The Pastoral Area comprising Thomastown and Inistioge

Published on July 8, 2019

The Pastoral Area comprising Thomastown and Inistioge will take as its patron St. Colmcille. That is appropriate because of the local ties with the Saint – the parish Church in Inistioge is dedicated to him, and we have a townland called after him.

Going into this new time there will be lessons to be
learnt from his life. Members of the two Parish Councils have formed a Pastoral Area Council. One of the first, and most difficult, tasks addressed at the meetings was the number of Masses in the area, based on the number of priests and the desire for a better quality of liturgy with fewer Masses Bishop Farrell listed several principles to be considered.

– No priest ought to be celebrating three Masses on a Sunday and no priest should celebrate two vigil Masses as his normal commitment.
– Every effort ought to be made to arrange Mass times to facilitate assistance between the priests of Thomastown and Inistioge. So, holidays and sick leave ought to be considered when
– The starting times for Masses ought to be at least 90 minutes apart.
– Planning ought to look to the future – 2025 or thereabouts – rather than short term.
– Applying those principles, new Mass schedules will apply throughout the Diocese at Advent.

Following those principles, both parishes will have a reduced
Mass schedule beginning 1st Sunday of Advent 2019, that is 1st December, as follows: Saturday Vigil Masses will be in Thomastown at 6pm, and in The Rower at 7.30pm. On Sunday Mass will be in Thomastown at 10am and in Inistioge at 11.30am. While there are two priests in the Area and both are available for Masses, there will be Mass in Clodiagh at 9.30am Sunday, and at St. Columba’s Hospital at 11.30am. Masses in Mong and Chapel Hill will be held midweek, at a time to be agreed with the local communities.
It was decided too that from Advent Sunday Funeral Masses won’t be held in the Area.
These new arrangements have been agreed by the Parish Pastoral Council.
It is appreciated that these changes will cause upset, sometimes anger, and a lot of getting used to.
Please God we will all approach and embrace this new time with openness, courage and hope.

Reflection

Jesus tells his disciples to look at him and touch him. Then he asks them for something to eat. What does Pope Francis say we can learn from these three actions of Jesus?
The second verb is to touch. By inviting the disciples to touch him, to verify that he is not a ghost—touch me!— Jesus indicates to them and to us that the relationship with him and with our brothers and sisters cannot remain “at a distance.” Christianity does not exist at a distance; Christianity does not exist only at the level of looking. Love requires looking and it also requires closeness; it requires contact, the sharing of life. The Good Samaritan did not limit himself to looking at that man whom he found half dead along the road: he stopped, he bent down, he treated his wounds, he touched him, he loaded him onto his mount and took him to the inn. And it is the same with Jesus himself: loving him means entering into a communion of life, a communion with him.
Being Christian is not first a doctrine or a moral ideal; it is a living relationship with him, with the Risen Lord: we look at him, we touch him, we are nourished by him and, transformed by his Love; we look at, touch and nourish others as brothers and sisters.
Pope Francis,