PARISH NEWSLETTER  -  JUNE 2010

COME AND ENJOY ST. MARY’S MIDSUMMER GARDEN!  -  PARISH FAMILY  PICNIC ON SUNDAY 27TH JUNE – 1.00 P.M. -  Before we disperse for our Summer holidays, let’s enjoy this wonderful opportunity to make the best possible use of the beautiful garden at St. Mary’s Parish Centre by holding a PARISH FAMILY PICNIC on the last Sunday in June.  This will be on the lines of our Parish Christmas Dinner in that we will all bring along food for ourselves and a little more to share.  To minimize “staff” needs we will also bring along our own drinks, glasses, plates and cutlery.  Tables and chairs will be provided and we will hope to have sufficient shade – though you may like to bring along a sunshade if you have a handy portable one.  Father Gus will be going on holiday shortly after the picnic so this will be an ideal chance to wish “happy holidays” to him – and to each other. 

 FATHER VINCENT (FINTAN) TRAVERS O.P., an old friend of our parish, will be in the Lisbon area for 10 or 15 days from 14th June.  Parishioners will be aware that care for the well-being of children has been a very “hot” topic in the worldwide Church in recent years and Father Vincent is now responsible for Child Protection programmes within the Irish Province of the Dominican Order.  During his stay he plans to hold conferences on this subject in Estoril and Cascais and dates and times will be announced shortly.  He will also hope to meet old friends in central Lisbon when he celebrates Mass at Corpo Santo Church on Sunday 20th June.

 During Father Gus’s holidays, FATHER DAVID WALKER O.P. will be here to support our parish and will celebrate the usual weekend Masses at St. Mary’s and N.S. dos Navegantes.

 Our EASTER OFFERING TO OUR PARISH PRIEST this year was slightly down on last year and totalled €2,598.00 made up as follows:  Navegantes €1,673 (71 envelopes);  Corpo Santo €660 (21 envelopes);  St. Mary’s €265 (16 envelopes).  Father Gus would like to send his warm thanks to all those who contributed to this offering.

PARISH NEWSLETTER  -  MAY 2010

“TOGETHER WITH YOU, WE WILL WALK IN HOPE”

THEME FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI’s VISIT TO PORTUGAL

11^TH / 14^TH MAY 2010

The Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon, D. José Policarpo, warmly invites us to welcome the Holy Father with faith and love, saying:  “He is the successor of Peter.  In him we discover the joy and also the demands of being a Catholic.  I hope all those who are able to will come into Lisbon to pray with him.  He deserves to feel the warmth of our presence, of our communion with him  ...  It’s not the same thing to watch events on TV;  he needs to feel us with him, united with him as members of the Church.  He is the Universal Shepherd.  You cannot believe how good it is to see his face, to receive his blessing, to pray with him and for him ...... ”

PROGRAMME

PARISH NEWS   -  MAY 2010. 

The date of our 2010 ANNUAL PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO FATIMA is now very close and full details are available at all three Mass Centres (and on our website www.irishdominicansinportugal.com).  The pilgrimage will take place on the weekend of, 29^th/30th May 2010and this year we are once more counting on having with us two of the Irish Dominican Fathers who have been such great friends of our parish over many years. 

 There are two ways of joining in this great weekend of unity in prayer:  the first, of course, is by coming along to Fátima;  the second, and very important way, is by making a donation to help somebody to come along who otherwise would not be able to pay the full fare.  Please think seriously about this and see which is the best way for YOU to take part.

 To make sure you don’t miss this beautiful pilgrimage, please hand in your reservation not later than 16^th May.

 WARM THANKS are due to all the people who contributed to making our Easter Triduum so beautiful in every way.  If we began listing names there would not be space for all of them but a special word of thanks must go to Milú Lobo da Silva, who almost single-handed made the more than 100 palm crosses used in our Passion Sunday ceremonies. 

 MORE ON THE PAPAL VISIT

 -  This will be the Pope’s 15^th apostolic visit outside Italy and will mark the 10^th anniversary of the beatification of the shepherd children, Francisco and Jacinta Marto.  Benedict XVI will be the third Pope to visit Fatima after Pope Paul VI in 1967 and Pope John Paul II’s three visits in 1982, 1991 and 2000.

 -  With only one month to go before the conclusion of the Year for Priests, great emphasis will given on this journey to the world of the clergy, with the celebration of Vespers with priests, religious, seminarians and deacons in Fatima on 12^th May and the meeting with Bishops on the following day.

 -  On a more personal note, Pope Benedict XVI’s emblem contains symbols he had already used in his “coat of arms” when he was Archbishop of Munich and Freising, and subsequently as Cardinal. Interestingly it shows a mitre rather than the papal tiara but it does include the keys of St. Peter as well as the cockleshell of St. James of Compostela.  The image of a bear carrying a pack is a reference to a legend of Saint Corbinian (670-730 AD) a Frankish bishop who was sent to preach in Bavaria. It is said that when Corbinian was crossing the Alps to carry important letters to Rome, a bear attacked and killed his horse. Corbinian rebuked the bear and commanded it to carry the letters the rest of the way. Pope Benedict has commented that the bear, unlike himself, was released from service when it reached Rome! 

