Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2025: 17, Wednesday 19 February 2025

‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking’ (Mark 8: 24) … ‘The Spirit of Night’ carved into a tree by Will Fogarty in the Forge Park, Tarbert, Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

We are in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar. Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent are just two weeks away (5 March 2025). I have further medical tests later today, checking on my bone density.

Before this day begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:

1, today’s Gospel reading;

2, a short reflection;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;

4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.

‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking’ (Mark 8: 24) … a tree carving above the beach in Matala on the south coast of Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Mark 8: 22-26 (NRSVA):

22 They came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village; and when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, ‘Can you see anything?’ 24 And the man looked up and said, ‘I can see people, but they look like trees, walking.’ 25 Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he looked intently and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent him away to his home, saying, ‘Do not even go into the village.’

Can physical sight contradict and weaken our inner or spiritual sight?

Today’s Reflection:

Today’s Gospel reading (Mark 8: 22-26) is set in Bethsaida, which is the hometown of Peter, Andrew and Philip (see John 1 : 44), and the place where, according to Saint Luke’s Gospel, is close to the place where Jesus miraculously feeds 5,000 people (see Luke 9: 10-11). It was about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Capernaum and close to the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Later in this Gospel, Saint Mark tells the story set in Jericho of the healing of the blind beggar Bartimaeus, a story told in all three Synoptic Gospels (see Matthew 20: 29-34; Mark 10: 46-52; Luke 18: 35-43). But Saint Mark is alone in telling the story of an unnamed blind man who is healed gradually at Bethsaida (Mark 8: 22-26).

In this healing story, Jesus once again is very tactile in his actions: he takes the blind man by the hand, leads him out of the village, puts saliva on his eyes, and lays hands on him, not once but twice.

The man has to look, and look again, to realise that his sight has been restored. It is as though he cannot believe his eyes the first time, and needs to close his eyes and squeeze them tight before he can focus them and have a second look.

Have you ever noticed that when you are trying really hard to concentrate, you sometimes close your eyes to help you to focus?

Throughout the Talmud, the blind are called sagi nahor – ‘enough of light’ or ‘full of light.’ Jewish tradition says this is so because one’s physical sight, which gazes out at the mundane and materialistic world, often contradicts and weakens one’s inner or spiritual sight.

There is a story about Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman (1886-1969), a prominent Lithuanian rabbi. After the Holocaust, he tried to find Jewish children whose parents had hid them during World War II.

Rabbi Kahaneman would walk through orphanages in Europe, reciting the beginning of the Shema. Instinctively, some of the children would cover their eyes, and cry out, ‘Mama, Mama!’

It is a universal Jewish custom to cover the eyes with the right hand when saying the first six words of the Shema. It is said that in doing this, the person who is praying is then able to concentrate properly without visual distractions.

It is also said it is even more important to have the proper intention when reciting the first verse of the Shema than when reciting other parts of prayer. As the words are said, the focus is not just on the meaning of the words, but also on accepting the yoke of heaven.

The person saying the Shema is expected to concentrate on the idea that God is the one and only true reality. This intention is so important that one who recites the words of this verse but does not think about its meaning is expected to recite it again … a second take on praying.

This custom of covering the eyes is traced back to the times of the Mishnah, when Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (Judah the Prince) covered his eyes while reciting the first verse of the Shema.

Some early commentators, however, explain that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi covered his eyes while reciting the Shema because some other people had the custom of looking in all directions in order to accept God’s sovereignty throughout the world. Rabbi Yehuda covered his eyes, wishing to conceal his precise eye movements while reciting the Shema.

The kabbalists, especially Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as the Arizal, say that one is meant to use the right hand to close one’s eyes while reciting the first verse of the Shema. He connected this with an enigmatic riddle found in the Zohar.

The Zohar tells of an old man who appeared as a donkey driver met Rabbi Yossi during his travels and asked several questions. Rabbi Yossi failed to appreciate the true significance of the old man’s question.

However, his colleague Rabbi Chiya sensed that there was more to the questions than met the eye. After some reflection, they realised the old man was in fact teaching them deep mystical secrets.

The riddle that gave them the hardest time in understanding asked: ‘Who is the beautiful maiden without eyes, whose body is concealed and revealed, who comes out in the morning and disappears during the day, who is adorned with ornaments that never were?’

The Arizal offers an explanation that relates to the reading of the Shema. The ‘Maiden’ refers to the divine attribute of malchut (‘kingship’), sometimes referred to as the Shechinah, the feminine aspect of the divine. In this context, it is also referred to as ‘Rachel.’

There are four spiritual worlds in the kabbalistic formulation of the cosmos, and the world of Atzilut (‘Emanation’) is the highest of the four. In this realm, nothing has physical form or colour, and sight is non-existent.

The Kabbalists say that whoever recites the Shema is elevating the Mayin Nukvin (‘Feminine Waters’) to the world of Atzilut, setting the stage for the unification of the feminine and masculine, or the unification of the soul and the Shechinah. Since the Mayin Nukvin are entering Atzilut, a world that is higher than sight, the eyes must be closed during the first line of the Shema.

The right hand is used to do this, even when someone is left-handed. This is said to symbolise the attribute of chessed or kindness, as well as the Mayin Dechurin (‘Male Waters’), also connected to this riddle.

Our physical senses often seem to contradict the idea of God’s oneness, that God is the only true reality. We see, smell, taste and feel the world around us, while God can remain an abstract and spiritual reality.

Therefore, when the Shema is said and the oneness of God is proclaimed, this becomes an affirmation that true reality is neither what the eye sees nor what is experienced naturally and intuitively. By covering the eyes when praying, a person indicates the desire to disconnect from the physical and connect to the spiritual.

It is said that when a person recites the Shema and accepts the yoke of heaven, the Shechinah or Divine Presence rests upon his/her face. The face is covered out of respect for the Divine Presence, for, as God told Moses: ‘See, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock; and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by; then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back; but my face shall not be seen’ (Exodus 33: 21-23, NRSVA).

The first verse of the Shema proclaims that ‘the Lord is our God; the Lord is one.’ This statement affirms belief that both God’s attribute of strength and judgment and God’s attribute of mercy are really one. Covering the eyes symbolises acceptance that what is seen with physical eyes as negative is, in truth, positive.

Christ healing the man born blind, depicted in a window in Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church, Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Today’s Prayers (Wednesday 19 February 2025):

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Struggle for Indigenous Land Rights in Brazil.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday with a Programme Update by the Revd Dr Rodrigo Espiúca dos Anjos Siqueira, Coordinator of the Department of Advocacy, Human, Environmental and Territorial Rights of the Anglican Diocese of Brasília. Pastor of Espírito Santo Parish, Novo Gama, Goiás.

