John Henry Newman

Lead, kindly light amid the encircling gloom

CTS Publications

Intercession of Saints and Angels

One thing alone I know - that according to our need, so will be our strength. One thing I am sure of, that the more the enemy rages against us, so much the more will the Saints in Heaven plead for us; the more fearful are our trials from the world, the more present to us will be our Mother Mary, and our good Patrons, and Angel Guardians; the more malicious are the devices of men against us, the louder cry of supplication will ascend from the bosom of the whole Church to God for us. We shall not be left orphans; we shall have within us the strength of the Paraclete, promised to the Church and to every member of it.

( from Sermons Preached on Various Occasions, 1857, in A Newman Treasury, Longmans Green and Co., 1943)

A Meditation

by John Henry Newman

God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work

to me which He has not committed to another I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection

between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good.

I shall do His work.

Immaculate Conception Poetry and Prayer

St Patrick's Church Cushendun

Lourdes

Lourdes grotto

" On the feast day of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, during Holy Mass, I heard the rustling of garments and saw the most holy Mother of God in a most beautiful radiance. Her white garment was girdled with a blue sash. She said to me, You give Me great joy when you adore the Holy Trinity for the graces and privileges which were accorded Me. And She immediately disappeared."

St Faustina's Diary, 564

Immaculate Heart of Mary

Mary Immaculate
Chosen by God
From before you were born
To be for all time a
Model heart of love
And motherhood
Look to your children
With eyes of mercy.

Wrap us in garments
Of unfolding grace
Protect us against all evil and harm
And help us persevere
In faith.

Stay close to us, Most Holy Queen
So that we remain
United with you
Blessed in the life of the Trinity.

Our Lady of the Wayside,
Pray for your children
Wherever they may be
Let your motherly hand guide us
Along the winding paths of life
And lead us joyfully
To life eternal

Immaculate Heart of Mary, educate me in the way of truth.
Let me cling to faith as a child clings to its mother's garment

Let me never be too afraid or ashamed to come to you,
To confide in you,

No matter how far I may wander from grace,
Let me know always that you,

In your maternal tenderness
Will always care for me;

And with eyes of mercy and
Gestures of forgiveness

You will welcome me into the folds
Of your goodness, the mantle of your charity
The heart of your motherly love.

Advent Poem

This beautiful photo is courtesy of St Mary's Abbey Waterford. It's a Cistercian abbey and if you visit the Sisters' blog you will find a lovely excerpt on an Advent theme from The Reed of God( Caryll Houselander)

http://cistercianvocation.wordpress.com/

St Mary's Church, Chapel Lane Belfast

http://www.stmarysbelfast.org/history5.htm

Advent

Bless my soul, Lord,
At this time of waiting
And anticipation.
May your word be as benediction
As I prepare the way for
The sovereign child
The Prince of Peace
Whose throne is clay
Whose realm is
The tabernacle of
The human heart
That bids him stay.

Bless my soul, Lord,
At this time of waiting
For the promised one.
Let my creation be
A dwelling place fit for a king -
The Son of God most high
Who comes as light, as joy,
As flame-setter within…

Then, like the shepherds of long ago
I, too, will worship him.

Who Do You Say I am?.... Part 2

Africa
http://www.spms.org/stpatricksmissionarysociety

Holy Family Church Belfast

http://www.svp-ni.org/

Subscriptions make excellent Christmas gifts: Far East, Africa, Reality, The Messenger.

I've been thinking of those who seldom make the headlines, those labourers in the field who live and love and work for God's sake.

Do we leave them to God, or do we support them emotionally, practically and prayerfully? The cloud of shame that hangs over the Irish nation at the moment affects us all, and I'm conscious too of its influence on the young and on those who don't attend church, who don't enjoy a sense of belonging, whose understanding of Catholicism and what it stands for is based solely on media reports.

Justice demands that we uphold the rights and dignity of others. Justice demands fairness and truth. The great deal of good that goes on at all times needs to be reported, supported and celebrated by us all.

We have a duty to uphold the faith passed on to us, but we also have a duty to ourselves to feed our souls with the grace and goodness that is manifest in the works and lives of others – the ' Christ present in us' who serve God on a daily basis in churches, parishes, hospitals and schools, at home and abroad.

Amid the great cloud of witnesses there surely are many Irish saints, named and unnamed who can help us now in these dark days.

