Parish Newsletter- 13th September 2026

A Special Exit Collection will be taken at Masses this weekend for the support and care of the retired priests of our Diocese.

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.
Also on the First Saturday of every month- Devotions in Clara church at 2.55pm. Everyone welcome to attend. Join us for even a brief period of time.

Please pray for Tony Kavanagh Clara/UK; recently deceased.  R.I.P.

To be forgiven, you must forgive!
Forgiveness, and the extraordinary difficulty we have in truly forgiving the wrongs and hurts done to us, are part of our survival instinct. If we are hurt, betrayed, let down, ridiculed, lied to, gossiped about, our brains instinctively see that we are in danger and the person or persons responsible are perceived as threats. Forgiveness calls us to make decisions which run directly counter to these primal instincts, and we must never underestimate how difficult it is to do that. Peter’s question to Jesus in this week’s Gospel is a good one: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” The question shows us a man struggling with the huge difficulty of forgiveness. His question is almost a cry for help; His question echoes questions each one of us have asked many times when faced with hurts done to us. If Peter expected an easy or consoling answer from Jesus, he did not get one: Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” All of us can, if we choose, allow ourselves to live and be governed by our primal instincts which are deep and strong within us. But human beings are called to rise above their primal instincts and not be governed by them. Created in the image and likeness of God and with Jesus and the Holy Spirit showing us the way, we are called to live according to the standard of forgiveness. This is the standard by which we can judge how far we have come along the road of the Gospels. “How often must I forgive? Seven time?” “No, seventy times seven! Always, and never stopping.”

Collections 5th/6th September – Development Fund: €1,185; Plate: €565; July Offerings: €10.
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: 

Café Cairdre, Please join us on World Alzheimer’s Day, 21st September, 2.30-4.00pm in the Charleville Centre, Church Road, Tullamore. R35H660. Café Cairde provides a warm, friendly and supportive environment for people living with dementia, family members, carers and friends. Come along meet new people, and enjoy a relaxed afternoon.

Streamstown/Horseleap/Boher Active Retirement Group resumes on 15th September. Meeting every two weeks in the Community Centre Streamstown and is open to both men and women.

Come join the people of Clara and the Franciscan Brothers on 3rd October at 7.00pm Mass to celebrate the 800th Anniversary of the death of St. Francis. This celebration, ‘The Transitus’ (celebrated around the world on October 3rd) recalls how on the night of his death, October 3rd 1226, Francis’ gathered his brothers around him to sing, pray and recite psalms with him as his soul returned to his Creator.

Prayer of Pope Leo:
St Francis, our Brother, you who eight hundred years ago went to Sister Death as a Man of Peace, intercede for us before the Lord. You recognized true peace in the Crucifix of San Damiano, teach us to seek in him the source of all reconciliation that breaks down every wall. You who, unarmed, crossed the lines of war and misunderstanding, give us the courage to build bridges where the world raises boundaries. In this time afflicted by conflict and division, intercede for us so that we may become peace-makers; unarmed and disarming witnesses of the peace that comes from Christ.
Amen.

Image: from FreeBibleImages.org

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