Freely, I have received, freely I give.☀️

                                          ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. (Hebrews 13:5)

This beautiful verse danced into my heart as I waved goodbye to Eric. Both of us sad, parting is never easy. Loneliness will linger for a while but it can not lodge in my deepest heart where Jesus rests. Jesus and loneliness can never coexist.

A line from Nanci Griffith’s song; ‘Leaving never hurts as much as being left behind’ dances into my heart. Walking with Jesus renders ‘being left behind’ very doable, I am not alone, this I know. Later, hearing that Eric is home safe and sound in the bosom of his precious family is more than enough to fill my heart to overflowing with deep gratitude. Not possible to be grateful and unhappy at the same time. 

Praying Holy Rosary instead of wallowing in self pity brings me calm like nothing else ever does. No wonder Saint Pope John Paul wrote; ‘To pray Holy Rosary is to hand over our burdens to the merciful hearts of Christ and Mother Mary’. Contemplating Sacred Mysteries📿lifts me out of my small musty little world of one, filling my heart with Hope, one blessed drop at a time. 

I am reminded of my true vocation and deepest desire of my heart; To be the hands and feet of Jesus in my tiny span in this wonderful world, so the Face and Heart of Christ would be experienced in the world.

To share what I have learned, pass on what I have been gifted. Everything comes from God, freely freely I have received much, freely freely I give.

‘If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain; If I can ease one life from aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain’. (Emily Dickinson)

Ice-cream cone from Bank’s shop. It does not get any better....

My good friend Mary gifted Eric sunflowers for Saoirse, Aoife and Cillian.🎆

Love is a many splendored thing 💎 

Happy days.❤️

Mother and son, one whole glorious weekend together. Time to rewind in the calmness of Kells. Precious unforgettable moments in time from Awesome God.☀️

                                              Eric’s favourite lemon Swiss roll from Banks shop. 

Day is done. Green bottle time.

The Gift of Life.🌟

‘Are you enjoying your retirement’, I enquired of John (our former Docter) this morning. His sublime reply lifted my spirits no end; ‘’I am, but I like Life anyway’.

‘One grain of time’s inestimable sand is worth a golden mountain: let us not lose it’. (Roger Williams- the 17th century founder of Providence in New England)

Do Good.💎

‘The assistant announced the total and the Mum’s face fell, ‘I guess I’ll have to put something back but these are for her birthday party’, glancing regretfully at her child. In a moment, before the Mum could object, the second customer leaned forward and inserted her credit card into the reader, paying for the purchase. It wasn’t a large expense and she had extra funds that month. But to that Mum it was everything. A gesture of pure love poured out in her moment of need’. (Our Daily Bread/Elisa Morgan).

Tears filled my eyes as I read the above this morning, such generosity always touches my deepest spirit. Then, out of the blue, a beautiful memory danced into my heart, one I hadn’t recalled in many a long day. 

Thirty years ago, Guineys store in Dublin, elderly lady in the queue just in front of me realising to her shame that she did not have enough money to pay for her wares. ‘I will leave it’, I heard her say and with that I approached the cashier handing over the pittance outstanding. Afterwards, dear lady, highly embarrassed, extremely grateful, insisted I accept all the loose change she found at the bottom of her handbag. Today I know in my deepest heart that lady prayed for me always, I am sure of it🙏🏻

My dear Mom oftentimes would say: ‘ Be good, be kind, be cheerful. Do good to others and others will do good to you’. My parents didn’t just impart those sage gems to us, they lived them, every step of the way. An elderly lady told me recently that her husband spoke of my parents one time: ‘Ta uaisleacht eigin ag baint leo. (They possess a certain nobility).

I have been at the receiving end of great generosity in my life. I have had the privilege of being the generous one too. Kindness like snow beautifies everything it covers. God owns all, we are simply His stewards. Freely freely we have received, freely freely we give. 

We probably will not get to choose when or how we are going to die but we all get to decide how we are going to live and that is the legacy we leave to those who follow us.

‘And let us not grow weary of doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’. (Galatians 6:9)

‘Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; ‘Twas not given for Thee alone, Pass it on; Let it travel down the years. Let it wipe another’s tears, till in Heaven the deed appears - Pass it on.’

(Henry Burton)

 

Sweet lullaby.🎪

Killian told me the most beautiful heartwarming true story today. In the apartment above Killian’s, there’s a family with little twin boys. Every night, around the same time, the little boys awaken from their slumber and begin to cry loudly, in unison. Their sorrowful crying awakens Killian from his slumber too but here’s the thing. Just when all hope of sleep is abandoned, footsteps can be heard entering the little boys’ room. Ever so gently, a soft soothing melody fills the air wafting its way down to Killian’s apartment, their Dad singing a beautiful lullaby to his precious babies. 

