Notebook Last week I had a very sad phone call from a colleague of mine in another part of the country. He has been a very dedicated priest for almost 50 years. For the last eight weeks he has been cocooning in his home unable to celebrate any kind of public Mass or have…
Notebook Recently, I had a conversation with a friend whose husband died some months ago. She is desperately lonely and that loneliness is made far worse because her children and grandchildren cannot visit her during these Covid-19 Days. But it is the loss of her husband, her best friend that brings the greatest loneliness:…
Notebook During almost 34 years of priesthood I have had many memorable experiences, some of them very sad and heart-breaking, many very joyful and inspirational. Two weeks ago, I had one of the most memorable and certainly most uplifting ‘pastoral assignments’ ever! Over a year ago, I was approached by a lady in the…
Notebook I’m sure there are other similar parishes around the country, but in my pastoral experience I have never experienced any community like the people of Ballycallan. After my appointment as curate in 1992, I visited the church for the first time and I was shocked and depressed. I had just returned from studying in…
Notebook Ever since becoming Pope in 2013, Francis, the son of migrants, has sought to awaken the consciences of people worldwide to the plight of migrants and refugees, which is the result of the biggest humanitarian crisis since the end of World War II and now involves, according to the United Nations, some 70.8 million…
Notebook Sometime early in November one of my friends sent me the following bumper-sticker ‘Note to all premature Christmas decorators: Calm down, Mary hasn’t even told Joseph she’s pregnant yet!’ A few days after the bumper sticker arrived I read an essay entitled ‘Advent RIP’. Basically the writer articulates what we all know to…
Notebook November is a reflective time as we remember our loved ones who have died. It is particularly a time of remembering those who died in war and strife. For us in Ireland, remembering our fellow countrymen who died fighting for a British army has not always been easy. In recent years we have come…
Notebook A question. Do you know what the first food eaten on the moon was? The answer may surprise many of you…the Eucharist! Of the many interesting milestones marked or celebrated this past summer, one that stood out for me was the 50th anniversary of for the first people to set foot on the moon…
Notebook Jim and Leonie, thank you for asking me to be the priest who witnesses your marriage vows today in this little corner of Co. Monaghan which holds so many wonderful memories for all of us. By way of a reflection I want to share with you a story which was first given to…
The Notebook Many years ago, my friends Monica Brown and Hilary Musgrave introduced me to the whole experience of sacred clowning. Hilary and Monica lead retreats all over the world and the sacred clown ‘Naofa’ is an integral part of their unique approach to spirituality. Sacred clowning has to be experienced because trying to…