Wishing all Mothers a Happy Mother’s Day in these uncertain times.

On the 4th Sunday of Lent and at a time when we cannot celebrate Liturgy together here is a resource that can be used by all families in the Diocese.

https://www.armaghprays.com/childrens-prayer-4th-sunday-of-lent

Below please find two prayer resources for use at home:

Prayer Resource to use on St Patrick’s Day
Praying at Home with St Patrick

Novena beginning on the evening of St Patrick’s Day and running up to the Annunciation
Novena in Preparation for the Feast of the Annunciation

The death has taken place on Friday 13 March, of Fr Vincent Darragh, formerly of Loup Road, Moneymore.  May he rest in peace.

The funeral arrangements are as follows:
Remains will be reposing at St Patrick’s Church, Ballinderry, from 6.15pm-9pm on Saturday 14th March;
Requiem Mass on Sunday 15th March at 12.00 noon;
Funeral Mass strictly private due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation.

A Mass in memory of Fr Darragh will be arranged at a later date so that his many friends and former parishioners can attend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CURRICULUM VITAE

Very Rev Vincent Darragh PE

Born: 21 October 1933, Parish of Ballinderry

Studied    St Patrick’s College, Armagh             1947-52
                St Patrick’s College, Maynooth          1952-59

Ordained: 21 June 1959, Maynooth

Appointments
On loan, Brentwood 1959-65
Curate, Aughnacloy 1965-70
Curate, Monasterboice 1970-73
Curate, Dungannon 1973-82
Missions, Lagos, Nigeria 1982-86
Curate, Keady 1986-89
Diocesan Director, Pontifical Missions Society 1986-2019
Parish Priest, Clonfeacle 1989-2009
Co-Ordinator Days of Reflection, Benburb 1990-2019
Pastor Emeritus, Assistant Pastor, Ardboe 2009-2019
Pastor Emeritus, Retired 2019-2020

Date of Death: 13 March 2020, Cookstown

Archbishop Eamon Martin’s seasonal message offers support and encouragement to the Diocese during thee uncertain times.  

https://youtu.be/C-Y9eVu6nRE

Join us in Prayer

Webcam Masses in the Archdiocese of Armagh

Webcam Mass is broadcast from many churches across Ireland and can be accessed via the following sites:

https://www.churchservices.tv/churches/
https://mcn.live/
https://www.parishwebsites.ie/

Here are some of the webcam Masses that are broadcast regularly from the Archdiocese of Armagh. Please join us in prayer.

This list will be updated regularly

OTHER WEBCAM MASSES

https://www.radiomaria.ie/

https://www.ewtnireland.com/

http://www.shalomworld.ie/

https://www.northernsound.ie/schedule/#1481639342216-c070f43c-eb13

NOTES TO ACCOMPANY EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE GUIDELINES
OF 11-12 MARCH
2020 Archbishop Eamon Martin

Dear brothers and sisters,

During these difficult times I ask “let us pray for one another.”  As St Patrick’s Day approaches let us pray his breastplate prayer and also turn to the Rosary and our other traditional family prayers that kept the faith alive in Ireland during centuries of persecution and turmoil. We are blessed to have social media resources in many parishes – let us use these to the full to keep our family of families together in prayer and reflection.  Please share your webcam links etc. with each other so that as many people as possible can continue to be nourished by the power of God’s Word and Sacrament during these uncertain days.

It is important to remind ourselves why we are introducing these restrictions. They are motivated by a sense of care for the common good and especially for those most vulnerable.    We aim to minimise the movement of vulnerable people, including many of our faithful and most devoted parishioners – and our clergy!  This is to protect them from the worst of this virus and to minimise the number of serious illnesses and fatalities.  At the same time we want to reach out in Christian compassion and generosity of spirit to as many parishioners as possible through prayer and pastoral action.  Each Christian community should be acutely aware of the responsibility to care for those who are most at risk.  For example, even where it may not be appropriate to visit the elderly, a simple telephone call to enquire about their needs could mean so much to them.

Should public Masses go ahead?

In the current emergency situation, all are dispensed from the obligation to physically attend Sunday Mass.  

I am advising that you inform your parishioners as soon as possible that the public celebration of Mass is suspended.

Please maximise the number of opportunities for participation in Mass via radio or webcam or other social media and let your people know via the website and facebook etc. how to access this.   We will try to compile a list for the diocesan website in the coming days.

The idea of having small Masses of up to 100 people is intended to be an EXCEPTION rather than a rule and is mainly to facilitate the holding of funeral services or weddings for immediate family members and close relatives only.

I encourage all priests to continue to say their daily Mass privately and to remember the needs of their people.  Try to encourage as many of your parishioners and others as possible to join in this via social media etc. We should all pray earnestly for one another and for those who are contracting the virus and for those who are caring for them at home or in hospital.