The USPG Prayer Diary today (Wednesday 19 February 2025) invites us to pray:

May God, in his infinite mercy, give courage, hope and strength to the activists in favour of human, environmental and territorial rights in Brazil.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
who alone can bring order
to the unruly wills and passions of sinful humanity:
give your people grace
so to love what you command
and to desire what you promise,
that, among the many changes of this world,
our hearts may surely there be fixed
where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Merciful Father,
who gave Jesus Christ to be for us the bread of life,
that those who come to him should never hunger:
draw us to the Lord in faith and love,
that we may eat and drink with him
at his table in the kingdom,
where he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.

Additional Collect:

Eternal God,
whose Son went among the crowds
and brought healing with his touch:
help us to show his love,
in your Church as we gather together,
and by our lives as they are transformed
into the image of Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

An inscription above the Hope Street entrance of the former Royal School for the Blind, Liverpool (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Ten photographs from Clare and Kerry in new visitor guides for tourists

The Cascades at Ennistymon … one of my photographs in the new ‘Co Clare Visitor Guide’ edited by Sally Davies (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

The site SmartTraveller365 is an online tourist service in Ireland providing tourists and visitors to Ireland with free online services and information on what to see and do in Ireland.

The SmartTraveller365 website and service include smart phone coupons that offer shopping and entrance discounts at many of Ireland’s top attractions, shops and experiences.

Sally Davies, Senior Manager of Irish County Visitor Guides with SmartTraveller365, is producing a new series of colourgul, slimeline, ocket-size and user-friendly visitor guides that now include: the Co. Clare Visitor Guide, the County Kerry Visitor Guide, the West Cork Visitor Guide and the West Cork Visitor Guide.

Nine of my photographs have been published as part of the Co. Clare Visitor Guide, and one more also appears in the County Kerry Visitor Guide.

The Harbour at Ballyvaughan … one of my photographs in the ‘Co Clare Visitor Guide’ edited by Sally Davies (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Initially, Sally Davies asked to use just one or two of my photographs from my blog. But eventually, she decided to use nine of my photographs in the 64-page Co. Clare Visitor Guide she has edited and one in her guide to Co Kerry.

I am reluctant to allow my photographs to be used commercially. Businesses need to be realistic about their costings and margins, and professional photographers need to be paid for their work, without being undercut by amateurs who use their phones for images on social media. I am also anxious to retain the copyright of my own creative work, and certainly do not want my work being used to promote religious, social, political or business values I would not otherwise endorse.

On the other hand, I firmly believe in promoting small, local enterprises of the sort that are facilitated by guides like guidebooks such as these new publications, and it is a pleasure to be involved in areas that I know so well.

During my five years in parish ministry in west Limerick and north Kerry, living in the rectory in Askeaton, my parochial areas included parts of the River Shannon and some of the islands in the estuary – although I was never quite sure which islands, such as Scattery or Canon Island were in my parishes and which were linked with my colleagues.

Tarbert in Co Kerry was at the heart of Kilnaughtin parish, and the ferry across the mouth of the Shannon to Killimer brought me directly to many of the places described in the latest Co. Clare Visitor Guide.

My role as Precentor in the chapters of the Diocesan Cathedrals also made me familiar with the two cathedrals in Co Clare, in Killaloe and Kilfenora. In addition, I was eager during those years to explore Comerford family stories in many parts of Co Clare, including Miltown Malbay, Spanish Point and Ballyvaughan.

So I was delighted that Sally Davies has used nine of my photographs in her Co. Clare Visitor Guide, which arrived a few days ago. These photographs are of:

• the Duck Inn in Sixmilebridge (p 7)

• the Teardrop Memorial, Kilkee (p 26)

• the Cascades at Ennistymon (p 36)

• Quin Abbey (p 38)

• Canon Island Abbey (p 38)

• Canon Island (p 46)

• Scattery Island (p 47)

• and two photographs of the beach and harbour at Ballyvaughan (p 49).

Georgie Comerford is remembered as Miltown Malbay’s greatest-ever footballer … he played for four counties and two provinces

In addition, the pages on Miltown Malbay in this new publication include the story of Georgie Comerford (p 31), a sporting star in the 1930s, drawing on biographical details and images on my blog:

Teenage Years
Underage Success

• In 1929 George captained Clare to win the inaugural All Ireland minor championship

.. In the Munster final Clare defeated Waterford 1-6 to 0-4

.. In the All-Ireland final Clare defeated Longford 5-3 to 3-5, with George scoring 1-2 of the Clare total from full forward

.. This remains Clare’s only All-Ireland title at this grade.

• In 1930 George was on the Clare minor team that retained the Munster title defeating Tipperary 2-1 to 1-3, but Clare were unable to repeat success at All-Ireland level.

Georgie Comerford is remembered as Miltown Malbay’s greatest ever footballer and played for four counties and two provinces …

In addition, Sally Davies has used one of my photographs in another guide to Co Kerry. My photograph of the Daniel O’Connell Memorial Church in Cahersiveen appears on p 42 in the 76-page County Kerry Visitor Guide.

The ‘Duck Inn’ at Sixmilebridge … one of my photographs in the ‘Co Clare Visitor Guide’ edited by Sally Davies (Photograph: Patrick Comerford,)

• The SmartTraveller365 guides are available to read online and to download HERE

Sunday intercessions, 6 February 2022, the Fourth Sunday before Lent

‘The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets’ (Luke 5: 2) … fishing boats and nets in the harbour in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Let us pray:

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory’ (Isaiah 6: 3):

Heavenly Father,
we pray for the nations of the world and for own country…
we pray for all who make decisions about our health …
we pray for the poor, the captives,
the blind, and all who need freedom …
for all who feel at sea and adrift …
may they know God’s favour and God’s blessing.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

By the grace of God we are what we are, and his grace towards me has not been in vain (see I Corinthians 15: 10):

We pray for the Church,
that we may find God’s grace towards us
in ordinary lives, in ordinary places, in ordinary time…

In the Church of Ireland this month,
we pray for the Diocese of Clogher and Bishop Ian Ellis …

We pray too for the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe,
and the new bishop, Bishop Michael Burrows …

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer,
we pray this week for the Church of Ireland.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for all in our dioceses suffering
from despair, depression and addiction.

