By Kathleen Mullane

‘Happy Easter’ 

Can I start by wishing each and every reader of the Athea Parish Newsletter along with Lillian, Donal and fellow correspondents a very Happy Easter and what a lovely time of the year it can be with the brighter, longer evenings and incidentally don’t forget to put forward your clocks by an hour this Saturday night when Summer time begins.

‘An Easter Blessing for You’

May God bless you at Easter

And help you all year through

May God give you all the faith it takes

To make your dreams come true

May his love and wisdom always help

To guide you on your way

May his light shine down upon you now

To bless your Easter day.’

The Easter ceremonies are as follows:-

Holy Thursday: Celebration of the Lord’s Supper –8pm.

Adoration from 9pm to 11pm at the Altar of Repose.

Good Friday: Stations of the Cross at 3pm.

Veneration of the Cross at 7.30pm.

Holy Saturday: Easter Vigil Mass at 8pm and the lighting of the Pascal Candle.

A reminder that the annual Open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting will take place as usual in the Hall usually at 9pm. As this is an ‘open meeting’ everyone is welcome and it is always very well attended.

It would be great for our younger people to come along and gain some knowledge of the great work that ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ do.

Congrats to Joanne Sweeney Dalton and Oliver Barrett who were blessed with their new baby boy recently, Shane, Becky and Aisling are delighted with their new baby.

Sincere congrats and good wishes go to Lisa O’Connor (daughter of Theresa and Tom) who, on Friday last, was married here in Athea to Shane O’Sullivan (son of Margaret and Johnny of Knocknagorna). A great day was enjoyed by family, relatives and friends at the Ballygarry Hotel in Tralee.

Don’t forget the “Big Clean Up” this Good Friday in conjunction with the Tidy Towns. Last year it was great to see so many out picking up the litter including children with their parents which gives them great training and shows them how awful it is to throw litter around.

Would you believe this week is “International Happiness Week”. We are urged to smile, laugh and share a joke. As they say “laughter is the best medicine” – now there is even ‘Laughter Yoga’ which, it claims, reduces stress, blood pressure and much more. So enjoy a laugh over the Easter.