This year, instead of people having Blessed Ashes placed on their foreheads by a priest on Ash Wednesday (Feb 17th), the Diocese of Cork and Ross is organising for special envelopes to be printed and distributed to the parishes.
Before Ash Wednesday these will have Ashes placed into them (safely) in parishes and they will be blessed in the churches on the morning of Ash Wednesday by the priests at Mass – behind closed doors.
They will then be available in the churches during the day so that people who can stop by for a prayer can also take one of the envelopes of Ashes and take them home to their own household and to another house where they may be part of a care bubble.
Guidance has been given to parishes to ensure compliance with public health and restrictions.Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is a day of fast and abstinence.
It’s one of two days in the year (Good Friday is the other day) when Catholics are required to fast (restrict to one light meal and one snack) and abstain from meat, alcohol and luxuries.
(This applies to anyone over 14 except those who are elderly or unwell.)
Following today’s announcement of new Covid19 restrictions being imposed by the government, the following is the impact for our parish:-
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:
All Masses will be celebrated with a restricted congregation as planned (all church places have been allocated for the six Masses) Live-streamed Masses will be the 6pm Mass on Christmas Eve and the 12noon Mass on Christmas Day.
Dec 26th, St. Stephen’s Day: Mass with a congregation in church is not permitted.
Mass at 11am will be live streamed from Castletown Church.Regrettably, the 6pm Mass at Ahiohill is cancelled.
Sun Dec 27th:
the 8am and 10 am Masses are cancelled. The 12n Mass will be celebrated at Enniskeane Church and will be live-streamed.
Monday Dec 28th, Tues 29th, Wed 30th, Thurs 31st: These Masses will be celebrated privately.
Friday Jan 1st: Mass will be celebrated without a congregation in Enniskeane Church at 11am. It will be live-streamed.
Sat 2nd Jan: Mass in private
Sun 3rd Jan: Mass at 12n in Enniskeane Church: live-streamed.
Mon Jan 4th and Tues 5th: 10am Morning Mass live-streamed
Wed Jan 6th: Feast of Epiphany (Holyday of Obligation) – Evening Mass at 7.30pm live streamed.
Thurs Jan 7th: 10am Morning Mass live streamed.
Our best wishes to you and yours for a blessed and peaceful Christmas.
View of and from Myross old graveyard, near Union Hall, Co Cork
Nine days of Masses are offered each year from Nov 2nd — 10th for our people who have died. It’s known as the Novena for the Holy Souls. (A Novena is something that takes place across nine days.)
This year, due to Covid19 restrictions, the Masses will be offered without a congregation in church. However, people can join in prayer online as the Masses will be live streamed from Enniskeane Church.
Masses will be offered from Nov 2nd on Mon – Sat each day at 7.30pm.
On Sunday 8th at 12 noon, the Mass will be especially for the people whose funerals have taken place in our parish in the past 12 months.
There are a number of ways people can enrol their loved ones in the Novena:
Drop off your envelope at either Ahiohill, Castletown or Enniskeane Church on Sunday Nov 1st between 3–5pm where members of the Parish Assembly will be receiving them and will bring them back to Enniskeane.
Write out the names on a piece of paper and drop it back in an envelope to the Parochial House or post it to Parochial House, Enniskeane, Co Cork (The list will be placed at the altar for the Masses).
Email the list of names to this special email address: novena@enniskeaneparish.ie (The list will be printed by the Parish Office and placed at the altar for the Masses).
Use the Parish ‘Donate’ button below where you can type in the names and make an offering for the Novena.
Mass with a congregation from Monday June 29th in Enniskeane Church
Following government and NPHET guidance, churches will be able to open for Mass and other sacraments from Monday June 29th. However, restrictions and conditions apply.
Each parish has been asked by Bishop Fintan to assemble a group to guide and support our preparations. Thanks to the people who have offered to help guide the re-opening of Enniskeane parish church for Mass.
They are: Mike Burgoyne, John Coffey, JJ Barrett, Nora Bradfield, Tess Chambers, Joan Collins, Frances Keohane, Carena McCarthy, Colette O’Regan Walsh, Hilary O’Riordan.
There is also a group of volunteers helping to sanitise the churches across the parish each day they are open.
This leaflet details the essential changes which people will see inner churches when they re-open for Mass.
We will open our churches with:
Social Distancing (between people who are not from the same household and between each occupied pew)
Hand Sanitising for everyone at the entrance door and at the exits
Stewarding by volunteers to assist people
Seats where people can sit are marked and all others are taped off
Because we must have social distancing the capacity of the church is much reduced because only one in every three of the 50 pews will be occupied.
We will continue to broadcast Mass on Facebook Live on Sundays at 11am.
People who are vulnerable or unsure about coming to Sunday Mass are assured that they can join in prayer from home. They can also come to a weekday Mass instead.
Mass Times
Monday 29th at 10am — the first weekday Mass will be celebrated in Enniskeane with a congregation.
On weekends, we have Mass following our summer schedule, i.e. Saturday evenings at 7.30pm and on Sunday at 11am.
Ministry
Ministers of the Word (adult and young people) resume their rota.
Ministers of the Eucharist: a summer rota comprised of those from the three churches who are happy to resume is being compiled. They will wear face masks while distributing Holy Communion.
Altar Servers will resume – with two at each Mass.
Collectors will take up the collections as people leave the church with baskets at the doors.
Sacristy: Only the sacristan and the celebrating priest(s) will able to be in the sacristy before and after Mass.
Everyone will be welcome. We will do everything we can to make that our churches are clean and safe. Our parish together is working together to make this happen.
We look forward to meeting one another in Communion with us and the Lord again.
For the first time in living memory most people will not be able to go to their local church for the most sacred week of the year. During Holy Week (between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday) Christians contemplate the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ and prayerfully attend a series of liturgies which are celebrated on the days corresponding to the events in the life of Christ.
We are apart but we can be one
This year, due to restrictions resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, Catholics are invited to join in prayer from their homes while the Masses and other ceremonies are held in churches without a congregation present and some priests celebrate Mass privately in their homes.
All the Holy Week liturgies will be celebrated at the Cathedral in Cork and people can join by the Cathedral live stream.
Enniskeane Parish will broadcast ceremonies on the parish Facebook Page.
For people who are at home and wish to pray during these sacred days on their own or with family, a series of Prayer Guides is available here.