In our community,
we pray for our parishes and people …
we pray for our neighbouring churches and parishes …
and people of faith everywhere,
that we may be blessed in our variety and diversity.

Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

‘Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will preserve me; your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever’ (Psalm 138: 7-8):

Holy Spirit, help us to bring good news to all who suffer …

We pray for all who are sick or isolated,
at home, in hospital …
Ruby … Daphne … Sylvia … Ajay …
Cecil … Pat … Mary … Ann … Vanessa …

We pray for all who feel pain and loss …
We pray for all we love and all who love us …
We pray for our families, friends and neighbours …

We remember all who have died recently …
and all whose anniversaries are at this time,
including Kevin Doyle, Lynda Smith, Maurice and Pamela Hewson …

May their memories be a blessing to us.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (6 February 2022, the Fourth Sunday before Lent) invites us to pray:

King of Kings,
May you guide us in our calling.
Stir us to go where you send us,
With hope and faith in our hearts.

Merciful Father …

The fish or Ichthus symbol is a symbol of Christ … this one remains discreetly unnoticed in the pebble mosaic of the former church courtyard in Kaş in Turkey (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Ordinary people, in ordinary time, doing extraordinary things

‘He saw two boats there at the shore’ … two boats at the Pier in Kinvara, Co Galway, at the weekend (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday 6 February 2022,

The Fourth Sunday before Lent

9.30 a.m. Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Co Limerick, the Parish Eucharist (Holy Communion 2)

11.30 a.m. Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Co Kerry, Morning Prayer

Readings: Isaiah 6: 1-8; Psalm 138; I Corinthians 15: 1-11; Luke 5: 1-11

There is a link to the readings HERE.

‘The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets’ (Luke 5: 2) … fishing boats and nets in the harbour in Loughshinny, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

The Season of Christmas came to an end on Wednesday (2 February 2022) with the Feast of the Presentation or Candlemas, which we celebrated in Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, last Sunday morning (30 January 2022).

Between now and Ash Wednesday (2 March 2022), we are in what the Church Calendar calls ‘Ordinary Time.’

So often, our celebrations in Church ask us to identify with the great saints and martyrs, in contrast to the ordinary people who are so often the focus of Christ’s ministry in the Gospels: ordinary people who are poor or on the margins in society; ordinary people with everyday jobs like fishermen and tax collectors, or publicans and farmers; ordinary people in the villages and towns; ordinary people with a need for healing or who are hurt and broken by loss and grief.

Ordinary people like you and me, living ordinary lives in ordinary time. Not sinless people, but ordinary people, conscious of our weaknesses and our failings, humbled in and all too aware of our own sinfulness and flaws.

In our readings this morning, we hear the call of Isaiah, a renewed call to David the Psalmist, the response of Saint Paul to his call, and the renewed call to some of the disciples, including Peter, James and John. These calls come not to people who feel they are worthy of this call, that the deserve this, that they have inherited a call, or who think they are entitled to speak on God’s behalf. They start off as very ordinary people, like you and me.

Isaiah is in the Temple, feeling he is lost and ‘a man of unclean lips’ when he hears and responds to God’s call, only to find he becomes isolated from his own people.

The Psalmist is in God’s presence in the Temple when he finds God answers his prayer and gives him a new calling or new spiritual gifts. Yet David begins life as a small and weak shepherd boy.

Saint Paul tells us he feels he is ‘the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle.’

The three disciples, Peter, James and John are called not only to speak on Christ’s behalf, but to do what Christ commands and to follow him.

In all these readings, Isaiah, the Psalmist, Saint Paul and then Saint Peter, all express their feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness, yet accept God’s call to speak in God’s name unconditionally and in faith.

In our first reading (Isaiah 6: 1-8), the Prophet Isaiah hears his call from God to be a prophet. Isaiah feels unclean and unworthy in the presence of God, and yet he sees God. He sees the people as unworthy too, but one of the seraphs purifies him, rendering him fit to speak God’s word to his people.

Our Psalm (Psalm 138) thanks God for his steadfast, enduring love and for his care for his faithful followers. When the writer calls upon God, God not only answers him but gives him a new calling or makes him more confident spiritually: ‘you increased my strength of soul’ (verse 3).

In the Epistle reading (I Corinthians 15: 1-11), Saint Paul tells us that the Risen Christ first appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve, then to 500 at one time, then to James, then to all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself.

Saint Paul realises that he is not the first choice, not the second choice. He is way down the list, not among the first 12, not even in the top 500. Until then, he has been an ordinary Jewish Pharisee of the day, making a living mending tents and sails.

But he now knows that through his Baptism he shares in Christ’s suffering and death and that he has been raised to new life in Christ.

Our Gospel story (Luke 5: 1-11) is a story of commitment to Christ, to his message and to his destiny. Simon is named Peter for the first time in Saint Luke’s Gospel in this reading (verse 8). Christ calls Simon or Simon Peter to be a disciple, promising him he is to be a ‘fisher of men,’ and Peter, James and John leave everything and follow Christ.

Try to imagine the roles or the calls being reversed.

Can you imagine King Uzziah giving up his throne to be a marginalised prophet like Isaiah?

Can you imagine a powerful king accepting God’s call to be a despised shepherd boy?

Can you imagine a Roman Governor accepting the call to work with the disciples in an ordinary fishing boat?

Had Pontius Pilate heard Christ’s call would he have given up privilege, or paid heed to the inevitable obloquy that would follow his extraordinary use of power?

Our Gospel reading opens us to the concept that God does extraordinary things with ordinary people, in ordinary places, in ordinary times.

This episode begins beside the ‘lake of Gennesaret,’ on the south-west shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowd is pressing in to hear Christ, the Word of God, to hear the Christian message.

Jesus gets into the boat with Simon Peter. There are two boats in this episode, and James and John are also fishing in one of the boats.

Simon acknowledges Jesus as ‘Master’ or teacher. The disciples do what Christ tells them to do, and they are amazed at the consequences. Simon Peter responds by falling down before Christ in humility, pointing to himself as a sinful man, and calling Jesus ‘Lord,’ which becomes an expression of faith.

Peter, James and John are ordinary working men who make an extraordinary and total commitment to Christ; they leave everything, and follow him.

In traditional illustrations, the boat is often used as an image of the Church, while the fish is an image of Christ. In the Early Church, the fish came to symbolise Christ because the Greek word Ichthus (ΙΧΘΥΣ), meaning ‘fish’, is an acrostic for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’ (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, Θεοῦ Υἱός, Σωτήρ).

