Fr Peter Finnerty, PP, Ph: 01-832-3150.
Fr Séamus Connell, Ph: 087-702-5120.
Fr Godfrey Sunday Ph 089 206 4610
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
| Name | Date | Time |
| Feast of the Immaculate Conception | Mon 8th Dec. Vigil 7th Dec | 10am
6pm |
| Patrick Mel Gillen, RD | Mon. 8th | 10am |
| Funeral Mass for Tony Lawlor, RD | Mon. 8th | 11am |
| Rita Smullen, Months Mind | Sat. 13th | 6pm |
| Richard Kilbride (18th A) | Sat. 13th | 6pm |
| Máiread, Eamon and Liam O’Dea (A) | Sun. 14th | 9.30am |
| Bridie O’Driscoll (A) | Sun. 14th | 9.30am |
| Joseph Massey (A) | Sun. 14th | 12pm |
| Doreen Nolan (1st A) | Sun. 14th | 12pm |
| In remembrance of Jim Harte (A) | Sun. 14th | 12pm |
| Dympna Motherway, Month’s Mind | Sun. 14th | 12pm |
| Patricia O’Leary, Month’s Mind | Sun. 14th | 12pm |
| Marlene Moran, Month’s Mind | Sun. 14th | 12pm |
Recently Deceased
We remember in our prayers
Emmelia Nugent RIP late of Foxfield
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and neighbours. May she rest in Peace.
Adoration Notice for Coming Week
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will NOT commence until 1pm, Tuesday to Thursday this week to allow for practices for Gaelscoil Míde’s Christmas Play which will take place this Friday from 5.30pm to 7.30pm in our Church.
Advent in our Church
Prepare is the symbol for this Sunday. Two purple candles will be lighting on the Advent wreath this Sunday –Hope and Peace. The Jesse tree holds the symbols: knife – representing Isaac and Jacob; ladder – Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven; multi-coloured coat -Jacob’s son Joseph and 10 commandments – Moses.
Collection for St Vincent de Paul
The St Vincent de Paul Society will hold a church collection this weekend 6th/7th December to raise funds for people who are struggling this Christmas. This collection will replace the SHARE collection. Please support.
A Reflection on Today’s Gospel
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’
The readings are full of hope, inviting us to reflect on our relationship with God.
Isaiah (First Reading) foretells a future leader from the house of Jesse, pointing to Jesus: filled with the gifts of the Spirit, he will judge with righteousness. Isaiah uses beautiful natural imagery to express the peace and knowledge of the Lord that this king will bring to all the world.
The Psalmist echoes these themes of peace and justice, portraying a king who brings peace and protection to all nations, and especially to the poor and needy.
St Paul prays that the Scriptures will give hope and encouragement to Christ’s followers (Second Reading). He urges us to live in harmony and unity with God and with one another, so that all peoples might glorify God.
In the Gospel, John the Baptist preaches repentance in anticipation of the coming of Christ: ‘he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’ John calls the people to leave their sinful lives and turn to God. He tells of the need to bear fruit: real faith that shows in our actions.
As Pilgrims of Hope in this Jubilee year, we continue to pray for those treated unjustly, and all who live in areas where there is no peace.
Sacramental Preparation 2025/2026
We welcome the children from Scoil Eoin and North Bay schools to the 6pm Mass on Saturday – the third Sunday in the year of preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation and thank you for your continued support and prayers for them.
Spend time with the Lord in the wonderful ministry of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in our Church from 11am- 3pm Tuesdays to Fridays each week. Please leave your name and time/day available on a card from back table, and put in envelope on Adoration table.
Would you like to sing carols on Christmas Eve?
If so, come to the Church at 7.30pm on Monday night to practice. All singers will be most welcome.
Would you like to sing carols on Christmas Eve?
If so, come to the Church at 7.30pm on Monday night
to practice. All singers will be most welcome.
Want to make your Sunday Mass more meaningful?
7.15 – 8.30pm each Tuesday in the Parish Centre. Praying, sharing and staying with the Sunday readings, to make them more meaningful, alive and life-giving in a relaxed prayerful atmosphere. Fr Séamus and prayer group. All welcome.
