Killarney☀️🙏🏻

One whole day strolling about Killarney. Heaven on earth! Holy Mass in Franciscan Friary. Sharing countless powerful prayers. Leisurely lunch. Helping dear struggling lady haul her heavy suitcase. Sharing warm fleece and chips with cold hungry soul. Much laughter too.

Thank you Father God. I love the life You give to me. Everything is better with You in it.

‘The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people’. ( Leo Tolstoy)

Love my birds! Newcomers arriving all the time.😀

‘Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they’. (Matthew 6:26)

Jesus and Mary☀️🙏🏻

Three prayers shared on my way to Church this morning, elderly Ukrainian gentleman, former jockey and man in a van. Delightful encounters all three.

Later ‘man in a van’, happened to be sitting in company I was invited to join. Turns out he happened to be an Electrician and wouldn’t you know it! I happened to badly need some advice on my smart metre readings and smoke alarms. God knew!! He set it all up, glory be to God.

When Holy Spirit whispered the words; ‘You mind mine and I will mind yours’ into my spirit one night as I lay sleeping, I thought He meant my ‘people’. Today, while chatting with gracious Electrician, it began to dawn on me that Holy Spirit was speaking of my ‘problems’ too. Wow!!

Praying Holy Rosary in Church, elderly gentleman and his adult son (Downes syndrome) came and knelt near Holy alter. Together they prayed aloud three Hail Mary’s and Glory be to the Father…. Arising, they genuflected and on their way out I got to thank them both from my heart. Sacred snippet!

On my way home, (How I love going home), young African father tells me that he needs a bicycle for his upcoming two weeks work experience some distance outside of our town. My friend Mike is happy to oblige. Young African guy so so thankful. Prayerful faithful guy, I told him that God found him a bike! ‘Yes’, he replied. ‘God found me a bike through you because you allow yourself to be used by God’. What a beautiful compliment and privilege.

Our  Faith-filled African visitors, known to all and sundry as Asylum Seekers, are in actual fact Missionary Disciples sent by God to our post-Christian secular land. I believe it with all my heart. Time will tell!

Every day I touch Jesus beautiful Feet on Station of Holy Cross above. Others, witnessing, do it now too. Jesus Feet and mine are one and the same! I touch Mother Mary’s Hands with mine so her beautiful Hands will be mine too. 

With Jesus Feet and Mary’s hands, hard things become easier!

Thank you Mother Mary for urging us to pray Holy Rosary. Meditating on beautiful Jesus in your gentle maternal presence moves me, more and more, to love and live like Jesus.

‘To us too Mary addresses the command she gave to the servants at Cana in Galilee during the marriage feast; ‘Do whatever He tells you’. (St. Pope John Paul)

This little light of mine!☀️🙏🏻

‘No one ever heals himself by wounding another’. (St. Peter Chrysologus)

Two guys drinking Guinness as they slated our poor Refugees, spouting gross untruths in their tipsy tirade. Nobody exempt! Ukrainian, African, anyone and everyone from distant shores. Disgracefully pathetic. Horrible ‘Herd’ Mentality.

Barmaid obviously noticing my discomfort and disgust, kindly began playing music loudly on some device. Soon after, preparing to leave, I fully intended ignoring them, but instead Holy Spirit ever so gently prompted me to offer them my prayer. What a change!! Even the pretty Barmaid received one. Definitely surprised, all three extremely grateful. One guy asked the barmaid if she would read it aloud, he being unable to read it without his glasses. She called it out for all to hear! Right there, abject abuse silenced by my powerful prayer.

Had I gone on my way contributing nothing, how utterly ashamed I would have been. Beautiful Holy Spirit knew that!

In another establishment, young guy, member of a Rock Band gratefully and joyfully accepted four prayers, one for each member. Thing is, I was fully intending ignoring him also but once again wonderful Holy Spirit shifted my gaze. That same Rock Band displayed a picture one time deeply offensive to those of us who love Jesus with all our hearts. ‘We will take your prayer on tour’, he told me. I wasn’t expecting that!

Never a dull moment! How utterly grim my life would be without You, wonderful Holy Spirit, giver of light and life. Only You can change minds and hearts.

‘The unadulterated love of one person can nullify the hatred of millions’. (Mahatma Ghandi)

‘The nicest part is being able to write down all my thoughts and feelings; otherwise I’d absolutely suffocate’. (Anne Frank)

Me too!!

 

The ordinary is EXTRAORDINARY!☀️🙏🏻

‘Great occasions for serving God come seldom, 

but little ones surround us daily. (St. Francis De Sales)

Young cheerful guy arrived early to update my ESB metre. Smart metres are all the rage it seems! At my time of life though, it matters little thank God.

My compact cottage tiny, he worked just a few feet from my kitchen table where I sat imbibing Romans:14. St. Paul! What a guy!