The Church is the boat, Christ is the fish, and God calls us as ordinary people, in ordinary places, in ordinary times, to realise that God sees us – you and me, each and every one of us – to work with him, where he finds us. God sees us in our everyday lives as his partners in the boat. And we are all in this boat together.

It is in being the ordinary people we are, in our ordinary lives, in our ordinary times, that God calls us. And if we chose to respond, then, like Peter, James and John, we may find we are amazed at the catch Christ brings into the Church through us.

Are we brave enough to face this possibility? Or is that ordinary challenge too much for us? If we have any doubts, remember how Christ says to Simon Peter, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’

And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

‘He saw two boats there at the shore’ … two fishing boats at the harbour in Skerries, Co Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Luke 5: 1-11 (NRSVA):

1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ 5 Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

An icon of the Church as a boat, including Christ, the Apostles and the Church Fathers (Icon: Deacon Matthew Garrett, www.holy-icons.com)

Liturgical Colour: Green

The Collect:

O God,
you know us to be set
in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
Grant to us such strength and protection
as may support us in all dangers
and carry us through all temptations;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect of the Word:

Most holy God,
the earth is filled with your glory,
and before you angels and saints serve in awe.
Enlarge our vision to see
your power at work in the world, and by your grace
make us heralds of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of tender care,
in this Eucharist we celebrate your love for us and for all people.
May we show your love in our lives
and know its fulfilment in your presence.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch’ (Luke 5: 4) … a fisherman at work at Torcello in the Venetian lagoon (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hymns:

321, Holy, holy, holy! Lord God almighty (CD 19)
358, King of glory, King of peace (CD 21)
395, When Jesus taught by Galilee (CD 48)

‘When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him’ … fishing boats on a shore at Mount Athos (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from The Book of Common Prayer (the Church of Ireland, 2004) is copyright © Representative Body of the Church of Ireland 2004.

Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group parish notes in ‘Newslink’ February 2022

The Baptism of Ella Roseline Hilary Delbarry in Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton

Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes

Rathkeale, Askeaton, Castletown and Kilnaughtin

Priest-in-Charge: Revd Canon Patrick Comerford,
The Rectory, Askeaton, Co Limerick.

Parish Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RathkealeGroup/

Welcoming the new Bishop:

Congratulations to Bishop Michael Burrows on his election as the Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe. Patrick and the new bishop have worked together on many projects, including the Decade of Evangelism, USPG and USPG Ireland, and the talks between the Church of Ireland and the Moravian Church.

Christmas and Carol services:

Christmas celebrations included the Carols and lighting the Christmas tree at the Old Abbey, in Rathkeale, the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols in Askeaton, and the Epiphany chalking of the church and rectory doors in Askeaton. Thanks to Michael Holly for the generous gift of flowers and candles in Tarbert, and to our Parish Reader, Siobhán Wheeler, for looking after Sunday services on Saint Stephen’s Day.

Baptism:

Ella Roseline Hilary Delbarry, daughter of Elizabeth (Ebie) Delbarry and Emanuel (Manu) Delbarry, was baptised on 27 December in Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton. The sponsors were Samantha Bowen, Wendy Mullins and Rob Foley. Ella is a granddaughter of Hilary and Simon White of Nantenan.

Parish services in February 2022:

Sunday 6 February 2022 (Fourth Sunday before Lent):

9.30, Askeaton, the Parish Eucharist; 11.30, Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Morning Prayer.

Sunday 13 February 2022 (Third Sunday before Lent): 9.30, Castletown Church, Parish Eucharist; 11.30, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Morning Prayer.

Sunday 20 February 2022 (Second Sunday before Lent): 9.30, Askeaton, Morning Prayer; 11.30, Tarbert, Parish Eucharist.

Sunday 27 February 2022 (The Sunday before Lent): 9.30, Castletown, Morning Prayer; 11.30, Rathkeale, Parish Eucharist.

Wednesday 2 March 2022 (Ash Wednesday): 11 a.m., the Ash Wednesday Eucharist, with traditional Ash Wednesday distribution of ashes, Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton.

Lent 2022: ‘Living Stones, Living Hope’

‘Living Stones, Living Hope’ is the title of the new course for Lent 2022produced by the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel). The title of this course comes from I Peter 2, the epistle for the Bible study at the Lambeth Conference later this year.

We, the Church, are the living stones, and we are called to bring living hope though faith in Christ, who is the cornerstone of our faith. ‘Living Stones, Living Hope’ explores this from the perspective of five partner churches around the world, inviting us to reflect on our own experience of being ‘living stones’ bringing ‘living hope’ in our own situations, in the light of the experiences of others.

Canon Patrick Comerford is one of the international theologians invited by USPG to contribute one of the five studies in this new Lent course. In his Bible study and video, he draws on his experiences in ministry and mission in the Rathkeale area, including ecumenical engagement with the Traveller community.

It is planned to use this USPG course during Lent in this group of parishes. Subject to COVID regulations, dates and details will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Epiphany chalking of the church doors in Askeaton

This is an edited version of the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group parish notes in the February 2022 edition of ‘Newslink’, the Limerick and Killaloe diocesan magazine

Sunday intercessions, 16 January 2022, Epiphany II (the Wedding at Cana)

Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim (John 2: 7) … two large jars or pithoi at the Minoan palace in Knossos, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Let us pray:

‘Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens and your faithfulness to the clouds’ (Psalm 36: 5):

Heavenly Father,
we pray for the nations of the world and for own country…
that ‘the nations shall see your vindication’ (Isaiah 62: 2)
This morning, we pray especially for the family, friends and pupils of Ashling Murphy,
for women who fear to be on their own,
for an end to gender-based violence,
and for the safety of all.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

‘Jesus did this, the first of his signs … and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him’ (John 2: 11):

Lord Jesus Christ,
we thank you for your presence among us,
in word and sacrament, in one another,
we thank you for inviting us to the banquet.

We pray for the Church,
that we may do what you tell us (see John 2: 5) …

In the Church of Ireland this month,
we pray for the Diocese of Armagh and Archbishop John McDowell.
We pray too for the Diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe,
the Bishop-Elect, Bishop Michael Burrows,
and we give thanks for the work of the Archbishop’s Commissaries,
Archdeacon Stephen McWhirter and Dean Niall Sloane,
and for the Episcopal Electoral College called to fill the vacant see.

In the Anglican Cycle of Prayer,
we pray this week for the Church of England,
the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby,
and the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

In the Diocesan Cycle of Prayer,
we pray for the Birr Group of parishes,
the newly-appointed rector, Canon Arthur Minion,
the Priest-in-Charge, the Revd Denis Sandes,
and the congregations of Saint Brendan’s Birr,
Saint Ruadhan’s, Lorrha, and Lougheen and Dorra churches.

