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Shel-ebrations!

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Last week my team, Shelbourne FC (whom I have followed and supported for 30 years) won the league again! What joy and celebration there was amongst all the supporters, team and management of the club. The scenes I was able to view online were so uplifting and made me smile and my heart pump with happiness! It was the first time in 18 years since they won the league… eighteen long years… it makes me stop and think… Eighteen years ago I joined this community at Kilmacud, and so much has happened in my life in that time – ups and downs, joys and sorrows. Eighteen years ago my nephew was born, and over all these years, through the normal ups and downs of life (thank God more ups than downs) he is now grown into a wonderful intelligent, healthy, caring and thoughtful young man. And over the past eighteen years, that beloved football club, Shelbourne, that was my second home for many years before I became a Carmelite, have been through such doldrums, such difficult times, barely surviving… b
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The unstoppable power of God

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  In yesterday's Gospel, Jesus says: “the Kingdom of God is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour ’til it was leavened all through.” A few months ago, Dr. Jessie Rodgers, the Scripture scholar broke open this parable for us. Do you know how much 3 measures of flour is? Well, I did not. It is enough to make 52 loaves of bread! Dr. Jessie does the Parables of Jesus with children sometimes and the comment of one little girl on the 52 loaves of bread was – “ that Mammy must have had very greedy children”! What strikes you I wonder? Maybe that the good woman must have had strong arms to mix that amount of flour? What grips me is that a tiny bit of yeast could make 52 loaves of bread rise. Our young sister makes a large loaf of yeast bread and I love to see it swelling up. But what is so much more awesome is that Jesus uses that image of the tiny bit of yeast when He wants us to discover the wonder of the Kingdom of God’s lov e and goodness. Yes and He tel
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Summer is comin'

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  As the days become warmer and brighter, I think back to the glorious childhood summers of endless joy and sunshine.  I suspect the memories are coloured with a fair slice of imagination as the weather was clearly as changeable then as now, but we only remember the good days!   One thing about summer that didn't change was the Summer concert and the predictable 13th century song 'Summer is a-coming in'.  There are many versions of this, which I suppose is not surprising given the length of time it has been around. I still remember the version we sang: Summer is a coming in, Loud now sing, cuckoo. Groweth seed, and bloweth reed, And spring the woods anew.     Sing Cuckoo. Ewe now bleateth after lamb, Loweth after calf the cow, Bullock starteth,  buck now verteth, Merry sing cuckoo, cuckoo  cuckoo.  Well singst thou cuckoo,  Nor leave thou never now. We were told that it dated from the thirteenth century and the earliest copy was found in Reading Abbey.  It was written to be
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The Spirit empowers us

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           The Spirit Empowers us and Speaks to us in the ordinary events of daily life   We have been preparing during the past few weeks for the feast of Pentecost. The time when the Holy Spirit came to the Mother of God and Jesus’ Disciples in the upper room.   ‘ They (the Christian Community) all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.’ Acts 1:4.   The Spirit empowered them to go out, with courage, and spread the Good News. What is that Good News? The Good News of Christ is that, He came down to earth not only that He may share in our humanity, but that we may share in His divinity .   Jesus came among us to show us the way to live our lives and remind us that he is present with us, individually and collectively, until the end of time. And there is more! But how do WE today experience this outpouring of the Spirit? There are times when I can be so full of my own thoughts and ideas that I don’t stop and
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Our Return Ticket

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  Last Sunday we celebrated the joyful   feast of the Ascension, Jesus’ homecoming to the Father; a great feast of HOPE.   He left us, not as orphans, but promising to be with us to the end of time and to continue to work with us through the Holy Spirit. Hope stretches us beyond what we can see or feel, and our faith assures us that where Jesus now is, one day we hope to follow.   If we take time to be still and quieten our hearts of all the fleeting, dizzying attractions the world offers, we soon discover, like St. Augustine, that our hearts will be restless until we rest in Him. Yes, we are wired for eternity.   Our hearts will live for ever and ever.   Heaven is our Homeland.   It’s as if we all come into the world with a return ticket . Like Jesus, we have come from the Father and we are returning to Him, no matter how long or how many twists and turns on our life’s journey... I find that the elderly help us to reclaim this focus, readjust our radar, as it were.   The lure
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What’s your weather like?

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The weather has been very changeable here in Ireland since the beginning of May, and before that, April and March were colder and wetter than usual. It has really affected farmers and other outdoor workers a lot. Here at the monastery, we have been praying for better conditions to allow them to keep their important livelihood going. Reflecting on the recent weather has brought to my mind some Golden Oldie hit songs centred on the theme of weather. Do you remember Fred Astaire in the 1935 film Top Hat singing: “Isn’t this a lovely day?” (song written by Irving Berlin).    He didn’t care about the rain, once he was with the woman he loved: The weather is frightening the thunder and lightning Seem to be having their way But as far as I'm concerned, it's a lovely day … Let the rain pitter patter but it really doesn't matter If the skies, skies are gray long as I can be with you, it's a lovely day In contrast, the sunshine could not lift the spirits of Buddy Holly
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St. Joseph, the Worker

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Today is the feast of St. Joseph the worker. A feast introduced in 1955 by Pope Pius X11 to counteract   Labour day which had socialist and communist overtones. It was to highlight the sanctifying notion of work. No better man than St. Joseph to do this – he who   worked in the home of Nazareth in the company of Jesus and Mary. See this beautiful statue of St. Joseph which came to us from the Delgany Carmel and notice the white lily in his hand. It was skilfully crafted on to his staff by one of the Vietnamese sisters who lived with us for some time. In their country they appeal to St. Joseph in their every need and they urged us to pray to him for the gift of new vocations. They even translated the prayer they say into English for us! Now we say it after Mass for some years and with good results! Our great St. Teresa had enormous devotion to St. Joseph and named many of her monasteries after him. Let her words about him sink into your heart!   I took for my Advocate and Lord t
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