Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

A post just to give thanks....for the gift of life, for the gift of my parents who gave me this gift and collaborated with God's plan to bring me into this world. Life is a gift: each day I become ever aware of this. Some of you know that I was a premature baby. It reminds me that just as life is a gift, it is a fragile gift and we carry this gift in clay vessels as Scriptures remind us. My friends in Ottawa used to say I was precocious since I was a baby! I couldn't wait to embrace the world and all that it contains. I pray I may still see with world with fresh eyes each day. There is so much good to be seen, first of all, in the people around us, in the beauty of creation, in the flutters of grace which pass by each day. Birthdays can be strange things. Some people like to celebrate them, some people prefer no mention or fuss be made. For me to mark a birthday is to say to a person: "I thank God that you were born," I am grateful that you are alive and in this w...

A thought for today: Be careful with butterflies, For they are fragile and easily damaged; Do not think you could manage easily without them ... It is not for you to say, For they are bound up with you in the pattern of life, And their brief and beautiful existence Is precious in the eyes of God. Be careful with people, For they are fragile and easily damaged; Do not think that some are more important than others, It is not for you to say. For we are here to serve and not to rule, And the bruised and easily broken ones Are precious in the eyes of God. (Br. Daniel O’Brien OFM. Cap.)

Pope Francis has set aside the 21st of November, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, as a day to pray for and support cloistered religious. It is called Pro Orantibus Day (“For those who pray”), also known as World Day of Cloistered Life. At the very beginning of my vocational journey I did consider the cloistered life but the Lord had a very different idea! He has now called me to serve them in a particular way through my ministry in the Office for Religious in the Archdiocese. I continue to be in awe of t hese amazing brothers and sisters who choose a very hidden way of life to carry in prayer the whole world! And God knows, we need it! Considering we are 'semi-enclosed', we claim it as our feastday too! In Europe, we celebrate within our Order, the feastday of our Postulants. We are blessed to have Presentation of Blessed Virgin Mary sisters staying with us so we join in their joy on their titutlar feastday! Happy feastday to all!

You are called to be a saint of God. You – yes you! You might think, how could I be a saint? I have already messed up my life, I am beyond redemption. Before you stick to your 'excuse', you might want to look at the lives of these people who allowed themselves to be open to God and to be used by God to do mighty things. They were far from 'holy'! Check this list out: Noah got drunk Abraham was too old Sarah laughed at God’s plans ... Isaac was a daydreamer Jacob was a trickster Joseph, well he was a show off in that fancy coat of his. Moses stammered Miriam gossiped Gideon was insecure Samson – let’s just say ‘my, my my, Delilah!’ Rahab was a prostitute Ruth was a foreigner David was an adulterer and murdered Bathsheba’s husband. Isaiah...er, preached naked for three years Jeremiah struggled with depression Jonah ran from God... and in the New Testament: Zaccheus was too small the woman at the well had had five husbands Martha...

The day I moved to Dublin Convent (with Sr. Brid and my Mam) On this day, 29th of September 1998, early in the afternoon, accompanied by my Mam and Sr. Brid, I made my way to the Divine Master Convent in Dublin to begin my official discernment and formation with the Disciples of the Divine Master. It is amazing to believe that 19 years have passed. In those 19 years so much has happened and I can truly say, it has been pure grace. My siblings have grown up and are no longer the 8,10,13 and 15 year olds that I left when I went to the convent. Life goes on and we journey continuously toward our eternal Home.  The liturgical memorial of the Archangels is one very close to my heart. In my vocational journey, the angels and archangels have always been close to me. I entered the community on their feastday, I began novitiate on this feastday and then in 2004, I professed my vows on the feast of the Guardian Angels. Today’s commemoration has given me a programme of li...

No, you didn't read the title wrong...the Rose of Lima, not the Rose of Tralee. Last night, a familiar tune drifted 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. This year the winner of the Rose of Tralee was Jennifer Byrne from County Offaly (Up the Midlands!). 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 ...

The following is an article I wrote for the Irish Catholic after we opened our new house on this day in 2009. What a journey it has been! Opening and Blessing of the Divine Master Centre, White’s Cross, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland 15 th of August 2009 “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labour” ( Psalm 127:1) Two years of planning and hard work, 65,000 bricks, 60 tonnes of cement, a Delegation of enthusiastic sisters with their praying communities plus one very big act of faith later saw the solemn opening and blessing of the Divine Master Prayer Centre on the 15 th of August 2009, liturgical celebration of the Assumption of our Lady. The Eucharist was presided over by Rt. Rev. Bishop Dr. Eamon Walsh, Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin, who was joined by concelebrant priests from   the surrounding areas of Dublin, various parts of the country as well as from Italy, India and Africa. So too, family members, religious sisters and...