In our community,
we pray for our schools,
we pray for our parishes and people …
we pray for our neighbouring churches and parishes …
and people of faith everywhere,
that we may be blessed in our variety and diversity.

Christ have mercy,
Christ have mercy.

‘There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit’ (I Corinthians 12: 4):

Holy Spirit, we pray for one another …

We pray for all who are sick or isolated,
at home, in hospital …
Ruby … Daphne … Sylvia … Ajay …
Cecil … Pat … Mary … Ann … Vanessa …

We pray for those who feel pain and loss …
for those who are bewildered and without answers …
for those we love and those who love us …
for our families, friends and neighbours …

We remember those who are remembered and mourned by parishioners,
those who have died recently, including Louise Corbett …
and those whose anniversaries are at this time,
including Cathy Casey-Byrne, Dorothy Bracken, and Kathleen Shire …

May their memories be a blessing to us.

Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy.

The Prayer in the USPG Prayer Diary today (16 January 2022, the Second Sunday after the Epiphany) invites us to pray:

God of all things,
help us to discern our gifts
and to use them for the common good.
Let us rejoice in the diversity of creation.

Merciful Father …

Empty tables waiting for the wedding banquet … the miracle at Cana is the third great Epiphany theme (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The generous miracle at Cana is an invitation to the heavenly banquet

The Wedding at Cana, depicted by Giotto in a fresco panel in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday 16 January 2022,

The Second Sunday after Epiphany (Epiphany II):

9.30: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Morning Prayer;

11.30: Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, the Parish Eucharist.

Readings: Isaiah 62: 1-5; Psalm 36: 5-10; I Corinthians 12: 1-11; John 2: 1-11

There is a link to the readings HERE.

‘The Wedding at Cana’ (John 2: 1-11) … one of 20 white porcelain ceramic panels by Helena Brennan at the Oblate Church in Inchicore, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

I was surprised that the Christmas lights were still up in the city centre in Limerick all last week. But, of course, we are still in the Season of Christmas and Epiphany until 2 February. The Greek word ἐπιφάνεια (epipháneia) means ‘manifestation,’ or ‘striking appearance.’ It is an experience of sudden and striking realisation, and in the classics it often describes the visit of a god to earth.

This morning’s Gospel reading, the story of the Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-11), is one of the three great Epiphany themes, along with the Visit of the Magi (Matthew 2: 1-12, 6 January 2022, The Epiphany), and last Sunday’s story of the Baptism of Christ by Saint John the Baptist (Luke 3: 17-17, 21-22, 9 January 2022). These three themes at Epiphany tell us who Christ truly is: truly God and truly human.

In each of these three events, Christ is manifest as God-incarnate at a point that marks the beginning of his ministry or his presence among us. It is the moment when we are caught off guard as we realise that this seemingly helpless new-born child, or this one among many in the team of visitors to John the Baptist at the Jordan, or this anonymous guest among many at a provincial wedding, is in fact the omnipotent God, the King and Ruler of the universe.

The star of the Epiphany, the light the three wise men have the courage to follow on a hazardous journey, is the same light that enlightens us at the Epiphany so that we realise who Christ is – for us and for the world.

The water in which Christ is baptised is the very same as the water that becomes wine at Cana, and the water that flows from Christ’s side when his life comes to an end on the Cross.

But the Epiphany stories also have a built-in thread or reminder of journey and return:

● The three kings return to their own country, albeit by another road, yet carrying their new revelation to all they return to (see Matthew 2: 12).

● After his Baptism, Christ goes into wilderness (see Matthew 4: 1) and then withdraws to Galilee to begin his ministry (see Matthew 4: 12; Mark 1: 14; Luke 3: 23; John 1: 43).

● After the wedding at Cana, Jesus goes down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples (see John 2: 12).

So, the feast of the Epiphany is linked with the call to return to the world with the message of the kingdom of God.

The wise men represent not only the three Magi adoring the Christ Child over 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, but they also represent the Gentile world hurrying to the wedding feast at the end of time, when humanity’s wedding with the divine Bridegroom is celebrated. The gold, frankincense and myrrh they bring are not only presents for the Child-King, but royal wedding gifts for the mystical marriage feast of heaven.

The lectionary readings take a diversion this morning, away from this year’s cycle of readings in Saint Luke’s Gospel, to tell us the story of the Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-11), a story unique to Saint John’s Gospel.

In the beginning, Saint John’s Gospel introduces us to a new creation, a new creation that is in Christ. After the Prologue, there are six days in this new creation, and now we come to Day Seven.

What did God do on the Seventh Day in the account of creation in Genesis? God rested. And now that we have arrived at Day Seven in the opening week of Saint John’s Gospel, we come to the Day that Christ rests with his disciples, and to a foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet, which is the completion of God’s creation. ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb’ (Revelation 19: 9).

Seven has a symbolic meaning or significance in this Gospel. This is the first of the seven miraculous signs by which Saint John attests to Christ’s divine status. This Gospel is structured around these signs, and the word used by John is unique.

Turning Water into Wine at Cana is the first of the Seven Signs in Saint John’s Gospel, followed by healing a royal official’s son at Cana (4: 46-54), healing the paralysed man at Bethesda (5: 1-9), feeding the 5,000 (6: 1-14); walking on water (6: 15-24); healing the blind man (9: 1-7); and raising Lazarus from the dead (11: 17-45).

These are completed then by the Greatest Sign, the Resurrection (see 2:18-22).

So, the first of the seven signs comes on the seventh of the seven days that introduce the Gospel.

And it seems so right that this Epiphany moment this morning takes place in a very divine and a very human moment: at a family weekend wedding, which is as earthy as you can get, I suppose; and on the seventh day, when God rests in the creation story, when Christ rests in his grave after his passion.

We are now invited into the eighth day. We are invited to be God’s partner in creation after the creation story in Genesis; we are invited by Christ to the heavenly banquet; we are invited in the Eucharist, at Holy Communion, to eat and drink with him. He offers us food and drink that shall never run out.

Throughout the Bible, we have promises that there will be an abundance of wine in the time of the Messiah (Genesis 27: 27-28; 49: 10-12; Amos 9: 13-14), especially at the wedding feasts (see Isaiah 62: 4-5).

