Services in November 2019 in Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes

Christ the King depicted in the World War I memorial window in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Friday 1 November (All Saints’ Day):

11 a.m.: Holy Communion, Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, followed by coffee

Readings: Daniel 7: 1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1: 11-23; Luke 6: 20-31

Hymns:
459: ‘For all the saints, who from their labours rest’ (CD 27)
468: ‘How shall I sing that majesty’ (CD 2, Church Hymnal discs)

Sunday 3 November (IV before Advent):

9.30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2), Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton
11.30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Saint Brendan’s Church, Kilnaughtin, Tarbert

Readings: Habakkuk 1: 1-4, 2: 1-4; Psalm 119: 137-144; II Thessalonians 1: 1-4, 11-12; Luke 19: 1-10

Hymns:
421, I come with joy, a child of God (CD 25)
509, Your kingdom come, O God (CD 29)
639, O thou who camest from above (CD 36)

Sunday 10 November (III before Advent, Remembrance Sunday):

9.30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2), Castletown Church

Readings: Haggai 1: 15b to 2: 9; Psalm 145: 1-5, 18-22; II Thessalonians 2: 1-5, 13-17; Luke 20: 27-38

Hymns:
226, It is a thing most wonderful (CD 14)
358, King of glory, King of peace (CD 21)
494, Beauty for brokenness (CD 29)

11.30 a.m.: Remembrance Sunday Commemoration, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale

Readings: Revelation 1: 1-7; John 15: 9-17

Hymns:
62: Abide with me (CD 4)
647: Guide me, O thou great Jehovah (CD 37)
537: O God, our help in ages past (CD 31)
494, Beauty for brokenness (CD 29)

During the visit of the Bishops of the Church of Ireland to the Dioceses of Limerick, Killaloe and Ardfert, and Tuam, Killala and Achonry, parishioners are invited to meet the bishops as they visit groups of parishes, and in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick:

Saturday 16 November:

5 p.m.: Choral Evensong, Saint Mary’s Cathedral, with bishops, clergy, readers and parishioners. Followed by buffet meal in Cathedral for all.

Sunday 17 November (II before Advent):

9.30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2), Saint Nicholas Church, Adare, Co Limerick (with Bishop John McDowell of Clogher)
9.45 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Ballyseedy Church.
10.45 a.m.: Holy Communion, Saint John’s, Tralee.
12 noon: Morning Prayer, Ballymacelligott Church (Bishop Ferran Glenfield of Kilmore is visiting the Tralee and Kilcolman groups of parishes).

Sunday 24 November (The Kingship of Christ):

9.30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Castletown Church
11.30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2), Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale

Readings: Jeremiah 23: 1-6; The Canticle Benedictus; Colossians 1: 11-20; Luke 23: 33-43

Hymns:
20, The King of Love my shepherd is (CD 1)
431, Lord enthroned in heavenly splendour (CD 26)
259, Christ triumphant, ever reigning (CD 16, Castletown only)
429, Lord Jesus Christ, you have come to us (CD 25, Rathkeale only)

Sunday 1 December (Advent Sunday):

9.30 a.m.: The Parish Eucharist, Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton (with Bishop Kenneth Kearon).
11.30 a.m.: Morning Prayer, Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert (with Bishop Kenneth Kearon).

When Greece said ‘No’ to fascism and oppression

The Greek flag flies on boat off the island of Paxos in the Ionian Islands (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

Today is Ohi Day or Oxi Day (Επέτειος του «'Οχι»), celebrated throughout Greece and Cyprus and by Greek communities around the world on 28 October each year.

Ohi Day commemorates the day the Greek Prime Minister, Ioannis Metaxas, rejected the ultimatum from the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini on 28 October 1940. This day also recalls the Greek counter-attack against invading Italian forces in the mountains of Pindus during World War II, and the Greek Resistance during the war to occupying Italians and Germans.

Mussolini’s ultimatum was presented to Metaxas by the Italian ambassador to Greece, Emanuele Grazzi, around 3 a.m. on the morning of 28 October 1940.

Mussolini demanded Greece would allow Axis forces to enter Greek territory and occupy strategic locations – or face war. It is said Metaxas replied with a one-word laconic response: Όχι (No!).

Putting popular myth aside, the actual reply was in French: ‘Alors, c’est la guerre!’ (‘Then it is war!’).

The moment provides the background for a dramatic but humorous scene in the movie Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, set on the Ionian island of Kephallonia, making Ohi Day well-known around the world.

In an immediate response to Metaxas’s ‘No’, Italian troops based in Albania attacked the Greek border two hours later at 5.30 a.m. That ‘No!’ brought Greece into World War II on the side of the Allies. Indeed, for a period, Greece was Britain’s only ally against Hitler.

Without that ‘No,’ some historians argue, World War II could have lasted much longer. One theory is that had Greece surrendered without any resistance, Hitler could have invaded Russia the following spring, rather than his disastrous attempt to capture it during winter.

On this morning 79 years ago, 28 October 1940, Greek people of all political persuasions took to the streets in masses, shouting «'Οχι», ‘No!’ From 1942, this day was celebrated as Ohi Day, first within the resistance and then after the war by all Greeks.

The Battle of Crete and the extra resources required to subdue Greece drained and distracted Nazi Germany from its efforts on other war fronts.

The Greek flag flying with the Byzantine flag at a monastery in Meteora (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Today, Ohi Day is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus. The events of 1940 are commemorated with military and student parades, public buildings are decorated with Greek flags, there folk dances, and Greek Orthodox churches hold special services. Coastal towns may have naval parades or other celebrations on the seafront. In Thessaloniki, reverence is also paid to the city’s patron, Saint Dimitrios, and the city celebrates its freedom from Turkey.

There are traffic delays, especially near parade routes, some streets are blocked off, and most archaeological sites are closed for the day, along with most businesses and services.

In Dublin, Ochi Day and the fallen were marked at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning [27 October 2019], during the Divine Liturgy in the Greek Orthodox Church in Dublin, and in the afternoon at a holiday dinner in the Mykonos Restaurant on Dame Street.

In the West, politicians are always happy to credit ancient Greece with the development of democracy. But in the present crises in Europe, when Greece is often seen as a burden rather than a partner, it may be worth remembering that Europe owes modern Greece an unacknowledged debt for helping to preserve democracy against the Nazis and Fascists during World War II.

The Greek flag with Church flags at a church in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)