Parish mission shares the good news

PARISH priest Fr Tom Ryan has said the recent parish mission was a celebration of the parish’s faith.
“Our parish mission was a time of renewal in exploring our lives through our theme of ‘Share the Good News’ and a true celebration of our parish’s faith.
“It was an invitation to everyone to come, no matter whether you are a regular and active participant in the parish, someone who comes occasionally or had drifted away from the Church, to develop a deeper individual relationship with Jesus Christ. They came in their hundreds every day.
“We were delighted to welcome our mission team, which was led by Sr Briege McKenna OSC in her only parish mission in Ireland this year and it also included Frs Kevin Scanlon (Dublin), Vincent Sherlock (Mayo) and Noel Kirwan (Limerick). Each one brought their own unique style of communication to each day of the mission.”
After each morning session, there was a cup of tea or coffee available in McMahon’s Funeral Home, which proved to be a popular part of the mission, giving people time to chat and congregate together. Mass of the sick and the sacrament of anointing were celebrated for those too ill to attend the mission, as well as penitential and Eucharistic healing sessions.
Preparations for the mission began on Easter Sunday, with 50 days of prayer in preparation and the second phase was when Bishop Kieran O’Reilly commissioned 72 parishioners to visit all 3,500 homes in Shannon with an invitation to the mission and a gift of a copy of St Luke’s Gospel.
Each day, a different school choir joined in the celebrations and in the evening, adult choirs led the singing.
Fr Ryan said a huge number of people helped to make the mission a success, while he said he was pleased that hundreds of people used the parish radio and webcam during the week.
“On Friday evening, when Fr Noel Kirwan and the priests of the parish blessed the hands of the congregation and sent them forth to love and serve the Lord, there was a sense of great joy and enthusiasm in the lives of parishioners as Mission 2013 concluded,” he added.