The Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Schedule for the week ahead
Saturday Vigil 7pm Slane Kathleen Smith - Curtis.
Sunday Monknewtown 9.30am
Sunday Slane 11am Patrick O’Connor.
Monday Adoration 10am-12am & 7pm-9pm
Tuesday Mass 7pm
Wednesday Mass 9am
Thursday Mass 9am
Friday Mass 9am Adoration 7-8pm
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saturday Vigil 7pm Slane
Sunday Monknewtown 9.30am Tommy Stewart. Patrick, his parents Kathleen & Peter & his brother Michael Mooney.
Sunday Slane 11am Cormac Wall. Alacoque Kerrigan.
Message for the Day for Life – June 16, 2024
“The Lord is my Shepherd – Compassion and Hope at the End of Life” Meeting Matt – the experience of one priest.
I first met Matthew when he was about twenty. His girlfriend, Claire, called into the house one day and asked if she could bring her boyfriend for a blessing, because he had been in hospital having treatment for Leukaemia. He was back home, but he still couldn’t go into public spaces because of the risk of infection. She suggested that she would bring Matt to meet me the following Saturday.
To be honest, when I saw him first, Matt looked a lot healthier and stronger than I had expected. The impression changed a bit, when he took off the woolly hat, because he had lost all his hair from the chemotherapy. We chatted for a while, initially about themselves and then about Matt’s illness. He was hopeful, but realistic. They had opened a door for me by asking if Matt could have a blessing. We ended up celebrating the anointing of the sick and I gave them Holy Communion.
We kept in regular contact after that, and I got to know Matt and his family fairly well. A few months later, the leukaemia took hold again and he was back in hospital. It soon became clear, however, that Matt was not getting better, so he decided to come home and spend his final weeks surrounded by his family. There was nothing more that medical science could do. Matt was dying, but he was still surrounded by a community of care. The hospice team called regularly. Matt’s bed was in an alcove off the sitting room. His parents and siblings and, of course, Claire, accompanied him with love every step of the way.
A couple of days before he died, Matt asked me to come and say Mass for him in the house. He told me he had picked the Gospel himself; the well-known passage from St John: “I have given you a new commandment, love one another as I have loved you”. As I was setting up for the Mass, Matt said: “If it’s ok, I’d like to say a few words after the Gospel.” He spoke very simply to those who were gathered around him about how, like Jesus in the Gospel, he would be leaving them very soon. He reassured them that, throughout the experience of his illness, he had felt surrounded by love, and he encouraged them to continue loving one another”. That was it; nothing complicated, but very powerful.
Matt did not just live with dignity through his final illness; he grew in his humanity and in his faith. All we had to do was to accompany him and to make sure that he never felt abandoned or alone. It was the story of the Good Samaritan in real life.
Dates for your Diary
11th August – Blessing of the Graves MNK, Dowth & Fennor starting 2.30pm.
15th August – The Assumption of Our Blessed Virgin Mary 11am Mass (Slane).
18th August - Blessing of the Graves Hill of Slane & St. Erc’s starting 2.30pm on the Hill.
Followed by the Blessing of the Columbarium Wall.
Nov 1st All Saints
No 2nd All Souls
Parish Envelops – Please contact slaneparish@gmail.com if you have any inquiries.
“The Singing Group is taking a break for the summer from 19th May. Practice will resume in September and new members will be most welcome.”
First Friday Calls The sick & housebound are attended every First Friday. Please let Fr. Matthews know if you wish to be included or perhaps a family member, even for a short time.
Note Please check with the priest before booking a wedding venue to make sure the priest & church are available before committing to your choice of place for your reception.
Graves; - there has been an increase in recent weeks of waste material been taken from graves & left behind headstones. Please take whatever is taken of your graves home with you.
The Holy Rosary will take place after 9am mass on weekdays.
Alone aims to help reduce loneliness and isolation through a weekly home visit from a Befriender, To avail of this service or make a referral contact Francis at 086-1085965, or email volunteer@alone.ie
Finance Thanks to those who continue to contribute & support our parish by baskets, weekly envelopes, direct debit & our new Click & Donate facility currently available online at www.dioceseofmeath.ie. It is hoped to provide this on our own Website ASAP
Your financial support is vital to the maintenance and ongoing presence of the church in our community.
Please make cheques payable to Slane Parish
Standing order forms are available upon request and in the sacristy.
Links on our parish website
These might be of help to parishioners. Click here.