Click here for Prayer Resouces

It's never too early to start preparing for Holy Week and Easter. Below find some resources from the wonderful world of the Internet that may be helpful to parishes and liturgy groups preparing for the great events. Planning Palm Sunday   Light & Darkness at the Easter Vigil

Our Sunday Visitor offers a great site that explores Holy Week and its events/symbols etc. that are a good guide to understanding what we do, the symbols we use and why. A good site for families and explaining things to children. Your Guide to Holy Week  Other Website resources -    Planning for the Easter Vigil    Loyola Press Holy Week    Resources from Wellspring Liturgy

Saint Patrick was a Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of the island along with Saints Brigid and Columba.  Two authentic letters from him survive, from which come the only generally-accepted details of his life. When he was about 16, he was captured from his home and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland as an ordained bishop, but little is known about the places where he worked. By the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.

A number of websites offer some help for St. Patrick's Day Liturgy including the Mass texts in Irish (Click Here) if they are needed. While the prayers and texts of the Mass can be from the solemnity of St. Patrick the readings used should be those of the Fifth Sunday of the season of Lent.   Click Here for Resource

Yes HE Is.com  By gathering the Internet's best Christian media, we are building a resource base to help you to share Jesus to almost any type of person, in any situation.  If you haven't realised it yet, your online voice is poweful.  In fact, you could probably reach hundreds of people today by posting a few things on Facebook and Twitter.  Imagine trying to reach that number of people a few years ago. 

yesHeis.com (Click Here) connects with a growing community of believers who are confident that the Internet can be a tool for sharing the gospel with more people than was ever possible.  Take a quick look around yesHeis.com for relevant topics that might help you to share your faith, or just see what's trending this week and you'll quickly find something that will speak to your family or friends who don't know Jesus. 

LENTEN RESOURCE:  Stations of the Cross for Young People in A4 three-fold format is just one of the Lenten Resources produced by Shrewsbury Diocese's Commission for the Promotion of Justice, Peace and Social Responsibility this year. You can download this sheet from the Youth page here.    The Justice and Peace Resources for Young People have also been updated - nine pages of stimulating ideas: games, films, facts and questions for secondary schools, youth groups, confirmation groups which can be used as a complete programme or as stand-alone sheets: Click Here  From Xt3, 2018 Lent Calendar and Lent Promo video.

Lent is a penitential season when we're encouraged to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation: to go to confession.  Some look forward to doing this - others, not so much!  Many just don't think they need to go.  Whatever group you find yourself in, I'm pleased to offer you:   A Dozen Reasons NOT to Go to Confession:

Confirmation   The Primary Schools Catechetical Team of the Diocese of Killaloe have put together a selection of liturgical resources that may assist teachers and parishes preparing to celebrate the sacrament over the next few months. Resources include; the Mass Texts, Scripture Choices, Commentaries and Prayers. They can be found in different formats, (Word, Image, PDF) in two places on the website; the Primary Catechetics Page and the Confirmation section of the Liturgical Resources. Click here for access to site.

World Day of the Sick - Monday Feb 11th 2019:   Since 1992, the Catholic Church has celebrated World Day of the Sick on Feb. 11 — the day on which the church commemorates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes — under the sponsorship of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care. World Day of the Sick has three consistent themes. First, it reminds the faithful to pray intensely and sincerely for those who are sick. Second, the celebration invites Christians to reflect on and respond to human suffering. And third, this day recognizes and honors all persons who work in health care and serve as caregivers.  Message of Pope Francis for the World Day of the Sick 2018

St. Damien - Feast Day May 11th:  Click here for Liturgy resources St. Damien - Damien Secondary School Resource:  Thanks to the Irish Missionary Union Mission Alive office, their 2012 resource book for Secondary schools contained a segment on St. Damien, designed to bring the story of this remarkable man to a new generation of secondary school students.   Click here for the Damien segment of the Resouce book.   Click here for the full content of the resource.   Click here Inspirational video on Damien's life   

Suggested Websites:   Xt3 based in Australia, is a site to help you connect with other young people interested in knowing more about the Catholic faith, to plug in to the Church and get to know what's going on in your area. Wherever you are in the world, use Xt3 to connect with millions, make new friends, and keep in touch. You don't have to be a Catholic, Xt3 is open to all!          Click Here

ROME REPORTS (RR) is a private and independent international TV news agency based in Rome, Italy, specializing in covering the Pope and the Vatican.  Click Here

Sacred Space in seventeen languages, is an Irish Jesuit website which invites you to make a 'Sacred Space' in your day, praying here and now, as you visit the website, with the help of scripture chosen every day and on-screen guidance.  Click Here

Catholic on Line: An American website, it offers Catholic News and Information for Catholics and all People of God, to help them deepen their understanding of Our Catholic Faith. It includes a library of Catholic prayers on perseverance, peace, love, devotion etc., along with a large searchable database of information on Catholic saints, as well as a video library and a website segment on the single life. Click Here     

Teaching Catholic Kids:  A valuable on line tool for parents, teachers and catechists, helpuing you to bring our Catholic faith alive for our children. Free downloadable activities and teacher resources are updated each month. Click Here

We celebrate the feast day on St Brigid on Feb. 1st.  Born in 454, twenty years after the arrival of St Patrick. Her father was a pagan chieftain.  She spent her youth herding and miking cattle and making butter. She was very beautiful and popular. She refused to marry as she wished to consecrate herself to God’s service.
Her father refused her permission to become a nun but later consented seeing her determination. Others followed her way of life. She built many convents. She was an active nun. Her generosity knew no bounds. She travelled long distances to do good.  Hospitality, almsgiving and care of the sick were her main concerns, living a life of basic Christianity. Although she herself did not live a cloistered life, she may be regarded by many as the pioneer of monastic life for Irish women.  Her reputation for genuine holiness earned her the title “Mary of the Gael”.