We can support local charities and the missions, we can ensure our homes are furnished with Catholic literature to suit all ages, we can speak about the good that we witness in our parish community, we can honour the aged and visit the sick. We can celebrate the everyday, and even in the trials that we and others suffer we can find consolation in the nearness and the love of God. And last, but not least we can pray to Our Lady, Our Blessed Mother for all the graces necessary to guide us at this time, which our parish Administrator has described as the eye of the storm.

None of this takes away from the present headlines. All those who suffered abuse have thirsted for justice, which was denied them for so long.

The bishops and priests of Down and Connor Diocese have issued a pastoral reflection on the events of the last week. In it they express horror and distress at the content of the Murphy Report, which they describe as ' once again being confronted with the harsh reality of evil at work.'

They go on to reassure us that measures are now in place to protect and safeguard children, and advice has been taken from specialists in the field of child protection.

They express gratitude for the help from people on the ground in parishes throughout the Diocese, ' their commitment is testimony to the determination of good to face down evil.

It will help heal some of the wounds inflicted on the Body of Christ, the Church, which has suffered so much from the horrors of child abuse and its mismanagement, alas, also through the actions of clergy.'

The Church with and through the power of the Holy Spirit is being cleansed and renewed – this too is cause for celebration in sacrament, in prayer and in solidarity.

Who Do You Say I Am? ..Part 1

Savannahkhet Laos

Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem

Who Do You Say I Am?

In the blessed lonely stillness of the night
When neither darkness nor sleep provide
A safehouse for those who would hide
From truth's confrontational guise:
Who do you say I am?

In the maddening rush of the day
When worlds spin and nerves squeal
When big names play big games
And war's lasting image of all that's gone wrong
Is a tiny left footprint
In a blood-muddied field:
Who do you say I am?

In the unfathomable reaches of the sea
Where no earthly spirit can dwell
Myth and mystery and meaning
Wash over swell upon swell
Then out of the blue a whisper
Like a beacon of light in a storm
The question that echoes down centuries:
Who do you say I am?

Amid tyrrany, murder and outrage
Avarice, betrayal and war
The enduring words of the Master forge
The same keen edge as before
Cutting through masks of deceivers
Through evil, corruption and sham
The question as probing as ever:
Who do you say I am?

Visitation

I come to you today laden with emptiness
No ready answers to the hows or whys
No deposits of knowledge to soothe the weeping
All too deep the wounding and the sighs.

I come in sorrow,
Though with nothing proffered
As balm for the rawness of your pain
But I pray that in the emptiness I offer
A kernel of beyondness will remain

That in its own good time will find a surface
And blossom in the springtime of its reign.

I suspect the greatest mistake I could make right now would be to walk away, confident of finding a better church elsewhere, or a better life outside the Catholic Church. But where would I go?

The headlines these days are harrowing, and I am moved deeply at the thought of the nightmarish lives of those for whom the present contains as many demons as the past.

Remaining in the Church does not mean I must accept things as they are, indeed that was the problem for far too long. The health and welfare of children has now become the priority it should always have been, and the Church has put in place stringent measure to ensure the protection of children from those who would do them harm. And hopefully those now in positions of authority within the Church will place the welfare of their flocks, especially children, to the fore with no thought towards self- preservation or face-saving.

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but in the end justice and truth prevail, and God is on our side. It is a fact of life that the good co-exist alongside the bad and none of us can place ourselves outside the circle of sinners as we all stand in need of forgiveness and God’s mercy. It is with hope then that we look to heaven as we pray for renewal for all through the Spirit each day.

A friend of mine who was recently in hospital suffering from depression and acute anxiety found herself unable to pray . Thinking I was assuring her, I told her of how the Holy Spirit prays in us, especially in those moments when we can't find the words for what is in our hearts, but she told me I was missing the point. Prayer is a huge source of consolation to her and she was having to struggle with this type of loss on top of everything else.

Many victims of abuse have spoken of a similar sense of loss of confidence in themselves, in others and in God; and they need our loving support, understanding and prayers.

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;

John 6:68:

And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.

Matthew 28:20

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Matthew 16:13-20

Presentation Of The Blessed Virgin Mary, and Christ The King

The Presentation Of the Blessed Virgin Mary

How they loved
This longed-for child
How their eyes danced
At the first glance of God’s beautiful gift.

