Posts by Karen Kent

“The whole world is in a terrible state of chassis”, so said Captain Jack Boyle in Sean O ‘Casey’s 1924 play Juno and the Paycock- using a humorous mispronunciation of “chaos”, used to describe dysfunctional situations and political confusion.

Don’t Jack Boyle’s words aptly describe our world today? We are beset by all sorts of problems and worries – we are anxious and fretful and can easily lose hope.

How can we find peace in these stressful times?

Right outside our front door there is a magnificent willow tree. A few short weeks ago it was naked and now in late Spring it is showing off its dress in its full glory. The verdant space around it “laughs with the joys of new life”.  Its beauty sustains and strengthens me in a world that increasingly does not make sense.

Recent medical research has looked at ways of nurturing our spirits in turbulent times. A daily walk is therapeutic, especially now that Spring is bursting out in all its glory.

This time of year always nudges us to give thanks for the seeds of hope and new beginnings and to sit back and wait for God’s surprises to mature.

How about trying to build more time into activities we enjoy – reading, knitting, swimming, gardening………… or whatever absorbs us in body and mind.

Professor Brendan Kelly offers very simple ways of nurturing hope to improve our positivity and mental health: Gentle movement like walking can be just as helpful as vigorous exercises in the gym and often more achievable in most peoples’ lives.

I was very helped by Pope Leo’s consistent demonstration of what it looks like to remain morally centered on the Gospel rather than acting for or against power-orientated interests.  And the fact that he always speaks from principles rather than in response to powerful people.

We are stronger, wiser and more gifted than we think. We are called to draw on those qualities now.

B. O’S

In the midst of the darkness and traumatic moments of our lives and world, the Easter dawn breaks holding the possibility of new life. The stone is moved, Jesus is risen. His crucified body shines with resurrected light, casting a radiant brightness over the shadows of our lives and world. Suffering is transformed into new life, good triumphs over evil and everything that is broken and dead is renewed. Death becomes the gateway to new life. The Cross and glory are forever intertwined. The light of the resurrected body of Jesus changes forever our vision of death. We are destined to live and have eternal life.

The Resurrection of Jesus promised at His birth sets us free forever. Daniel O’ Leary reassures us that we have God’s creative power at our core; he says: “Believing in this incredible power within us nothing is impossible anymore. It enables us to live with courage, knowing that no matter what happens to us or around us, we are under the protection of God and we can do all things in God who strengthens us.”

We are miracles of Easter when we discover the meaning of life in the ordinary “bits and pieces” of our daily life, when we have a positive attitude to life, when we make our journey of life a journey of wonder and thanksgiving, when we remove the limits we put around ourselves and others by daring to believe.

We all need moments of resurrection in our lives, moments when God’s glory and power are revealed to us in our daily routines and through the lover and care of others. These potential moments of new life have the potential to carry us through difficult times.

This Easter, we are called once again to believe in the incredible power of the divine light which enfolds us and floods our being. May we mirror that brightness to all we meet.

And so, in the words of Macrina Wiederkehr we pray:

Open the windows of our soul. Open the walls of our minds. Open the doors of our hearts, awaken us to hope, awaken us to joy. Fill us to the brim with new light.                                                       

                                                                                                            B. O’S.

On Palm Sunday we join in the welcome for Jesus into Jerusalem, we raise our palm branches for Christ the King and sing Hosanna! As he comes riding into the city on a colt. The people are lining the streets, a joyful atmosphere abounds.  Here is the King coming into their city. It is a triumphant moment for Jesus, for his disciples and for the people who come out to greet him.

 It is easy to forget this time of joy as we move into the Gospel of the day and recall the Passion and death of Christ – we move from triumph to tragedy very quickly.

The Passion of our Lord is moment where hatred is all around, where death is looming, and fear spreads among the disciples.  Jesus though, seems in many ways to accept what is happening – what is being said about him, and how he is being questioned by the authorities. It leads to Peter denying him, the disciples falling asleep and then reacting and cutting the ear of one of the soldiers.  How could it go from such joy and triumph to this tragedy when in the space of a few days the walk is not made in joy but rather in sadness as we accompany Jesus up the hill of Calvary to his death on the cross.  Triumph has so quickly become tragedy.

Holy Week offers us a few days of reflection on these two words – triumph and tragedy. And yet if we think back over the last three years of his public ministry Jesus has moved many people to thinking and living differently, he has challenged the law to bring love and compassion to many.  These are triumphs…and yes they lead ultimately to the tragedy that is his passion and death on the cross…not that we want suffering for him…but that through his suffering we will join again in the triumph when we celebrate Resurrection and can again welcome Christ the King!

Karen OSU

“Every Christian is called to experience God’s unconditional love working itself in everyday events. For the young mother, for the fellow afraid of changing careers, for all of us, it’s never a question of “prayer life” versus “real life”. Saints don’t lead two lives but one.”

Albert Holtz

A common mistake we make with regard to matters spiritual is to separate our spirituality from our daily lives. Of course that never works because both are intimately connected – God is to be found everywhere. Our Celtic ancestors knew that very well; for them everything was like a breath of God.

In Patrick’s Confessio, he describes in detail how profoundly his daily work, hardship and surroundings were a perfect setting for his relationship with God. This integration was particularly evident during his life as a slave when his prayer was constant.

Later on, as a bishop and missionary, he incorporated everyday elements – most famously the shamrock – to explain complex theological concepts like the Trinity.

Over the years, we began to separate spirituality from our everyday lives. There was a tendency to confine God to a particular place and time.

As we look at Patrick’s life, we see that he never led two separate lives. As we celebrate his feast day this year, the invitation is to know that God’s love for us is to be found in everyday life – right down to what we consider trivial and unimportant.

The Spirit of God

In the singing of the birds is the sound of God

In the swimming of fish is the power of God

In the moving of beasts is the will of God

In the heart of humankind is the dwelling-place of God

In my heart and my head, in my hands and feet

God’s Spirit within me shall move and speak.

A Reflection from the Diocese of Limerick

B. O’S

Lent is an invitation to strip away all pretense and be our true selves; the goal is authenticity; it is not about being sinless or perfect, but about being self-aware and integrated. Jesus had no problem with the failures of life; indeed it was with the hypocrites that He lost His patience.

So, a few questions surface as we embark on the Season of Truth:

• “how much reality” about myself can I tolerate?
• are my motives ambiguous?
• Is my ego in charge?

Frankly, I often find myself going through life without visiting those dark areas. Avoidance is inauthentic and superficial.

So, we take up the Lenten challenge this year to examine the integrity of our innermost heart. As W.B. Yeats wrote:” forging the smithy of my soul is hard work” but by God’s grace, we are able to hold the paradoxes of our lives within us as Jesus did.

                                                                                                          B. O’S