 -  Further details on the Pope’s visit to Portugal can be found at www.bentoxviportugal.pt

 A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY – PARISH FAMILY PICNIC AT ST. MARY’S ON SUNDAY 27^TH JUNE – During the month of June we normally hold a Parish Barbecue in the garden at St. Mary’s but unless volunteers come forward in the next few weeks to organise the event and make use of all the barbecue equipment we have acquired over the years a barbecue will not be feasible this year.  Before we disperse for the Summer holidays, however, we plan to hold a PARISH FAMILY PICNIC on the last Sunday in June.  This will be on the lines of our Parish Christmas Dinner in that we will be asked to bring food for ourselves and a little over to share.  The only differences are that we will be thinking in terms of salads and cold desserts rather than Christmas fare and we will hope to have the pleasure of glorious sunshine rather than a roaring fire.  

PARISH NEWSLETTER  -  APRIL 2010

                                                                                  EASTER SUNDAY  -  APRIL 2010. 

CHRIST HAS DIED

                    ALLELUIA

CHRIST IS RISEN

                                   ALLELUIA

CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN

                                                  ALLELUIA,  

                        ALLELUIA

Full details will shortly be available at all three Mass Centres (and on our website

 www.irishdominicansinportugal.com) of our 2010 ANNUAL PARISH PILGRIMAGE TO FATIMA, which will take place on the weekend of, 29^th/30th May 2010.  This year we are once more counting on having with us two of the Irish Dominican Fathers who have been such great friends of our parish over many years. 

 We expect to have a really splendid turn-out of pilgrims again this year, but the Casa Beato Nuno (where we will be staying) does not have elastic walls, so please enrol early to avoid disappointment.  Twin and triple-bedded rooms are available and the Pilgrimage Committee is pleased to tell you that, although there has been a small increase in accommodation prices, we have we have been able to hold the overall charge at €95 per person for adults, whilst the charge for children aged 5 to 9 years will again be €35.  (Children up to 4 years of age go free of charge.)  As always, the prices include transportation, accommodation, Saturday lunch and dinner and Sunday breakfast and lunch.  Special prices can be arranged for those who have difficulty in paying the full cost. 

 Another point:  If for some reason you are unable to join us on pilgrimage but would like to share in the joys of this weekend, you could consider doing so by making a donation to help someone to travel with us who is not able to pay the full cost of the weekend.  Please think seriously about this.

NOT TO BE MISSED:  Following our very successful Lenten course “BELIEVE”, David Payne, a well-known speaker from the UK who was the presenter on the “BELIEVE” DVD, will be visiting our parish during the month of April.  All are invited to join us and bring along friends or family members to share in what will be another blessed and special time for listening, learning, sharing and growing in our faith.  Details are as follows:

TALKS for ALL OUR YOUTH:

Dates and Times:           Monday 26^th April + Tuesday 27^th April       17,00 to 18,30 hours

Venue:                          St. Mary’s Parish Centre, Rua de Murtal 368, São Pedro do Estoril.

TALKS for ADULTS / YOUNG ADULTS

Dates and Times:           Monday 26^th April + Tuesday 27^th April       20,30 to 22,00 hours

Venue:                          N.S. dos Navegantes, Cascais

 A DAY OF RECOLLECTION will be held in Linhó (Sintra) on SATURDAY 8^TH MAY – This day of quiet prayer is organised by our Lay Dominicans and takes place at the Dorothean Convent located to the left of the main Estoril/Sintra road.  At the request of many people who prefer not to be away from home overnight, this will be a one-day occasion, beginning at 9.00 a.m. on Saturday morning 8^th May and ending by 7.00 p.m.   The estimated price for the day is €20,00 per person and this includes the cost of the usual splendid Linhó lunch and all the necessary paperwork, etc.   Fuller details will be available shortly on a separate flyer.  This is a wonderful opportunity to spend a few hours in study and prayer, away from our daily occupations, and could even be seen as a preparation for our pilgrimage to Fátima at the end of May.

Envelopes for our EASTER OFFERING TO OUR PARISH PRIEST are still available at our three Mass Centres.  If you have been away, or if you have mislaid your envelope, there is still time to show your appreciation in this way for all the work Father Gus does for us throughout the year.  We must also remind ourselves that if Father Gus were not willing to be here alone in Portugal, far away from any other English-speaking Dominican Community, it might well not be possible for our parish to continue.  For that if for nothing else we owe him our deepest gratitude.

The GOOD SHEPHERD SISTERS in Murtal send their thanks and blessings to all the parishioners whose generous donations have helped them to make life more manageable for the many needy people who rely on them for help.