One happy year, then two, then before
They knew it they were moved
To bring Mary to the Temple-
Their child,
(She, who was to be,
The Mother of God.)

Ascending the steps the little one smiled,
Wisdom before, Wisdom behind
And as they watched with misted eyes
A voice said,’ Hope! Be reconciled!

I go into this holy place
Where all is light and all is grace,
The gift of life you’ve given me
Will bear the fruit to set men free.

I dedicate myself to God -
These temple walls do not divide
The love of those contained herein
From that which flows outside.

I shall take you in my heart
To where I do not know
As we are wont to follow where
The Spirit bids us go.

So not in sadness do you leave
Nor I in sadness stay
For we are in the Spirit’s love
Day unto gifted day.’

Beautiful reading at the link below from the writings of Spanish- born St Rafael Arnaiz Baron 1911 - 1938, proclaimed as a model for the youth of today by Pope John Paul II. He was beatified in 1992 and canonized on October 11, 2009

http://cistercianvocation.wordpress.com/

Mosaic in Cefalu Cathedral Sicily

Christ The King

No whorl will ever envelop God
Or treachery embrace him
Nor land detain him in its leas
But we, we
Will be enveloped in his kingly love
Caressed by his breath of knowing
And moved to ecstasy
At that vision that will surpass all visions
To light the sun.

No age will ever outlive God
Nor soil devour Him
He is free from the all-encompassing
Infinite in his being
And we, we will be enveloped
In his kingly love,
Enrobed in him
Bathed in the brightness of
The waters of eternity
The pool of beyond.

St Margaret Of Scotland

Lourdes statue located within the domain overlooking the Gave.

Google Image

St Margaret's Chapel Edinburgh Castle

St Margaret's Catholic Church Dunfermline
http://www.stmargaretsdunfermline.co.uk/

In this excerpt from the foreword to David McRobert's historical essay on the life of St Margaret of Scotland, Fr David M Barr writes as follows:

Nine hundred years after Queen Margaret lived and ruled with her husband King Malcolm III the people of Scotland still revere her as their patron and admire her many qualities which had such a profound beneficial effect on the country of her adoption.

In an age where the role of women in our society has only recently been seen as emerging to a truly equal status it is a matter of some wonder that nine centuries ago Margaret was to wield such an enormous influence in the life of her people on so many different and yet powerfully important levels. At court, in the life of the Church, in domestic and international affairs her influence would be seen and can still be discerned centuries after her death.

Fr. David M. Barr P.P.
St. Margaret's Dunfermline

http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/stmarg.htm

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09655c.htm

The Name Above All Names

It is not obedience or goodness or holiness that brings us to God but rather an awareness of our disobedience, sin, and indifference that moves us to pray that, one day, through perseverance and grace we may become all we ought to be as heirs to a kingdom and children born of light.

Like the finding of water in parched and barren land or a sudden sprouting of wild flowers in a desolate landscape, God is full of surprises.

To find God is to find treasure beyond imagining. In Him we can place our whole trust, our past, present and future as He reaches out to us in boundless mercy and love.

In finding God we can sustain others and support ourselves, for God is like the great oak tree which shelters us his children beneath its wide-spread branches - the extensions of his love.

God is the soundness of ground beneath our feet, the wellspring of hope, the dream that becomes reality, and the name that is above all names.

In finding God, in offering our lives to Him, we become liberated beyond words, freed from prisons and snares and quagmires of the past, from slavery and corruption of the present, our eyes and hearts are opened anew as we begin to view the world and all that is in it through the windows of his eyes.

Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

Morning Song

New Day

Now that night has slipped from sight

Let us celebrate the dawn

Let morning be our joy, our song

In pleasantness

In soul

In throng.

Ulster Museum - a Grand Place To Visit

True craftsmanship seen in the detail of this High Cross

Beautiful wedding garment

As old as time....fossilized wood from Langford Lodge estate

Replica of Cross of Cong

World- renowned Belleek Pottery

Message for all

Well done to the Ulster Museum - after 3 years of refurbishment work it has now re-opened and is filled with wonderful exhibits spaciously spread over four levels that are attracting record numbers of visitors.