‘If we live, we live to the Lord and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s’. (Romans 14:8)

Extremely capable young guy, he sang all the while like he was the only one in that place. I love that!. Apart from ‘Good morning’, we spoke not a word, until, packing up his stuff to leave, I ask if he would like a really beautiful morning prayer. Stopping in his tracks smiling he uttered; ‘I’ll be honest with you. I haven’t prayed in a long time’. ‘No problem’, I reply. ‘Pray it every morning and all of Heaven will be minding you’. 

(Of course I offered him tea too but he already had some).

Holy Spirit wonderful wisdom danced into my heart right then and I spoke it aloud; ‘I cannot promise you nothing will be wrong but you will be strong’. 

I shared with him that I had received those comforting words some time ago when a lovely young guy, much like himself, gave me that exact reply; ‘I haven’t prayed in a long time’.

Tad surprised, he read and loved my powerful prayer, taking one for his girlfriend too. He even took one for the guy in Head-Office who set up our meeting. 

I asked if he had ever before received a prayer from a client. His words lifted my heart no end;  ‘No! I must have converted at least one thousand meters and not until today did I receive a prayer. You are one in a thousand’. Both of us laughed.

Precious moments like this remind me that Christ is alive and He wants each and everyone of us to be alive. Service joyfully!!

‘In this day and time, when the Faith is in danger of dying out like a flame that no longer has fuel, the overriding priority is to make the Face of God present’. (Pope Benedict)

                                             Seven days without Prayer makes one weak.

‘Not to pray, not to be a true Christian, is to declare a reluctance to live life to the full. It is the choice of a small, warm, selfish life. It would be like Rembrandt refusing to paint because he could live on his wife’s money’. (Sr. Wendy)

‘You changed my story!☀️🙏🏻

‘I have never met a soul who set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself. 

To have God do His own work through us even once, is better than a lifetime of human striving’ (Watchman Nee)

Lady in the Refugee Centre called to know if I would come meet a new lady who had just arrived in our town. Exhausted with not one ounce of energy to spare, I almost refused. Our group ‘Blanketiers’ had not been set up at that stage. Just me meeting folk in dire need. (E pluribus unum - out of many, one’. Guy from Refugee centre words to me, at that time).  Truly, on that particular day it was all beginning to feel just too much. 

However, thank God I did visit her, dear lady traumatised beyond anything I had ever witnessed in my long glorious life. She came and knelt down in front of me, I knelt down too. Then gently placing my hands on her shoulders, both of us stood up slowly at the same time. 

She needed a coat and God Bless Charity shop lady who gave us a long black warm coat, fur collar, for half the stated price. Putting it on, smiling, she began to relax instantly. Her beautiful black long coat providing insulation, covering she so earnestly required not only from piercing Kerry winds but more than that, from the world at large. Speaking not a word, she simply nodded all the while, it was as much as she could manage in her new strange surroundings.

Like me, she loved attending Holy Mass. Holy Rosary too. Over time, she began to trust and talk as we drank tea. She introduced me to her husband on FaceTime. He was so comforted knowing his dear lady was safe and happy far away from her African homeland. 

Then one day she was gone. I worried about her but not for long. My new friend had her own road to travel and just like each and everyone of us, sometimes we must go it alone.

Then, one fine day, surprise text message assuring me that all was well thank God. What joy then hearing her joyful tone today. Nowadays, after some amazing journey, she works in a Nursing Home. Soon, please God, her husband and children will join her in Ireland. They are really looking forward to meeting up with me. I told her I am really looking forward to meeting up with them too. 

‘You changed my story’, she told me. Words I will never forget as long as I live.

I could easily add; ‘Who am I to be used like that’, but even that is false humility. I simply showed up!

Jesus did EVERYTHING! I was too tired, He was not!

‘To be a slave of Christ is proof of the highest nobility’. (St. Agatha)

If we can pray, eat, laugh and sleep then we are doing what God is asking us to do! I like that😀

‘Whoever I send to you on any particular day’. Holy Spirit wonderful words to my harried heart on one of my many overwhelming moments. Simplicity of heart and mind walking with Jesus because He knows the way. ‘He IS the way the truth and the life’. (John 14:6)

‘Christ’s voice reaches an ecstasy beyond and above any voice ever heard on earth. The tone of His voice is a bearer of the sublime message that we are on our way to another lovelier world, tinted with unimaginable wonders, alive with ultimate music and bursting with radiance and joy’.               (Archbishop Raya)

‘God reveals Himself in the midst of our faithfulness’.(Fr. Ciszek)☀️🙏🏻

 

Generous folk gifted me this colossal colourful suitcase stuffed with men and women clothing for the purpose of distribution. Compartmentalised case!! Perfect for storing one’s belongings.

Placing mens’ clothing in a black sack, I walked the short distance to the charity shop. Ladies stuff remaining in suitcase at home. Mostly women cross our path. 

Almost there when I spy walking towards me, lovely young couple with two little children in a buggy. I learn that they reside for now in a refugee centre in a nearby village. We chatted a while, they cope well enough in their new strange surroundings, they tell me, but of course it is far from easy. 

