Year of Prayer, Listening and Discernment
On 6 October 2024 at Gougane Barra, Bishop Fintan Gavin invited everyone in the diocese to begin a year of prayer, listening and discernment
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Storm didn’t put information meeting for Year of Prayer, Listening, and Discernment off course
There was energy and a positive atmosphere, despite the weather, at the first of three Information Meetings for the Year of Prayer, Listening, and Discernment in the diocese.
A series of three information meetings for priests, parish leadership teams and chaplaincies are being held this weekend and next.
The afternoon in Cork was proceeded by a time of prayer and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Our Lady Crowned Church, Mayfield.
The meetings set the context for the year ahead and outline the next steps for Parishes and Families of Parishes which will be taken in the Spring.
Parishioners and priests gathered in Cork
"Even the winds and seas obey Him"The Year of Prayer, Listening, and Discernment, which was launched by Bishop Fintan on Gougane Barra Sunday, enters a new phase this week
Three key information meetings are planned for Priests, Parish Leadership Teams and chaplaincies on Saturday 23 November, Sunday 24 November and Sunday 1 December.
These meetings will set the context for the Year ahead and outline the next steps for Parishes and Families of Parishes. The process for prayer, listening, and discernment has been piloted in one Family of Parishes and is being fine-tuned based on the feedback to be rolled out across the Diocese in the new year.
The Holy Spirit is guiding us to be faithful and courageous in new ways so that we can carry on the mission of the Church. In addition to reciting ‘Our Prayer from the Boat,’ you are invited to participate in special times of guided prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the following Parish churches:
- Saturday 23 November - Our Lady Crowned, Mayfield (12:30pm to 2:00pm)
- Sunday 24 November - Church of the Immaculate Conception, Clonakilty (1:00pm to 2:00pm)
- Sunday 1 December - St. Columba’s Church, Douglas (12:30pm to 2:00pm)
The logo includes the people of Cork and Ross from our Diocesan Logo
The Church is the People of God. We are all unique, all different, and yet, we are called by name to be members of God’s family, united in faith and love.
The boat has traditionally been a symbol for the Church. Some of the first apostles were fishermen by trade. When Jesus invited them to be his disciples, he said, “Come, follow me, and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19). They would be sent to bring the Good News of God’s love to all nations and people.
The boat is in motion. Pope Francis describes the Church as ‘on the move.’ One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is wind. On Pentecost, the disciples heard the sound of a ‘wind from heaven’ and were filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:2). The sail of the boat is full, because the Holy Spirit is leading us.
The boat and the sail are green, because green symbolises hope, life and growth. We are people of hope and “we must fan the flame of hope that has been given us” (Pope Francis). Our Year of Prayer, Listening and Discernment coincides with a Jubilee of Hope which Pope Francis proclaimed for the whole Church. “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”(Romans 5:5).
The mast of the boat is the cross, representing Jesus and his love for us. The mast is gold - a symbol for joy. We rejoice because Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us, and he promised to be with us always (cf. Matthew 28:20). Our scripture quotation, “Even the winds and the seas obey Him”, is taken from the account of Jesus calming the storm in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is with us, calming our storms, and calling us to greater faith in the God who loves us.
Our Prayer from the Boat is a prayer that God will lead us to a hope-filled future for our faith communities as we play our part in building the Kingdom of God in our time and place.
The Logo for our Year of Prayer, Listening and Discernment
"Even the wind and seas obey Him"Bishop of Cork and Ross invites people to respond to Church changes with a time of prayer, listening and discernment
On a weekend when heavy rain and winds had blown across his diocese, it seems more than coincidence that a new pastoral message from the Bishop of Cork and Ross should begin with a scripture quote: “Even the wind and the seas obey Him”.
Bishop Fintan Gavin read his message on Sunday to pilgrims attending the annual Mass at St. Finbarr’s Oratory, Gougane Barra.
Bishop Fintan’s message is a call to the people of the diocese to commit to a year-long time of prayer, listening and discernment about the future of the Catholic Church in the parishes and chaplaincies of the diocese.
In a time of unprecedented change in society and the Catholic Church in Ireland, people are understandably concerned about their parish’s future, he said.
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