Parish Newsletter- Palm Sunday: 29th March 2026

Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist
CLARA: Monday & Friday – 5.00pm-6.00pm
CLARA: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 Pat Stones, Raheen, recently deceased. R.I.P.

Invitation to the Chrism Mass next Wednesday, April 1st at 7.00pm in Mullingar Cathedral. Refreshments in the Parish Centre afterwards. All are welcome.

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ
This Sunday in between the palms and the hosannas, the breaking of bread and the agony on the cross- one question cuts through everything: Who is this?? We hear it at the very beginning, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem. We then hear a variation of it later, when Pilate asks, Are you the king of the Jews? We realize that so much of what we hear this Sunday is more than a long and agonizing recounting of the last days of Christ’s earthly life. It’s really a summation of who he is and what Christ gave on our behalf. And what a summation it is. There’s the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the betrayal at the Last Supper; we hear the interrogation by Pilate and witness the agonizing walk to Calvary. It is epic. It is heartbreaking. It is exhausting. There’s judgement, torture, betrayal and death. It stings. It overwhelms. We stand there clutching our palms during the longest Gospel of the year, shifting on our feet, hearing once again what we’ve heard so often before and aching to just sit down. But we can’t. And for good reason. We need to hear it. We need to be reminded. This is where Lent has led us. Perhaps it just might help us appreciate once more that question Matthew records in the Gospel. Who is this?? It’s probably not a question we thought about much during Lent. During those 40 days, we’ve been thinking about other things. Maybe they are the things that are on our own personal “to do” list — bad habits to correct, faults to acknowledge, sins to confess. We’ve been trying to pray more, give up more, give more to those around us as a way of living in imitation of Christ. But then we hit Palm Sunday and it hits us back. The reality of Christ’s Passion strikes at the heart and tells us: This is why we’ve been doing this. This is what it was really about. This Sunday, as we brace ourselves again for Holy Week and the Triduum and the greatest feast on the Christian calendar, an anonymous soldier says what the world needs to remember: “Truly, this was the Son of God.” It doesn’t get more basic than that. We tend to think that the great takeaway of Palm Sunday is in those long strands that we carry home and tuck behind pictures or mirrors hanging on the wall. Instead maybe we can listen to the centurion. That’s the great message of Palm Sunday — and it can serve as a kind of haunting lectio for the days to come…

Collections 21st/22nd March – Development Fund: €1,095; Plate: €845.
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.

This Palm Sunday we enter into the journey of Jesus who gives us His Body and Blood, who carries His cross, who lies in the cavern of the dead and who opens the door of death for us. As the Lord goes on His saving way, He calls young men to the Sacred Priesthood, to hold up His Body, to be bearers of His Precious Blood, to show the world His saving Cross, to tell all of His promise of life over death. Become His Priest and open the way to God for others. Join us at the Chrism Mass in the Cathedral of Christ the King, Mullingar on Wednesday 1st April at 7.00pm. The evening of Last Supper is the birth of the Priesthood. Come pray and let your vocation grow too. Vocations Director: Fr Tony Gonoude (044) 937 3923 www.meathvocations.com

St. Carlos Acutis teenage retreat (13-19yrs) at Knock shrine, 19th April. Contact Bairtle on (086) 302 0948 or email for further information. Limited to 120 participants, pre-registration essential.

Pilgrimage to Padua & Assisi to celebrate the Franciscan Jubilee year led by Bishop Deenihan, 26th Sept for 5 nights. Contact Joe Walsh tours, (01) 241 0800.

Thanks to all who helped and supported Daffodil Day in Clara. €4,000 was collected.

Progressive 25’s Card Game in Rahan Hall, Good Friday night at 9.30pm. Admission €10.

For More inspiring reflections & resources for Lent and Easter check out:
Stations of the Cross: www.dioceseofmeath.ie/pastoral-resources-1
Guide to Holy Week: www.dioceseofmeath.ie/lenten-resources-2026
Blessing of the Home with Easter Water: www.dioceseofmeath.ie

Image: Christ Entering Jerusalem by Duccio di Buoninsegna (1255–1319)

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