Schools Page
Christmas 2001
My dear
friends in Christ,
As we come to the close of this
calendar year we are in festive mood. We have begun a new Liturgical Year with
the season of Advent and now we celebrate once more the stupendous event of the
coming of the Son of God among us with His message of Love and Peace. At this
particular time love and peace are the gifts we all need so much. This is a time
when we exchange gifts within our families and with our friends. May the gifts
we exchange this year be real tokens of love and peace to all.
As
we look back over the year, which is ending, a year that opened with such great
hopes for the whole world as the first in a new millennium and a new century, we
note that we have all been bonded together by events, which have been beyond our
control, even beyond our imagining. The horrific events of September 11th
brought us together in a National Day of Mourning that highlighted our need to
turn to God and to one another for support and consolation, as we remembered, in
prayer, the victims of unimaginable violence and their families. Subsequent
events tear at the very heart of our frail society: war and violence, hunger and
death, innocent victims and children. None of us can close our minds to what is
happening on the world stage today since, through the global means of
communication, the world has become our parish and we are all thereby affected.
The response of all of you to our appeal for the victims in Afghanistan has been
magnificent. On behalf of all who will benefit from your personal generosity and
Christian solidarity I say genuinely ‘ thank you’.
At this time, when we celebrate the
coming among us of the Child of Bethlehem, our thoughts and prayers turn to the
land of Jesus, the Middle East, so much in need of the gift of peace and love.
May we never lose trust in the Divine protection of God and in His response to
our prayers. Despite the continuing tensions and violence in that part of the
world we call ‘The Holy Land’ let us, this Christmas, implore the Angel of
God to announce once more over the Shepherds’ Field: “ Do not be afraid.
Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole
people….Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his
favour”(Lk.2: 10-14).
As we look back over this year we also
remember those families who, this Christmas, are bereaving the loss of their
dear ones. We confide their dear ones to the loving and merciful hands of Jesus.
May all families in this Diocese of Cloyne experience the Christian love and
care of neighbours and friends.
The
year 2001 will also be remembered in our Diocese for significant events which
took place and for which we are eternally grateful to God. The Visit of the
Relics of St. Therese of Lisieux stands out as a moment of great grace for all.
The celebration of the 750th Anniversary of the coming of the
Franciscans to Buttevant, the Bicentenary of the Church of the Mother of God in
Saleen and the Centenary of the Church of the Star of the Sea in Ballycotton
gave us the occasion to look back in gratitude to our forbearers in the Faith
and to recommit ourselves to living our Faith today with enthusiasm. The Jubilee
celebration of ‘Mission Alive’ highlighted for us the magnificent
contribution this Diocese has made and is continuing to make in the spreading of
the Message of Christ to other peoples. We have marked, this year, the Diamond,
Golden and Silver Jubilees of nine of our priests and we, as a Diocese, give
thanks to God for their zealous and untiring service in His Name. As we rejoice
with and congratulate these priests, and indeed with all who, this year, have
celebrated a Jubilee, we are most grateful to God for the five newly ordained
priests who, since October 2000, have joined the Ministry of Word and Sacrament
in the Diocese. They are truly a great gift from God. To our Religious,
Seminarians and all involved in Ministry in the Diocese I send special greetings
and blessings.
As we approach the year 2002 we
confidently look forward, spurred on by the Grace of God. This New Year will
bring its own challenges and its own achievements. I look forward to a fruitful
Meeting, in the late Spring, of the whole Diocese during which, in a spirit of
collaborative partnership, we shall review all the Ministries in the Diocese
with a view to planning the way forward together and thus lay the foundations
for the holding of a Diocesan Synod by the year 2004. This is my wish, this is
my prayer.
My
dear friends, you will notice that our Diocesan Magazine Pobal De takes
on a new look this year and has a new addition, that of the Easy Reference
Pastoral Directory. I trust you will enjoy reading this Christmas Edition 2001.
I take this occasion to wish each and every one of you a most Blessed Christmas
Season. May the new-born Child of Bethlehem be in your hearts and in your homes
this Christmas and throughout the New Year, bringing to our Country and to the
World the precious gift of Peace which only He can give.
+ John
Magee
Bishop
of Cloyne.