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/

St Teresa of Avila

“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life. . . . If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.”

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

No hands but yours,

No feet but yours,

Yours are the eyes through which is to look out

Christ's compassion to the world;

Yours are the feet with which he is to go about

Doing good;

Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.

‘However softly we speak, He is near enough to hear us. Neither is there any need for wings to go to find Him. All one need do is to go into solitude and look at Him within oneself.’

Mists And Mellow Fruitfulness

Autumn Poem

Even when the last leaf
Is past its clinging on
And tree after tree in the forest
Sings a soulful, leafless song
The seedlings of the fruits of spring
Are dreams that are coming on
In the mulch of imagination
Round the mists of a watery dawn.

Just to let you know I’ll be continuing to post here about once a week or thereabouts and in between times I’ll be reading and answering questions, as I’ve started a Catholic Home Study Service course which you can read about here: http://www.amm.org/chss/chss.htm

I’m looking forward to it very much and hope at the end of it all (maybe in about 18 months time, maybe sooner) I will know a lot more about Catholic Church teaching and have a better understanding of the origin and beauty of Catholicism.

I also hope to put up a second blog containing poetry only over the winter months, with titles and categories in the side panel. There will be no other links except to my Picasa photo album from where images may be downloaded for personal or non-commercial use – the same goes for the poems.

Also, I came across this Messenger in pink

http://www.cinews.ie/article.php?artid=6494

The Rosary

Milltown Cemetery Belfast

The Rosary

I remember the image of the beads'
Reflection on the pale chapel wall
How, when the sun poured in and
Projected their prismatic colours
They danced like fairy-lights
That shimmered and swayed in a loop

And how, if I watched for long enough,
The crucifix would turn full circle
Worked through her fingers,
The mysteries complete.

I knew well the countdown to home-time:
The kissing of the Lord's feet,
The bedding of the beads
Eased like liquid crystal
Into a deep-creased purse,

The Sign of the Cross and
Head-bowed genuflection.

Our Lady Of The Rosary Prayer

Our Lady of the Rosary
Pray for us
That in its prayerful mysteries
We may draw closer to the truth

In their joyfulness
May we be more joyful

In their sorrowfulness
May we enter into Christ's passion
As we accept the trials of life

And in their gloriousness
May we never lose hope
That we too will one day be raised up
To share the glories and joy of heaven
In the peace of eternity.

Changes

St Therese of Lisieux Church Belfast

http://www.carmelites.ie/Spirituality/therese.htm

‘I understood that the Church has a heart and that this heart is burning with love; that it is love alone which makes the members work, that if love were to die away apostles would no longer preach the Gospel, martyrs would refuse to shed their blood. I understood that love comprises all vocations that love is everything, that it embraces all times and all places because it is eternal! ‘

St Therese of Lisieux

Story of A Soul, Chapter XI

Holy Family Church Belfast

Holy Water Font

Families should generously embrace the gift of life and bring up their children to be open to doing God's will. In a word, they must have the courage to set before young people the radical decision to follow Christ, showing them how deeply rewarding it is.” Pope Benedict XVI (Sacramentum Caritatis, 25)

The diocesan changes have just been announced here and the shortage of priests has resulted in a number of neighbouring parishes merging for the first time, and in several cases one priest ministering to more than one parish community.

Holy Family parishioners are saddened at the news of the transfer of the Administrator, Fr Sean Emerson, who is appointed as PP at Antrim, and who, after a nineteen year stint likely broke all parish records for endurance.

He is renowned as a gifted homilist whose profound spirituality has touched many hearts, young and old, and he will be greatly missed.

A time like this offers opportunity to reflect on such things as values and commitment and moves us to pray too, that from among us, from our streets and schools and workplaces, men and women will emerge, ready to serve God in response to His call. And for some, like Fr Emerson, it will be in ordained ministry, but whatever our vocation we should feel secure in the knowledge that we will find support and encouragement from fellow parishioners and family members.

It’s all too easy to run down the Church, to mock and ridicule, though we ought to remember when we do this it is ourselves we hurt, for we are the Church, we are the mystical body that has Christ as its head, and therefore our thoughts should be geared towards unity rather than division..We are assured of the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence and need never be afraid.

The Spirit's presence means the Church is constantly being renewed and transparency is called for so that the Church can stand up to the scrutiny of the modern age. But not all past wrongs can be rectified and a great many concerns must be handed over, trusted to God.

When we do find ourselves wondering which way to choose, who better to look to than Mary, Our Mother; in imitation of her, we kingdom-builders can raise up rather than put down, and elevate rather than denigrate.

My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.....

Priesthood Sunday

Year For Priests 19th June 2009 - 11th June 2010
15th century Greek Icon, Jesus Christ, Melchizedek and St Jean Vianney

Prayer For Priests

Lord Jesus,
You have chosen your priests
From among us
To proclaim your word
And act in your name.

By your Spirit put your word on their lips
And your love in their hearts
To bring good news to the poor
And healing to the broken-hearted.

Since they are earthen vessels,
We pray that your power
Shine through their human weakness,
In their afflictions sustain them;
In their doubts reassure them;
From temptation deliver them.

May Mary your mother
Help them not to lose heart
But remain strong in the Spirit
To the glory of God the Father

Amen

( Taken from Down and Connor prayer card issued for the occasion)