We at Missio Ireland extend our thanks to the parishioners of Kilbarrack/Foxfield Parish for their generosity on Mission Sunday. An amount of €1,108 has been received, for which we are very grateful. The support of each parishioner who donated to this worthy cause is very much appreciated.
Volunteer drivers are sought by the Irish Cancer Society to drive patients going for cancer treatment Contact Monica at volunteer@irishcancer.ie.
Reflections on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception focus on God choosing Mary to be the mother of Jesus, her complete surrender to God’s will. We may see her as a model for our own lives, especially in responding to God’s word, and to rejoice in the gift of God’s love and grace in our own lives.
Explanation re The Jesse Tree
The Jesse tree helps us connect the custom of decorating Christmas trees to the events leading to Jesus’ birth. The Jesse tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of King David. The ornaments of the Jesse tree tell the story of God in the Old Testament, connecting the Advent season with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history.
Invitation to be part of an Important Research Study
A PhD researcher is seeking volunteers to be part of an important research study exploring the experiences and needs of people living with both cancer and dementia, and the family members who care for them. This study is funded by the Irish Cancer Society, in partnership with St Vincent’s Hospital and Our Lady’s Hospice. Its aim is to understand the challenges faced by people with these conditions and their caregivers, and to identify ways healthcare services can provide better support. Please contact Jane at 089 216 3991 or jane.gaffey4@mail.dcu.ie
Have Your Say about your Catholic School
For Attention of Parents of children attending Primary Schools or have yet to start: The Department of Education is conducting a Primary School Survey to decide the future provision of Primary Schools and crucially could lead to lasting changes in your school. You are being asked if you want your school to stay a Catholic school or if you want that to change. Don’t leave it to others, have your say before 16 December 2025. See – https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/campaigns/primary-school-survey/
Photographs for collection
Photographs from our Annual Mass for the Dead may be collected from the Church at the back table.
What’s on:
- Zoom reflections Mondays 7.30-8.30pm. Contact Phyllis 086 890 9488.
- Chairobics in the Parish Centre, Tuesdays, 11.30am.
- Country Markets. C of I Raheny. 11th and 18th
- Visit Sensory Garden Edenmore. 14th from 2.30pm for children and adults with autism and special needs. Booking on Facebook.
- Portmarnock Singers Christmas Concert. Sunday 7th December. Portmarnock Church. €15. Children €5.
- Third Day Chorale Christmas concert Sunday 14th December in St Gabriel’s church at 3pm. Donation.
- The Ramparts Festive Concert – 18th/19th Gardiner Street Church. Tickets €20. Conc.€10. Eventbrite.
- Crosscare Christmas Food Poverty Appeal.Your donation will help provide food, stability, and a pathway towards independence for those who need it most. Donate at crosscare.ieor call 01 836 0011.
Joan of Arc, the Girl Who Set History on Fire
She was nineteen when the fire took her, but the flame she carried never went out.
Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who heard voices and changed the course of France, remains one of history’s most haunting figures. She claimed no divine right, held no noble blood, and wielded no worldly power. Yet she convinced kings, commanded armies, and dared to believe that faith could move not just mountains, but nations.
In the heart of war-torn France, a teenage girl walked into the chaos of the Hundred Years’ War with nothing but her conviction. She said she was sent by God to drive out the English and crown Charles VII as king. And somehow, impossibly, she did. She cut through the noise of politics and fear with the clarity of purpose that only the truly chosen, or the truly mad, seem to possess.
But faith, in a world built on power, is always punished. When the tide turned, her own allies abandoned her. Captured, accused of heresy, and tried by men who feared what they couldn’t understand, Joan faced the flames with the same calm she once faced battle. Her final words were not of defeat, but of devotion.
Centuries later, her story still burns. Mark Twain called her “the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.”
Joan of Arc stands as a reminder of what it means to believe when no one else does, to act with conviction in a world that mocks conviction, to carry light into systems that thrive on darkness.
Her victory wasn’t in war or politics.
It was in the unbreakable truth that one soul, ablaze with faith and purpose, can set history on fire.
Thought for the Week
You will never find justice in a world where criminals make the rules. – Bob Marley