Funerals, Weddings and Baptisms

Please ask your local funeral directors to help you get the message across to families that no more than one hundred people should gather at any one time.  These situations will have to be handled very sensitively and in a pastoral manner – remind everyone that this is for the safety of all concerned, especially the vulnerable.  In any gatherings please also encourage safe spacing of a metre in accordance with public health authority advice and also to refrain from shaking hands or other physical contact as a means of expressing sympathy.

The same applies to baptisms and weddings – no more than one hundred close relatives or guests in the Church.  Additionally at baptisms the blessing of water should be done without touching, the anointings should be with separate cotton buds and a single jug of water should be blessed and used for the pouring.  

Pastoral Care of the Sick and Anointing

This is especially a time for praying for and caring for our sick and being conscious of the many health workers and carers who are selflessly looking after them in trying circumstances.  Our priests and other pastoral workers must always follow the instructions of health authorities or those in charge of hospital wards or nursing homes re visiting etc. Cotton buds and/or sterile gloves must be used for anointing. In so far as possible, for the safety of the patient and the carer, all care must be without direct physical contact.  All visits should be for a maximum of five minutes.

Other Gatherings

All Confirmations are postponed until further notice.  Please reassure the children and their families that we will make new arrangements as soon as it is safe to do so.

First Confessions, Communions, etc. should also be suspended until further notice. 

All non-essential pastoral gatherings and meetings, such as formation gatherings, retreats and seminars are cancelled.   The rule of thumb is: if it is not necessary, postpone or cancel.

This is an occasion for all of us – especially in families – to pray more intensely for each other and especially for those who have succumbed to the illness.  We should pray also for those at the frontlines – especially doctors, nurses and medical staff and other carers, including clergy – that the Lord will protect them as they place their own wellbeing at risk in the service of all.

Spiritual Communion in Your Heart 

People can be reminded of the Catholic tradition of a spiritual communion in one’s heart.

When we cannot attend Mass, we can still make an Act of Spiritual Communion, in which we express our faith in Christ and in His Presence in the Eucharist, and ask Him to unite Himself with us. The basic elements of an Act of Spiritual Communion are an Act of Faith; an Act of Love; a desire to receive Christ; and an invitation to Him to come into your heart. There are various popular prayers to accompany an Act of Spiritual Communion, eg:

My Jesus,
I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love you above all things, and I desire to receive you into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace you as if you were already there and unite myself wholly to you.
Never permit me to be separated from you.
Amen.

This can also be an occasion to remind people of how to receive appropriately in the hand. cf The Mystagogical Catecheses of Cyril of Jerusalem 350 AD “… Approaching, therefore, come not with your wrists extended, or the fingers open; but make your left hand as if a throne for your right, which is on the eve of receiving the King. And having hollowed your palm, receive the Body of Christ, saying after it, Amen.”

Extract from Saint Patrick’s Breastplate
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Memorare      

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer.  Amen.

CARE FOR ONE ANOTHER DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The following instructions take into consideration the new norms issued by the Irish government to be in force at 18.00 today. Bishops are asked to promulgate these instructions in their diocese as soon as possible. 

These instructions complement the advice issued yesterday by the Irish Episcopal Conference and remain in place until 29th March.   It is likely that these restrictions will continue for some time after that, and instructions regarding the celebration of Holy Week will be issued in due course.

The motivation for these new restrictive measures is a sense of care for the common good and especially for those most vulnerable.  Each Christian community should be acutely aware of the responsibility to care for those who are most at risk.  For example, even where it may not be appropriate to visit the elderly, a simple telephone call to enquire about their needs could mean so much to them.

NORMS

All non-essential pastoral gatherings and meetings, such as formation gatherings, retreats and seminars are cancelled. 

All Confirmations are postponed until further notice.

Every Catholic is entitled to a dignified Christian burial.  Attendance at Funeral services and Masses should be limited to close relatives and must not exceed 100 attendees within the Church building.  

Similarly, Church weddings and baptisms may be celebrated on condition that the attendance in Church does not exceed 100 people.

In these difficult and uncertain times, people find strength, consolation and hope in prayer.   Churches should remain open for prayer each day. 

In the current emergency situation, all are dispensed from the obligation to physically attend Sunday Mass. Parishes should inform parishioners of the local possibilities to participate in Mass via local radio and on line.  It may be possible for some parishes to facilitate attendance at Mass while still observing the health authority’s limit of 100 people.

This is an occasion for all of us – especially in families -to pray more intensely for each other and especially for those who have succumbed to the illness. We should pray also for those in the frontlines – especially doctors, nurses and medical staff and other carers, including clergy – that the Lord will protect them as they place their own wellbeing at risk in the service of all.

