Epiphany  (All people’s Day)

This is the feast which remembers the baptism of Jesus Christ. It falls on January 6. However in many countries it falls on the Sunday that falls between January 2nd and January 8th. This is the feast which celebrates the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. Western Christians commemorate principally (but not solely) the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.

In Dublin, this feast is celebrated by way of “All Peoples Day” where people from different nationalities representing different Christian Catholic communities come together to offer mass in Dublin Pro Cathedral. The Syro Malabar Catholics in Dublin also join this celebration each year in traditional Indian outfit carrying the Indian National Flag and  Muthukkuda (Colorful Umbrellas), and performing Aarthi (Lamp) ritual during the mass

Altar Servers Training

The Dublin Syro Malabar Community conducts masses across 9 mass centres spread across Dublin. Altar Servers play an important role in the spiritual rituals during the mass and an acute shortage of altar servers was felt across these mass locations. Apart from this an urgent need to get our teens involved in church activities was felt to help with their spiritual growth in the community.
Thus in 2011, the Pastoral Council (Sabhayogam) decided to conduct Altar Servers Training. Interested Students from the catechism students across all the 9 mass centres were pooled together in this training, which was conducted under the guidance of the Syro Malabar Chaplains. For those who could not read Malayalam, an English version of Malayalam prayers was translated and published to help them read Malayalam through English.
Ongoing support and training in individual mass centres help to give confidence to our new altar servers and contributions from teachers and volunteers apart from parents across all the mass centres lies behind the success of this program.

Annual Retreat

The Syro Malabar Community in Dublin conducts an Annual Retreat each year coinciding with the Holy Week Period. The retreat this year is scheduled for April 5th Holy Thursday, 6th Good Friday and 7th Saturday concluding with solemn high mass celebrating Easter vigil.
The Parish Council (Sabhayogam) and the chaplains makes every effort to get spiritually enlightened and powerful preachers from popular retreat centres in Kerala to head these retreats. The smooth functioning of the 3 day retreat would not have been possible without the co-ordination and support from the 9 mass centres. Generous contribution from the members of our community is used to meet most of the expenses for this retreat.
This annual retreat which is generally attended by nearly every Syro Malabar family in Dublin on each of these days is a great occasion for all to reflect on our spiritual life and faith. It helps thousands to find a balance between the western lifestyles led by them and our beliefs. The retreat also offers the service from other priests who are in Ireland to help people fulfill the sacrament of confession. The spiritual retreat atmosphere also provides an opportunity to repent and experience healing and thereby instills spiritual renovation for many of those who attend.

Previous Years photos

Annual Retreat 2012

Bible quiz

An annual Bible quiz is conducted for catechism students from all 9 mass centres at Dublin – at both junior and senior level. This year it has been planned to include the adults of our community also in this quiz and so the quiz will be conducted at three different levels – adults, seniors and juniors. All registered Syro Malabar Catholic Church members are welcome to participate in this quiz which will be held on 1st of May 2012 at Divine Mercy Church Lucan. Please contact your local parish representatives for more information in this regard.
The section of the Bible based on which the quiz is going to be held is announced early enough to help the participants to prepare for this. All Chapters from the Gospel according to St Mathew will be the portions for this year’s quiz, apart from some general church related questions.
The winners will be presented with trophy during St Thomas feast in June, which is usually celebrated by Dublin Arch Bishop Most Rev. Dr. Dermot Martin.

Bible Quiz Winners May 2012

Vanakkamasam – Knock pilgrimage

Vanakkamasam is the period of May each year commemorating the divine intercession of Mother Mary and acknowledging her presence in our lives. During this period, every family unit pray the rosary together in the homes of its members each day, bringing the blessed statue of Mother Mary to each family. It is a great time for families to come together and pray for the divine intercession of Mother Mary.
The Syro Malabar Community in Ireland each year celebrates mass at Knock Shrine coinciding with the conclusion of Vanakkamasam. The holy mass this year is going to be held on 19th May in the Holy Shrine of Knock, on account of non-availability of dates at the Shrine after that. Every member of our community is welcome to attend this mass. For more details please contact your local parish representatives.