Young man happily accepted my bulky black sack and so it never did arrive in Charity shop. Yes, they could really use a large case for storage and yes, lady would welcome lady’s clothes. Amazing! All of it!! and right there, on the spot, we thanked and praised God for His bountiful blessings every day of our lives. 

Breda kindly delivered everything to their place of refuge this afternoon. I don’t drive, always God provides.

Holy Rosary in St. Anne’s. Dear lady speechless having suffered debilitating stroke. She cried as we prayed Hail Mary together, she and I. Then, into my heart popped: ‘You are praying in your heart. You are where we all need to be. Praying with our hearts’. Instantly, unforgettably, on hearing my wonderful Holy Spirit words, dear Lady’s face lit up as she tightly clasped my hand, other hand wiping away her precious tears. Moment of transcendence beauty and peace.

Thing is, tired and emotional, I really wished with all of my heart to stay home nursing my own heavy heart. Just a few days ago my dear brother in law Donal, died suddenly. His dear wife, my beautiful sister Katy passing away only two years ago. I miss them more than words can tell. Grief upon grief.

So glad now that I did not stay home!! Plain to see and getting clearer all the time. Jesus does EVERYTHING!!

Show up!! That is all I am asked to do. The Lord truly is my Light and my Life. 

Right this minute I read in my Magnificat magazine;

‘If we have already found our vocation, are we faithful to it even when it is difficult? It is only by following God in our vocation and loving Him in obedience that we can be truly happy and fulfilled’.

Timely heartwarming wise words!!

Christmas Day 2023. Dear Donal, Killian and I enjoying beautiful Holy Mass together.❤️🙏🏻

‘Earth’s crammed with Heaven and every common bush afire with God, but only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit around and pluck blackberries’. (Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Holiness is life in it’s fullness. (Sr. Mary David)☀️🙏🏻

Sun peeping through the stripped back trees as I stroll from Holy Mass this morning. Trees without foliage are beautiful, bit like ourselves when all pretence is gone. Beauty beyond comprehension.

I am spending a few days with my loving family in Wicklow, rest and renewal, fun and laughter. Long sleeps, longer walks.

In the midst of all that, sharing my powerful prayer of course. Mind body and spirit. So many amazing encounters. Wonderful Holy Spirit continues to delight and surprise every step of my journey home to Heaven above. Here’s a few…

Dear Anne dancing daily with dementia, her kindly carer Lea by her side. Incidentally Lea calls Anne her ‘friend’. ‘Carer’ not once entering our conversation, I love that. All of us care for one another, every action is a transaction. Anne read my prayer aloud before turning to Lea uttering earnestly: ‘Look, we were all upset this morning and now God does this’. Then turning to me, dear lady places her hands on my shoulders, looked me in the eye saying intently: ‘You are lovely. You are healthy and you are full of beautiful energy’. Tears welled up in my eyes. Wow!!

I am so grateful to God that I get to spend precious time with my Holy Rosary group in St. Anne’s every week. Elderly folk have always meant the world to me and even more so nowadays as I fast approach becoming one myself. (We must age of course but we must not ever grow old!)

Bernie in Church prayed my prayer aloud and then asked; ‘Are you a nun or maybe a healer’. I love Jesus, I told her. Jesus is the healer, I His willing delighted instrument.

Sean, young guy on my train, helped put my case on the overhead wrack. Tad embarrassed, his friends weren’t bothered (except for one girl). Sean felt the fear and did it anyway. His shock and happiness when he received my prayer stays with me. Another ‘Holy’ moment. I offered him prayers for his friends but that just seemed a step too far!

Guy angry and frustrated gazing on empty bottles spilled out all over the pavement. His rubbish bin fell over as he loaded it onto his truck. I would have gladly helped but knowing I could not, I offered him my prayer instead. ‘No thanks, love. Prayer will do me no good right now’, he replied as kindly as he could muster. ‘I will pray for you so’, I said. Stopping for a moment, he smiled thanking me from his heart. God’s amazing Grace in vivid display!

Another guy kindly refused too. Definitely all of us are searching for God whether we know it or not. Sad refusals always remind me of the rich young man in the Bible. (Mark 10: 17-31)

Sitting in Holy Mass one morning feeling anxious about something and Father spoke these much needed words in his homily; ‘Fear is useless. What is needed is trust’. Holy Spirit knows our deepest needs at all times.

Young guy pushing Tea trolley on train took my prayer and then gifted me a complementary tea! Delivery guy and his helper outside a shop extremely moved too.

I love being a prayer-sharing Nan from Kerry. Not always easy but immensely rewarding. 

Last night I heard myself speak aloud: ‘It bounces around in my head until I get it all said’. Truly only when I put it all in writing does it literally leave my mind, flying freely into my deepest heart for posterity. Until that time though, I relive each beautiful encounter and happening many times.

‘In the measure in which we live out our vocation generously we shall be brought to a spiritual and human maturity which we could not have reached in any other way, and outside of which is only illusion and escape’. (Sister Mary David)

Strolling with lovely Luna. How great is our God!!

‘Poems are made by fools like me, but only God can make a tree’. (Joyce Kilmer)