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 |
| Health Intention | Mon. 9th | 10am |
| In remembrance of Mark Young | Fri. 13th | 10am |
| Eugene Doherty (1st A) | Sat. 14th | 6pm |
| Joseph Massey (1st A) | Sat. 14th | 6pm |
| Breeda Doyle | Sun. 15th | 12pm |
| Tony Healy (3rd A) | Sun. 15th | 12pm |
| Kathleen Crabtree, Month’s Mind | Sun. 15th | 12pm |
| Patrick McDevitt (2nd A) | Sun. 15th | 12pm |
Adoration Notice
Adoration will NOT commence until 1pm this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to allow for practice for Gaelscoil Míde’s Christmas Play which will take place this Friday from 5.30pm to 7.30pm in our Church.
Penitential Services 2024
A communal Penitential Service will take place at the following Masses:
- Friday 20th December at 10am
- Saturday 21st December at 6pm
- Monday 23rd December at 10am
Schedule Changes for Christmas
- Gospel Evenings finishes up on 17th December and recommences on Tuesday 14th Jan at 7.15pm.
- Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will cease from 17th December and resume on Tues.7th Jan.
- No Divine Mercy Thursday 19th or 26th Recommences Thursday 2nd Jan at 7.30m.
- Healing of the Generations – No December Mass. The service will take place on Sun. 5th Jan at 7pm.
Full Christmas Schedule will be in next week’s newsletter.
Advent Thoughts from www.2u.ie
We all look for meaning and fulfilment in life. We crave for stillness, quiet time and quality time for ourselves but seldom find it. Advent allows us to be grateful for the good things in our life. Advent is never forced but always invites. We are invited to personalise the coming weeks. Give yourself some time. The hectic pace of the next few weeks does not encourage gentleness. But be gentle with yourself. Advent is also a time of reflection.
Today we celebrate the many great deeds God has worked for us, as he shares with us his mercy and bountiful love.
The First Reading offers a prophetic message of joy and hope. The saving presence of God brings about the transformation of his broken-hearted people, and the restoration of Jerusalem.
The Gospel speaks of a still more glorious restoration. John the Baptist appears, calling us to turn again to God. John announces that all humanity is to see ‘the salvation of God’, anticipating the preaching of the gospel to all nations.
St Paul, in the Second Reading, is writing to the Philippians: for whom he has deep affection. He encourages the new community to grow in love and knowledge of Christ Jesus, to enable them to live even better, more fruitful lives.
The Psalmist remembers the joy of deliverance from exile. He begs that God will act again to bring fertility and abundance to his people.
During Advent, we seek the meaning of repentance in preparation for the coming of Jesus and pray to leave aside anything that might blind us to God’s love, and to become open to a deepening, faith-filled relationship with the Lord.
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.
SVDP Christmas Appeal
The Annual Christmas Collection for our local St Vincent de Paul group takes place this weekend 7th/8th December to raise funds for those who are struggling this Christmas. Please support and give generously.
This weekend we also celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Among Mary’s essential virtues were her total, complete and eternal commitment to do God’s will. Her renowned response, “Let it be done to me according to his will,” is continually on her lips. Mary’s essential vocational calling is her fidelity to family and living the call to motherhood. She loved, honoured and served Joseph and Jesus in the home at Nazareth and beyond. She is our mother and model, for all families, through all generations. May we imitate her virtues of obedience to God’s calling, union with others in the body of the Church, and be an active witness for Jesus wherever we go.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Photographs for collection
Photographs from our Annual Mass for the Dead may be collected from the Church.
Sacramental Preparation Mass
We look forward to seeing you again at this month’s preparation Mass which will take place next
Saturday 14th December at 6pm.
Dates of all the preparation Masses for 2024/25 are available on the Parish website.