In no time at all, all crying subsides as the little boys drift off to sleep. As does Killian. The kindly Dad’s gentle dulcet tones sheds peace and calm over the whole place, restoring order and once again all is well with the world.

What a Dad, makes me want to dance with joy and delight. Kind folk hardly ever make the nine o’clock news but they are there alright - tons of them. The enduring power of Kindness.

‘Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience’. (Colossians 3:12)

Today, I saw another Killian who lives next door, walk gently to his two cats who had just caught a little bird and were in high jinx with their loot. He tamed the cats with his easy demeanour and without uttering a word, seamlessly picked up the little bird, walking away quietly, little bird safe in his cupped hands. The two cats walked away too. Killian’s generosity of spirit transfixed me, my heart immersed in gratitude to God for the beautiful moment I had been gifted. Enduring power of Kindness.☀️

                                                           Killian flying high in Vancouver. 🕊

                                       ‘Made it Ma. Top of the world’. (James Cagney/White heat)

                         Diarmuid arrives In Vancouver. Brothers off and running. Road trip 🚙🙏🏻

Welcome Killian.🙏🏻

 

‘Finally got there’ - Killian’s message to me last evening. First time to gain access to this beautiful Church since his arrival in Vancouver, over three months ago.

‘And Jesus, smiling sweetly, whispers gently - “Welcome Killian”. (My message back to Killian).

Magic hair brush.🪅

 

My sister Anne dropped by, wonderful surprise on this May Monday morning. She located a glorious hairbrush for herself, just perfect for her new Covid tresses (chopping our hair every six weeks is now a thing of the past, 😃). 

Perhaps I could use one too, God Bless Anne’s big beautiful heart. Covid has blessed us with licence to grow our hair to our heart’s desire, whatever our vintage.

As it happened, I had given up hope of ever finding a suitable hairbrush for my extremely fine wispy hair. Each hairbrush I purchased was harder than the next, and so I had resigned myself to the fact that my humble comb would suffice. Wonderful Holy Spirit knows my every need before I myself am fully aware, and so it was no huge shock that my new superb hairbrush arrived at my door.

‘Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him’. (Matthew:6:8). 

As Anne brushed my hair, she said, laughingly; ‘This is just like long ago’. Instantly, we were young again at home in Kells in our family home. Getting ourselves glamourised for the dance in the ‘Iveragh  Ballroom of romance’, swopping clothes, sharing our one green eyeshadow, jubilantly excited for what might lie ahead. 

Our past travels with us wherever we go, what once was still is, intrinsically. Myriad years have come and gone, but what a gift from God is our joy, laughter and unconditional love. Divine diamonds from the Hands of our ever Gracious God.

‘You make known to me the path of life; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore’. (Psalm 16:11)

My gift to Anne -  Bridie’s beautiful prayer.

Saoirse and Aoife thrilled with their magic hairbrush. No more tangles - no more tears. 

Micheal.🌠

 

‘The giving of oneself brings with it an enriching of oneself’. (Saint Pope John Paul 11)

Micheal always available to us in our hour of need. Electrician, up to his eyes at all times, and yet, without fail, he made time, every time, to come to our rescue when we were well beyond our depth. After a sabbatical of twenty eight years, I was home once again, my family in tow, back in the land of my birth, foreign soil, out of our comfort zone for sure. 

Compact cottage we purchased needed lots of work done, definitely marathon, not a sprint. Money in short supply, school and college soaked up whatever funds we had. Micheal was fully aware of the fact that no money would be changing hands any time soon but that never bothered him. His big beautiful heart shone through every time. -  ‘You’re my auntie’, he would say, happy to be of service.

My gift to Micheal this Sunday morning - Holy Water. Precious Sacramental for Aine and Micheal’s  beautiful happy home. 

My boys and I never forget Micheal’s generosity of spirit in our time of need, he holds a very special place in all of our hearts. Nowadays, the boys are grown, money is not scarce anymore, but for us - ‘Eaten bread is not quickly forgotten’. We strive to pay Micheal’s kindness forward in any and every way we can. 

That is the enduring power of kindness, beacon of light in our oftentimes lightless world, beckoning us onwards and upwards to be part of something bigger than ourselves, to make a difference.

