Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Today we had the blessing of having a day of retreat! It allowed me a little extra time for musical creativity. I had put this little song down a few years ago but sang it once and let it there. Given that today is Good Shepherd Sunday, Vocations Sunday, I thought it would be appropriate to wipe the dust off it and tweak it a little. The words are adapted from Psalm 22/23 (depending on your version!)It still needs some work but as they say, God loves a trier! Hope you enjoy it!

Pope Francis Message for Vocations Sunday 2016 The Church, Mother of Vocations Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is my great hope that, during the course of this  Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy , all the baptized may experience the joy of belonging to the Church and rediscover that the Christian vocation, just like every particular vocation, is born from within the People of God, and is a gift of divine mercy. The Church is the house of mercy, and it is the “soil” where vocations take root, mature and bear fruit. For this reason, on the occasion of the 53 rd  World Day of Prayer for Vocations, I invite all of you to reflect upon the apostolic community, and to give thanks for the role of the community in each person’s vocational journey. In the  Bull of Indiction for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy , I recalled the words of the venerable Saint Bede, describing the call of Saint Matthew: “ Miserando atque eligendo ” ( Misericordiae Vultus , 8). The Lord’s merciful action for

Meeting Pope John Paul II, 2004 Today we recall the 11th anniversary of the return home to God of Blessed John Paul II. When he came to Ireland in 1979, I viewed this historical event from the tranquility of my mother’s womb (I was born a few months after!). My father, who played the french horn in the Band of the Western Command was part of the military band for the occasion and played at the Papal Mass in Knock. So did my godfather Gerry Lacey too who wrote about this in an interview with the Westmeath Independent here . I felt I could say ‘I was there too’. Little did I know some years after I would meet JP II face to face and have the opportunity to speak to him and tell him about this little antedote. Our God is truly a God of surprises! Never in a million years did I ever contemplate being in Rome for such memorable events: the death of our beloved John Paul II, a conclave, and the consequent election of Pope Benedict XVI. I had come to Rome three years previous and as I