Parish Newsletter- 19th July 2026

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

Please pray for Fr. Tony Gavin; recently deceased.  May he rest in eternal peace.

God is more patient than we are!
In Today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the familiar parable of the wheat and the weeds. The servants are eager to solve the problem immediately. It seems like the obvious solution. Remove the bad. Protect the good. But the landowner says something startling: “No. Let both grow together until the harvest.” His response sounds almost irresponsible. Why tolerate weeds in a healthy field? Because God sees what we cannot. We judge people by the chapter we are reading. God sees the entire book. The first reading from Wisdom offers one of the most beautiful descriptions of God’s character in all of scripture. God possesses absolute power yet chooses restraint. Divine strength is displayed not through domination but through mercy. “You judge with clemency,” Wisdom says. In a culture that often celebrates quick judgments, public shaming, and permanent labels, God reveals another way. God’s justice is never separated from patience. God’s power is expressed through compassion. This is not because God ignores evil. Rather, God refuses to define anyone solely by their failures. That truth should comfort us because every one of us has weeds growing alongside the wheat. We all carry contradictions. We are generous one day and selfish the next. We pray sincerely, then lose our temper in traffic. We forgive one person while quietly nursing resentment toward another. None of us is a perfectly cultivated field. The temptation is to believe that God grows weary of our repeated failures. St. Paul answers that fear in today’s second reading. “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness.” The Spirit meets us precisely in our weakness, even when we cannot find words to pray. God is already at work long before we feel worthy of God’s love. Perhaps the greatest miracle is not that God forgives sinners. It is that God never stops believing in the saint hidden within the sinner. That perspective changes how we look at others: The difficult family member. The co-worker who constantly disappoints us. The child making destructive choices. The neighbour whose opinions offend us. Our instinct is often to uproot, condemn, dismiss, or write people off. God’s instinct is to cultivate. Patience, however, is not passive. It does not excuse injustice or ignore wrongdoing. Jesus does not deny that weeds exist. Evil is real and must be confronted. But he reminds us that judgment belongs ultimately to God, who alone knows every heart and every possibility for conversion…

Collections 11th/12th July – Development Fund: €970; Plate: €1,220; July Offerings: €555.
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: 

Please join us for Eucharistic Adoration after the evening Masses. Stay 5 or 10mins. You decide how long you want to stay. Your presence will be most welcomed. Eucharistic Adoration on Monday and Friday at 5.00pm also.

The annual Pioneer pilgrimage Mass at Knock Shrine will be celebrated in the Basilica at 3.00pm next Sunday 19th July. Pioneers extend a welcome to families and relatives of people who are undergoing treatment for addiction at this time. Pioneer emblems and certificates will be available in St John’s Rest and Care Centre from 1.00pm. People who are in recovery/aftercare and who live by the 12 Step Programme are particularly welcome to Knock during this Golden Jubilee Year of the Basilica of Our Lady Queen of Ireland. Further information from Fr Robert:

‘Cafe Cairde’, For people with Cognitive Impairment, Dementia, their Carers and Families. Takes place at the Charleville Centre, Tullamore, on Monday 20th July from 2.30 – 4.00 p.m.

Fr Mike Schmitz (American Catholic priest, speaker, author and podcaster) will visit Ireland for The Parables Tour, which will take place in less than two weeks in Dublin on Monday, 20th July 2026. On the day, the Council will also host a special Mass for all, with a particular welcome for young people at 5.00pm in Saint Kevin’s Church Harrington St , D08 XR9C at which Fr Schmitz will preach.

Clara Heritage Society presents ‘Dancing at the Crossroads‘, Friday 24th July at Lismoyney Crossroads, 7.00pm-9.00pm.

The Annual National Grandparents Pilgrimage celebrating the 6th World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly will take place on Sunday 26th July at Knock Shrine, commencing at 2.30pm with the anointing of the sick. Chief Celebrant Archbishop- Eamon Martin. A day of grace and blessing for the whole family as we honour grandparents. All are welcome. See: www.catholicgrandparentsassociation.org

Meath Diocesan Pilgrimage to Knock, Sunday 9th August.

Join Self Help Africa’s fundraising climb of Croagh Patrick, Saturday 22nd August @ 10.30am, to help support families and communities across Africa. Registration €40. To register or sponsor visit selfhelpafrica.org/ie/climb-croagh-patrick/, contact Ronan Scully (087) 618 9094, Vanessa Shortall 087 793 6794, email or see www.selfhelpafrica.org

Meath Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes September 2026, led by Bishop Deenihan, 8th September. For further inquiries phone Joe Walsh tours (01) 241 0800 or visit www.joewalshtours.ie.

Meath Diocesan Pilgrimage to Padua & Assisi, celebrating the Franciscan Jubilee Year, lead by Bishop Deenihan, 26th September for 5 nights: cost €1,335. Bookings and enquiries: JWT Travel (01) 241 0800, or email: . A detailed day-to-day itinerary is available at www.dioceseofmeath.ie. Please note- due to demand, single room availability has been exhausted. Twin or double rooms still available.

Marriage Enrichment weekend: helps thousands of couples across Ireland and the world to deepen their relationship with each other and with God, through the gift of communication, renewed commitment, and shared faith. Friday 2nd to Sunday 4th October at Focolare Centre, Curryhills, Prosperous, Co. Kildare. Register at: www.marriageencounter.ie

Image: detail from The Enemy Who Sows (L’Ennemi qui sème) by James Tissot. Public domain photograph of 19th-century painting in Brooklyn Museum

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