Holy Mass. Foretaste of Heaven.🕯

Today, I am walking on air, my first Holy Mass in three months. Awesome privilege of receiving Jesus in the most Holy Eucharist.

May the Heart of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised adored and loved, with grateful affection at every moment, in all the Tabernacles of the world, even to the end of time. Amen.

‘The more Eucharist we receive, the more like Jesus we become, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of Heaven’.  (Blessed Carlos Acutis)

Holy Rosary in the park.📿

             When you say your Rosary the angels rejoice’. (Our Lady to Alan de la Roche)

Praying Holy Rosary in our town park every afternoon most enjoyable event. When Corona closed our  Church doors we hatched our Holy Rosary plan. Looking out on the river, calm waters flowing gently as a seal pops his head up going on his merry way. Water hen in all her splendour glides past, heron waiting patiently for her food. Blackbird singing sweetly drops by and stays awhile. Colourful butterflies fluttering around copious wild flowers, all creatures great and small.

Prayer and meditation come easy, we are immersed in harmony that is already here. A treasure beyond measure, simple abundance, cosmic temple.

In Medgurjie, in 2012, Beautiful Mother Mary placed the gift of the Holy Rosary in my heart and in my wildest dreams I could not have envisaged how it would come to fruition. Thank you Mother Mary for your beautiful guidance as you lead me to your Beautiful Son, Jesus, who is The Way, The Truth and The Life. Making your Holy Rosary known and loved is my life now, my raisin d’etre.

‘The simple prayer of the Holy Rosary marks the rhythm of human life’, St. Pope John Paul wrote in his 1978 testimony.  Likewise our Holy Rosary in this peaceful oasis, summer 2020. It engenders comfort and calm in these tumultuous times, tempest tossed that we are. 

Maria Simma said; ‘Satan hates peace and hates healing, the Rosary is extremely healing and a very powerful weapon against him’.

‘To pray the Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and His Mother’.

 (St. Pope John Paul 11)

Today, 13th September 2021, as I prayed aloud Holy Rosary in our Church, an elderly confused inebriated gentleman was shouting loudly that he needed someone to get him a bottle of whiskey. I prayed on and after a while Tim (I found out his name was) began to answer the Our Father and Hail Mary. It was really beautiful. Afterwards I tried unsuccessfully to get him a taxi - no driver would allow Tim in their car. He wore no socks and his bare feet were cold and tired. 

I had just put his tattered shoes back on his freezing feet when lo and behold, Eugene walked in the door of the Church. Yes, you guessed it, Eugene, a man of God, dropped Tim home, quite a distance away. How Tim got to our town in the first place remains a mystery. 

Magnificent Holy Rosary is a powerful prayer. Mother Mary is forever minding us as She leads us to her Son, Jesus. Mother Mary wrapped her blue mantle around Tim in his hour of need. 

Dear Mother Mary does exactly that for each and every one of us. 

‘One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, Our Lady will save the world’. (St. Dominic)

A new day.

This is your day:
the day when you can turn a clean new page.
You can always start afresh whatever be your age.

You’re never too old
to step out on the road of heart’s desire,
and change yourself into the kind of person you admire.

(Patience Strong)

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Touching the hem of Jesus Garment.📿

‘They begged Jesus to let the sick touch at least the fringe of His robe, and all who touched Him were healed’. (Matthew 14:36)

She spoke with barely a whisper, she knew pain I could tell. Handing her my battered and bruised, well worn Rosary beads, I suggested she hold it anytime she was in need of assistance. Holding her beads, she is touching the hem of Jesus Garment, Jesus is carrying her pain, with her and for her. 

I will never forget her smile as she accepted my gift. Oftentimes I would refer to my Rosary Beads as my favourite fashion accessory. Nowadays, my precious Rosary Beads is so much more.

Awakened one night by a terrible fear, dread consuming every fibre of my being. As I lay there holding my beads, I heard the beautiful comforting words from Dear Holy Spirit in my deepest heart. ‘You are touching the hem of Jesus Garment, there is nothing to fear. Jesus is carrying your burden with you and for you’. Instantaneously, all fear gone. 

Not just that, anytime dread raises it’s unwelcome head, once more I am taken back in time to that comforting moment. Whatta Mighty God we serve.

Mr. Cromwell, reporting back to the British Parliament about his campaign to exterminate the Catholic Faith in Ireland, wrote; ‘When I bring these fanatical Irish before the muzzles of my guns, they hold up in their hand a string of beads and they never surrender’. 

