Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Family time (missing one sibling here!) Happy feastday of the Holy Family! Give me one family which doesn’t have its problems...not even the Holy Family! One of the blessings of having a community in Athlone is that I get to spend some extra time with my family over Christmas. It's great to catch up with people, see what Santy brought and just relax and celebrate the Christ-event. With my own brothers and sisters, we have our differences because we are different! That said, I know each one of us would go to the end of the world for the other...as they say, "we have each other's back!. Similiarly I see the same in my extended family, people are there for each other in the darkest and saddest moments, for the life-changing and humbling moments of starting from scratch with lives and relationships. 2016 hasn't been an easy year but through it I have seen how life strengthens people through difficulties and brings out the best, brings out strength that people mi

"When we hear the story of the birth of Christ, let us be silent and let the Child speak. Let us take his words to heart in rapt contemplation of his face. If we take him in our arms and let ourselves be embraced by him, he will bring us unending peace of heart. This Child teaches us what is truly essential in our lives." (Pope Francis, Christmas homily, 2015). My sincere prayers and best wishes for you and your dear ones as we contemplate the mystery of the Word made Flesh, the Emmanuel. Know of my prayer for each one of you before the Manger. In the Christ-Child, Sr. M. Louise pddm

Advent, the season of light, is an invitation to advent each other, To bring the light of Christ into our own lives and into the lives of others We can do this in simple ways: Through the ways in which we welcome each other And through the ways we recognise the pearl in every human heart. There is a pearl in every season, a pearl in every heart. Advent God bring this pearl to birth in us as we journey to Bethlehem. Advent is a time to take God into all the areas of our lives To rejoice in our own goodness and to sing the Advent mantra of gratitude. Advent is the season that offers us the opportunity to let go; without letting go of hope. Allowing the Prince of Peace 'space' to be born again in each of us Then in our hearts we can bless the wounded places in our world, consecrate the fragile events of our society And nourish the hearts of the 'unloved and unwanted' at the altar of daily life. Let us go to our inner 'inn', the 'manger' o