Introduction

You are welcome to the Keash Parish website. We hope that the website is enjoyed by everyone and is a positive feature for the people of Keash and Culfadda in the months and years to come.

There are a number of reasons why it is thought that this website is important at this time:-

Firstly, we live in a time where our church is suffering greatly, for many different reasons. The trust placed in a small portion of our

religious has been broken and the effect of such has been profound and far reaching. Many people have been effected by such and none more than survivors of sexual abuse. We pray for healing continuously for all affected by such. All of this has brought about a heavy weight and shame for other religious people be it priests, nuns or other religious (all of good standing) who work tiredlessly for the good of their communities daily. They feel embarrassed and ashamed for the acts of other religious who have breached the high levels of trust imposed. We as a Community must attempt to take small steps to highlight the benefits of a church and the importance of having good religious people working within our community.  Our Parish has benefited enormously down through the years, by having Religious people integrate and work within our parish.  We as a small parish in the West of Ireland want to voice the good these people have done for us and our ancestors.  They have brought many blessings on us and our ancestors.

Secondly, our small voice could lead to something greater but we need to illustrate to our children and friends that believing in God and being part

of a christian community is not reason to be embarrassed.  We need to go around proud that we are people of Catholic faith.  Our religious people, need the support of a faithful community to help them in their role.  We need to pray for our religious asking that they lead our community through these turbulent times.  Could readers of this section of the website please take a moment to say prayer for our present Parish Priest Fr. Gabriel Murphy and our former Parish Priest of 23 years, Fr. Jim Finan.  We also remember all religious people that served within our parish down through the years.    The least these people deserve is our prayers.

Thirdly, we feel a need to communicate to people in their homes and to say, you are part of our church. We ask and encourage

these people to do everything in their power to attend mass each Saturday night or Sunday morning but if you cannot do that for whatever reason, to know that you still remain a member of our church and your presence and voice is wanted at this difficult time.  Some people may be ill and unable to attend. There are people of many different backgrounds who may feel excluded from our church today. Please do not feel excluded. You must understand the great joy that is encountered by a Parish Priest in witnessing someone not openly practising his or her faith regularly, making effort to attend mass or to publicly announce in someway their involvement in their local church. All the hard work seems so worthwhile when such happens. This does not require big public statements. This requires small steps

People themselves may feel in someway unworthy of stepping within the church building because they have committed wrong. Our God is one that is all forgiving. When someone does wrong, thats when our church should be calling out at its loudest. Our church has alot to offer and especially when the road of life is proving difficult to follow and understand. God sometimes is closest when the challenges of life are at their hardest.

We therefore utilise this website to stretch out our hand to people of faith who for one reason or another dont attend mass regularly. We hope that by reaching out our hand through this website that  People who believe in God and the Church but dont attend mass regularly might come forward and support their church in some form.  There are many ways to support; not simply financial (although of course that is a very important aspect of any parish).  By one such person reacting positively to this invitation, the core purpose of this Website will have been fulfilled.

Fourthly, this website is hopefully a way to communicate prayer to the home.

People need to understand how to meditate in the presence of our Lord. People of faith, occasionally experience a feeling within themselves where they know God is near. This moment can be experienced in many different ways. It usually arises when their is calm and quiteness. This is why Jesus and many of his followers went off to secluded areas to pray, in the hope of connecting with God in this deep spiritual way. Sometimes the experience of a quiet church, with a flickering candle can help to experience this wonderful feeling. Sometimes a person can be walking in a field praying, witnessing the beauty of Gods creation and experience this wonderful feeling. There are many many ways to experience this but it all starts with prayer. Sometimes prayer can feel as if no one is listening.

Imagine Mother Teresa, above all people testified to the feeling of praying and feeling that there was no one listening on occasion.  She preservered through those times and kept praying.  A strong faith is necessary to do this.  Mother Teresa was asking people to preservere.  It is only by doing so that ultimately a true understanding of why we pray, why we attend mass and so on, becomes evident.

Praying can feel stupid in a worldly sense.  It may not be conventional or “cool”.  If prayer is not rushed and thought given to the words expressed and requests made of God for assistance, such requests will never be refused. God never refuses requests made. He may not answer them in the way we want them answered but the power of prayer is never lost. For example, we sometimes pray for a person close to us, not to die. We implore God to leave them in this world. We pray strongly with this request. Sometimes that person dies.

In our wordly minds, we feel as if God has turned his back on us. This is not true. Months and years later that same person sits back saying how did I come through the death of that loved one. Prayer is never lost. Someone greater is helping us to cope.  We can only assume that there was a greater reason for why that person had to die.  We can only hope that after we leave this world, we will understand why such things had to happen.  Unfortunately in the world we live, our worldly minds cannot explain or even understand why bad things and indeed sometimes evil things happen.  All we can do is pray that someone good, in the form of God in heaven is doing his utmost to minimise such evil acts within our world today.  We need to pray to God to fend off such evil. We must accept that there is someone greater than ourselves; who tries to mind us throughout such difficult worldly experiences. This world is full of problems and always will be. From a child crying in a cot – teething, to exams, to work problems, to health problems, to marital difficulties, even worrying for our children or elderly family members. Wordly problems never stops. Keep saying a prayer and the burden will become easier.  Again, it can be easier to be close to God when we are struggling in life.  We utilise this website to try and communicate the need to pray and the benefits that can be achieved.

Fifthly, it will be nice for people of our parish who have travelled away (sometimes not of their own choosing), to be able to see what is going on in our parish.  They will have access to our Newsletters and updated notes, high lightening ongoing events in our parish.

They may occasionally see uploaded photographs of events happening within the parish.  People have left our parish in times gone by, who as said, often had no choice.  These people remained extremely close to their home and parish.  Whatsmore, many of those people supported our Parish in different ways, notwithstanding their need to live elsewhere.  We will be trying to use this website to communicate with them and bring them closer to ongoing events within our parish.

Sixthly, we simply do not want our Church and Parish to be forgotten.

Most people in our parish rely on our Church buildings for certain events in their lives ie Marriage and Death, to name two.  The harsh reality is that without the support of all people of Christian faith within our parish; there will be no fulltime Parish Priest and the day will come that the Church buildings will find themselves in disarray.  This is not scare mongering but a realistic and harsh reality.  If that happens, it may not be possible for our funerals and marriages to take place within our parish.

Please remember that our ancestors handed us down our faith.  Whatsmore, they handed us down beautiful places to practice our faith.  As a mark of respect to the people that went before us, we need to maintain a vibrant and active church within our community.  by doing so, God willing, we will reap the ultimate reward from the Lord on the last day.

Finally, this website builds on enormous progress within our parish and in particular in recent years.  For example, we have a new Club House (well on its way to completion), an extension to Culfadda National School, renovation works to Keash School playground, our new Community playground, our new Parochial House, the monument to Michael Flatley, the efforts to open up the Caves and so on…..

God willing that much more will follow.