Dear Parishioners,
After prayerful discernment and consultation with our Parish Pastoral Council, I have decided to suspend the celebration of Mass on Wednesday mornings in the parish, from the week beginning Monday, September 7ᵗʰ, 2026.

 
In deciding which weekday Mass to suspend, I have chosen Wednesday because the Wednesday morning Mass appears generally to be attended by fewer people than the other weekday Masses. Going forward, Mass intentions will not be taken for Wednesdays.

 
One of the principal reasons for this decision is the need to ensure that I have a genuine day off each week. Very often, my day off (previously a Thursday) would only begin at lunchtime that day. Indeed, there have been weeks when I have not been able to take a day off at all. This is no longer sustainable, especially given my current family commitments.

 
At the same time, I believe that this change presents us with an opportunity for our parish to grow in prayer, participation, and responsibility.

From Wednesday September 9ᵗʰ, instead of Mass on Wednesdays, there will be a Liturgy of the Word at 10.00am, led by trained lay members of the parish who are already Ministers of the Word. This will provide an opportunity for the parish community to continue to gather, to listen to the Word of God, to pray together and to support one another even when a priest is not present.
This is something which the Church encourages. The National Centre for Liturgy, in its publication It Is Good for Us to Be Here, reminds us:

 
“When a parish does not have the celebration of the Eucharist on weekdays, people who wish should continue to gather and encounter the Lord in his Word and in the assembly, prayer and witness of God’s people.”

It is an opportunity for us to recognize more fully the responsibility that belongs to all of us through our Baptism. Each of us is called to pray, to serve, to proclaim the Gospel and to play our part in building up the life of our parish community.

I am also conscious that some may wonder why Holy Communion will not form part of this Wednesday celebration. The Church does not encourage the distribution of Holy Communion during such Liturgies of the Word. The Eucharist is at the very heart of the Church’s life, and precisely because we hold the Eucharist in such reverence, we should not try to reproduce part of the Mass when the celebration of the Eucharist itself is not taking place. When the people gather for a Liturgy of the Word in the absence of Mass, we encounter Christ in the Scriptures proclaimed, in prayer and in our gathering together as his people.

 
When a Funeral Mass is arranged for a Wednesday, the Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 12 noon (as is current practice) and there will be no Liturgy of the Word or Mass that day at 10am.

Thank you, as always, for your understanding, your prayers and your continued support.

 
Yours in Christ and in His service,
Fr. Damien
Sunday August 23ʳᵈ, 2026, Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

“The Lord gathers and unites us together.”
St Athanasius of Alexandria (c. 296–373), Festal Letter X

For many years, they have served God’s people faithfully — celebrating Mass, baptising, marrying, comforting, preaching and walking with their parish communities. Some, even in retirement, continue to help in our parishes; others now live in nursing homes or are unable to minister because of long-term illness.

Through a dedicated parish envelope in these weeks, we have an opportunity to support them in their retirement, illness and later years. We give thanks for their years of priestly service and ask God’s blessing upon them.

The Parish of Dunleer is delighted to participate in **Return to Nature 2030**, an initiative of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, as part of the Church’s ongoing commitment to caring for our common home.
As part of this initiative, we will be allowing some areas of our parish estate — including parts of the grounds at the Parochial House and in our graveyards — to **grow more naturally and wild**. This will provide space for wildflowers, insects, birds and other wildlife, while helping to increase the biodiversity of our parish.
This may look a little different from the way we have traditionally maintained our grounds, but it is a deliberate choice: **sometimes caring for God’s creation means allowing nature to do what nature does best.** 
We are grateful for the support and guidance of **Dunleer Tidy Towns** and the **Biodiversity Officer of Louth County Council** as we begin this journey.
Through small changes in how we care for our parish land, we hope to make a positive contribution to the beauty and biodiversity of our local area — and to live out our responsibility to **care for our common home**.

 **Aiming to Give Back 30% of Parish Land to Nature by 2030.**