By Marian Harnett
SANTA COMES TO ABBEYFEALE: He will be chatting to children and reading out their letters at 5.45pm on Friday, November 27 on the Abbeyfeale Christmas Lights FB page and at 6.30pm he’ll turn on the Christmas lights. An event not to be missed.
ANNUAL MASS FOR BEREAVED FAMILIES: Mass for parishioners who were bereaved in the past twelve months will be celebrated next Friday evening, 27th of November at 7.00p.m. Unfortunately, due to the current restrictions on attendance at church, it is not possible to have family members attend in Church. However, the Mass will be livestreamed on our Church Services TV webcam at www.abbeyfealeparish.ie. During the Mass the names of all who have died since the 1st of November last year will be read out and a candle will be lit for each one of them. Please pass this information to relatives who live outside of the parish.
SHOP LOCAL: We are grateful to all the local shops and businesses who help distribute the Parish Newsletter each weekend. It helps parishioners keep in touch with the parish. At this challenging time of restrictions for all shops and businesses we encourage parishioners to support where possible local shops and businesses, especially in the lead up to Christmas.
VISIT PARISH CHURCH: The Blessed Sacrament chapel is open each weekday from 11.00am to 6.00pm and on Sunday’s from 1.00pm – 6pm.
RED WEDNESDAY 2020: Red Wednesday is an initiative of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a Catholic charity dedicated to the support of suffering and persecuted Christians. In Ireland, Red Wednesday will take place on November 25. Red Wednesday is a day to draw attention to the plight of those who are persecuted and oppressed for their religious beliefs. Cathedrals, churches and public buildings around the world will light up in red to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Parish Church in Abbeyfeale will be lit up in red from Tuesday, November 24 -Tuesday, December 1. It is clear that the persecution of Christians is worse today than at any time in history. In terms of the number of people involved, the gravity of the acts committed, and their impact, not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith group, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the worst forms of persecution. Red Wednesday provides us with an opportunity to pray for all who suffer because of their Christian faith. Along with lighting up our church in red, parishioners will have an opportunity to pray for suffering Christians during two hours of Adoration. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will take place on Wednesday from 11am – 1p.m. Entrance to the Church will be through the Blessed Sacrament Chapel door. Why not call into the church and spend a few minutes in prayer. On the evening of Wednesday 25th,you may like to link into a Liturgy of Witness with Archbishop Eamon Martin from St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh at 7:30pm. This is a beautiful opportunity for the faithful to gather as a community of witnesses and pray not only for persecuted Christians –but also for the persecutors of Christians.
COMPLETE THE LYRICS: Mary Murphy has been thinking about the past year and has put together a few lines. She’s hoping that people will don their thinking caps and continue the lyrics to make a song that will be our anthem for 2020: ‘’Ring a Ring a Rosy, As the year declines, We’ll remember 2020 and the Quare Old times.’’ We’ll have a Christmas cake from the Abbeyfeale Farmers’ Market for the best effort.
NOONANS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: The family have organised an online fundraiser and you can donate at this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/noonans-lights-for-charity
WEST LIMERICK COMMUNITY RADIO PLAYING THEIR PART: WL102fm has provided a great service throughout West Limerick since the lockdown began with Mass broadcast every Sunday morning at 10am to all the people who are cocooning . Advertising and fundraising pay their expenses and like everyone else they need money to survive. Please buy a ticket for their weekly draw and help them stay on air – it’s as simple as that – you’ll never miss the water ‘til the well runs dry. Tickets on sale at Ann Lyons’s, The Square for €2 each and Moss the Farmers’.