The six stone jars at Cana contain water for rites of purification. These are ceremonial rites, not hygienic rites. But each jar contains 20 or 30 gallons, so we are talking about 180 gallons of wine – roughly speaking, in today’s terms, 1,091 bottles of wine. And because the wine was so good (see 9-10) in those days, water was added to it. This may have double the amount – so perhaps up to 1,500 or 2,000 bottles of wine by today’s reckoning. It is enough to ensure they party for days. It is a joyful and generous miracle.

The wine in this story represents the overflowing and abundant blessings of God coming to fruition, to fulfilment.

Of course, I imagine the Kingdom of God is just like a big wedding. Those who are invited are going to include people I at first may be uncomfortable to sit with at the same table. But I am not the host, I am the guest. As it says in the Book of Revelation, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb’ (Revelation 19: 9).

I cannot choose who is invited to the wedding, but I can accept the invitation to the meal, and the invitation to be part of the new family, the kingdom.

And if we accept the invitation, we have no right to pick and choose, to discriminate against my fellow guests, to cheat them out of their place at the table, to refuse to eat and drink with them.

We don’t know who the bride and groom were at the wedding in Cana. But we know we are invited to the banquet, not as spectators but as family members, as members of Christ’s own family, as full members of God’s family. We are loved abundantly, we are loved generously, we are loved truly, and there is a place for each and every one of us at God’s banquet of love.

And so, may all we think say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen

Waiting for the banquet at sunset on the beach in Rethymnon in Crete … in the Kingdom of God, ‘the best is yet to come’ (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

John 2: 1-11 (NRSVA):

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ 4 And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ 5 His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ 6 Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Finding good wine to serve at the end of the meal (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Liturgical Colour: White

The Penitential Kyries:

God be merciful to us and bless us,
and make his face to shine on us.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

May your ways be known on earth,
your saving power to all nations.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

You, Lord, have made known your salvation,
and reveal your justice in the sight of the nations.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect:

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
Transform the poverty of our nature
by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Collect of the Word:

Bountiful God,
whose Son revealed his glory at Cana of Galilee:
help us to believe and obey,
so that, as our Saviour promised,
we may be filled with the wine of new life
and show forth his joy and love;
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Our Saviour Christ is the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there shall be no end. (cf Isaiah 9: 6, 7)

Preface:

For Jesus Christ our Lord
who in human likeness revealed your glory,
to bring us out of darkness
into the splendour of his light:

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of glory,
you nourish us with bread from heaven.
Fill us with your Holy Spirit
that through us the light of your glory
may shine in all the world.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Blessing:

Christ the Son be manifest to you,
that your lives may be a light to the world:

The Wedding at Cana … a modern icon

Hymns:

553, Jesu, lover of my soul (CD 32)
52, Christ whose glory fills the skies (CD 4)
445, Soul, array thyself with gladness (CD 26)

‘On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee’ (John 2: 1) (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

What gifts are we given? What gifts do we bring to the Christ Child at Epiphany?

The Magi arrive at the Crib … a scene in a shop window in Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Patrick Comerford

Thursday 6 January 2022 (The Epiphany):

11 am: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, the Epiphany Eucharist

Followed by traditional Epiphany chalking of the church doors and the doors of the Rectory.

Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-15; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 1-12.

There is a link to the readings HERE.

The Magi arriving at the Crib in Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Co Kerry (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Twelfth Day of Christmas is the day, traditionally, that the Christmas decorations come down. But over the next few weeks, the Epiphany readings in the Lectionary remind us that the Christmas story is not just about the Crib and the Christmas or Nativity stories, but about God coming to dwell among us, and pointing from the beginning towards the promise and revelation to all nations, to all people.

Epiphany is part and parcel of the Christmas celebrations, with two more important Epiphany events to mark in the coming weeks:

● the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan, which we read about next Sunday (Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22, Sunday 9 January 2022, Epiphany I).

● the Wedding Feast in Cana (John 2: 1-11, Sunday 16 January 2022, Epiphany II).

But this morning’s Epiphany Gospel symbolises the Gentiles coming to Christ, and bowing before him in worship, laying their gifts and treasurers at his feet. It is a reminder that Christ was made manifest to all nations and to the peoples of the earth.

The promise of Isaiah (Isaiah 60: 1-6) after the return to Jerusalem is that the ‘nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn … the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you’ (Isaiah 60: 3, 5-6).

The images in the Psalm (Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-15) of the kings across the known universe coming to visit the king in Jerusalem after the return from exile in the Persia empire also inspired Saint Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi.

Saint Paul reminds us in our Epistle reading (Ephesians 3: 1-12) of the promises in Christ being brought as gifts to the Gentiles and in the Gospel we are reminded of the Gentiles bringing their gifts to Christ and worshipping him with all they have.

In this Epistle reading, Saint Paul’s ‘few words’ about the ‘mystery’ referred to in verse 3 ask us to turn back a few pages (see Ephesians 1: 8-10) to the place in this letter where he says God ‘God has made known to us the mystery of his will’ (μυστήριον τοῦ θελήματος)’

The word ‘mystery’ (μυστήριον, mysterion) refers to something hidden, a secret or religious mystery, not known to uninitiated, ordinary people. The Church came to use this word to refer to a sacrament, particularly to the Eucharist.

In many Churches, when we celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays at this time of the year, we are inviting people to approach Christ, in an Epiphany celebration, to lay our gifts before him, and to meet him in this sacred mystery.

The Magi, as the ‘Three Kings’ or ‘Three Wise Men,’ are regular figures in traditional Epiphany celebrations. Despite these traditions, Saint Matthew does not count the number of wise men, although the number of their gifts gives rise to the tradition that there were three Magi.

The magi or Persian wise men or priests then become kings, and we have even named them: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

In our cribs, they are often portrayed as European, African and Asian, with the European giving gold and the other two giving myrrh and frankincense.

Saint Matthew’s phrase ‘from the east’ (ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν, apo anatolon, Matthew 2: 1), more literally means ‘from the rising [of the sun],’ but it does not tell us who they were or where they came from.

As the tradition developed, the three wise men were transformed into kings who have been named as:

● Melchior, a Persian scholar;

● Caspar, an Indian scholar;

● Balthazar, an Arabian scholar.

In Western art from the 14th century on, they are portrayed in these ways:

● Caspar is the older man with a long white beard, who is first in line to kneel before the Christ Child and who gives him the gift of gold.

● Melchior is portrayed as a middle-aged man, giving frankincense.

● Balthazar is presented a young man, very often black-skinned, with the gift of myrrh.