Extract from Saint Patrick’s Breastplate

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Memorare      
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer.  Amen.

Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference statement on liturgical considerations in the context of COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

Press Release – Wednesday 11 March 2020 –

Serving the common good
As people of faith we are called to face the fears of this moment with a courage not our own and with a generous heart. God is with his people in good times and bad. Like believers in every age we say: ‘If I should walk in The Valley of Darkness no evil would I fear for You are there’. In our hour of trial Jesus calls on us, his followers, to serve the common good by taking responsibility for each other and to prioritise the most vulnerable in our community ahead of our own individual wants and aspirations. At this time our first concern has to be for the elderly, the ill and those with underlying medical conditions.

As bishops we present the following directions in the light of current public health authority advice in Ireland, north and south, aware that these might have to change at very short notice.

While acknowledging that the following directives will involve sacrifice for all, we encourage a positive engagement in order that the most vulnerable amongst us can be protected and so that the coronavirus can be contained.

Hand Hygiene
– It is important that hand sanitiser is provided at each entrance of the church.
– Holy water fonts should remain empty at this time.
– The Sign of Peace is not to be expressed by hand shaking.
– Having received Holy Communion, and before and after distributing, the priest and ministers should sanitise their hands.
– Collection baskets: priests are asked to provide an alternative to the practice of passing collection baskets through the congregation. The faithful are asked to continue their generous contributions to the upkeep of their parish.

Receiving Holy Communion in the hand
We ask that Holy Communion be received in the hand until the current crisis has passed.

Sunday / Weekday Mass
At this time the celebration of Mass on Sundays and on weekdays – including Saint Patrick’s Day – will continue as normal. However, those with underlying conditions and those who are considered vulnerable are dispensed from their Sunday obligation to attend. We strongly encourage people with such conditions to be spiritually united with their local community. Where possible they should avail of parish radio broadcasts and webcam. While in church and as far as possible people are asked to keep a safe distance from one another, in keeping with current advice.

The Sacrament of Confirmation
The celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation is a happy and joyous occasion which brings people together from far and wide. We ask that people with underlying health conditions and who are considered vulnerable from a health perspective, should not attend the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation will continue for now but may have to be postponed at very short notice in the light of future advice from the public health authorities. The anointing with the Oil of Chrism will be administered without direct touch, in a safe and appropriate manner, such as with the use of a cotton bud.

Celebration of the Sacrament of the Sick
Concerning the pastoral care of the sick and the administration of the sacrament, the priest will use a cotton bud or surgical glove for the anointing with Holy Oil and dispose of them appropriately.

The Sacrament of Baptism
During this time the celebrant will sign the child with the Cross without touching. Where there is more than one child being baptised, a single jug of fresh water will be blessed and used. The anointing with the Holy Oils will be administered by the use of cotton buds.

Funerals
The community of faith will always seek to surround the funerals and burials of its deceased members with love and respect. However, even now it is clear that people with underlying conditions, and who are vulnerable, should not attend funerals. For the same reason, when sympathising, people should not shake hands.

The Church awaits official guidance from the public health authorities in the event of a deterioration in the situation. While abiding by all such advice, the Church will always stand with the bereaved and do its best to ensure a Christian burial for those who request it.

Concelebration of Mass
In light of our particular circumstances at this time, and health authority guidance, the bishops have given permission for only the main celebrant to receive from the chalice, when concelebration is deemed necessary.

Reviewing this information
We ask everyone to continue to follow the guidance of the public health authorities north and south. As the situation evolves, Church-specific information will be updated and published on local diocesan websites, on the website of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference www.catholicbishops.ie and on their related digital media platforms.

Prayer for our protection
We ask for prayers for those affected by the Coronavirus. Placing all our trust in the Lord, and asking Our Lady to intercede for us, we invite everyone to pray these prayers:

Extract from Saint Patrick’s Breastplate
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection,
implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.
Inspired with this confidence,
I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother.
To you I come, before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.
O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in your mercy, hear and answer. Amen.

ENDS

For media contact: Catholic Communications Office Maynooth: Martin Long +353 (0) 86 172 7678 and Brenda Drumm +353 (0) 87 310 4444.

YouTube Link

https://youtu.be/JGNPLdDm7kY

In this video three priests of the Archdiocese of Armagh speak on their vocation to Priesthood.  

If someone is currently considering priesthood please feel free to share this resource.  We also encourage you to share the link on Parish website and social media platforms. 

Should you or they wish to discuss their sense of vocation further please do encourage them to contact Fr. Peter McAnenly at E: [email protected] or on T: 028 3752 2802.