Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

The ABBA song “Money, Money, Money”, paints a picture that all will be sunny if you had money, for it’s a rich man’s world. Yet, that’s not always the case as we see in today’s Gospel. It presents to us the story of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus. A very quick synthesis of the Gospel reminds us that wealth in itself is not bad. But wealth brings with it certain responsibilities, a certain stewardship. We must give account for how we handle the wealth God has entrusted to us. The rich man walked by the poor man Lazarus, without acknowledging him, that he existed or that he was in need.   Jesus’ parable does not tell why he ignored Lazarus, but we know how society worked then and still does: the wealthy have power and privilege; the poor are marginalized and set apart. Most of you know that my home town is Athlone. We don’t have really have beggars or homeless people on our streets there. We have some Romanian men who sit outside Athlone Castle at the Town Bridge and ...

What is the cost of following Jesus? When we’ve allowed the image of God imprinted on our souls to be disfigured by social and economic pressures, by the fear and doubt we coddle in our hearts, by the desire to be liked. When those sharp jags and rough edges that make disciples eventually become smoothed and rounded over time by the steady drip of compromises we make in life to keep peace. When the deadly burden of our possessions keep us isolated, deadened, and unhappy and the injury and violation we allow to mar our souls becomes too awful to contemplate, save us, O God. Don’t let our souls harden in the dry shell of despair, but let us feel the purity of hate- for the compromises we make, and for the fear and doubt, and for what we allow to happen to us. For this is not your will O Lord, and it is right and salutary to hate that which disfigures the soul, and keeps us from loving you with our whole hearts. Let hatred cleanse our spirits, but not devour us. And...

No, you didn't read the title wrong...the Rose of Lima, not the Rose of Tralee. This evening, a familiar tune will drift through the televisions of many Irish households and through the internet for many other international followers. As a tenor belts out the words “The pale moon was rising…” this haunting melody signals that the new Rose of Tralee had been crowned. The Rose of Tralee International Festival is a week long festival 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 t...

I found this great post over at www.vocation.com so thought I would share it. A postles. From the very beginning, help your children see that a Christian is meant to make a difference in the world around him, we are Christ’s ambassadors. Light of the world and salt of the earth. Make them aware that their faith is a gift and talent to share. A nswer your children's questions about priesthood or religious life; never discourage them or ridicule them if they bring it up. Baptism. Celebrate each one’s Baptism Day as well as birthday – and yours too. Build family traditions around the celebration… a specially decorated Baptism Candle that you light for the occasion with a special prayer…, displaying photos of their baptism.., writing a card or saying a prayer for the priest who baptized them…. B ring your family to an Ordination Mass or prayer vigil for religious.   C atechism. Teach, explain, challenge and have them memorize. Always connect it with life. C hallenge your teenagers ...

Rose from the convent garden In life perfection is rare...we can catch an occasional glimpse of it. A perfect game score, a perfect song for the perfect moment, but glimpses soon fade and we return to ordinary life. Normal life is messy, it is the dark stormy days that makes us appreciate the sunshine. Yet there are some things in life that are both perfect and messy at the same time.

The following is a talk which I was invited to give to the Annual General Meeting of St. Joseph's Young Priest's Society in Foxrock on the 13th of June 2016. Good evening, it’s good to be here with you this evening. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sr. M. Louise O’ Rourke, and I’m a Disciple of the Divine Master, up at Newtownpark Avenue. Thanks to Dominic Dowling for inviting me to speak to you too. When I asked Dominic, what do you want me to speak about…he more or less told me that I could choose! Sometimes it is easier to be given a topic to talk about. Anyways, after some prayer and reflection I came up with the title : “Creating a culture of vocation in today’s Irish Church- is it too late? ”. Everyone is called to discern what God wants them to do with their lives — be it a young man considering the priesthood, men and women entering the religious life, a man feeling called to the permanent diaconate, a couple deciding on marriage, or someone recogn...