Fr Peter Finnerty, PP, Ph: 01-832-3150.
Fr Séamus Connell, Ph: 087-702-5120.
Fr Cathal Price, Ph: 01-832-3683.
Janice Dornan, Parish Sec, Parish Office, Ph 01-839-0433.
Email info@kilbarrackfoxfieldparish.ie
www.kilbarrackfoxfieldparish.ie
Mass times – Mon-Wed 10am; Thurs, 7.30pm; Fri 10am. Sat 6pm. Sun 9.30am and 12 noon. Bayside– Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri &-Sat 10am; Sat 7pm. Sun 8am and 11.00am
Our parish is part of the partnership in the Howth Deanery as follows – Baldoyle, Bayside, Howth, Kilbarrack/Foxfield, Sutton. Registered Charity Number 20016166.
| Masses for the coming week | ||
| Day | Date | Time |
| Larry Fleming, Birthday Rem. (90th) | Mon. 10th | 10am |
| John and Kay Corr (A) | Tues. 11th | 10am |
| Joan Roe (A) | Wed. 12th | 10am |
| George Dennis (3rd A) | Sat. 15th | 6pm |
| John Ring (9th A) | Sat. 15th | 6pm |
| Ellen, Peter and Patrick McDevitt (A) and deceased members of the McDevitt Family | Sat. 15th | 6pm |
From Today is my Gift to You – www.2u.ie
Spiritual Thought for The Week
We light candles on many special occasions – last Sunday candles were blessed in every Church in celebration of Candlemas day. This a special sign of hope and reminds us to keep going even during difficult and challenging days. In our gospels, Jesus beautifully says, you the light of the world. He didn’t say, you could be, or you might be – he said very clearly, you are the light of the world. So, the invitation is to celebrate your light, to treasure it and also to be proud of your light. Your light is special and always will be . And even when it seems as if your light is not shining, there are always others willing to hold your light. That is why we have the beautiful tradition of lighting candles in so many churches and homes. There is always someone lighting a candle for you. May the light of Jesus be with you. May it give you hope and brighten your daily path. Amen.
The ANNUAL COLLECTION for ACCORD Dublin
The Diocesan Agency for Marriage and the Family, will be made at all Masses next weekend
15th & 16th February 2025.
ACCORD Dublin throughout the Diocese offers:
- Marriage Preparation courses – online, small groups.
- Counselling for couples and individuals experiencing difficulties in their relationships, currently online or by phone.
- A Relationship and Sexuality Programme for schools.
ACCORD Dublin needs your support this year more than ever. Please give generously on next weekend.
‘Here I am, Lord, send me’
However unworthy we may feel or believe ourselves to be, God sees beyond this and is inviting us without exception to live a fulfilled life in the flow of his bountiful love.
In the Temple, Isaiah experiences a vision of the wonder of God and is overcome with self-doubt and self-criticism. Despite this, he is given a blessing and told his sins are forgiven. His response is immediate: ‘Here I am! Send me!’ (First Reading)
In a similar way, when Simon Peter first meets Jesus (Gospel), he is overcome with a sense of worthlessness and sinfulness in the presence of the unsought bounty of God. Jesus’s response is to tell Simon (and us!) gently but firmly: ‘Do not be afraid, just follow’. And Simon Peter does.
St Paul, writing to the Corinthians (Second Reading), is all too aware of his shortcomings to proclaim the Gospel, given his past life as a persecutor of Christians. But with God’s grace, he gladly accepts that he is called to follow Christ and preach the Good News.
We can imagine that Paul and the Apostles prayed this week’s Psalm with joyful thanks, as they experienced the unconditional love of God. Let us join them in praying it.
As Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee Year, we pray for the grace to see beyond the limitations that we set upon ourselves. We ask to glimpse the beauty and potential that God sees within us and calls us to share with the world. Let us encourage and support each other to answer God’s call to bring hope-filled justice and peace, wherever it is needed.
Fr Cathal’s 90th Birthday celebration will take place after the 12pm Mass next Sunday 16th February in the Parish Centre. We look forward to seeing you all there for this very special occasion.
