20 September 2026
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Services during the Week:
Saggart: Mass: Sun 9am, Tue, Wed & Fri 11am.
Adoration: Sat and Sun 4 to 7pm
Rathcoole: Mass: Sat 6pm, Sun 12pm, Tue & Thu 10am.
Adoration: Sun 4 to 6pm, Tue 10.30am to 1pm and 3 to 5pm; Fri 9am to 12pm and 3 to 7pm
Newcastle: Mass: Sun 10am. Mon & Fri 10am.
Adoration: Sat 3 to 5pm.
Confession: Available by request, generally after any Mass.
Baptisms/Marriages: Contact Parish Office for details (086 0108420 on Tue, Wed & Thu from 10am to 12.30pm)
Remember in your Prayers
Please pray for the souls of Harry Strumble, Orla Kenny & Simon O’Mara from Newcastle who died recently. Also Marian Doyle whose funeral takes place on Friday 25th In Saggart and Deirdre McDermott remembrance Mass takes place on Saturday 26th in Saggart at 11am. Burial of ashes in Saggart cemetery.
May they Rest in Peace.
First Holy Communion/Confirmation Enrolment
For those who have children in non-parish schools but wish to celebrate First Penance/Eucharist & Confirmation you are invited to contact us about the preparation provided in our Parish. Leave your contact details in the parish office and you will be contacted by Deacon Paul Ferris.
Newcastle Community Week Ending Sep 20
On Sunday 20th (10.30 – 3pm) there will be a large Bric-a-Brac sale in St. Finian’s Community Hall in aid of Newcastle Tidy Towns. This aimed to encourage the re-use of items and the circular economy. The hall will be opened on 5 and 12 to accept donations. Good quality items ‘as good as new’ and will accept homewards, books, toys, garden pots and ornaments, vintage items, vinals and unwanted gifts. (No CDs, DVDs or Electrical items please.)
Highdown Hill Tractor Run
Takes place on Sunday September 20th. Beginning in Greenogue at 1pm.
Saggart – A Sense of Place
Swiftbrook Papers – A book launch by Mervyn Ennis & friends, will take place in the Old Schoolhouse Community Centre on 22nd September from 7pm until 9pm.
Four District’s Community First Responders Quiz Night
Friday, 2nd October. 9pm in Rathcoole Inn. Do drop in for a bit of fun. In 2025 we responded to over 300 emergency calls from the National Ambulance Service and rely 100% on donations to respond to life threatening emergencies in our community. We need your support.
Harvest Dues
During September traditionally extra donations are made towards the support of the clergy in our parish & diocese. Envelopes are available at all exits of the church.
Safeguarding Sunday
Safeguarding Sunday falls on the last Sunday of the month of September, This is next Sunday 27th. Update will be available then.
Pathways into Pastoral Ministry
This course is for any adult who wants to explore and grow their faith. Over a year, participants are offered inputs on foundational issues of faith and the impact they have on ministry and parish life. There is also time for small group sharing and the opportunity for three different retreat experiences. On completion of the course, people are presented with a certificate.
Pathways is run on a Thursday evening (during term times) at the St Patrick’s campus of DCU in Drumcondra from 7.15pm to 9.15pm. The course starts on September 24th and runs until May 13th, and costs €300.
For further details, please visit the adult faith section of www.dublindiocese.ie/missionministry or contact peter.siney@dublindiocese.ie.
Manresa Retreat Centre
Manresa Jesuit Centre of Spirituality (426 Clontarf Road, Dollymount) – September 2026 Retreat Offerings
Individually Directed Retreat, Mon-Fri, 7-11 Sep (4-day) / Tue-Thu, 15-24 Sep (8-day). A directed retreat offers time for personal prayer, silence, and reflection, with daily guidance from a spiritual director – a chance to deepen your relationship with God and discover His personal call to you.
The Reign of God (Residential Retreat). Sun, 27 Sep-Wed, 30 Sep. Facilitator: Fr Bernard McGuckian SJ. The concept of kingdom features frequently in both the Old and New Testaments. Come and find out its importance and how its meaning changed over the course of salvation history. For more information, check our website at www.manresa.ie or contact us at reception@manresa.ie / 01 5529 448.
