Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Today we celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Rosary. Last year, on this day, I shared a picture of my 'rosary beads plant'. It was originally a large potted plant from Mam but it didn't survive as I think it got a culture shock moving from Athlone to Dublin! I managed to save a tiny shoot which I replanted and now it's blooming!! One year on, it is still blooming! A lot can happen in a year...be gentle with yourself! Even when we think the plant is dying, there is still life in a single shoot, in the roots. In the right situation, with the right encouragement, in the right environment, with the right care, just like my little plant, we can all flourish! As we pray our Rosary this evening in Chapel, I will be remembering in a special way those who are struggling to grow out of whatever situation of darkness they might be in.

Even the most courageous people have fears to overcome. Fear does horrible things to us. It makes us doubt those closest to us and it can make us afraid to love because we are afraid of being rejected. If you ask someone what they are afraid of, at first they may answer with something tangible, like spiders or heights or water. If you probe a little deeper, they might volunteer that they are afraid of death, of suffering, of losing a loved one, of failure, of loneliness. Fear about tomorrow is what keeps people awake at night! In today’s Gospel, we see the disciples in the middle of a storm which threatens to capsize their boat. It isn’t long before they are afraid. “The boat arrived at the shore to which they were heading”: On the water, Jesus doesn’t need to get into the boat. Jesus is doing just fine without them or their boat- It’s that they need Jesus. So many people know Jesus is there, just outside their boat, but they won’t let Him get in. He wants to get in, and we’ve esta...

Litany of Spiritual Confidence ( R/  Lord, keep me close to You.)  Lord, I can do all that You ask of me because it is You who strengthen me. R/ Lord, whenever I fall You delight in my confidence to trust You all the more. R/ Lord, let me look to You and not to myself to find what is needed to please You. R/ Lord, when I am overcome by fear it is because my peace depends on some thing instead of on Your will. R/ Lord, free me from my hidden attachments to self-righteousness. R/ Lord, let me always remember that it is You who move me to ask for Your love. R/ Lord, help me to see that the meaning of my faults is to learn to depend on You more and more. R/ Lord, give me the strength to cry out for Your love when all that I see is nothingness in myself. R/ Lord, save me from the impulse to look for my peace and security in my own strength. R/ Lord, the more you let me see what I am left to myself, the more You give me the grace to cling to Yo...

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...

Ok, usually my sense of adventure is probably a 2 on a scale of 1-10! Believe me, you won't me zipping at 30 miles per hour on a wire line strung between two trees in the jungle or white water rafting on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In July I hope to make it to Niagara Falls for some sightseeing, that’s about it. However today I might have just pushed up the scale a little to a 3! After 14 years I decided to get back on the rollerblades. No, it is a not an episode of Fr. Ted. One of the sisters in our house here offered me a loan of a pair of rollerblades. I hemmed and I hawed about it but in the end I decided to give it a go. I wouldn’t call myself a serious blader but even as a postulant I used to skate around my home town Athlone during holiday time on my sister’s rollerblades. I remember it being this incredible sensation of freedom, with a constant edge of adrenaline, because you never knew when the cracks in the path up ahead were going to make you fall an...

Following Jesus is easy, said no-one ever! Just in case one happened to live with that illusion, today’s first reading is a stark reminder that as Christians we are constantly battling between what we want and what God’s plan has designed for us: "My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for trials . Be sincere of heart and steadfast , undisturbed in time of adversity. Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great. Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him. You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy, turn not away lest you fall. You who fear the LORD, trust him, and your reward will not be lost. You who fear the LORD, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy. Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed? Has anyone pers...

First official day of holidays and we get an earthquake! Well, nothing like a bit of drama to keep the heart rate up. Earthquakes Canada just confirmed that the quake was magnitude 5.1 here near Ottawa. So why do earthquakes freak people out so much?  Well, you can’t see it coming, there is a beautiful blue sky and sunshine out here. Unlike tornadoes or hurricanes, earthquakes can test the limits of fear simply because its dramatic entrance is unannounced. The phobia name associated with this common fear is seismophobia. I don’t think I have seismophobia but my reaction wasn’t one of exhilaration, I can tell you. I think I was scared or maybe  bewildered even!  It took me a minute or so to realise what was going on and that it wasn’t my blood pressure acting up and that the building was actually moving! Fear can do funny things to us. Sometimes it can be unmasked in much the same way an onion is peeled. Layers upon layers need to systematically be removed to help us ...

“At this hour – 20.00 Rome time, 28th of  February 2013, 2.00pm Canadian time – the Chair of Peter, the Holy See of Rome, is vacant upon the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI.” I sit at my computer and type, occasionally looking at the snowflakes which quietly continue to fall and join the 30 cm or so of snow that fell over the past 24 hours. There is a somberness in the air: it is not a death so to speak but things have changed. It doesn’t call for tears but for a deepening of prayer which says: “Holy Father, we are with you” In my heart, I hear the gentle words of the Nunc Dimitis:  “At last, all-powerful Master, +, you give leave to your servant to go in peace, according to your promise. For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all nations, the light to enlighten the Gentiles and give glory to Israel, your people.” Many will continue to judge Pope Benedict XVI for what he has or hasn’t done for the Church, for the world. The Master, God alone kno...

E specially for our JCL 3rd years here currently studying for their Comprehensive exams next month! T he Lord is my pacesetter I shall not rush, He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals He provides me with images of stillness, Which restores my serenity. He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind, And His guidance is peace. E ven though I have a great many things to accomplish each day And crisis may pile upon crisis I will not fall apart for His presence is here, His timelessness, His all importance will keep me in balance. H e prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity. He anoints my mind with His oils of inspiration. My cup overflows. Surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruit of my hours, For I shall walk in the peace of the Lord And dwell in His house forever. A men.  You are in our prayers!