Posts by Karen Kent

On Ash Wednesday, during the distribution of the ashes, we heard the familiar prayer “repent and believe the good news”. I don’t know about you, but for me, the word “repent” is caught up with penance, regret or guilt, whereas in Gospel terms, repent is about a change of direction, of re-orientating our lives, and seeing things in a different way.

With that understanding of what it means to “repent,” we can move to the second part of the prayer, “believe the Good News.” What is this Good News? It is the Good News that God loves us unconditionally and that Jesus came among us to bring us into the fullness of that love, and that, that love is deep within us.

Instead of focussing totally on penance and giving up things during Lent, why not consider allowing Jesus to touch, heal and restore aspects of our lives that are wounded?

Each of us carries hurts. Often these go back to childhood. Those who inflicted pain may not be aware of what they did. Whether or which, the Good News is that we are loved just as we are. So Lent invites us to accept that fact and then we will realise that a lot of other things will fall into place for us.

B.O’S

On the evening of Shrove Tuesday I prepared the Chapel for Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the season of Lent – removing the flowers; changing the altar cover from green to purple; swapping the ambo fall from Ordinary Time to Lent; and then preparing the ashes ready for distribution the next morning. And I left the building to continue on my way…

The next morning was when the contrast hit me, like never before – Lent had arrived. As soon as I entered the Chapel I was struck by the starkness of the décor, by the lack of vibrant colour from flowers, by the silence and most of all by the emptiness of the place.  I realised Lent had truly begun.  On entering the Chapel this morning, I became aware of the desert experience – the barrenness of the landscape around me.  As I sat to reflect I thought of Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days.  Imagine forty days of stark, barren landscape! I wondered is Lent an endurance test or a season to be embraced – to take in the silence, to wait patiently amid the barren landscape to await life to unfold again.  Lent is a time to reflect on what I really want to see and be in the world today – what do I have to offer and what does the world need from me?  Big questions – but I have forty days to contemplate some small offering as an answer to them. And at the end of the forty days, the colour will return, the alleluias will be sung, the Gloria will ring out once more – the question is will I have made some change in my life, in my vision of the world and the future having embraced the penance, the fasting and the prayer of Lent?

Karen OSU

It was a Thursday, mid-afternoon; I was walking along a pedestrianised area by the river.  As I approached an intersection, I heard a child crying out in distress and shouting and screaming. I stopped – numbed by what I saw – two boys aged about eleven or twelve were circulating another beating him hollow across the legs, face and head. He was trapped. Fortunately, I recognised the school uniform and the main bully’s face will be etched in my memory forever. The next morning, I was not at peace about the violence and had to risk phoning the school.  I was ready for any kind of response. To my surprise, I was thanked for my concern – learned that the school had a strong anti-bullying policy, asked for details of the violence and told that the principal would be informed immediately.

Two days later, I had a call from the principal – the bullies had been identified, the victim had broken his silence about on-going mis-treatment and wept as he said he was afraid to go to school. Sadly, the second bully was only nine years of age and from a local primary school, all parents were supportive and I was at peace…

Sometimes, when we go out of our way and find the courage to take action, everyone benefits and miracles happen – it is so much easier to walk away and do nothing.

“When we are courageous, we can do the unexpected and start to mould a  world around a vision  bigger than the one produced by fear”

Prentis Hemphill

                                                                                                                                                           B.  O‘S

Much of the news we hear nowadays is far from good to put it mildly. The constant stream of negativity is overwhelming; we are tempted to turn off our devices and no longer read the daily papers.

In the midst of all of this comes the severe weather that visited us   recently. As so often happens in a time of crisis, a hidden gem came to life. I call it “meitheal”.

Traditionally, “meitheal” is a deep-rooted blessing in Irish culture. At its core is community, co-operation, kindness and caring for one another; it emphasises the value of collaboration and mutual support. It was a life-line for our ancestors as they tended their farms and harvested their crops.

The concept is all around us today but was particularly evident as we navigated the severe weather snap:

Neighbours helped to visit old people, bringing them food and supplies; farmers mobilised a fleet of tractors to bring participants from remote parts of the country to the Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition; E.S.B. professionals worked around the clock to restore power; hospital staff and charity workers braved the elements to turn up for work and gave tirelessly of themselves…the list is endless…

People all over the country revealed their caring side, self-interest was put aside and peoples’ generosity and commitment was nothing short of inspirational.

The spirit of the “meitheal” is alive and well – we saw its transformative results.

Let us nurture that spirit and never allow it to slumber!

Mar a deirtear as Gaeilge –

Ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine.

                                                                                                      B. O‘S

There is a beautiful wall-hanging of St. Brigid in the day-chapel of the parish church in Clonard, Co. Wexford. It celebrates St. Brigid, “Muire na nGael.” We see her surrounded by earth, sky and sea that is a delight to behold.

The intricate and exquisite handwork was carried out by ten gifted women, all volunteers. It took two years of dedicated work to complete the project and it was unveiled on St. Brigid’s Day in 2001.

The work is clearly more than an account of Brigid’s life, because as the women worked day in day out, they soon found that they had become a little group of close followers of Brigid, and quickly began to meditate on her life. In fact, they compared themselves to a group of ancient monks illuminating the Scriptures in their monastery cells. Soon, every stitch they sewed became a prayer.

The fruit of their commitment is an inspirational art-piece that speaks to all age groups. Children are fascinated by its ducks, lambs, bees, rainbows, baby fish…

The boundless generosity of Brigid is a central theme in the piece. It is an invitation to all of us to care lovingly for our beautiful, fragile common home.

The hanging speaks especially to women; it was created by women and is an invitation to all of us to celebrate womanhood with Brigid.

As we celebrate the feast of Brigid and the whole month of February – “Mi na Feile Bride”- marking a turning point in the Celtic year and the feast of Imbolg announcing the arrival of new life- may St. Brigid continue to inspire us, bless us and protect us –

The Brigid Cloak

“Sun disc red to golden

Burnished bark of trees

Blue moon shows face

To all the earth

To crocuses and leaves

Pussy willow silvers

Winter blossom

Pinks the boughs

The earth looks kind

Flooding dried for Brigid

Her cloak she spreads for

Stepping into Spring.”

                         Rose Moran RSM

                                     B. O‘S