02 March 2018

Sunday Services: 4 March 2018 (Lent 3)
in Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group

Saint Mary's Church, Askeaton, in the snow this afternoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2018)

Because of the continuing weather alerts, there will be only one service in the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes on Sunday morning, 4 March 2018 (the Third Sunday in Lent).

There will be a celebration of Holy Communion in Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, at 9.30 a.m. However, parishioners are asked to heed weather warnings and not to take risks on Sunday morning.

The Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, posted on social media yesterday:

‘As the forecast for the weekend is not good, I make the following suggestions for Sunday March 4th in order to enable you to worship at home and to feel part of the family of the Church of Ireland. The meteorological situation may change in the meantime but we have no assurance that this will be the case as things stand and currently we are all encouraged to stay indoors for the foreseeable future.

‘As well as services being broadcast on RTE television and RTE radio, Christ Church Cathedral and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral live stream their Sunday morning services. If you find that you cannot safely make it to your parish church this coming Sunday, you might like to follow one of these options.

‘Alternately you might like to sit quietly and reflect on the Collect of The Third Sunday in Lent, the Collect of Ash Wednesday and read the Gospel: St John 2:13–22 where Jesus makes the essential connection between his body and the resurrection through a fresh definition of the temple of his body, in this way connecting his life and death and resurrection with the salvation offered to humankind on the cross.’

Links:

Christ Church Cathedral: http://christchurchcathedral.ie/worship/video-stream-1/

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral: https://www.stpatrickscathedral.ie/worship/video-stream/

The Collect of the Third Sunday in Lent:

Merciful Lord,
Grant your people grace to withstand the temptations
of the world, the flesh and the devil
and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only God;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lenten Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God,
you hate nothing that you have made
and forgive the sins of all those who are penitent:
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts
that we, worthily lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 2: 13-22

The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money–changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

No comments: