In the Christian faith, one of the central teachings is the idea of serving God and others around you. Believers are expected to serve each other and the church with great joy and happiness, which is an idea that is constantly repeated throughout scripture and the Bible. “Love one another, care for one another, pray...
Thought For The Week
Advent -“Are We There Yet? -Sr Anne Frances McNamee, FMA”
“Are we there yet?” is perhaps one of the most common phrases we hear on a journey, mostly from the mouths of excited youngsters fed up with the journey but filled with excitement for what lies ahead at their destination. They can’t recognise the beauty and experiences that the journey can bring and, instead, see...
Advent – A Time to Prepare our Hearts
One Kind Word – Ava McGinn
Last Christmas, my brother and I received Mackesy’s precious book, ‘The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse’, which illustrates their life lessons, questions and curiosity in a series of drawings and quotes. One quote in particular stood out to me – “Nothing beats kindness, it sits quietly beyond all things.” Kindness is a...
‘I AM HERE… YOU ARE HERE… WE ARE HERE…’ – Saule Cameron
This one of the shortest prayers I have ever come across and is often used at the beginning of the Godly Play session. The storyteller seated at the front of the circle of children/adults begins by placing their hands to the heart’s centre and saying the words ‘I am here…’, then the hands are lifted...
Recognising God in a Secular World – Emmet Thompson
The Gift of Time
A Vocation of Service – Gillian McGrath
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. (Mark10) Five years ago this November, my mother, Ita Quinn, passed away after a long eighteen-year journey through the many stages of Alzheimer’s disease. I held her tiny body, ravaged...
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes- Deirdre McElholm
I reminisce back to 2015 when I was attending my first pilgrimage in Taizé, France. I had just finished my first year at university and was questioning my career choice, different paths in life and what lay ahead. I jumped at the opportunity to travel to France thinking it would be a relaxing, luxurious holiday....
Actions speak louder than words – Siobhan McIntyre
Our Common Home-A View from the Window-Maura McColgan
Oyster trestles barely visible above the rippling waters Undulating hills spread across the horizon Restful animals as they lie content in the grassy fields. Thank you, God Clouds of different shapes float unhurried overhead Outside, the smell of freshly mown grass Moving under the blade of the mower Musical bird song as they gather on...
Strengthening the Bonds that Bind Us – Lizzie Rea
When thinking of this time of year, summertime ending and darker nights coming, we tend to think of the outside world as something to fear. Trees become bare, colder nights slowly creep in and the world of ‘nature’ that we looked at and loved over spring and summer slowly begins to fall away. This leads...
Life is a Miracle – Niall McColgan
Excited and Full of Hope – Lily White
The Right to Choose – John O’ Flaherty
Possibly the most amazing place that I have ever visited, for a variety of reasons, is Lourdes. Looking at the town as it is now, it would be completely unrecognisable to the rural village of the late 1850s. To say that this is down to a 14-year-old girl would be a gross simplification. Bernadette Soubirous...
The Long and Winding Road – Mary Dunnion
This week sees the last few days before many of our children and young people return to school and colleges after the Summer holidays. For some, like little children and their parents/guardians, it is an exciting and new step and an important milestone in their life’s journey as they start out on their first...
‘We had hoped’ – The Road to Emmaus – Janet Forbes
Magnificent Magnificat – Maire Gormley
On 15 August we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. While this is, in Church terms anyway, a recent addition to the liturgical calendar, having been declared an infallible doctrine by Pope Pius XII in 1950, it is a tradition that has been present since the sixth century. In the...
Praying the Daily Examen -Seeing God in all Things
“Whatever you are doing, that which makes you feel the most alive…that is where God is.” (Saint Ignatius of Loyola) This year the Society of Jesus, celebrates an Ignatian Year, marking the 500th anniversary of the conversion of Saint Ignatius. Saint Ignatius’ life and spirituality encourages us to see God in all things, to enter...
Doors of Hope – Fr Raymond McCullagh
Recent news about the battle for control of the north Ethiopian state of Tigray has filled me with deep sadness because Ethiopia is very dear to my heart. Since 2005 Habitat for Humanity has developed a special partnership that has resulted in the building of many houses for poor families across the country. During our...
My Cup is Overflowing – Cora O Farrell
Where do you see God? – Mary’s Meals
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus sends out the disciples in pairs and instructs them to take the bare minimum with them saying, ‘take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses.’ If you are like me, the idea of going on a journey unprepared, without the...
“Come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while.” (Mark 6:31)
Welcome the gift of Summer as an opportunity… to reflect on the journey that you have travelled since last Summer, to thank God for his steadfast presence in all that you have experienced, … in your joys, your successes, your dreams fulfilled, … in your struggles, your pain, your sadness, … in moments of clarity...
Come Follow Me – Mary O Donnell
During this month of June, the Church has been celebrating some of the saints whose witness to the faith led to their martyrdom, such as Saints Peter and Paul, whose feast day is on Tuesday, June 29, and the First Martyrs of Rome, Wednesday, June 30. With this great focus on those who were prepared...
A Reflection on the Word-Julia Fitzgerald
Is the Invisible Visible? by Tony Brennan
“Those who seek the Lord shall want for no Manner of Good Thing” – Fr Neal Carlin
I write this as we approach the great feast day of Columba, 9th June and this year as we prepare to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of his birth. I was baptized in Saint Columb’s Waterside, went to school in Saint Colmcille’s, Newtowncunningham and then on to Saint Eunan’s Letterkenny. (Eunan was the biographer of Columba.)...
Mary’s Magnificat-Lizzie Rea
In our Thought for the Week, when we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation, Mary’s visit to share her ‘Good News’ with her cousin Elizabeth, Lizzie Rea sings The Magnificat. This is Mary’s beautiful prayer, praising God for the ‘great things he has done for her.’ (Luke: 1:39-56) As you listen to the words Lizzie...
More Haste … Less Speed – Sean Coll
The story is told of an explorer who was making an expedition on foot, through the Amazon rainforests of South America, with some native guides. For two days they made excellent progress and covered a large distance, much to the explorer’s satisfaction. However, on the third morning when it was time to set off again,...
Life Through a Screen-Teresa McMenamin
I have lived my life in the countryside, in rural Tyrone. There is no bus service, no shop within walking distance, no street lights, no pub within walking distance! In winter, travel can be particularly difficult, given that the road on which I live is not treated. All these drawbacks may not sound very attractive...
