Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. John. It is a feast which I love because most of our spirituality comes from John’s Gospel, a Gospel which is powerfully symbolic and mystical. The symbolic is very close to the mystical, which goes beyond the everyday part of life and finds the presence of God everywhere and responds to it. In the transmission of our charism, our Founder Blessed James Alberione has presented us with various biblical icons as beacons which enlighten and guide us on our journey of discipleship. On our Congregational emblem, we have engraved the verse from John 14:6: ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’. Our whole itinerary of holiness is based on John 12:24: “Unless a grain of wheat dies, it remains a single grain”.  The figure of Jesus Master Way Truth and Life is the foundational icon of our Rule of life. He is the one who has chosen us first.  We allow ourselves to be seized by him in order to contemplate him and to follow him in ...

Heart speaks to Heart- Cor ad cor loquitur! This motto of Blessed Cardinal John Newman is what comes to my mind and heart for the feastday today. Today and tomorrow we will celebrate the hearts of Jesus and of Mary. Today, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart -one of my favourites and tomorrow the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Nowadays it seems that the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus has been archived back to the time of our grandparents or our parents. I remember in school learning to sing 'Sweet heart of Jesus' with great fervour as taught to us by the Sisters of Mercy. Even now when I hear it, I am still somewhat nostalgic. I doubt somehow that these are the songs which my nieces learnt for their school choir for Mass. also remembered how often we prayed the short prayers to the Sacred Heart in class, in assembly, when we were in trouble or anxious: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you" or "Sweet heart of Jesus, make me love you more and more...

Each and every one of us is called to a particular vocation in life: “If you will be what you should be, you will set the world afire. Don’t be content with the small things: he, the Lord God, wants them great” (St. Catherine). Talk about a straight talking invite to follow the Lord. No ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’, no half measures! Don’t be contented with a mediocre life when God is holding out his hand to you to follow him in love and for love. “The heart is always drawn by love”  (Dialogue 26). Love transforms everything. Christ lives in the measure which we are transformed each day. Just like the tomb of Jesus is empty, nothing remains in death’s prison. Our existence is a manifestation of his love for us, won by the Cross. Yet, the world today tries to show us that we don’t need God, that we can have societies and families without him. Little by little we push him aside, we become disconnected from God. We will never find our real vocation in life if we do not immerse ourselves in Him...

Just another thought or two whilst still reflecting on the Bethany anointing. In order to anoint with the nard, Mary had to break open the alabaster jar... "Broken things are precious. We eat broken bread because we share in the depth of our Lord and His broken life. Broken flowers give perfume. Broken incense is used in adoration. A broken ship saved Paul and many other passengers on their way to Rome. Sometimes the only way the good Lord can get into some hearts is to break them."  -Fulton Sheen Have a listen to this poignant song "Broken" by Kenneth Cope:  Broken clouds give rain Broken soil grows grain Broken bread feeds man for one more day Broken storms yield light The break of day heals night Broken pride turns blindness into sight Broken souls that need His mending Broken hearts for offering Could it be that God loves broken things? Broken chains set free Broken swords bring peace Broken walls make friends of you and me ...

 St. Catherine dictating 'The Dialogue'  This morning I realized two things: (a) if I do not feed the blog something soon it will wither away into nothingness and (b) that I am definitely moving a lot in Dominican circles and am becoming ‘Dominican’- not that this is a bad thing! I find myself drawn more and more to some of their particular saints. Yes, I know, saints are for the whole world but one in particular has been cropping up time and time again: St. Catherine of Siena !   I got her as my patroness at the beginning of last year, not once but twice! Both on our little prayers cards which are distributed to us by our superior and then on one of these internet site which randomly give you a patroness. Guess who I got! I also carry her name as my baptismal name- Cathriona, after my Nana Cathleen and my Granny Kathleen (the later whom I sadly never met). This year, the feast of St. Catherine falls on Vocations Sunday. Unfortunately for St. Catherine, her liturgic...