Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

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 so he can support his family. It’s the young man who searches for meaning to his life, when the voices of the most ...

Myself with Sr. Paul the week I moved to Dublin On this day, 29th of September 1998, early in the afternoon, accompanied by my Mam and Sr. Brid, I made my way to the Divine Master Convent in Dublin to begin my official discernment and formation with the Disciples of the Divine Master. It is amazing to believe that 15 years have passed. In those 16 years so much has happened and I can truly say, it has been pure grace. My siblings have grown up and are no longer the 8,10,13 and 15 year olds that I left when I went to the convent. Life goes on and we journey continuously toward our eternal Home. The liturgical memorial of the Archangels is one very close to my heart. In my vocational journey, the angels and archangels have always been close to me. The Catechism explains: "From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. 'Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.' Already here o...

Image taken from http://riseoftheroses.org/ This past week, a familiar tune drifted through the televisions of many Irish households and through the internet for many other international followers. As a tenor belted out the words “The pale moon was rising…” this haunting melody signaled that the new Rose of Tralee had been crowned. The Rose of Tralee International Festival is a festival which runs from the 15th to the 19th of August and is one of Ireland's largest and longest running festivals. It is based around the selection of the Rose of Tralee, an international event that encompasses young women of Irish descent from Ireland and around the world. People sometimes ask if the Rose of Tralee Festival is a beauty pageant. As their website states, “The Rose of Tralee Festival is a multifaceted event that celebrates the many attributes of modern young Irish women.” When we were younger, we all wanted to be a ‘Rose’, to dress up in a beautiful dress and share our story with ...

Time for share-groups! Photo-Nodlaig Lilis Last week from the 14th to the 17th of August, between 1000 and 1100 young people gathered on the monastic site of the Cistercian Abbey of Mount Saint Joseph Abbey in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary. The Summer festival is held every year for 4 days beginning on Thursday evening and ending with Holy Mass on Sunday. The theme for the festival was: “I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord!”. The abbot, Dom Richard Purcell, spoke about the event saying: “Mount St Joseph Abbey is part of the living monastic tradition – and during the festival we will be one big faith-community united in our prayer and search for God. We entrust the success of this exciting venture to the intercession of Our Lady and St Joseph”. I have been involved with Youth 2000 since 1997. My first retreat was the week after I had discerned concretely and made the decision to try out convent life. I went home from the first retreat which was held in Esker possessing som...

In 100 years, there will be flying taxis and people will travel to the moon routinely. Knowledge will be instilled into students through wires attached to their heads. These may sound like the predictions of modern-day futurists, but they’re how people a century ago saw the future–otherwise known to you and me as the present. One hundred years ago on this day, a young man from a small town in Alba, Italy, with a futuristic vision took a huge leap of faith into the unknown. Just two weeks previous, the so called ‘war to end all wars’ began, World War 1. That young man was our Founder, Blessed James Alberione who planted the tree of the Pauline Family, nurtured it and made it grow in the garden of Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life until it reached its fruition. His message was one of uniting all things in Christ, quite opposite to the death and destruction that the horrors of war was beginning to manifest throughout Europe. In the Gospel, we hear how the Lord calls at...

At the Shrine of St. Maria Goretti, Nettuno In every age, the saints of God have proven that they were God’s servants by their lives of faith and purity of soul. During my time in Rome recently I had the opportunity to visit the shrine of St. Maria Goretti, where she is buried and where many pilgrims come to ask the intercession of this child-saint. The story of St. Maria Goretti is the story of a martyr-saint and a young one at that. It does not make for easy reading. In 1950, she was canonized in a ceremony attended by twenty-five million people, including her mother, the first mother ever to see her child canonized, and Alessandro Serenelli, her killer. Her feast day is the 6th of July so I thought it would be good to share her story on this day. The Holy Father observed during her canonization that Maria longed "to ascend to heaven by the only road that leads there, which is religion, the love of Christ and the heroic observance of his commandments."  The shrine ...

This morning we had the great blessing to participate in the General Audience with Pope Francis. We were up pretty close too, seated to the right of the Pope. Every Wednesday and Sunday, about 70,000-90,000 people regularly attend the catechesis or the Angelus with Pope Francis. We had to be there quite early so as to secure our seats so it was time to relax, pray, avoid getting sunburnt (the sun was very hot!) and banter among ourselves. Numerous groups had gathered from all over the world and cheers of joy went up from the crowds when their group was called out. At about 10.40 the crowd began to liven up as the Pope began weaving in and out of the various sections of the Piazza in the Popemobile. Every now and then the Popemobile would stop for the Pope to bless babies and young children. On reaching the steps, he energetically made his way to the sanctuary where he would begin his catechesis. Here is what he shared with us this morning: "Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good Mor...