All Souls

Milltown Cemetery Belfast

Mumbai

Cushendun Co Antrim

Departed

Today I remember you.
I shall pen a song,
Give it wings
Then linger a while
And watch as it is carried out
Over the thunderous waves,
Up into the dark violets
Of this November sky;
And as I pray for your soul
I shall ask God in His mercy,
That when at your journey's end,
You will gaze upon His face
And be glorified in Him
Forever more.

Mary Ellen

On the evening before her ship sailed
She whispered a valediction
Into the ear of the wind -
Words not meant for the left behind,
And like a best friend
The wind blew westwards towards the sea
And scattered her words
Like bangles of roses on the water.
Circles of cormorants and shags
Waked her leaving at first light
And watched us as we cried -
I and a Brent goose
With sand grains in its eyes.

Holy Soul

Holed-up in a fortressed house
A victim of the vicissitudes of life,
He wore a tall but battered-down hat
And lived in a tweed coat too small,
Knotted cord catching the eye
Where it filled the gap
Between button-less parallels
Which seemed never destined to meet -
Much the same as he and I
Who only ever exchanged shy smiles.

Long since dead now,
Yet his figure has dogged me
On sleepless nights.
In my prayers I mention the man
With the cord round his middle,
No name, no genealogy,
Just a memory that binds,
Two stones on a foreshore
That waters made collide.

All Saints Day

St Patrick

For the sun we see rises each day for us at [his] command, but it will never reign, neither will its splendor last, but all who worship it will come wretchedly to punishment. We, on the other hand, shall not die, who believe in and worship the true sun, Christ, who will never die, no more shall he die who has done Christ's will, but will abide for ever just as Christ abides for ever, who reigns with God the Father Almighty and with the Holy Spirit before the beginning of time and now and for ever and ever. Amen.

St Faustina

One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end without realising it. And at the end of the roads there was a horrible precipice; that is the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And their number was so great that it was impossible to count them. And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings. (153)

St Faustina's Diary

St Dominic

Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.

St Therese of Lisieux

I want to spend my heaven in doing good on earth.

956 The intercession of the saints. "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. . They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus . . So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped."

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
SECOND EDITION

Communion Poem

St Vincent de Paul, Lourdes

Mumbai

Communion Poem

To rest in him
Mind and heart
Is to enter into that realm
Blessed
With the nearness of
The soul’s sweet Guest.

Awareness of the divine-come-down
Present within me now
Fills me with awe

As I commune with him
I ask myself a hundred times
Is this for real
This gift
This liberty
Is the all-powerful almighty God
My soul’s guest, the keeper of its key?

My soul answers
With the truth -
He delights in me.

Rosary Procession Belfast 2009

St John's Church Belfast

St Agnes's Church

On Sunday 18^th October 2009 the annual rosary procession took place in west Belfast. Now in its seventh year, it brought many onto the streets to pray the rosary as an act of witness to our faith and to Our Blessed Lady.

The Legion of Mary organisers ensured our safe passage from St John’s Church to St Agnes’s along some of the busiest roads in the city.

At all times we were treated with utmost respect by those who found their journey times extended and their destinations inaccesible for short periods on this wet Sunday as we processed from one church to the other.

A Legion member thanked seven seminarians presently studying for the priesthood who helped carry the beautiful statue part of the way and he also told us how the students gather each night to pray the rosary which hopefully will ensure Marian priests for the future.

Fr P Owens PP of St Agnes’s spoke of devotion to Our Lady and revealed that in the old Irish tradition Mary was referred to as Runai Dia – God’s secretary – which when you think about it is true of one who was both confidant and trustworthy to the last.

He also shared a memory of his own seminary days when he was reminded over and over again that one cannot become an apostle for Christ until one first beomes a disciple with Christ.

Mary is the best example the world has of discipleship.

(After Benediction and prayers, all the lovely lilies were given to people to bring home to the sick and the housebound,)

Mission Sunday 2009

St Mary's Belfast

Belfast-born Sr Patricia Speight
Franciscan Missionary Sister to Africa

“And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

Irish Missionary Union : http://www.imu.ie/

Immersion in the grace of baptism made me a “son in the Son”; it was pure gift, given before I could even think to have merited it, before even being able to choose one way or another.

It was a loving act of the Father’s initiative that forever constituted me as his son.

Nothing and no one can ever take this away from me. I have a Father and a heavenly home to which I belong.

Perhaps many people do not realize what a tremendous gift baptism really is.

Fr Abbot Joseph: http://wordincarnate.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/sons-and-daughters/