Parish Newsletter- 8th March 2025
| Mass times for the week ahead | MASS INTENTIONS |
|---|---|
| Saturday 7th March @7.00pm Clara | James (Web) Dunne. Noel Fitzpatrick. Ollie Coyne. Eileen & Peter Scully. Joe & Lucy Lowry. Nanto Reynolds. Michael, Brigid, Joe & Michael O’Brien. Brendan Hogan. |
| Sunday 8th March @10.00am Horseleap | Val Dillon. Madge & deceased of the Holloway family. |
| Sunday 8th March @11.30am Clara | Joe Rock. Sean & Donal Rabbette. George, Annie, Rose & Tom Digan. |
| Monday 9th March @3.00pm Clara | Sacrament of Confirmation. |
| Tuesday 10th March @7.30pm Clara | St. John Ogilvie No Intention. |
| Wednesday 11th March @7.30pm Clara | St. Aengus John, Theresa, Raymond, Willie & Rita Fitzpatrick |
| Thursday 12th March @10.00am Clara | No Intention. |
| Friday 13th March @10.00am Clara | No Intention. |
| Saturday 14th March @10.00am Clara | No Intention. |
| Saturday 14th March @7.00pm Clara | Michael, Brigid & deceased of Kelly family. Pat, Anne, Liz, Catherine & deceased of Kelly family. James, Catherine & deceased of O’Brien family. Noreen, Mary & deceased of Caffrey family. John & deceased of Naughton family. Christian Johnson. |
| Sunday 15th March @10.00am Horseleap | Frank Keegan. Ellen, Patrick, Tommy, Noreen & Peter Brennan. |
| Sunday 15th March @11.30am Clara | Eamonn & Lillian Fleming. Kathleen, Sikie, Joe & Pauric Goeghegan. |
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.
We pray for the young people of our parish 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.
A spring of water welling up to eternal life.
In our Gospel today, both Jesus and the woman were fully aware of the hostility that existed between them. The woman must have been very surprised to find a Jewish man relaxing by the well. Most certainly, she did not expect him to speak to her. Her reply to Jesus asking her for a drink – ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ shows her obvious surprise. It is also important to note that it was Jesus who instigated the conversation between them. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “love our enemies and do good to those who hate you.” The God Jesus had come to know was a God of mercy and forgiveness. The Kingdom of God was for all people. When we read the Gospels we often focus only on the teachings of Jesus and the later reflections by his followers on those teachings. Of course this is important and valuable, but in doing so we miss so much more that the Gospels offer us. If we believe that Christianity is not built on a set of ideals or laws or ethical values, but on a person, Jesus Christ, then we owe it to ourselves to seek out, and learn from, that man who walked those roads and trails of Israel; who sat by a well because he was tired and who had a relaxed and comfortable conversation with a Samaritan, a supposed enemy. It is the person of Jesus we follow. Through him, with him, and in him, we meet our God face to face, in human form. While John’s reflection about Jesus as ‘living water’ is valuable and important, what we learn from simply looking at Jesus interact with the Samaritan woman, is just as important. We must, as we read the Gospels, allow Jesus, not just to teach us about God, but to show us God. And the God we meet in this week’s Gospel is a God who wants to talk to us; a God who is not stern and judgemental but comfortable and at ease with us; a God who says and who means, “Do not be afraid.” and “Be at peace.”
Please pray for Peter Touhey, Beechmount; recently deceased. R.I.P.
Collections 28th February/1st March – Development Fund: €2,750; Plate: €785.
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:
Dates for Your Diary!
First Holy Communion:
Boys School, Clara: Sunday 3rd May.
Girls School, Clara: Sunday 10th May.
Horseleap & Streamstown Schools: Sunday 17th May.
Blessings of Graves in Clara & Horseleap: Sunday 31st May.
Carmelite Church, Moate Wednesdays in Lent: Taize – prayer around the cross: 11th March @8.00pm; Reconciliation service: 25th March @ 8.00pm
Clara Town Band Table Quiz– Friday 13th March in Dolan’s Pub. Table of 4= €40.
LIGHT THE FIRE 2026 in Slane on St. Patrick’s Day. 5:15pm Reflection on the life of St. Patrick and Prayer on the Hill of Slane, 6:30pm Mass in St. Patrick’s Church followed by Eucharistic Adoration. www.franciscansisterscfr.com/st-anthony or (041) 983 0441.
Contemplative Dominican Monastic Vocation Discernment Weekends, Monastery of St. Catherine of Siena, The Twenties, Drogheda. 20th- 22nd of March & 17th- 19th April. For single women 18 to 35. Contact: or Tel (041) 983 8524
Nine day pilgrimage to Rome & Umbria, July 27 – Aug. 7.€1395, visiting some of the most beautiful places in Italy including Assisi, Orvieto and Spoleto. Mass at the tomb of St Carlo Acutis. For more information email or call (057) 935 5050
Lent 2026 – St. Brigid’s Parish, Clara & Horseleap
‘SEVEN LAST WORDS’
Wednesday 11th March Mass, @ 7.30pm followed by guided quiet reflection.
Wednesday 18th March Mass, @ 7.30pm followed by guided quiet reflection.
Triduum of Masses for Lent: 24th, 25th & 26th March @7.30pm.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation –during 7.30pm Mass on 26th March.
Horseleap: Mass every Tuesday morning @10.00am during Lent.
Image courtesy of FreeBibleImages.org
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