Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Myself with the neo-deacon Damian,OP “We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it” (St. Paul to the Ephesians). On the 15th of March 2015, the Dominican Province in Ireland was in great celebration for the ordination to diaconate of 6 of their brothers: Br. David McGovern, Br. Damian Polly, Br. Ronan Connolly, Br. Conor McDonough, Br. Eoin Casey and Br. Daragh McNally. In the Catholic Church, the diaconate is the first of three ranks in ordained ministry. Deacons preparing for the priesthood are transitional deacons. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptise, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. As ministers of Charity, deacons are  leaders in identifying the needs of others, It was very fitting to have this liturgical celebration on Laetare Sunday, w...

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...

Getting angry evokes many images: blood boiling, seeing red, losing it, hitting the roof or blowing our tops. No matter what turn of phrase we use, when thinking about our own anger or that of others, there is a sense that we are not quite in control of things. It can be an uncomfortable experience! Right from our early years we knew that Jesus is like us in all things but sin. Therefore that means he knows what it’s like to be angry. The more refined and sensitive a person, obviously the deeper is his or her experience of the emotion - so we can guess how powerful anger’s movement would have been for Jesus. On that particular day in the temple when Jesus dramatically whipped up and swept away the flawed rites of worship, the finer detail about the pigeon-sellers receiving a gentler treatment remind us that there’s also another way to be angry. Jesus didn’t lose it altogether. As Christians, we want our lives to be a continuous act of worship, one that spills over into a...

Jesus, when I seek your face and it seems you are hiding, let your will be done. Jesus, when my soul is aching and the emptiness is a black abyss, let your will be done. Jesus, when hope leaves the horizon and I must walk by faith alone, let your will be done. Jesus, when my heart is tormented by doubts and insecurities, let your will be done. Jesus, when my life seems worthless and devoid of passion, let your will be done. Jesus, when my vision is clouded and murky and I fear the journey ahead, let your will be done. Jesus, when I question your ways, your methods, your outcomes, let your will be done. Jesus, when my faith is lethargic and myopic, let your will be done. "Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried; Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.... "Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply. "Lord, I need answers, I need to know why! Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word. "My future and all to which I relate Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait? I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign, Or even a 'no' to which I can resign. "You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, We need but to ask, and we shall receive. And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry: I'm weary of asking! I need a reply." Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, As my Master replied again, "Wait." So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?" He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . . and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign. I could shake the he...

Some of you might be surprised that I know what ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ is about. In fairness, it would be pretty much impossible to be on social media and not be aware of the hype. You’d want to be living under a rock or in a convent! Well actually, yes, 50 Shades of Grey has even entered the convent. Rephrase, not literally… we haven’t read the books! At this stage, it seems that the world is going 50 Shades of Grey mad! There are advertisements everywhere, at bus-stops, cinemas making sure you book your tickets on Valentine’s Night when the movie will be released, merchandise (in some places, placed very inappropriately next to children’s items!), constant Facebook ads etc.   Critics have described the book as misogynistic, pornographic, exploitative, sexually violent, and anti-romance. I am guessing that the movie is going to be pretty much along the same lines. However, over the past few weeks we have had more and more prayer requests about this upcoming movie. People ar...

With the 5th Year Prefects of Holy Faith Secondary School On Thursday 5th of February, myself and Sr. Elizabeth, my colleague in the Office for Religious made a visit to St. Mary’s Secondary School in Killester to make a small presentation and to thank the staff and students for their contribution in making the Day of Consecrated Life such a success. The students made 500 St. Brigid’s crosses which were then distributed after the Mass on Sunday. We know from the emails and the messages from the religious around that they were deeply appreciated. Upon our arrival at the school we were treated to a melody of some of the songs which the 2nd year students were practising for Emmanuel 2015. After that another treat awaited with homemade desserts from the girls to accompany our mid-morning coffee. We had some time to talk with the girls and listen to some of the feedback which they have received after their cross-making marathon! It seems that they had great fun making the crosses, ev...