Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

  Every call is different.   Every response is different. Different experiences, personalities, cultures, generations, all woven together as Disciples of the Divine Master by a common call to serve God. Founded in 1924 by Blessed James Alberione, we pray daily and come in Adoration to carry the needs of the Church and humanity, interceding for the different forms of media and for truth and goodness in their use. We draw strength there for our mission which is expressed in hospitality, support and service, particularly to priests and indeed to all God’s people. Our mission ripples out further as we promote liturgical formation and animation. This includes the production and distribution of sacred art which is available through our Liturgical Centres, a new way of evangelization which encourages an appreciation for beauty and dignity in the liturgy.   Every gift and talent can be used to serve God. Some of the sisters share:   “The Lord has always been near to me. At every stage He

  Why does God allow suffering to happen? Does God even care? If God is so good and holy, then why doesn't He put an end to all suffering and pain? Over the past few days, I have been very aware that some people suffer so much in silence and in surrender. I have seen how good people have been able to identify God’s footprints with them in the journey of death, bereavement, sickness and tragedy. There is so much suffering in our world and it extends from deeply personal and hidden domains through social patterns and global realities. In our ministry in our Liturgical Centre and day to day service with the people, we come to know people’s personal stories of sufferings. It’s the grandmother who comes to offer Mass for a stillborn child and through her tears seeks an answer ‘why?’. It’s the father who comes to the Chapel and kneels for hours, begging the Lord for a job or that he can keep his PUP payment so he can support his family. It’s the young man who searches for meaning to his

This is from the talk I prepared for Radio Maria in February 2017 as part of a 6 part series on Beauty. Week 3- Beauty and Suffering This week we are going to look at Beauty and Suffering. It might sound very strange to put these two things together, without sounding slightly sadistic. You hear a lot about happiness these days. You have to be happy 24/7. You have to only do the things you love. You have to wake up everyday and jump out of bed, because if not, you’re broken or you’re unhappy or not motivated. While I certainly wish that were the case, the fact of the matter is, it’s unrealistic. We can’t always be happy, we can’t always do the stuff we love, we can’t always wake up every day feeling like we can take on the world. While there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to be happy, we all too often make that our main objective in life. And in our quest for bliss and contentment we fail to embrace the beauty of suffering, when we are faced with it. One of the l

Beauty and suffering are always hand in hand. At the top of the mountain is also the painful reality that we must descend. The beauty of truth also embraces offence, pain, and even the dark mystery of death, and that this can only be found in accepting suffering, not in ignoring it. The One who is Beauty itself let himself be slapped in the face, spat upon, crowned with thorns. However, in his Face that is so disfigured, there appears the genuine, extreme beauty: the beauty of love that goes "to the very end"; for this reason it is revealed as greater than falsehood and violence. This is Love Transfigured, it is the ‘beauty that saves the world’. This is Love lifted up on the Cross for me, for you, for the whole world.

Who do you say I am? Who do you say that I am?  This may be one of the most important questions of all time! Who is Jesus for you? Who do you say Jesus is? This doesn't mean rhyming off answers which we have learned or parroting off the experiences of others. Who do you say Jesus is? This is the question that all people must grapple with and answer. Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well. That is the inescapable question. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, would put it another way, saying: " Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, sta

  In this Sunday's liturgy, in the First reading from Isaiah, we hear proclaimed: "The eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf opened, then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy" (Is 35,5). We see how God promises that we will never thirst, never hunger. He will always satisfy our desires! In the Gospel Jesus challenges the way we relate to others. Sometimes sickness or disability can make us feel awkward but Jesus shows us that we cannot expect to enter into relationship with others if we are not prepared to enter into the messiness and the imperfection of each others lives. This is the Incarnation where God comes into what is utterly human. The incarnation is a reminder that God does not wait for us in marble temples or buttressed cathedrals; rather, He is present with us in the ordinary, the squeamish, the everyday stuff that we wallow in. The incarnation is God-with-us, a God who is Divine yet became flesh. This is wh