Parish Newsletter
Publishedon Thursday 11th December 2025
A Few Words from Fr Joe…………………….
On Monday evening, Mount Merrion will host the Advent Reconciliation Service for the Holy Trinity Partnership. For the past 20 years or more the usual format has been a penance service, with a visiting preacher, and a number of confessors and lasted about 45 mins to an hour. Last year a number of people chatted to me about the length of the service, in the middle of a busy time of year and with winter weather, they felt it was too long, and they were cold before the end. So, taking this into account and in consultation with some other parishes we are changing the format this year. We are simply inviting parishioners to “come and confess” anytime between 7.30pm and 8.15pm. There will hopefully be 7 priests available and all are welcome to come and celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, take a moment for penance and prayer, and slip away. We hope this might suit parishioners needs, perhaps encourage parents to bring their children and take some of the pressure off confessions on Christmas Eve morning. We hope to have a quiet, reflective environment, a warm church, some gentle music and a peaceful, supportive gathering. Coming to confession should never be an ordeal and we hope to experience the healing love of Christ in this most blessed moment of Grace. Sometimes entering into the reflection about how well we are living our Christian life, recognising things that need to change and seeking reconciliation can be the greatest gift we give to those we love. Please come.
Fr Peter Johnson CC.
Fr Peter went home to Nigeria in the summer to apply for a visa to return to Ireland as a Religious worker. After a long six months of patient waiting the visa has now been issued and very soon he will have a flight back to Ireland and will return to our partnership and carry on his excellent work. We look forward to seeing his smiling face again and enjoying his company.