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-8.00pm
All are welcome!
Come and find peace in the Lord.

Alleluia, He is Risen…
This Sunday we celebrate Easter, but the truth is that ever since that first Sunday morning two millennia ago, it has always been Easter. That is, what happened in the tomb, that death was trampled by the risen Christ, is still happening. It’s just that to do so we must remember the deeper truth of Easter, that it’s not just a day but every day. That is, we must renew, or maybe realize for the first time, that since we believe in the risen Lord, and since we are baptized into Christ and live in him, now his risen life is ours. Easter now is our measure. We are called to Look beyond death and the fear that comes with it! Think of Christ at the right hand of the Father, think of your place there! That’s the hope, the joy, the courage Saint Paul wants us to have. An eternal perspective, an Easter perspective, knowing in hope our destiny in Christ, knowing in hope our eternity. That’s what we mean by saying it’s still Easter, that it’s always Easter. Because Christ still lives and still calls us to live in him. And so, yes, everything has changed. That’s what we’re to learn along with St. Mary Magdalene. There, still in the darkness, she doesn’t yet grasp the meaning. The tomb is empty, but she doesn’t understand. The whole universe has changed, but she doesn’t yet see it. For her the world is still dark and brutal and violent. She will still have tears in her eyes when she first sees the angels; she will not immediately recognize Jesus because of her tears. She is in the presence of all that is new, in the presence of the kingdom and its Christ, but she just doesn’t yet perceive. Only when he speaks her name will she begin to see. By the way, there is a profound spiritual lesson in this for us, and that is, we should listen for our names. For he is still speaking to those who seek him. But again, remember it’s still very much Easter. The fact that Christ rose from the dead, that he sits now at the right hand of the Father, that God in Christ reigns above all, and that this same Christ is also alive in us, what all of this means is that now we may live in the truth that our deaths will not end in death but instead in resurrection. Thus, further, what it means is that we now may live for God as his fearless instruments and as agents of a love which the world cannot conquer. But first you may need to linger around the tomb, tears in your eyes. That’s okay. Again, St. Mary Magdalene teaches us. Living a spiritual life does not mean that we will never experience darkness, that there will never be any cause for tears, because everything has changed, but the world is what the world is; the final judgment is yet to come. But again: the love, the voice. That’s how Easter reaches even into the darkness, if we love Jesus like she did and if we seek and listen just like she did, then we come to see what it’s like to hope in a dark world, to still believe in an Easter still happening…

Collections 28th/29th March – Development Fund: €1,255; Plate: €900; Easter Offerings: €405.
Thank You Very Much!

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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.

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.

Wishing you all Great Graces and Abundant Blessings for Easter!

HE IS RISEN!

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: Photo by Heber Davis on Unsplash

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