Season of Creation 2026
After this summer in Ireland, we don’t have to imagine burnt earth, dry and cracked soil, desert and depleted resources of water. If we were lukewarm before about ‘Care for our Common Home’ or cynical about ‘Laudato Si’ we have an opportunity to revisit those views by immersing ourselves in the celebration of the Season of Creation in our liturgies and our communities (everything doesn’t happen inside the church building) from September 1 to October 4 (Feast of St Francis of Assisi).
The Season of Creation 2026 resources can be found here: Season of Creation 2026
These resources for 2026 were compiled by the ‘Laudato Si’ Working Group of the Irish Bishops’ Conference & Trócaire. The theme is ‘Living Water’ inspired by Ezekiel 47:9,12.
Visit of Relics of St Therese of Liseaux & Parents
The Relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux and Ss Louis and Zélie Martin will be welcomed to Legion of Mary, Dublin, (Morning Star Hostel, D07VA03) on Friday, 2nd October, at 1pm by Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell. They will be available for public veneration until Saturday, 3rd October, at 5pm, when a closing mass will be celebrated by Bishop Paul Dempsey.
Mass for the Missing
A remembrance Mass for missing people and their families will be held in St Mary’s Church, Sandyford, D18 E5R3, on Saturday, October 10, at 2.30pm. The Mass will be celebrated by Fr Aquinas Duffy. This is a poignant ceremony to pray for missing people, and for comfort and strength for families, and to guide all search efforts towards their successful return. Prayers will also be offered for Irish people missing abroad and pray for an end to the sufferings of these families.
French Language Mass
Mass for the French-speaking Catholic community in Dublin in St Mary’s Church, Haddington Road, is on the second and fourth Sundays of each month at 12.30pm from September to June.
Italian Language Mass
Italian Catholic Community Dublin. Masses in Aughrim Street Church every Saturday at 5.30pm (fourth Sunday of the month followed by community gathering). Other activities: Biblical Catechesis (online); Pre-marriage Catechesis: Rosary (online); Book Club: https://facebook.com/italiani.cattolici.a.dublino/. Contact: Fr Coriolan Muresan. cattolici.dublin@gmail.com / coryolan26@yahoo.it / 012447995.
Dublin Pilgrimage to Lourdes
The Dublin Diocesan Pilgrimage to Lourdes concluded last week. Archbishop Farrell’s homily from the opening Mass of the pilgrimage at the Grotto in Lourdes can be read on the diocesan website, where you will also find a short video from the Archbishop and Pilgrimage Director Canon Flaherty, as well as a video of the entire Mass. A gallery of photos is available from the pilgrimage’s departure last week at Dublin Airport.
Prayer App
Deacon Gerry Malone has developed a free Prayer App to provide support in our daily prayer life. The App contains various types of Prayer for different times of the day including; the Liturgy of Hours, Daily Mass Readings, The Rosary, Praying with Pope Leo for his monthly intentions and much more. This is completely free and is available through www.thesower.net
The Way
TheWay.ie is a digital platform set up by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference dedicated to sharing the Good News and the witness of the Catholic Church in Ireland. It is intended to help people discover the faith, live the faith and pass on the faith. It is for both seekers and followers. Visit www.theway.ie
Liturgy Formation
Liturgy Formation is for the entire assembly – and not for a few experts. Pope Leo XIV, speaking about formation for liturgy in 2026, chose to quote from his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, echoing some key points on this topic. “In his Apostolic Letter Desiderio Desideravi, 2022, which described the beauty of the liturgy’s theological and spiritual depth, Pope Francis emphasized the need for an attentive and ongoing formation of clergy and laity alike in revitalizing the liturgical life of the universal Church (cf. no. 38).He later reminded us that this kind of formation “is not a specialization for a few experts, but rather an inner disposition of all the People of God”. “In this way, through proper education and reverent worship, Catholics will be formed both for the liturgy and by the liturgy (cf. ibid., n. 34).”
Available here is Twelve Key Moments, a possible way to ‘form’ the assembly and celebrants in a brief series of inputs over a period of 6 weeks. Why not have a trained member of the assembly with communication skills and liturgical experience offer these short introductions – two per celebration with no elaboration. These could begin on the Sunday 11 October after the conclusion of the Season of Creation and finish before the season of Advent. These notes might also appear in the Parish Newsletter and Website. This initiative could plant the seeds for more liturgical inputs or developed courses.