Knock pilgrimage 2012 photos

Eucharistic Procession

The Eucharistic Procession is an annual event conducted by the Diocese of Dublin. Held at Arch Bishop House Dublin, the event comprises of a procession in which members of all communities participate dressed in their traditional outfits followed by Mass. The Syro Malabar Community Dublin have been regular participants in this event dressed in Traditional Keralalite outfit and carrying our banner and muthukkuda (decorative umbrellas).

Eucharistic Congress 2012

Eucharistic Congress is an international gathering of people which aims to:
• promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Catholic Church
• help improve our understanding and celebration of the liturgy
• draw attention to the social dimension of the Eucharist.
The Congress normally takes place every four years. The daily celebration of the Eucharist is at the very heart of the Congress. The wider programme of the Congress includes other liturgical events, cultural events, catechesis and testimonies, and workshops during the week of the Congress. The last Congress was held in Quebec in 2008 and was a source of encouragement and renewal for the many thousands who took part.
Most people in Ireland are familiar with the fact that a Eucharistic Congress was held in Ireland in 1932. The Eucharistic Congress this year is once again being held at Dublin, Ireland from June 10 to June 17 and gives us an opportunity to take part in this event.

 

St.Thomas Feast

This is an annual feast celebrated jointly by all the 9 mass centres at Dublin to commemorate our Patron Saint St. Thomas. Held in July every year, the celebration of this feast takes place at St Mary’s Church, Inchicore. The celebration involves holy mass followed by procession and light refreshments. The prizes for the winners of the catechism examinations across all the mass centres are distributed during this mass which is generally celebrated in the presence of the Arch Bishop of Dublin Diocese.

Catechism Teacher’s Training

“Maatha, Pitha, Guru… Deivam” – As this phrase emphasizes, the parents and teachers hold a divine status in the lives of our children. It is us parents, and teachers who are responsible to bring up our children in an enlightened manner making them responsible individuals in this society. Thus it is inevitable that the catechism teachers who teach the students are also trained to handle their responsibilities in the right manner. Aimed at this, the catechism teacher training helps our catechism teachers to prepare themselves for this great responsibility that they hold in society.

 

Christeen Retreat

“While you are at Rome – do like Romans do” – there is no saying more apt than this to describe the condition of our children who are exposed to diverse cultures from interaction with their peers and our traditional values at home. Caught in this dilemma of what is right and what is wrong, what values to adopt and what not, it becomes very important for them to be guided in the right direction. The Christeen retreat is conducted every year with the objective of bringing in this Spiritual enlightenment in their lives as only the presence of God in their lives can guide them in the right direction. Conducted over a three day period, this retreat gives them insights to reflect upon and teaches them the good values to adopt in their lives. It is a fruitful experience for each of these students who take part in this retreat. In the past years this has been a very popular retreat attended by around 200 students in the age group of 8 to 16.

Angel’s meet

As the name specifies, this meet is one pet project of our previous Chaplain Rev Father Thankachan Paul Njaliath, which has not taken place yet. It intends to bring together all children undergoing their First Holy Communion and their families. The events planned for this day are Holy Mass followed by a gathering of these families with food and entertainment to celebrate the occasion of the children being blessed with the presence of our Lord in their lives through the Eucharist. We are hopeful that we will be able to roll this out in the near future.

Family Day

Our modern day lives have made us so busy that we spend our time in stress, stress and more stress. Thus the concept of Family Day is intended as an opportunity to bring together the families of our community on a day to help us gather together and remove the stress of our daily lives. It also gives our children an opportunity to meet and mingle with each other. We are planning to have this gathering in the month of August at Donnabate Farm, Dublin where we could gather together, share a few light moments, enjoy a barbeque, children games, light refreshments etc. For more details please contact your parish committee members.

Rosary Month

The families in our community once again get together to pray the Rosary during the month of October. Our modern day lives have made us so busy that we spend our time in stress, stress and more stress. Thus the concept of Family Day is intended as an opportunity to bring together the families of our community on a day to help us gather together and remove the stress of our daily lives. It also