Carmelite Monastery of St Joseph, Kilmacud - Sisters' Reflections

I was recently given a link to an article in a Jewish History website and was amazed to read that new research into ancient documents found in Egypt, indicate that the first alphabet was invented by Joseph the son of Jacob, the Joseph who was sold as a slave by his brothers and ended up saving Egypt and the surrounding country from famine.   For a long time scholars thought that the Phoenicians had invented the alphabet but they could not fit Phoenician words with the texts.    As far back as 1920 Hebrew had been suggested but it was discounted as was the theory suggested by W. F. Albright, a gifted scholar of Biblical Archaeology, who believed that these writings were the work of Israelite slaves.   The oldest of these texts dates from about 1800 B.C. and the most recent from the late 1500s B.C. After that, the alphabet has not been found in Egypt but it suddenly appeared in Canaan. Scholars were puzzled, but to those familiar with the Old Testament this clearly...

  Last week we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Knock. It brought back memories to me of the visit of Pope John Paul in 1979 to that great Marian shrine. His words made a deep impression on me. He said,   Mother in this shrine you gather the people of God of all Ireland and constantly point out to them Christ in the Eucharist and the Church. At this moment   we listen with particular attention to   your words Do whatever my Son tells you and we   wish to respond to you with all our heart.   We entrust to your motherly care the land of Ireland where you have been and are so   much loved. Help this land to stay true to you and your Son always. Keep them faithful in prosperity to the faith they would not surrender in poverty and persecution. Help them to work together to build a just and peaceful loving society where the poor are never neglected and the rights of all especially the weak are respected.   Queen of Ireland Mary mother of the he...

  This week thousands of young Catholics are gathered in Lisbon, Portugal for “World Youth Day” with Pope Francis. Also, this week, thousands of young scouts are gathered in South Korea for the “World Scout Jamboree”. After the restrictions and lockdowns of the Covid-pandemic, young people must have anticipated these gatherings with great excitement and joy.  International youth festivals like these are positive, affirming, and energising experiences for young people. Life-long friendships are made with people from all over the world. Memories are created of fun experiences and mishaps overcome. Often romance blooms too! My sister met her husband at a scout jamboree. I personally know two couples who met at World Youth Day events. In today’s culture of social-media and virtual-connections with people, time spent at these youth festivals in the real presence of other like-minded young people is very special and helps to build a solid identity in young hearts. The experience of ...

 We have been hearing a lot about grandparents recently.  In 2021, Pope Francis instituted the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly to be celebrated every year on the fourth Sunday of July, which falls near July 26 th, the memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.  Pope Francis encourages us to remember, our grandparents at Mass on that day and, if they are still living, to visit them or to visit an elderly person living alone. Grandparents are often the main teachers of the faith to their grandchildren, answering their questions and telling them bible stories and stories of the saints, as well as teaching by the example of their lives.   We give thanks for their witness. Some of us may not remember our grandparents very well but we may remember particular incidents or wise sayings passed on by a parent recalling their own childhood.   Pondering these can help us to appreciate our families and give thanks. We give thanks fo...

  This week we are still in the glow of the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Yes, the Carmelite family all over the world is rejoicing in having Mary as our Mother and Protectress and thanking her for her countless blessings. The cradle of our Order is Mount Carmel in the Holy Land where the early hermits around the end of the 12 th . century built a small chapel in honour our Lady. They regarded her as their model in teaching them to pray and in helping them to share the fruits of their prayer with others.   I remember the joy of receiving the habit of Carmel as a young nun and in learning the little prayers that we say as we put it on each day. “Queen beauty of Carmel, you have given us a sign of your Protection” is the one as we slip the scapular over our shoulders each morning.   Over the centuries, people wanted to be associated with orders devoted to Our Lady, so the custom grew of giving then some part of the religious habit. The brown scapular was the sign ...

What comes to mind when you hear the word FREEDOM?   As a child it was for me school holidays, no homework, long summer days, making new friends and doing fun and   adventurous things. Nothing wrong with all of that.   As we move into the teenage years it maybe the struggle to grow up and the urge to pull away from parental control or what to us may feel like control. The cycle continues throughout our lives and into our senior years. But there is a freedom we all long for and it is worth the effort to search for It is inner freedom. The poet David Whyte has this to say ‘Freedom is perhaps the ultimate spiritual longing of an individual human being, but freedom is only really appreciated when it falls within the parameters of a larger sense of belonging. In freedom is the wish to belong to a structure in our own particular way.’ (David Whyte    from "Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work As a Pilgrimage of Identity")   But there is so much more than th...

  There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea. There’s a kindness in God’s justice, which is more than liberty . For the love of God is broader than the measures of the mind, and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind. Those who listen to God’s voice will grow in love like trees in Spring-time