Photo was taken yesterday at Col√°iste Choilm, Ballincollig, Co.Cork (Irl)

Students hold up picture postcards of Donal Walsh, as a way of remembering him during prayer yesterday. His mum Elma spoke about Donal to senior cycle students of Col√°iste Choilm, about his life, his illness, his message, his impact on thousands of young people and how they as a family have coped since his death and much more.

Thought on Friday – November – 22/11/2013

‘To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.’ ~Aaron Copland


Today (Nov 22nd) is the feast of St Cecilia. She is the patroness of music and musicians. We so often take music for granted and yet it is the pulse and heartbeat of life. Music is there for every occasion. It can uplift and it can calm and relax. It can unite and break down barriers. The way we listen to music has changed so much over the years from vinyl, tape, cd and now digital. But whatever format the music is, it never loses its importance or impact.

It has also been said that music and silence combine strongly because music is done with silence and silence is full of music. We live in a noisy world with little room for quiet time and silence. Quiet relaxing music can lead us to a much quieter place where we can often encounter the gentle quiet presence of God. Today we thank God and Cecilia for the great gift of music. As the old saying puts it so well: ‘When words fail, music can so often speak to us.’