Reflections

Mary’s Extravagant Gesture of Love

MARY

 The glories of Mary have been enshrined in the heart of the Church; she is part of scripture and of the liturgy. She has been honoured in Arts, Poetry and Song; she holds a secure place in the hearts of the faithful; she is the greatest of all saints, the sinless one born without original sin and indeed free from ...

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Reflection for July, 2022

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It had been a day of interacting with many people and I felt the need to withdraw to a wordless place!  It was springtime and I walked down the bóithrin - bohereen, (unpaved rural road in Ireland). There was a soothing silence, a calm just to ‘be’ in the moment, to inhale the fresh breezes, and breathe the rugged beauty ...

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The New Spring – Reflection for Lent

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As our global world 2022, stands at a crossroads, March and April are welcoming months with all their beauty, new life and renewed vision. Earth’s soul is  pulsating, ready to display new energy as it shifts the long, dark, bleak days of winter COVID 19.  As Lent continues, we step back and dare to face difficult questions, glaring injustices and ...

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A TIME OF TRANSFORMATION – April 2022

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At the time of writing these reflections, the end of Lent is fast approaching. Lent: a gifted time when we can offer God “something very private but also something life-enhancing, helping to draw us even closer to our blessed Lord.” [Father J.B. Hurley]   Yes, life-enhancing—a beautiful word, full of life and meaning. Then on the 3rd Sunday of Lent the ...

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Good Advice to Remember – February 2022

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“Laugh and the world laughs with you” ‘Smiling is contagious,’ my aunt always said,’ more contagious than a virus.’ She used to advise us, to our amusement, to smile slightly as we walked along, even when we did not feel like it.  A smile, she maintained, tricks the brain into releasing hormones that boost the immune system. Whatever about that, ...

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Reflection for January, 2022

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  The God of Promise As we say goodbye to another year of unsettlement, disappointment and uncertainty, can we even begin to hope as the clock chimes in 2022? If we can use the words of Jochen Klepper “Neujahrslied” in his work Kyrie (Berlin: Merseburger, 1938):   New Year’s Song – in translation O you who hold all times in your ...

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Reflection for December – Winter Magic

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As the year drifts into winter, we notice subtle differences in nature especially in the quality of light, the length of days, and the bareness of the trees; nature begins to slowly fall asleep. In his poem, “The Sleeping Babe” Henry Baron describes the differences in nature very aptly in the following lines, “The moon turned white to silver On ...

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The end of Sumer time – Nature’s rest

Autumn

With the end of summer time upon us, we enter the “royal” season of Autumn – royal because of the  magnificence of colours and a time when nature “disrobes the glory of summer” when it takes on the colours that basically soften the end of its reign of lively, lush greens to the soft yellows, reds and gold. This is ...

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Reflection for October

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Some time ago, I was given a book that had a short story of ‘The Dream in the Acorn’. I was drawn to the story because I grew up near oak trees and marvelled that a tiny acorn could produce such big trees.  What did the author mean by the ‘dream’? I soon realised that the unique ‘something’ in the ...

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  The Balance of Technology

Technology has come to figure largely in our lives in recent years.  In truth, it can be a blessing, but it can also be a “monster”!  Yes, it is quick to pass on messages by using email, text, Twitter, Instagram, and in our busy lives many of us feel this can be extremely helpful. However, it can also be very ...

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