Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

This year, more than 120 million babies will be born on earth. And of course, they will receive a name. Some parenting websites say that that a name holds the power to shape a child's self-esteem and his identity and influence how he's seen and treated by others. And then there's the belief that names have been proven to affect everything from a child's self-confidence to his grades in school and his future professional success. On the 3rd of January the Church celebrates the Holy Name of Jesus. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was removed, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial today, January 3rd. It might sound like a strange feast. Why do we celebrate a name of a person, do we not celebrate the person? A name is very important, it gives identity. For Jesus, it gave him his mission, his life pr...

Poor Clares Simmonscourt On Friday 27th of February, Sr. Elizabeth Cotter, Vicar for Religious and myself in my role as  Assistant Vicar, visited the Poor Clare Colettine Monastery in Simmonscourt for the canonical election of the new Mother Abbess. The Poor Clares are one of the seven monastic communities in our Archdiocese. After carrying out the visitation and after prayerful discernment, Mother Mary Bridget Harran was elected as Mother Abbess. Special appreciation was given to Sr. Mary Patrice Regan, outgoing Mother Abbess,  for her generosity in guiding the community during her term of service.  It was also an occasion to acknowledge the gift of life of Sr. Kevin (seated beside Sr. Elizabeth), who celebrated her 100th birthday on the 3rd of March! Her gentle and peaceful presence is a lovely witness of the joy of following Jesus and a testimony to the wonderful care and love she receives daily from her community. We continue to keep the Poor Clares in our p...