There was only *one *game in town this week: Fr. Lane’s Golden Anniversary
Mass, the Parish celebration of 25 years of our Parish Priest as well as
the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the parish. For many it was the
most beautiful liturgy that we’ve had in the Parish for some time. The
symbols, the singing, the prayerfulness were all spiritually enriching
while many were touched by Fr. Lane’s act of contrition at the beginning of
Mass.
The *community *aspect of the celebration was highlighted by the baking,
breaking and sharing of the bread of life. The ecumenical dimension, was
underlined by the joint rendering of the first reading by representatives
of the Lutheran and Church of Ireland traditions. The diocese was
represented by Bishop Eamonn Walsh who delivered spontaneous and heart felt
words at the end of the Mass. The ministries were all present at different
moments: the adult readers and the reader’s club, the Adult choir and the
Junior choir, the baptism team read a prayer of the faithful, the schools
were also represented in the reading of prayer.
The *liturgy *was then followed by a delicious meal in Naomh Olaf’s GAA
club. The food was excellent and the organization was flawless. The Parish
History, in the form of a most beautiful book, was presented to the guests.
It has been a huge hit and a credit to all those who have dedicated
countless hours to its compilation and investigation.
There was something special in the *atmosphere *as words of congratulations
were spoken after a brief presentation of photographs of Fr. Lane’s life .
The Parishioners’ appreciation was demonstrated by the presentation of a
generous cheque and a beautiful cake made by different hands and sculpted
into the form of books that illustrating dimensions of Fr. Lane’s life.
To conclude Fr. Dermot spoke of the Parish of Balally as his *second family*
he also indicated his desire to continue *serving *in the Parish.
So much was done around the parish for this day. Liturgy teams, parish
office, maintenance and cleaning teams, flowers teams as well as the
hospitality groups and all other groups formal and informal contributed to
the wonder of the evening. Indeed as Bishop Walsh mentioned in his words ..
this is a *special *parish.