Marianne, Finola, Mary & Jenny. For the Parish Team
New Pilgrim Path – Advent Meditation
Thomas Merton was spiritual director to James Finley, Ph.D. in the Trappist monastery in Kentucky. Finley is a master of the Christian contemplative way, a renowned retreat leader, and an authority on the Christian mystics – old and new. His short and beautiful video meditation on Advent can be accessed at www.newpilgrimpath.ie
Gospel Evenings
“Heaven and Earth will Pass Away, but My Words will NOT Pass Away (Mark 13/31)
You are invited to enrich your Life, your Mass, by making the Readings of the Word of God more understandable, more meaningful, more life-giving by coming to Our Parish Centre, Tuesday evenings from 7.15pm to 8.30pm
Organised by Fr Séamus and team. All most welcome.
Family Offering Boxes 2025
There is an urgent need for more contributors so please consider being part of this. The smallest amount each week would be most welcome. Our parish can benefit by an Income Tax claim from the total amount collected each year per family or household. Contact Janice at 01-839 0433.
Parish Christmas Cards Pack of 5 for €5 on sale in the Repository while stocks last.
Foxfield/Kilbarrack Community group asks that people donate selection boxes or a small donation to cover delivery of these boxes to local schools by Mrs. Claus. These can be dropped into the box in Centra.
Great selection of books (new and second-hand) in our Parish Centre – call in and browse – maybe find a gift for someone this Christmas!
What’s On
- Reflection on the Scriptures on Zoom 30pm each Monday. Contact Sr Phyllis – 086 890 9488.
- Eucharistic Adoration Monday to Friday. 11am – 3pm. All welcome.
- Manresa online/drop in events 3-4.30pm Saturdays to Christmas. Register on Manresa website. 01 552 9448.
- Country Market. All Saint’s Hall Raheny. Each Thursday to mid-December. 10.45am-12.15pm.
- Bayside Alpha on Zoom – two-part series: St Francis of Assisi: Sign of Contradiction. Bishop Barron and Franciscan Friar Fr Dave Pivonka. Sunday 15th and 22nd Dec 7:30pm. email Paul alphabayside@gmail.com.
Christmas Concerts
- Portmarnock Singers. 7.30pm 8th Portmarnock Church. €15. €5 children.
- Forget-Me-Nots plus others. 8-9.30pm. Monday, 9th St Patrick’s Cathedral. €10. www.eventbrite.ie/e/community-christmas-concert-tickets-1043825027757
- The Seafield Singers – A festival of Christmas Music, St John the Baptist Church of Ireland, Clontarf. 18th Dec at 8pm Admission €20.
- The Ramparts Festive Concert – 18th/19th Gardiner Street Church. Tickets €20. Conc.€10. Eventbrite.
Just Sit Beside Me
Ernest Hemingway once said: In our darkest moments, we don’t need solutions or advice. What we yearn for is simply human connection—a quiet presence, a gentle touch. These small gestures are the anchors that hold us steady when life feels like too much.
Please don’t try to fix me. Don’t take on my pain or push away my shadows. Just sit beside me as I work through my own inner storms. Be the steady hand I can reach for as I find my way. Your silent support is the most precious gift you can give. It’s a love that helps me remember who I am, even when I forget.
Laughter Is No Joke
Laughter is something spiritual. It belongs to higher bits of intelligence. The more intelligent you are, the more capable you are of laughing at things. Not only at things, but at yourself too. You become capable of seeing the whole grand absurdity of life, this whole grand absurdity of life.
Never Forget How Far You’ve Come
Never forget how far you’ve come. Everything you’ve gotten through. All the times you’ve pushed on, even when you thought you couldn’t. All the mornings you got out of bed no matter how hard it was. All the times you wanted to give up, but you got through another day. Never forget how much strength you have developed along the way.
You Have Never Truly Gone
“Though you no longer walk beside me physically,
I see you in every memory.
I feel you in every heartbeat.
I hear you in every song.
I know you in every thought.
I laugh with you in every joy.
I cry with you in every sorrow.
For though you no longer walk beside me,
You have never truly left me,
For I feel your presence with me every step of the way
And you have never truly gone!”
– Words by Tahlia Hunter.
Thought for the Week
“The less gratitude you receive for doing a kind act, the greater the value of the act. True kindness is when we do not receive anything in return for what we d