Sacramental Preparation Mass
We welcome the children and their parents to this month’s preparation Mass which will be held next Saturday 15th February at 6pm.
Marianne, Finola, Mary & Jenny for the Parish Team
New Pilgrim Path Website: Song of Songs
The great mystic, St Teresa of Avila, said that in the Old Testament book, the ‘Song of Songs’, the Lord is teaching the soul how to pray. “…In this Song of Songs, you teach the soul what to say to you… We can make the Bride’s prayer our own.” Listen to – and pray with – this tremendous hymn of praise, stunningly read by David Suchet (the actor best known for his television role as Agatha Christie’s detective, Hercule Poirot). Access the recording at www.newpilgrimpath.ie
What’s On
- 34th Divine Mercy Conference RDS, Dublin 4. February 21st, 22nd, 23rd. Friday night FREE.
- divinemercyconference.com
- The ARA meet Wednesdays Parish Centre. Chairobics 2.30pm, 12th 26th Feb and 5th
- Chairobics every Tuesday 11.30am, Parish Centre.
- Reflection on Sunday’s readings on zoom – Mondays. Call Phyllis 086 8909488.
- Gospel evenings Tuesdays from 7.15pm in the Parish Centre. All welcome.
- Visit https://dublindiocese.ie/jubilee2025/ for details of the Pilgrimage of Hope – A Journey with Pope Francis.
- Free bereaved parents support evening from Anam Cara. 7.30pm 19th Hilton Hotel. Malahide Road. No booking needed. Also, online support. 01 4045378 or email info@anamcara.ie
- Ruah: Life in the Spirit Seminars from 27th Feb 8pm (7 Weeks) St. Paul’s Church, Ayrfield. Register with Teresa: 087 206 9249. All are very welcome.
- Diocesan Pilgrimage to Knock . Information via –knockpilgrimage@dublindiocese.ie
Pope Francis this Week
Speaking at the first International Summit on Children’s Rights, Pope Francis urges world leaders to listen to children suffering from war, poverty, and migration. Nothing is worth more than the life of a child. “To a much greater extent than in the past, schools and health services have to deal with children already tested by many difficulties, with anxious or depressed youngsters, and adolescents drawn to forms of aggression or self-harm. Moreover, a culture of efficiency looks upon childhood itself, like old age, as a ‘periphery’ of existence.”
Losing someone is a journey, not a one-off. There is no end to the loss, there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat when it washes over. Be kind to those who are sailing this tempestuous sea, they have a mission ahead of them, and a daily shock to the system each time they realize; they are gone, again. You don’t just lose someone once, you lose them every day, for a lifetime. Because you love them every day, for a lifetime. Donna Ashworth
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is held Tuesday to Friday, 11am-3pm, each week
The Bright Field
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the
pearl of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once but is the eternity that awaits you.
R.S. Thomas
Quoted by Archbishop Dermot Farrell, 2nd Feb 2025
Spring at Last
Lord, we thank you for being a beacon of light and keeping us safe during times of darkness. Help us to leave the winter behind us and step forward with you. This is a season full of hope, as new life emerges from the natural world around us. Let us fall deeper in love with you, as we draw closer to your heart and keep our focus on you alone. Let us take hold of each new day with open eyes and hearts. Help us to be fruitful and grow stronger in our faith, embracing all that is ahead. Even though we may still have challenges and times of difficulties this spring, let us look to you, our lighthouse keeper, for guidance through the mist. Amen. Maxine Hallett
Nothing Lasts Forever
You will grieve people who are still alive, as well as those passed on.
You will grieve shattered dreams, and you will grieve versions of yourself, and others, you had to break free from. But that’s okay.
In this life nothing lasts forever but with that same truth comes the knowledge that all pain will lose its bite too and great new things will miraculously emerge.
Wonderful new people who shine light into your soul will come on in, if you leave space.
And as long as you cry when you must, laugh when you can and love those you have every day that your little broken heart still beats, you will be okay. You will be okay.
Thought for the week
“God knows us from within ourselves, not as objects, not as strangers, not as intimates, but as our own selves.”
– Thomas Merton
