Parish Newsletter- 28th December 2025: Feast of the Holy Family
| Mass times for the week ahead | MASS INTENTIONS |
|---|---|
| Saturday 27th December @7.00pm Clara | Paddy & Betty Fitzpatrick. Philip Brennan. Patrick, PJ, Philomena & John Fleming |
| Sunday 28th December @10.00am Horseleap | No Intention. |
| Sunday 28th December @11.30am Clara | Patrick Stanley. John McCormack. Linda McRedmond. Rose Walsh. Jimmy Doyle. Paddy Concannon. |
| Tuesday 30th December @7.30pm Clara | Nora & Joe Newman & deceased of Dunne & Newman families. |
| Wednesday 31st December @7.30pm Clara | St. Sylvester No Intention. |
| Thursday 1st January @10.00am Clara | Mary, Mother of God. World Day of Peace. |
| FIRST FRIDAY Friday 2nd January @10.00am Clara | Sts. Basil & Gregory For all on the Parish List of the Dead |
| Saturday 3rd January @10.00am Clara | The Most Holy Name of Jesus No Intention |
| Saturday 3rd January @7.00pm Clara | Brendan O’Meara (Month’s Mind). Joe, Rose, Johnny Bracken. Marie Tobella. Christy & Theresa Geoghegan. Paddy & Nan Robbins. Frank & Mary-Anne Mullins |
| Sunday 4th January @10.00am Horseleap | No Intention. |
| Sunday 4th January @11.30am Clara | Donny & Ita Carey. |
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 Lilly Bracken, The Green; recently deceased. R.I.P.
The flight into Egypt and the return to Nazareth.
Your family is fast asleep at night, when a message comes: flee for your lives. Someone wants to murder your child. You pack your food and meager belongings, bundle your baby up, and creep out of the house. As you tiptoe down darkened streets, you pray your baby doesn’t cry and alert any hostile watchers. Then you make your way on foot, some hundred miles across the border into a neighbouring territory where your child will be safe. That’s what Mary and Joseph had to do, to keep baby Jesus safe from Herod, as today’s gospel records. And that’s what thousands of refugees and migrants are doing, across the globe, as they flee war, violence, persecution, natural disasters, and poverty. The gospel for the Feast of the Holy Family recounts the flight into Egypt. It tells the story of a single family, a strange and unusual family, fleeing dire circumstances. The Holy Family’s flight into Egypt to escape Herod is a perfect reminder of the chasm that exists between God’s kingdom and the “princes of the world.” How you honor the Holy Family, this Sunday, has little to do with venerating statues or images, or uttering flowery things about idealized, abstract family life. It has everything to do with how you treat the real live individual families in your communities today. “Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me.” The family that fled violence and danger to save the life of their child are the same families approaching our borders today. They are refuging in our communities, living in fear that the emissaries of today’s Herods will find them—but also in hope, knowing their own resilience and trusting the courage of communities of good will. Whatever you do to the families of immigrants, refugees, and migrants, you do to the Holy Family. Will you hand them over to Herod? Or will you welcome them today??
Collections 20th/21st December- Development Fund: €1,760; Plate: €1,310; Christmas Offerings: €1,430.
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:
All are welcome to attend a Pro-Life Mass and Holy Hour at Christ the King Cathedral on Monday, 29 December. The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal will be helping with this event which begins with 10.00am Mass at the Cathedral, and will be followed by a led Eucharistic Holy Hour from 10:45-11:45 am, ending with benediction. Confessions will also be available during the Holy Hour.
Rahan C.C.E Annual Table Quiz in The Thatch, Rahan, December 29th @8.00pm. All proceeds to UNRWA (Palestine relief). Your support is greatly appreciated!
The Holy Family — Jesus, Mary, and Joseph — shows us that holiness is often lived out in ordinary, quiet ways. Their life was not free from challenges, yet it was rooted in trust, love, and obedience to God. Mary’s faith, Joseph’s humility and responsibility, and Jesus’ willingness to grow within a family remind us that God is present in everyday family life. The Holy Family teaches us that love, patience, and faith can turn even simple moments into something sacred.
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