Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

This Thursday, 2nd of February, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation, designated as World Day for Consecrated Life by Blessed John Paul II in 1997. As we thank God for the wonderful work done by so many religious men and women throughout the world, we continue to pray for courage and strength for those whom He is calling to follow Him through this particular way of life. Here is a proposed outline for a Holy Hour of Prayer for Vocations. I am firm believer that no prayer = no vocations! HOUR OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS OPENING SONG: Here I am, Lord Introduction: We are gathered before Jesus present in the Eucharist so as to rest upon his heart and to offer Him our prayer for vocations. Our thoughts are many in this moment but our priests find a special place in our prayer. We pray for them and with them and in the midst of this darkness only courageous faith allows us to pray that Jesus send new and fervour filled young men and women into his harvest. Silence

Those of you who know me know that I cultivate a special love for icons. In English the word icon can be used as a general term for an image. It is often used in connection with religious imagery, and the term iconography can relate to any consistent scheme of imagery, religious or secular. However, two modern secular applications of the word icon have gained wide currency. First, in the world of fashion and entertainment, people can be described as icon if they epitomize certain trends in style or culture. Second, in the world of computers and electronic technology certain images on the screen are known as icons. You'll also know that my acquaintance with the modern applications of the word is more with the latter! Click on the icon and you enter a whole new world of information and imagery. This modern usage of the word icon has interesting parallels with the theological use of the term! John Paul II in his encyclical "Duodecimum saeculum" wrote: "Just as the re

Although it is only mid-January, the snowdrops and the daffodils have already broken through the dark earth and are brightening up our days, reminding us Spring is on the way. Some people notice, some don’t! In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are presented with John, he’s a person who notices things. Moreso, he notices people. Pointing to Jesus, he exclaims: “there is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. Every relationship deepens and our life changes when we notice things about others. So, what do you notice about others? The disciples desire to know Jesus, they ask: “Where do you live?”…his response: “Come and see”…Come, love me without fear, trust me without questioning and need me without demanding. When God calls you to a personal relationship as his disciple, you remember the precise moment when it all made sense because nothing made sense. Heart speaks to heart! The disciples recall:"It was the tenth hour" (Jn 1:37). Praying for each one of you that this S

When I look at the mosaic of my life and all the people who compose it. God’s hand gathering lives of colour to form a masterpiece, a body, cell by cell.  Tiny little pieces put together colour by colour and forging something unforgettable, something that fits perfectly into the master plan, God’s handiwork where his grace allowed our paths to meet in life. Reflecting back upon the years of my life, I have found that the pieces fit perfectly, not always by my doing and not always by my understanding. Happiness and pain fitting together because one can’t know one without the other.  The ups and downs, the ins and outs, all mean there is a perfect balance somewhere and we spend our waking hours searching for it, knowing that we are restless until we rest in God. Each one of you here today would merit a personal ‘thank you’ : by your presence, your accompaniment, you remind me that this vocation is not my vocation but a vocation for the Church, for the world, for each of you! Everyon

Anointing at Bethany by Marko Ivan Rupnik “Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, the house was filled with the scent of the ointment” (John 12: 3) The excitement within begins to build for myself, my religious sisters, family and friends as we draw nearer to the 19th of June 2011. On that day in my home parish of St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Athlone, I will profess my ‘yes’ forever as a religious sister! On my vocational journey, it closes one chapter which began back in 1998 when I came for a live-in discernment in the community in Dublin whilst it opens another of a love which has been maturing, tried and tested and which peaks in Perpetual Profession and then continues to mature on life’s journey! The particular Gospel passage which has accompanied me during this past year of preparation for this solemn moment and which also will has been used for the liturgy of the rite of Profession is a passage from John’s Gosp