were due to sit exams and your hard work and preparation for these important milestones.
- Those who are sick and housebound and for whom the First Friday visit is deeply appreciated but not possible at the moment.
- Families who are grieving loved ones who have died during these times and said goodbye without the full complement of physical parish love and support.
- Those who are particularly anxious and fearful, who feel alone and powerless.
- Those for whom the Church is a place of solace and comfort and for whom the closure of Churches was particularly difficult.
As a Pastoral Council we are asking you to help us to help you. How can we reach out to you in the ways that you need? What practical steps can we take to bring us closer as a Parish, not just now but as we embrace the future? What can we as a Parish do for those who are feeling isolated and inconvenienced by the measures we have had to adhere to for safety sake? How can we be more imaginative and creative in communication, prayer, deepening our faith?
We encourage you to take time to reflect on these questions and we welcome your feedback. Your thoughts, ideas, reflections, dreams are important to us, so share them with any of us on the team.
We look forward now with hopeful hearts, confident in God’s tremendous love for each of us. Let us pray for each other and for our Parish.
Parish Pastoral Council members: Aileen Griffin, Fr. Kevin, Katherine O’Connor, PJ Ryan, Tony Dowling, JohnRichard Deane & Caroline Lynch.
Mile Buiochas
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the recently retired members of the Parish Pastoral Council for their years of service – Miriam Ryan, Tim O’Brien, Gerard Ladden Marie Edwards, Mary Foley and Eileen Daly. Your dedication and giftedness in the service of the parish is deeply appreciated by both clergy and parishioners.
Fr. Kevin
Weekend Mass Intentions
Sunday, 7th June
Keel 10:00 a.m. Bill Kelliher, Shanakeale, Keel
Brendan & Elizabeth Moriarty, Ballinamona
Sunday, 14th June
Kiltallagh 10:00 a.m. Dan & Nora Ashe, Ballyarkane
Parish Office
Will operate with normal hours from this week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30am -12:30pm. Please phone 066 9767322. Should you wish to call to the Presbytery please adhere to the social distancing guidelines.