Parish Newsletter- 16th November 2025

Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist
CLARA: Monday & Friday – 5.00pm-6.00pm
CLARA: Tuesday & Wednesday – after 7.30pm Mass to 9.00pm.
HORSELEAP: Tuesday – 7.00pm-9.00pm
All are welcome!
Come and find peace in the Lord.

Please pray for Oliver Bracken Clara/USA; recently deceased. R.I.P.

Hold on, Persevere, and Trust that our Endurance will Not be in Vain.
The contents of Luke’s gospel resonates all too eerily with the devastating events in our world today: The destruction of the Temple signified the destruction of a way of life, and the end of an era. When Luke writes of Jesus’ foretelling, it has in fact already happened. For many peoples of our world and of our own country, ways of life have been and are being destroyed, and cultural eras are coming to an end. It has happened in every age. War, famine, earthquakes and other human and natural disasters fill our newsfeed, and there are those who rise up claiming to be the ones who will bring salvation via security and prosperity for a certain few. Frauds and imposters that they are, Jesus warns us not to follow them, but to testify to the truth of God’s reign despite their threats. How do we so testify? And how do we withstand the real threats wielded right here in our own time and place? Paul provides a clue in his summons to the Thessalonians to live orderly lives, attending faithfully to the duties of their calling. What are the duties of our calling as disciples? How might we live them out in courageous testimony to the reign of God amid the powers of threat and destruction? Our summons as Christians is to live in the present as though God’s promised future is already here. By living out of that future vision already secured by Jesus in the resurrection, we contribute to the transformation of the present world through our own continuously transformed lives. Thereby, little by little, we hasten the coming of God’s reign.

Lord of all gentleness, surround us with your care and comfort us in our sorrow.
It is our certain faith that your Son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross was raised from the dead.
Grant through this mystery, that all who have gone to their rest in Christ may share in the joy of His Resurrection.
We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
Amen.

Collections 8th/9th November- Development Fund: €1,250; Plate: €715; October Offerings: €130.
Thank You Very Much!

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can support our parish with a quick and simple donation, by simply clicking the button below: 

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims- Sunday 16th November. Local emergency service workers will mark the event with a short service of remembrance at Clara Fire Station this evening, 15th commencing @ 5.00pm. All are welcome. Refreshments served.

Friendship Club: There will be a meeting in the Community Centre, Streamstown on Tuesday 18th November @11.00am. Please come along and help us get this much needed initiative off the ground. This will be open to both men and women.

40 Hours Adoration for the Solemnity of Christ the King in the Cathedral, Mullingar. Begins with Mass Friday 21st November. Confessions Noon to Midnight on Saturday 22nd. Ending Sunday 23rd November at 4.00pm with Evening Prayer with Bishop Alan McGuckian.

Christ the King Youth Festival. A vibrant and faith-filled Youth Day, especially for secondary school students at Mullingar Community Centre & Cathedral on Sunday, November 23rd from 11:30am to 5:00pm. To register, email

Clara Musical Society present A Trip Down Memory Lane on Sunday 30th November from 2.00pm-6.00pm. Join us for a chance to catch up with old friends, have a cup of tea and reminisce over old photographs and scrapbooks from Musical and Tops of the Town days. Bring along your old photos so copies can be made. Everyone is welcome on the day at Friends Meeting House, Tullamore Road, Clara, R35 T205. We would love to see you there.

First Saturday Conference in Knock: To mark the 100th anniversary of the First Saturday Apparition in Pontevedra, Spain, there will be a special conference in Knock on 1st Saturday in December. For more details please visit firstsaturdays.ie

Annual Samaritan Christmas Concert takes place on Thursday 11th December in SS Peter and Paul’s Church, Athlone, at 8.00pm, featuring the Army Band of the 2nd Brigade, Athlone Pipe Band. Tickets: €20. Mulligan’s Roscommon Rd, Cunningham’s Pharmacies and AthlonePrinting.com. The Samaritans are available 24hrs on free call 116 123 for anyone who is troubled or needs to talk to someone in confidence.

Prayer for the Dead during November
Into your hands O Lord, We humbly entrust our brothers and sisters.
In life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them from evil & bid them enter eternal rest.
Welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever.
Amen.

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