FEASTS OF THE WEEK
CHRIST IS RISEN, Alleluia, Alleluia!
EASTER TIME
The celebration of Easter is prolonged throughout the Easter season.
The fifty days from Easter Sunday (31/03/'24) to Pentecost Sunday (19/05/'24) are celebrated as one feast day, the "great Sunday".
The Sundays of this season are regarded as Sundays of Easter and are so termed.
This sacred period of fifty days concludes with Pentecost Sunday, when the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, the beginnings of the Church, and the start of its mission to all tongues and peoples and nations are commemorated.
Sunday 5th May : 6th Sunday of Easter
Through Baptism and Confirmation we have been given the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit who gave Christ the victory over the world. This Advocate is our support in the difficulties of life. The Spirit of truth convinces us of the meaning and value of the Christian way.
Wednesday 8th May is the anniversary of the death of Cardinal Tomás O'Fiaich in 1990 (while in Lourdes with the Armagh Diocesan Pilgrimage).
Wednesday 8th May : Bl John Sullivan
Born in Eccles St., Dublin on 8 May 1861 and baptised in St. George's Church of Ireland, Temple St., and was brought up in the Christian tradition of his father. He went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and then studied classics and law at Trinity College, Dublin and at Lincoln's Inn, London. At the age of 35 he was received into the Roman Catholic Church and returned to Dublin, living a very simple life style. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1900, was ordained priest in 1907 and then spent the greater part of his life at Clongowes Wood College, Co. Kildare. His reputation for holiness and as a person of prayer spread rapidly and he was always available to the sick, the poor and anyone in need. He died 19 February 1933. His declaration as blessed on 13 May 2017 at St. Francis Zavier Church, Gardiner St., Dublin was the first ever beatification celebrated in Ireland. His beatification was fittingly ecumenical, with Cardinal Angelo Amato representing Pope Francis, and Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin joined by Church of Ireland Archbishop for Dublin Michael Jackson on the altar.
Friday 10th May : St. Comgall
He was born around 516 in Co. Antrim. His father was a soldier and wished his son to follow in his steps but Comgall wished to become a soldier of Christ. He studied under Finnian of Moville and deepened his life of prayer to counteract his temptations to boredom and homesickness. He was persuaded to become a priest and then established a monastery at Bangor around 555-8, which attracted people like Columbanus. He also founded a monastery at Tiree in Scotland. He died after a long illness in 602 or 605.