From Patristic times, these gifts have been given spiritual meanings:

● Gold as a symbol of Christ’s kingship;

● Frankincense as a symbol of worship and so of Christ’s deity;

● Myrrh as an anointing oil for his priesthood, or as an embalming oil and a symbol of his death.

Do you think the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph took those gifts with them as they fled into exile in Egypt? There is a tradition that suggests Joseph and Mary used the gold to finance their escape when they fled.

Another story says the gold was stolen by the two thieves who are later crucified alongside Christ. Yet, another says the gold was entrusted to Judas, who misappropriated it.

And another story says the myrrh was used to anoint Christ’s body after his crucifixion, before his burial.

But what gifts to we offer today to God through Christ? Do we offer God our best? Do we see the gifts we have in life as gifts that God has given to us in love, and that we too, in humility, can offer to the Christ-Child, seen in the poor and the hungry, the lonely and the lowly, the marginalised and the oppressed.

And do we accept the gifts being offered to God in the whole world by the whole world, and not just in the Church. If the three wise men were to walk in here today with their gifts, would be welcome them coming from all nations and all ethnic backgrounds, with tastes, smells and sounds that seem strange but that affirm God’s love for the whole of humanity?

For too long, the Church turned away and spurned the gifts being offered by women, by those seen as unacceptable because of their ethnicity, social background, gender or sexuality?

Whose gifts and innate goodness do we decline or even spurn today?

And, once again, what gifts have we to offer, but are reluctant to recognise, to affirm in ourselves, to recognise and affirm in others?

It is a challenge thrown down over a century and a half ago by John Keble (1792-1866), who concludes his poem Epiphany with these words:

Behold, her wisest throng thy gate,
Their richest, sweetest, purest store,
(Yet owned too worthless and too late,)
They lavish on thy cottage-floor.

They give their best – O tenfold shame
On us their fallen progeny,
Who sacrifice the blind and lame –
Who will not wake or fast with thee!

And so, may all we think, say and do be to the praise, honour and glory of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

The Adoration of the Magi … an image in Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSVA):

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel”.’

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

The Magi and the Christmas Crib scene in a shop window in Askeaton, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2022)

Liturgical Colour: White (or Gold)

The Penitential Kyries:

God be merciful to us and bless us,
and make his face to shine on us.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

May your ways be known on earth,
your saving power to all nations.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

You, Lord, have made known your salvation,
and reveal your justice in the sight of the nations.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect:

O God,
who by the leading of a star
manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Introduction to the Peace:

Our Saviour Christ is the Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there shall be no end. (cf Isaiah 9: 6, 7)

Preface:

For Jesus Christ our Lord
who in human likeness revealed your glory,
to bring us out of darkness
into the splendour of his light:

The Post-Communion Prayer:

Lord God,
the bright splendour whom the nations seek:
May we, who with the wise men
have been drawn by your light,
discern the glory of your presence in your incarnate Son;
who suffered, died, and was buried,
and who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever.

The Blessing:

Christ the Son be manifest to you,
that your lives may be a light to the world:

The Epiphany in a stained glass window in the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Kilmallock, Co Limerick (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hymns:

202, What child is this, who laid to rest (CD 13)
201, We three kings of Orient are (CD 13)
189, As with gladness men of old (CD 12)



Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.

Epiphany and January 2022 in the Rathkeale and Kilnaughtin Group of Parishes

The Magi arrive at the Community Crib at the Old Abbey in Rathkeale (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Sunday 2 January 2022 (Christmas 2):

9.30: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, the Parish Eucharist;

11.30: Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, Morning Prayer.

Readings: Numbers 6: 22-27, Psalm 8; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 15-21.

Hymns:

166, Joy to the world, the Lord is come! (CD 10)
133, Long ago, prophets knew (CD 8)
152, Come and join the celebration (CD 9)

Thursday 6 January 2022 (The Epiphany):

11 am: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, the Epiphany Eucharist, followed by traditional Epiphany ‘chalking’ of the church doors and the doors of the Rectory.

Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 72: 1-7, 10-15; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Matthew 2: 1-12.

Hymns:

202, What child is this, who laid to rest (CD 13)
201, We three kings of Orient are (CD 13)
189, As with gladness men of old (CD 12)

Sunday 9 January (Epiphany 1):

9.30: Castletown Church, the Parish Eucharist;

11.30: Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, Morning Prayer.

Readings: Isaiah 43: 1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 8: 14-17; Luke 3: 15-17, 21-22

Hymns:

22, You shall cross the barren desert (#2, CD 1, Love of God, Life of Faith)
(Alternative, 204, When Jesus came to Jordan, CD 13)
136, On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry (CD 8)
294, Come down, O love divine (CD 18)

Sunday 16 January (Epiphany 2):

9.30: Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton, Morning Prayer;

11.30: Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert, the Parish Eucharist.

Readings: Isaiah 62: 1-5; Psalm 36: 5-10; I Corinthians 12: 1-11; John 2: 1-11

Hymns:

553, Jesu, lover of my soul (CD 32)
52, Christ whose glory fills the skies (CD 4)
445, Soul, array thyself with gladness (CD 26)

Sunday 23 January (Epiphany 3):

9.30: Castletown Church, Morning Prayer;

11.30: Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale, the Parish Eucharist.

Readings: Nehemiah 8: 1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; I Corinthians 12: 12-31a; Luke 4: 14-21 [22-30]

Hymns:

381, God has spoken – by his prophets (CD 23)
218, And can it be (CD 14)
494, Beauty for brokenness (CD 29)

Saturday 29 January: afternoon ‘Muddy Church’ in Curraghchase for the Limerick, Adare and Rathkeale groups of parishes, organised by the Revd Dr Leonard Madden, Cathedral Curate. Postponed

Sunday 30 January (Epiphany 4, the Presentation):

11 a.m.: United Parish Eucharist, Holy Trinity Church, Rathkeale.

Readings: Malachi 3: 1-5; Psalm 24: 1-10 or Psalm 24: 7-10 or Psalm 84; Hebrews 2: 14-18; Luke 2: 22-40

Hymns:

52, Christ, whose glory fills the skies (CD 4)
119, Come, thou long-expected Jesus (CD 8)
691, Faithful vigil ended (CD 39)

Saints Days and Holy Days in January:

6 January: The Epiphany
25 January: The Conversion of Saint Paul

Sunday intercessions, 2 January 2022, Christmas II, the Naming of Christ

‘Will you strive for justice and peace … and respect the dignity of every human being’ … a reminder of the Baptismal questions and promises during a recent protest in the US
Let us pray:

Let us join together in the Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
you are mine and I am yours. So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven.
Amen.