The Holy Rosary was that gift from Mother Mary which enabled us to cling to Jesus during centuries of persecution.

We are hugely indebted to our ancestors, they suffered much for their faith, they knew and believed without question or doubt, that in all that they did, God was there to help out. 

What a Blessing in these bankrupt days. Thankyou kind folk, we do not forget, we never will.

                                                         On a wall in Aughrim village.📿

Mother Mary’s seven Joys.

Today is the feast day of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our Mother Mary’s seven Joys: Pray one Hail Mary meditating on each joy.

1)   Mary Most Holy conceives Jesus.

2)   Mary Most Holy visits her cousin Elizabeth.

3)   Mary Most Holy gives birth to Jesus.

4)   Mary Most Holy presents Beautiful Baby Jesus to the Magi.

5)   Child Jesus found in the temple.

6)   Mary Most Holy meets Jesus after His Ressurection.

7).  Mary Most Holy received by Jesus into Heaven and crowned Queen of Heaven and earth.

Mother Mary pondered all these things in her heart. Intercede for us, Dear Mother, that we might have open hearts.

‘Set yourself apart with Jesus; pour out your soul before Him. Beseech Him to give you the grace that will allow the attractions of Heaven to draw you forth from those of this world, the grace that set apart the most Holy Virgin’. (Jacques-Benigne Bossuet)

Growing old and keeping young.

Gather wisdom as you go and have a grown up mind,

but always keep a childlike heart and you will always find.
Wonderful surprises: new adventures every day.
Strange and lovely things will happen all along the way.

Do not let the flight of time depress you or alarm.
Don’t resist the passing years. Grow old with grace and charm.
Keep the simple faith of childhood, if you would possess,
the secret joy which is the source of all true happiness.

(Patience Strong)


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God alone is sufficient.🎆

My recent sudden illness had knocked my confidence, my steps not nearly as free as they once were. Walking through town a gentle elderly holy man was holding out a beautiful St. Benedict Cross to me from across the street. ‘This is for you. He is a great Saint, he will keep you safe’. I asked the gentleman if he knew I had been ill. ‘No, I did not’, he replied

Dearest Lord, you are all love, kindness and mercy. You sent that beautiful man to me in my hour of need. You asked good Saint Benedict to watch over me. From that moment on I knew in my deepest heart that I was safe and secure in Jesus Holy Name. Amen

The apostles went about preaching, depending on you for all their needs and they were never disappointed. They got direction and guidance, they knew, dear Lord, they had every single thing, when they had you. I know it too Precious Lord, You are all that I need.

God alone is sufficient.

‘We need God alone. He alone knows the secret for comforting our battered hearts. In Him alone will we always find the true comfort for our ills’. (Blessed Celia Merloni).

God is so Good.🙏🏻

‘We do not always get the thing we aimed for at the start. The sweet desire of early youth, the dear wish of the heart, But through our disappointments, God’s own wisdom we can trace. Something is denied - but something better takes it’s place’. (Patience Strong)

Today is my birthday. As the years roll by and birthdays accumulate, I believe with all my heart that we will not fully realise what a wonderful gift is life until we are here no more. Bearing that in mind, I am making special efforts to live in the moment, be aware, take note.

‘For I have found a fullness of joy that is more than full. It is a joy that fills the whole heart, mind and soul, and yet joy beyond measure remains’. (St.Anselm)

Looking back over my life thus far, I know without a shadow of a doubt, that my steps have been guided. Everything that happens to us is either, forseen, ordained or permitted by God. He knew He would work my many mistakes for good and He does. Good can come from bad, putrid bread gave us antibiotics.

Some of my biggest crosses turn out to be my greatest blessings. My mistakes wasted a lot of my precious time, but always in the end, the good that follows balance it all out. Only a Wonderful, kind Father God could do all that. Yes indeed, supreme gratitude is the only appropriate response.

Prayer is the story of my life, my relationship with Jesus is paramount. I know He never leaves my side as He leads me home to Wonderful Father God. Holy Spirit beautiful wisdom and guidance light up my path in the dullest of days, I am truly humbled and extremely grateful. Dear Mother Mary and the whole host of Heaven are all around me, I feel their closeness and warmth.

Material wealth don’t impress me much, my needs undemanding. Simplicity does not fly me to the moon and stars but it brings the moon and stars to me. I take care not to trouble myself with enemies, the little things I got right are all that really count now.

