Dear parishioners,

I am available to you whenever you need.  Please stay in touch.

Fr. Declan

• Mass is being celebrated every Sunday from Preston Hill is at 11am on Youtube. If you wish to join me, you can Like and subscribe to:

www.youtube.com/chanel/UCMaC1cpFBS-qQ8JGKYPvkOw

You can also click the link at the bottom left corner of the parish webpage:  sjparish.ie

• If you wish to have an anniversary Mass offered on Sunday on Youtube, or daily, please contact 01-8412647.

This Sunday, 31^st May Mass will be offered for:

Maeve O’Connor (1 Ann)

Deceased members of the Mooney & Crawley Families

The Slattery & Moore Families

James & Teresa Collier

Jim Gorman

Roseanne & Harry Tyndall

Next Sunday, 6^th June Mass will be offered for:

Seamus (James) Reilly

Paddy Byrne (27 Ann)

• Mass is being offered from the Oratory at Preston Hill every day.

Thanks

Thanks to all who continue to drop weekly envelopes to the church/parochial house or into the candle shrines in both churches and by standing order and/or bank transfer.  Your support is very much appreciated.

If you wish to contribute to the church by bank transfer, you can e-mail your request to the Parish at secretary@sjparish.ie and we will contact you.

Thanks to all who support our Parish during these difficult times.  Your support is greatly appreciated.

Trócaire

Thanks to all who gave in their boxes/donations this week.

Exam Students

Special prayers will be offered at Mass next weekend for those who were due to sit Junior and Leaving Certificate exams and those who are sitting College and University exams.  We invite them to listen to the Mass next weekend.

Cemetery Sunday – Moorechurch Cancelled

Cemetery Sunday is due to take place in Moorechurch Cemetery on Sunday, 5^th July.

In compliance with Government guidelines regarding mass gatherings, and on the instructions of Bishop Tom, regretfully our annual Mass is cancelled.

On that particular Sunday, I will offer Mass on Youtube for all those buried in the Cemetery and for the bereaved.  We particularly think of those who have gone to their eternal reward since the Cemetery Mass last year.  Since then of course, there have been big changes in life, as well as death, not only for those who have lost loved ones but for all of us.

Mass will be offered on Youtube for the deceased in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Stamullen, at a later date, and most likely on the parish youtube channel.

www.youtube.com/chanel/UCMaC1cpFBS-qQ8JGKYPvkOw

You can also click the link at the bottom left corner of the parish webpage:  sjparish.ie

Catholics miss community dimensions to their faith

Catholics are looking forward to returning to their parish churches when the restrictions on public gatherings ease and again taking part in the Sacraments in person.  Bishop Dermot Farrell has said.

In his Pastoral Letter, “Missing each other, missing the Lord’, the Bishop of Ossory said that since the suspension of public Masses, people have been tuning into live-streamed Masses.  “Many people have told me that while this arrangement in the health emergency was a great comfort, they also felt a loss that they could not receive the Eucharist – the Bread of Life – in person” and that they looked forward to the day when they would be able to attend in person and receive sacramentally again.  He said grandparents acutely understand such a loss.  “Although their children and grandchildren could phone or Zoom or FaceTime, it was no substitute for a visit, for hugs and kisses, the closeness and life visiting brings.  Understandably we all look forward to a time when it will be possible, again, to share our lives, to gather in our churches, to celebrate and be nourished by our faith.”  “We believe that the Sacraments are privileged moments of encounter with God,” he said and added, the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist, are food for those day-to-day lives.  The Sacraments that we miss are actions of the Christian community.  They are Christ working among his people.  “This is why we celebrate them together in church.”

Act of Spiritual Communion

Although unable to receive Jesus in Holy Communion, parishioners are invited during the time of Holy Communion to make an Act of Spiritual Communion using the following words:

My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.  I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul.  Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart.  I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You.  Never permit me to be separated from You.  Amen.

Honour your gifts and talents Archbishop tells Class of 2020

Archbishop Michael Jackson, Church of Ireland Bishop, has sent a message of solidarity to the Class of 2020.

He asked the students to do three things. “The first thing I ask you to do is to honour your own talents and gifts.  You have the energy for this world. You have no need to fear this world.  You need to remember that you have everything to offer.” The second appeal he made was that the students would hold on to their life goals and he suggested that they write them down, either in a journal or in their phone in case they forget what they are.  “All these goals are your goals, and they are precious for that very reason.  Please hold on to them and nurture them.”  The third thing Dr. Jackson asked them to do is to retain their friendship group.  “For some of us this is family, for others it is a small or larger group of friends with whom we have shared interests and ideas and good fun inside and outside of school.”  He added, “please continue to talk and to work your way through these very difficult times.  Remember that you are special.”