A prayer in the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel) for this morning:

Loving Father,
help us to weather earthly rejection,
and accept that we are
accepted by you.
Strengthen our convictions,
inspire hope in us.

Merciful Father …

‘You have … crowned them with glory and honour’ (Psalm 8: 7) … a crown above a priest’s hands raised in blessing on a gravestone in the Jewish cemetery in Kraków (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

‘Will you acknowledge Christ’s authority … by defending the weak, and by seeking peace and justice?’

The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus … a stained glass window in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Sunday 2 January 2022 the Second Sunday of Christmas (Christmas 2):

9.30: The Parish Eucharist, Saint Mary’s Church, Askeaton

11.30: Morning Prayer, Saint Brendan’s Church, Tarbert

The Readings: Numbers 6: 22-27; Psalm 8; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 15-21.

A priest’s hands raised in blessing on a Holocaust memorial in Berlin (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

May I speak to you in the name of God, + Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

New Year’s Day in the calendar of the Church is known as ‘the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus.’ It is a celebration or festival that marks three events: firstly, the naming of the infant; secondly, the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham ‘and his children for ever,’ seen in Christ keeping the Law; and thirdly, traditionally the first shedding of the Christ’s blood.

The most significant of these events in the Gospels is the name itself, which means ‘Yahweh saves’ and so is linked to the question asked by Moses of God: ‘What is your name?’ ‘I am who I am,’ was the reply, thus the significance of Christ’s words: ‘Before Abraham was, I am,’ or the ‘I AM’ sayings in the Fourth Gospel.

In this morning’s Gospel reading (Luke 2: 15-21), Saint Luke recalls the Circumcision and Naming of Christ in a short, terse summary account in one, single verse: ‘After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb’ (Luke 2: 21).

Saint Luke has told us of Joseph and Mary’s visit to Bethlehem, and of the birth of Jesus. This reading recalls the visit of the Shepherds, who are the first visitors to the new-born child, symbolising that Christ is our shepherd.

Before Christ was conceived, an angel has said ‘you will name him Jesus’ (Luke 1: 31). His name means God saves. The Hebrew and Aramaic forms of Jesus are similar to the words meaning ‘he will save.’

This feast is a reminder that the Christ Child is born into a family of faith. He is truly God and truly human, and in his humanity he is also born a Jew, into a faithful and observant Jewish family.

In a prayer that has been used at circumcisions since at least the 14th century, God is asked to ‘sustain this child, and let him be known in the house of Israel as … As he has entered into the Covenant of Abraham, so may he enter into the study of Torah, the blessing of marriage, and the practice of goodness.’

The prayer continues: ‘May he who blessed our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bless this child who has been circumcised, and grant him a perfect healing. May his parents rear him to have a heart receptive to Torah, to learn and to teach, to keep and to observe your laws.’

The service concludes with the priestly blessing we heard as part of our first reading (Numbers 6: 23-26):

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

The festival of the Naming and Circumcision of Jesus provides a much-needed opportunity to challenge anti-Semitism in the world today, remembering that Christ was born into a practicing, pious Jewish family, and that this month (January 2022) also marks the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Birkenau.

The beginning of a New Year is a good time to look back and to look forward with eyes of faith in company with one another and with God. The beginning of redemption, the beginning of the New Covenant, the beginning of the New Year … as TS Eliot opens and closes ‘East Coker’:

In my beginning is my end
… In my end is my beginning

At the beginning of the New Year, it is good to be reminded of the promises at our baptism, and that we have been incorporated into the Body of Christ, which is the Church. A good example of how this is done at the beginning of the year is the Methodist Covenant Service and the Methodist Covenant Prayer, which we are using as part our intercessions this morning.

So, let us renew our Baptismal vows and promises this morning. We turn to page 399 in the Book of Common Prayer:

Do you renew and affirm the promises made when you were baptised?
I do.

Do you turn in faith to Christ?
I do.

Do you then renounce all evil?
I do, by God’s help.

Will you obey and serve Christ?
I will, by God’s help.

Do you believe and trust in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth?
I believe and trust in him.

Do you believe and trust in his Son Jesus Christ, who redeemed the world?
I believe and trust in him.

Do you believe and trust in the Holy Spirit who gives life to the people of God?
I believe and trust in him.

This is the faith of the Church.
This is our faith.
We believe and trust in one God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Those who are baptised are called to worship and serve God.

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?
With the help of God, I will.

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?
With the help of God, I will.

Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?
With the help of God, I will.

Will you seek and serve Christ in all people, loving your neighbour as yourself?
With the help of God, I will.

Will you acknowledge Christ’s authority over human society, by prayer for the world and its leaders, by defending the weak, and by seeking peace and justice?
With the help of God, I will.

Let us pray.

Almighty God,
you have given us the will to do all these things:
Give us the courage and strength to achieve them
to the honour and glory of your name,
and the good of your Church and people;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith,
that you may be rooted and grounded in love
and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. Amen.

The Nativity scene and the adoration of the shepherds on the triptych in Lady Chapel in Lichfield Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford / Lichfield Gazette)

Luke 2: 15-21 (NRSVA):

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

21 After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

A priest’s hands raised in blessing on a gravestone in the Jewish Cemetery in the Lido of Venice (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2021)

Liturgical colour: White

The Penitential Kyries (Christmas):

Lord God, mighty God,
you are the creator of the world.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Lord Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary,
you are the Prince of Peace.

Christ, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.

Holy Spirit,
by your power the Word was made flesh
and came to dwell among us.

Lord, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

The Collect of the Day:

Almighty God,
whose blessed Son was circumcised
in obedience to the law for our sake
and given the Name that declares your saving love:
Give us grace faithfully to bear his Name,
to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit,
and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

Introduction to the Peace:

Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,
and his name shall be called the Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9: 6)

Preface:

You have given Jesus Christ your only Son
to be born of the Virgin Mary,
and through him you have given us power
to become the children of God:

The Post Communion Prayer:

Eternal God,
whose incarnate Son was given the name of Saviour:
grant that we who have shared in this sacrament of our salvation
may live out our years
in the power of the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessing:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace:

The railway tracks at Auschwitz-Birkenau … January 2022 marks the 77th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camps, and the Circumcision and Naming of Christ is a moment to challenge antisemitism (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Hymns:

166, Joy to the world, the Lord is come! (CD 10)
133, Long ago, prophets knew (CD 8)
152, Come and join the celebration (CD 9)



Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Material from the Book of Common Prayer is copyright © 2004, Representative Body of the Church of Ireland.