‘There are two important dates in a person’s life - the day one is born and the day one discovers what one was born to do’. ( Thomas Merton)

‘‘Dear Lord, have mercy on everyone who’s ever said kind things about me, and be kind to those who’ve said damaging words about me too’. (Margery Kempe)

St. Martin De Porres.

Great excitement the day St. Martin De Porres arrived in our little humble home, in the sunny long ago, He was placed on the window and right next to him, a wooden box. Our spare coins would go in there to bring relief to the foreign missions. Thing is though, spare coins were few and far between in our humble abode. Coins we put in the box in rare moments of affluence were quickly retrieved when times got tough. We got to give and we got to keep!

We loved him from the first moment and still do, myriad years on. He was our mini celebrity, we prayed to him for everything and he never let us down. When we did not have our requests granted we accepted our lot, St. Martin knew what he was about. 

St. Martin knew all about ill treatment in his lifetime, the colour of his skin was a problem for many cruel people. That did not deter him from being forever champion of the poor and impoverished. He revered human dignity and showed compassion and concern for the lost and the lowest. 

His life praised, blessed and preached God’s love for everyone.

Dear St. Martin, please intercede for our poor world, torn apart by racial discrimination. So much unrest, so much cruelty. 

Having turned away from God, we are like herons standing near a lake where there is no fish!

‘I have desired to do good but I have not desired to make noise. I have found that doing good makes no noise, and making noise does no good’ (St. Martin).

P.S. Today, the 3rd September 2021is your Feast Day, Saint Martin. I awoke this morning with you in my heart not realising that today is your special day. Your way of letting me know you never stop interceding for us all down the years, you never will. Thank you kind Lord for beautiful Saint Martin and all the Saints, guiding and leading us, step by step, home to you. Amen.

Stately tree! look down on me.

Stately tree! Look down on me and teach me how to grow.
In Grace and strength, from year to year. Your secret I would know.
Teach me how to stand and face, a storm with head unbent.
Patient and contented, with a slow development.

  

Negative people have a problem for every solution.🤨

‘God preserve us from gloomy Saints’. (St. Teresa of Avila)

Being around negative people is totally draining. N rang me yesterday, I told her all about my recent stay in hospital, my sudden illness that can be explained, acute event not a recurring one, Thank God. I threw in a few funny occurrences in the midst of the mayhem, I told N how grateful I am forevermore to God and while I have always loved life, now I want to dance and clap with glee for this amazing wonderful second chance.

N heard everything I said in a completely different light, or should I say, with no light at all. She dissected everything and pulled out the most negative scenarios she could find, I was glad she wasn’t my doctor. I counteracted her negativity as best I could but when the call ended, I was joyless and angry. I remained in that unhappy state for quite some time, anxiety decided to drop by, my evening was the total opposite to how my day had been up to then.

Today, a new day has dawned, a new beginning, no need to keep the broken pieces of yesterday. It was not N’s intention to dismantle my day, she was simply looking upon my life-event the only way she knows how - in a purely practical manner. 

To shine in times like these, we need much more of God’s power, much less of our own. An attitude of gratitude to God at all times for His many blessings takes my focus off myself, N’s diagnosis is just that - N’s diagnosis, God’s diagnosis is the ultimate one. 

The more I remind myself of that, the less likely I am to fall flat on my face, as happened on that grim evening. Joy is the outward expression of Hope, negativity always offends the virtue of Hope.

Easy to be wise after the event. With prayer, practice and God’s amazing Grace, I will one day be a little wiser in the event too.

‘But of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send, save me, o save me, from the candid friend.

(Geo Canning)

Eric’s Birthday.🎁

Eric is 39 years today. 
Eric, a fine young man, being my first-born, matured at an early age, I wish he could have taken his time, but that is just the way it was. The positives far outweigh the negatives though, Eric is a very responsible young man, he told me one time that it suits him to be like that. Music to my ears, us parents will always have something to feel guilty about, being let off the hook is very pleasant.

A parent himself now, Eric is Dad to my three lovely grandchildren. For now, he is a ‘stay at home’ Dad, while his wife Fiona nurses in ICU, through all the Corona days. He will go back to being an airport police man when the emergency lessens.

There can be no greater joy for a mother than to see her children happy, content and making a difference. Our world needs people of principle now, more than any other time before.

Thank you Eric for choosing me to be your Mom. You brought delight and joy in abundance into my life, 39 years ago today and you bring delight and joy, in ever more abundance, as life goes by.

Thank you, Father God. My cup runneth over.

‘It’s a funny thing about life; if you refuse to settle for anything less than the best, that’s what it will give you’. (W. Somerset Maugham)