10th May 2020

5th Sunday of Easter

PRAYER TO ANGEL GUARDIAN WHEN YOU CANNOT RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST:
Dear Guardian Angel, go for me to the church. There, kneel down at Mass for me. At the Offertory take me to God and offer Him my service, what I am, what I have to offer as my gift. At the Consecration with your seraphic friends adore my Saviour truly present. Pray for those my loved ones, those who have offended me and for those now deceased, that the blood of Jesus may purify them all. During Holy Communion bring to me the body and blood of Jesus uniting Him with me in Spirit so that my heart may become His dwelling place. Plead with Him that through His sacrifice all peoples throughout the world may be saved. When Mass ends, bring home to me, and to every home, the Lord’s blessing. Amen.

As we strive for a vaccine…..
In their own time the years between 1900 and the outbreak of the First World War, was a time of great progress in science and technology. But there was also a certain arrogance or lack of humility in face of nature there too. For example, they even thought they could build an unsinkable ship, the Titanic, but a block of ice proved too much there. Their new guns were “better”. They could fire up to 500 rounds a minute and were “better” at killing young men in the trenches. As regards battleships, great “progress” was also made. The new guns could fire shells up to 4 or 5 miles and at the speed of sound. Then the torpedo from a submarine became a far better way of sinking a ship than a cannon ball. The “Lusitania” lying in the sea bed off the Old Head of Kinsale is a good example. But it created many more problems than it solved. Science without conscience can be so dangerous.

The present great “digital age” has created a similar thinking. On Good Friday last Pope Francis, standing alone in St. Peters Square declared “We have gone ahead at breakneck speed feeling powerful and able to do anything”. It was easy for us to think that a virus would sweep away many people like the Ebola Virus in West Africa and the poorer countries, but not in places like Paris, Cork, New York or London. We thought our modern health services would deal with any virus that came our way and do so quickly.

As today we strive for a vaccine for coronavirus, it is important to remember that for us God and Prayer and Nature and Science must all be part of the real answer together.

Sunday Mass from Ovens/Farran Parish
From 10.30am onwards, Mass available via Ovens/Farran Facebook Page and the Parish Website: www.ovensparish.com
Anyone who sent a request for the Mass link last week to Roger O’Sullivan, 087 2297491, will be sent the new link today from 10.30am.
Mass can be distributed via Facebook, Emails, WhatsApp, Viber and standard text messaging.
Thanks to Roger for his work in this and in setting up the Parish Facebook Page.

Mass each weekday at 10.30am on RTE News Now (Sky 521).
EWTN (588 Sky): Check out EWTN for Live Streaming of Masses, Prayers, Interviews, Documentaries etc.

COMMUNITY CALL
Éire Óg has joined up with other groups e.g. Gardaí, An Post, Civil Defence, Cork County Council to help the vulnerable or isolated in our community, if needed at this time of the Coronavirus pandemic.
If anyone needs help or knows of anyone who does, please phone 1800 805819 or locally John Hourihan 086 3178214, Éire Óg Co-ordinator.