Funerals
The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult experiences we can have. The pain of saying goodbye, regardless of the deceased’s age, is a heavy load to carry. As a people, we ‘do death’ well in Ireland. The support of extended family and wider community carries us through the initial pain of our loss.
While the recent Covid pandemic curtailed the celebration of funerals as we would previously have marked them,
Sacrament of the Sick
The Church has always understood this sacrament as a continuation of the healing ministry of Jesus. However, by the twelfth century, the sacrament related to dying, perhaps because of peoples’ preoccupation with “saving our souls”, and the last chance for sins to be forgiven. As a result, it was referred to as “extreme” or final “unction” or anointing. This meant that a priest would be present to administer extreme unction and to pray for our soul.
Priesthood/Diaconate
In most organisations, those that make up its leadership receives more focus than their numbers would suggest. In the Catholic Church, just 0.03% of its membership is made up of bishops, priests and deacons, the overwhelming majority being lay Catholics (1.2 billion in total)
Sacramental priesthood can only come from the sacrament of baptism – without baptism there can be no priesthood. Today, the numbers in training for priesthood in the western church continues on a sharp decline,
Marriage
Of the seven sacraments in the Catholic faith, the sacrament of Marriage is the one celebrated by two people as equals, committing themselves to each other. While a priest is present as celebrant, it is not he who marries the couple. Therefore, the question, “who married them?” or the statement, “they were married by Fr. X” is not accurate. While the other sacraments are conferred on us by a priest or a bishop,
Confirmation
This is the third Sacrament of initiation, even though it is usually the fourth sacrament that we receive. It celebrates the Gift of the Holy Spirit on each person who receives the sacrament. It inherits its identity from Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles at Pentecost, as detailed in the Acts of the Apostles, marks the beginning of the early Christian community. From there, many were converted to the Good News and were baptised.
Eucharist
First Holy Communion Dates 2024
First Holy Communion will be celebrated in St Patricks Church, Derrygonnelly on Saturday 20th April:
Killyhommon Primary School – 11am
St. Patrick’s Primary School – 1pm
Preparation for First Holy Communion
Not only is it an important year in the life of your child, it is also an important year for their class, their teachers, and also for you the parents/guardians. It is also a special time too for the parish community.
Reconciliation / Confession
This is the second sacrament that we receive, usually at the age of seven or eight. It is a sacrament about healing, through the power of God to forgive sins. In scripture we read that Jesus teaches that there are two fundamental commandments which are central to the Christian faith – that we should love God and love one another. All his other teaching flows from this.
Many of us will have memories of attending regular confessions in the past,
Baptism
This is the first sacrament that we receive on the Christian journey and is one of the three Sacraments of Initiation, along with Penance and Confirmation.
In baptism we become
- A child of the Father,
- A brother/sister of Jesus Christ,
- A temple of the Holy Spirit,
- A member of God’s family – the Church.
Parents request baptism for their child and an important question for them is,