Parish Newsletter- 24th March 2024
| Mass times for the week ahead | MASS INTENTIONS |
| Saturday 23rd March @7.00pm Clara | Frank Malone. Tom & Frances Naughton. |
| Sunday 24th March @10.00am Horseleap | Larry Galvin. Michael Fox |
| Sunday 24th March @11.00am Clara | Patricia Hall. Charles & Mary Maloney. Bridie Coady. Gabriel Creagh. |
| Tuesday 26th March @7.30pm Clara | Jeremy Goode (Month’s Mind). |
| Wednesday 27th March @10.00am Horseleap | Spy Wednesday No Intention. |
| Wednesday 27th March @10.00am Clara | Spy Wednesday No Intention. |
| Thursday 28th March @7.00pm Horseleap | Mass of the Last Supper & Holy Hour. |
| Thursday 28th March @7.00pm Clara | Mass of the Last Supper & Holy Hour. Sean, Mary Kate & deceased of the O’Brien Family |
| Friday 29th March @3.00pm Horseleap GOOD FRIDAY | Stations & Veneration of the Cross |
| Friday 29th March @7.00pm Clara GOOD FRIDAY | Celebration of the Lord’s Passion. |
| Saturday 30th March @7.30pm Clara EASTER VIGIL | Celebration of The Lord’s Resurrection. |
| Sunday 31st March @10.00am Horseleap EASTER SUNDAY | Teedy Nally (Month’s Mind). Christy McGuinness. Joe Walsh. |
| Sunday 31st March @11.30am Clara EASTER SUNDAY | Myrtle Kelly. Lennie, Joe & Jamie Dunican. Anne Berry. Stanislav Dubrowolski. |
Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist
Come to me all you who labour and are burdened. I will give you peace
Monday & Friday – 5.00-6.00pm
Tuesday & Wednesday – after 7.30pm Mass.
All are welcome!
Please pray for the soul of Tony Roche, Kilcoursey; recently deceased. R.I.P.
What is the Meaning of Easter for Us?
If Holy Week is only an annual remembering for us of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus as something that happened in the past, was great and is now over, then we miss the entire meaning of Easter. The whole meaning of Easter is that it is not in the past… it is here and now, happening every day in our lives and in the life of our world. When we celebrate the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, we watch Jesus wash his disciples feet, we hear him say, “I leave you an example that you must follow” – that means today, tomorrow, next week… in my family, my workplace, my neighbourhood, my Parish and my Church. When Jesus took bread and wine he said, “This is my body, this is my blood.” Jesus spoke in the present tense – ‘IS’ my body. Why? Because that’s what love does and God created us in love to share his life with him. When we walk the way of the Cross with Jesus on Good Friday, we are walking with a person who takes on himself every betrayal we have ever had to bear, every pain we have ever felt, every grief we have had to endure, and he does it all willingly. Why? Because that’s what love does and God created us in love.
On Easter Sunday morning, going with Mary Magdalene to the tomb of Jesus, we meet a man who simply says our name and instantly we recognise him as Jesus, Risen from the dead. We are meeting a person who, every minute of every day, calls us by name, wanting only that we recognise him as always being with us – not a dead memory but as a living person. Why? Because that’s what love does and, no matter what happens to us, the God of Love will triumph. Pope Francis puts it beautifully in ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ he says, “However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads. Each day in our world beauty is born anew, it rises transformed through the storms of history.” (EG 276.) In every corner of our world, in every place, in every family, in every life, the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus happens over and over again and every time we should move to the same conclusion – Resurrection. The Easter mystery is not something we are asked to remember. It is something we are asked to live.
The Chrism Mass, at which the Holy Oils for the Sacraments are blessed, will take place on Wednesday 27th March at 7.00pm in Mullingar Cathedral. Refreshments afterwards in Mullingar Parish Centre. All Welcome!
Good Friday Collection for the Holy Places. This collection is used to support the Church in the Holy Land.
Divine Mercy Sunday 7th April: Devotions 3.00pm Holy Trinity Church, Castlejordan. R35 H954.
National Eucharistic Adoration Pilgrimage to Knock on Sunday 14th April. Full Bus details on www.eucharisticadoration.ie
25th Pioneer National Ball on Saturday April 6th. Mass at 6.00pm in the Cathedral Mullingar, followed by guest speaker, dinner, music and dancing at the Annebrook House Hotel. For details & tickets contact Dermot (085) 720 1646 or Daisy (087) 654 4626
Meath Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes, September 10th, led by Bishop Deenihan. All pilgrims will be accommodated in hotels with 4, 5 and 6 night options with fares starting at €769. Further information and booking forms are available from Joe Walsh tours, www.joewalshtours.ie or phone (01) 241 0800.
Dates for Your Diary!
Confirmation: Tuesday 9th April
First Holy Communion: Boys School, Clara – Sunday 5th May
Girls School, Clara – Sunday 19th May
Horseleap & Streamstown Schools – Sunday 26th May
Blessings of Graves in Clara & Horseleap – Sunday 2nd June.
Collections for 16th/17th March:
Development Fund: €1,085; Plate: €1,015; Offerings: €80.
Thank You!
May the Joy and New Life of Christ’s Resurrection fill all our lives this Holy Week and Easter as we journey with Jesus from Calvary to the Empty Tomb.
Wishing you all a Happy Easter!
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Image: “The Procession in the Streets of Jerusalem” by James Tissot