‘If you don’t close your ears to others, you open God’s ear to yourself’. (St. Peter Chrysologus)

May we all, in one way or another, continue to “push back the darkness of the world” in our own hearts and in the world, creating space for the Light of the Resurrection to break through’.                             (Amy Barnes/Restoration Newspaper)

Jesus came to earth to bring mercy and salvation to all people. Now that He has ascended into Heaven, He expects us who have called upon Him in our hour of need, to pay forward the help we have received from Him. (From Magnificat magazine)

A beautiful picture.🧿

Oftentimes when the designated singer is unable to attend Holy Mass, Father invites me to sing, ‘When all fruit fails, welcome haws’! 

No preparation, I accept gratefully and humbly, without a thought or care, whispering in my deepest heart; ‘You sing please Jesus because You never sing bad’. My one task - hold the microphone in that Sacred Sacrosanct Space. I know and believe without question or doubt that on my own, the outcome is good, with Jesus on the other hand, the outcome is superb. 

That sublime truth must be proclaimed from the mountaintops. Folk deserve to be informed what an awesome adventure life is, walking with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as He leads us home to Heaven. Doing all things with Jesus, changes all things for good, down to the smallest detail.

In my childhood, whenever  a visitor would drop by on a winter’s night, dear Dad would almost always say in the course of the evening: ‘Sing a song, Bridge’. Off I would go, without a thought or a care, never would it enter my mind to refuse, that was just the way it was. One time, an older sibling shared with me how difficult she thought it must have been to stand and sing just like that, impromptu. I remember being surprised, slightly confused, in my mind it was enjoyable, normal and natural. 

The manner in which history repeats itself utterly fascinates me. Over fifty years ago, when I sang for my Dad and his friend in our compact cozy family home, little did I realise I was in training for this wonderful life I live now, singing with Jesus. 

On the Pilgrimage of life, in the economy of Salvation, nothing is wasted, every tiny item vital, a place for everything and everything in it’s place.

‘God knows how to put everything in place, like a jigsaw puzzle, to make a beautiful picture’.                      (Corrie Ten Boom)

‘We can trust God, not just in His grand design for our lives and the eventual happy ending to the story, but in His promise that we will have a companion in every circumstance, however fearful’. (Bruce Larson)

God’s Blessings.🎆

Do not bolt the door of your mind and then wonder why nothing lovely ever happens to you. 

You must give free access into the house of your life, 

if you want to receive God’s Blessings. 

You must live in a state of happy expectancy of good. 

Optimism is not just a cheery frame of mind;

 it is a spiritual attitude towards life and it is essentially Christian. 

See that the hinges on the doors of your mind do not get rusty through lack of use. 

Oil them with prayer and keep them swinging, 

so that they offer no resistance to Angels passing by in the traffic of daily experience.                                                                                (From “The Kingdom within”)

Covid vaccine.💉

‘If the Lord be with us we have no cause for fear. His eye is upon us, His arm over us, His ear open to our prayer - His grace sufficient. His promise in unchangeable. (John Newton)

First Covid vaccine today, any reason to embark on bus trip to Killarney makes me happy. Loyal friend Mary accompanied me, even though she got her vaccine only a few days ago and is still suffering slight after effects. Real generosity of spirit.

Coming up to today, as I pondered the Covid vaccination, I will be forever grateful to wonderful Holy Spirit for His sublime moment of clarity in the midst of my ruminating; ‘The vaccination is God’s way of turning bad into something good. That’s what Father God does’ - all agonising over and done with from that shining split-second onwards.

Joseph and his Mom got on the bus after some time. Joseph, a young man in his thirties’, began to chat from the moment he sat on the seat behind us, his mom sitting across from him. He told us he loved prayer, reading Holy Bible and other Holy Books. ‘Jesus died on Holy Thursday’, he told me and when I replied ‘yes, on Good Friday’, he looked across to his Mom and excitedly exclaimed- ‘Did you hear that Mom? Jesus died on Good Friday, the crater’. Mom just smiled and nodded serenely. 

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph the worker.

‘A more pleasing praise to God is a soul innocent and filled with childlike trust which through Grace is closely bound to Him’. (St. Faustina-1750)

In an ideal world there would be no pandemic and no vaccinations but God sees and knows all, He can and does turn all things to good. I can grumble, object and cast blame, I can try to decipher the many conspiracy theories floating about in our world in this our day and time, or I can keep my eyes and heart open for whatever God is asking of me right here right now. 

‘For God is not a God of confusion but of Peace’. (1Corinthians 14:33).