Holy Trinity Church, Ratoath

3 October 2010 

Opening hours for the Parish Office: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 9.30am– 4.00pm

Priest on Duty: Fr. Gerry

Congratulations to Jack Meehan (Jamestown Park), Deivids Busenieks (Dunshaughlin), 

Lorcan McGowan (Steeplechase Green), Shane Hickey (Steeplechase Hill) and 

Callum Todd (Somerville) who were baptised recently.

Congratulations to Catherine Kennedy & Conor Router who were married during the week. 

Please pray for Baby Grace Jordan (Mill Tree Park), Michael Muldoon (England) brother of Maura O’Flaherty (Crushen Road) and for Kathleen Lynch (Tralee) mother of Breda Maye (Fairyhouse Lodge) who died during the week. May they rest in peace. 

Next weekend is Harvest Sunday where we give thanks to the Lord for all the good things we have received from his hands and for this year’s harvest.

Tomorrow Monday 4th October is the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. There will be a blessing of animals in the church grounds at 10.15am.

A meeting of the Board of Management of Ratoath Junior National School will be held on Wednesday 6th at 7.30pm in the Parish Pastoral Centre.

A meeting of the Children’s Liturgy Committee for this month will meet on Wednesday 6th October in the Parish Pastoral Centre at 8.00pm. 

What does it mean to be a Catholic today? Prof. Tom Groome of Boston College will hold a seminar on the above topic on Saturday 16th October at All Hallows College. Details on  http://www.allhallows.ie/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-catholic-today-a-talk-by-prof-tom-groome.html

World renowned medical scientist, co-discoverer of the HIV/AIDS virus, Marian speaker and author, Professor Courtenay Bartholomew, from the West Indies, will be speaking on the subject of his latest book ‘The End of This Era - a Linkage of Science and Religion’ at Bloomfield House Hotel, Tullamore Road, Mullingar on Sunday, October 10 at 7.30pm.  All are welcome.

Dunboyne F.A.S Community Employment has a vacancy for a person who qualifies to work in community employment. This is for ground maintenance will be based in Kilbride. Contact Danny Gaughan on 087 2626727 or the office on 01 8252864 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Meeting of the Alpha Group on Monday 11^th October in the Parish Pastoral Centre at 8.00pm.

Dunshaughlin Community Centre are celebrating its10th Anniversary on 8^th October with Supper Dance- Paddy Cole & The All Stars, Comedian Eric Lalor & Community.Tickets €25 on sale at The Community Centre - 01 8258863.  Awards will be presented to people from different sectors of the Community as well as to those who have spent many years serving on the Committees of our  local clubs/groups.

Have you 30 minutes a fortnight to spare? Please come along to a Tidy Towns meeting in the boardroom of Ratoath Community Centre on Tuesday 5^th October at 7.30pm.

Trad for Trocaire fundraising concert by Ashbourne Comhaltas Thursday 7th October at 8pm in Church of the Immaculate Conception, Ashbourne.  Failte roimh cách.

Excerpt of Pope Benedict’s address to the young people gathered outside      Westminster Cathedral on 18^th September

Thank you for your warm welcome! In these few moments that we are together, I wish to speak to you from my own heart, and I ask you to open your hearts to what I have to say.  

I ask each of you, first and foremost, to look into your own heart. Think of all the love that your heart was made to receive, and all the love it is meant to give. After all, we were made for love. This is what the Bible means when it says that we are made in the image and likeness of God: we were made to know the God of love, the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to find our supreme fulfilment in that divine love

We were made to receive love, and we have. Every day we should thank God for the love we have already known, for the love that has made us who we are, the love that has shown us what is truly important in life. We need to thank the Lord for the love we have received from our families, our friends, our teachers, and all those people in our lives who have helped us to realize how precious we are, in their eyes and in the eyes of God.

We were also made to give love, to make love the inspiration for all we do and the most enduring thing in our lives. At times this seems so natural, especially when we feel the exhilaration of love, when our hearts brim over with generosity, idealism, the desire to help others, to build a better world. But at other times we realize that it is difficult to love; our hearts can easily be hardened by selfishness, envy and pride. Every day we have to choose to love, and this requires help, the help that comes from Christ, from prayer and from the wisdom found in his word, and from the grace which he bestows on us in the sacraments.

This is the message I want to share with you today. I ask you to look into your hearts each day to find the source of all true love. Jesus is always there, quietly waiting for us to be still with him and to hear his voice. Deep within your heart, he is calling you to spend time with him in prayer. Even amid the “busy-ness” and the stress of our daily lives, we need to make space for silence, because it is in silence that we find God, and in silence that we discover our true self.

Heart speaks unto heart. With these words from my heart, dear young friends, I assure you of my prayers for you. I ask you also to pray for me. Upon you, your families and your friends, I cordially invoke God’s blessings of wisdom, joy and peace.

                                               Tuesday             Greer and Murphy Families             

Wednesday        Deceased members of the Cuney family                              Thursday      Tom Wheeler