Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

This time last year I had just moved to Ottawa, the city that I continue to call ‘home’ for the next year.  I continue to carry a verse from Proverbs throughout the journey: "The human heart may plan a course but the Lord makes the steps secure". Looking back there is so much to be grateful for. It has been a wonderful though challenging year! Here's 10 highlights: 1)    The birth of my little nephew Isaac on the first day of the Year of Faith! I am counting the days until I see him for the first time, and to see my beautiful nieces and nephews who are growing up so fast. 2)    Getting to know the sisters in the communities here in Canada and in the States. I continue to be grateful to them for making me feel very welcome. 3)    Making wonderful new friends and acquaintances from the four corners of the world. You have been true pilgrims with me along the way. 4)    Discovering  new things about myself and my pers...

On the 1st of July, we celebrated what is more frequently referred to as "Canada's birthday", particularly in the popular press, the occasion marks the joining of the British North American colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada into a federation of four provinces (the Province of Canada being divided, in the process, into Ontario and Quebec) on 1st of July 1867. Where better place to be for the birthday of a country than in the capital, Ottawa, the locus of the celebrations where large concerts and cultural displays are held on Parliament Hill, with the governor general and prime minister typically officiating, though the monarch or another member of the Royal Family may also attend or take the governor general's place. Rising early, myself and one of my classmates made for Parliament Hill where most of the action would be happening for the morning. Already people were ‘out and about’ (said in my best Canadian accent!), dressed in red...

Who has not heard it said in commercials by florists, 'Say it with flowers.' The language of flowers, sometimes called floriography, was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send coded messages, allowing individuals to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken. The nuances of the language are now mostly forgotten, but some of the symbolism is still operative. For example, red roses still imply passionate or romantic love and pink roses a lesser affection; white roses suggest virtue and chastity and yellow roses still stand for friendship or devotion. Those of you who know me know that I have a deep love and appreciation for flowers. We were blessed to have a beautiful garden with lots of different kinds of flowers at home. I love looking at them, smelling them, arranging them and even eating them! Recently I found rose-flavoured ice-cream in our local ice-cream parlour! At the moment I am somewhat sp...

When I began this blog two years ago, it was born out of an idea to share the journey of the 8 junior sisters gathered from 7 different countries to prepare for Perpetual Vows. Today, one of our fellow juniors, no longer 'junior' Sr. M. Emma posted a lovely picture of our group from Mother Scholastica Student House! What memories it brought back! It is hard to believe that two years have pasted since then and once more I have found myself in another country meeting new pilgrims along the way! This time last week I was packing my bags to prepare for the journey to Canada: a brief stopover in Toronto and then on to Montreal.  With our sisters having finished their Annual Spiritual Exercises on Saturday 25th, the house was back into full swing. On Sunday, the rest of the sisters joined us from Athlone as well as my Mam, my brother Robert and sister Andrea who came to say goodbye. In the afternoon some friends joined with us for sung Evening Prayer and tea to wish me on my w...

Yet again, I find myself packing up my room and trying to fit my life into a 20kg and a 10 kg suitcase! Not an easy task considering my Bible alone weighs 2.5kg! As I have begun clearing out and filtering through the various bits and pieces that I have accumulated over the years, many thoughts have been flittering through my mind. A strange image comes to my mind: the eye of the needle! In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says to the disciples: “Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God .” The eye-of-the-needle analogy is an example of Jesus’ common tactic of throwing rhetorical curve balls at his disciples. There is a gate in Jerusalem called the eye of the needle through which a camel could not pass unless it stooped and first had all its baggage first removed. After dark, when the main gates were shut, ...