Prayer for the Season of Creation 2023

Creator of All,
From your communion of love life sprung forth like a mighty river and the whole cosmos
came into being.
On this Earth of overflowing love, the Word was made flesh and went forth with the lifegiving waters proclaiming peace and justice for all creation.
You called human beings to till and keep your garden.

You placed us into right relationship with each creature, but we failed to listen to the cries of the Earth and the cries of the most vulnerable.

We broke with the flowing communion of love and sinned against you by not safeguarding the conditions for life.
We lament the loss of our fellow species and their habitats, we grieve the loss of human
cultures, along with the lives and livelihoods that have been displaced or perished, and we
ache at the sight of an economy of death, war and violence that we have inflicted on
ourselves and on the Earth.

Open our ears to your creative, reconciling and sustaining Word that calls to us through the
book of Scripture and the book of creation.

Bless us once again with your life-giving waters so that the Creator Spirit may let justice and peace flow in our hearts and overflow into all creation.

Open our hearts to receive the living waters of God’s justice and peace, and to share it with
our suffering brothers and sisters, all creatures around us, and all creation.

Bless us to walk together with all people of good will so that the many streams of the living
waters of God’s justice and peace may become a mighty river all over the Earth.

In the name of the One who came to proclaim good news to all creation, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

A Prayer for the Earth (from Laudato Si, 246)

All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe
and in the smallest of your creatures.
You embrace with your tenderness all that exists.
Pour out upon us the power of your love,
that we may protect life and beauty.
Fill us with peace, that we may live
as brothers and sisters, harming no one.
O God of the poor,
help us to rescue the abandoned and forgotten of this earth,
so precious in your eyes.
Bring healing to our lives,
that we may protect the world and not prey on it,
that we may sow beauty, not pollution and destruction.
Touch the hearts
of those who look only for gain
at the expense of the poor and the earth.
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing,
to be filled with awe and contemplation,
to recognize that we are profoundly united
with every creature
as we journey towards your infinite light.
We thank you for being with us each day.
Encourage us, we pray, in our struggle
for justice, love and peace.

Pathways to the Future

When we read about Pentecost and the birth of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles, we find inspiration for where we are as a Church here in Ireland today.  

We know that we have come to a fork in the road.  

We can’t keep going the way we were, we have to head out on a new pathway.

In Down & Connor the Pathways to the Future project is charting the next steps on this journey.  

We have to be realistic – change is inevitable.  

There will be new ways of working in our parishes and communities.

 But this isn’t something to be afraid of.  

God still has a dream for our Church.  He wants us to be filled with the Spirit and willing to go out and share the Gospel with others.  

He wants us to be generous, loving and inclusive, welcoming everyone into his family.  

And he wants us to be confident that each of us – lay women and men, clergy and religious – has a part to play in renewing our parishes, the diocese and building up the Kingdom of God.

Pastoral Letter from Most Rev Donal McKeown D.D.

Pathways to the Future Prayer

God of Love,
You are with us in every transition and change. 
As we enter into this new era with excitement and even some anxiety, 

we recall your deep compassion, presence, and abounding love. 
We thank you for the gifts, talents and skills with which you have blessed us. 
We thank you for the work of others that gives breadth and depth to our own work. 
Be with us as we move forward, rejoicing with you and supporting one another. 

We ask this in your Holy Name.       AMEN

Thought for the Day

• • • • • The four speeds of prayer are slow, slower, pause and reverse.

        • God promises believers a safe landing but not a smooth passage.

        • Jesus does not just call believers. He calls disciples who will follow him through suffering love to the cross.

        • Prayer is more about trust and hope than about arranging the world to suit me.

        • I cannot work miracles, but by active loving I can work healing all the time.

        • It is always a mistake to do nothing because I can do just a little. 

        • Before you sleep, name one thing for which you are grateful that day.

Click below to listen to Fr. Peter in conversation…………

Click below to listen to Fr. Peter in conversation with Prof Sir Michael McBride

Click below to listen to Fr. Peter in conversation with Rev Corrina Heron

Click below to listen to Fr. Peter in conversation with Fr. Martin O’Hagan

Click below to listen to Fr. Peter in conversation with Gerry Kelly

Synod 2021/2023 – SYNODAL LISTENING IN OUR PASTORAL COMMUNITY. 

In order to journey together, Pope Francis wants every person to take their place at the heart of the Church and to hear every voice and the voice of the Holy Spirit.   Our local parishes are encouraged to come together, pray together, and enter into a Spiritual Conversation about our Church at this time. 

Bishop Treanor has encouraged each area of the Diocese to have a time of coming together as part of the Synod.  Coming together to listen and share helps us build flourishing and resilient communities for the mission of the Church today.   We invite you to come along and to take part in the synod by listening and talking to one another in an authentic, meaningful, and welcoming way.

If you would like to take part in this synodal moment then please feel welcome to join us on Thursday 28^th April in Nativity Church, Poleglass from 7-9pm.    The session will be facilitated by Paula McKeown and Jim Deeds from the Living Church office.