Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist
Monday & Friday – 5.00-6.00pm
Tuesday & Wednesday – after 7.30pm Mass to 9.00pm.
All are welcome!
Come and find peace in the Lord.

Please pray for the soul of Cathy Kelly, Erryarmstrong; recently deceased. R.I.P.

Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep…
In today’s Gospel we are told that the Kingdom of God IS for the poor, outcast, persecuted, peacemakers, sinners, unwanted…… and ……so long as they exist we have no right, as Christians, to feel comfortable. “Don’t make excuses” Luke warns, “don’t blame others, don’t rationalise situations, don’t feel that there is nothing I can do or that I have done enough.” So long as poverty, persecution, discrimination, injustice, prejudice are visible in our world we simply cannot allow ourselves to feel comfortable, or complacent. Put simply, as far as Luke is concerned, no Christian can afford to be comfortable until the Kingdom of God has fully come into our world. Until then, we, all of us, have work to do, and challenges to face. Feeling uncomfortable does not mean feeling miserable. We must remember that we are human and that means that we are weak and that we are sinners. In this, we fit into the “YOU” who are poor! Our response to the challenges of the Gospel will always be as weak, vulnerable sinners, and therefore will always be inadequate. Our God of love understands this and demands nothing other than I be the best version of human that I can be – always weak, always a sinner, always poor in that sense. Luke says to us today: While there is poverty, misery, hatred, violence in our world, then as Christians we most feel uncomfortable. We must reject everything that runs counter to the Gospel. We must act, in so far as we can, to alleviate all that runs counter to the Gospel. However, we do so as fully human – weak, imperfect and sinful. In this context we are, and always will be, part of the “YOU” who are poor. In the eyes of God, that makes us blessed! We must never allow ourselves to forget this. We do not have to be perfect to be loved by God.

We pray for all the young people who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in our parish on Monday. May the Spirit of God fill their lives with the power of God’s love and the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of God.

Clara Town Band Annual Concert on Friday 28th February at 7.30pm in Clara Church. All tickets purchased before Christmas are still valid. Adults €10. Children €5.

Horseleap/Streamstown Senior Citizens party, which was cancelled due to the storm, takes place on Sunday March 2nd in the Horseleap/Streamstown Community centre at 2.00pm.

A meeting of the Offaly Irish Kidney Association Branch will be held in Mucklagh Community Hall on Thursday 20th February @ 8.00pm. All welcome and bring a friend. This Association provides support to kidney patients and their families. For more information see www.ika.ie or contact Marjorie (secretary) on (087) 214 0414.

All Ireland Rosary Rally, St. Johns Centre, Knock beginning at 12 noon. Guest speakers include Fr Pat Lombard among others. Mass at 3:30pm. Come and join us to pray for Ireland.

Scoil Phroinsiais Naofa is now enrolling for September 2025. Please use the link on our website for enrolling and ensure that your Eircode is included.

Collections 8th/9th February: Development Fund: €1,290; Plate: €1,100; Offerings: €15.
Thank You Very Much!

++++++++