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Friday |
May-29 |
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This coming Sunday marks the feast of Pentecost. The following reflection are the words of the Holy Spirit to all of us:
When you’re lonely, I wish you love.
When you’re down, I wish you joy.
When you’re searching, I wish you direction.
When you’re happy, I wish you contentment.
When things get complicated, I wish you simple beauty.
When you’re angry, I wish you an inner calm.
When things look empty, I wish you hope.
When you’re confused, I wish you understanding.
When you’re relaxed, I wish you an inner silence.
But most importantly of all I give you my greatest gift, the gift of my presence: that I’m with you right now, during this day, during the week, during the years ahead. I’m with you always.
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Tuesday |
May-26 |
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Pope Benedict on his recent visit to the Holy Land, showed great respect for Judaism by visiting and praying at the Western Wall of the old Temple. For Jews this is the most holy site in the world. It is better known as the Wailing Wall and like the late Pope John Paul II he placed an envelope into a crack in the wall. It contained the following prayer:
God of all ages, on my visit to Jerusalem, the city of Peace, spiritual home to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike, I bring before you the joys, the hopes, the aspirations, the trials, the sufferings and the pain of your people throughout the world. God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hear the cry of the afflicted, the fearful and the bereft. Send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East and upon the entire human family. Stir the hearts of all who call upon your name, to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion. The Lord is good to those who wait for him and to the soul that seeks the Lord. |
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Sunday |
May-24 |
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The following reflection is by Fr. Tom Cahill
In his book, Jesus Today, Albert Nolan writes, ‘It seems that systems of various kinds often exist in a state of chaos or, as they say, “on the edge of chaos,” and then suddenly and unpredictably there emerges something called a “strange attractor” that rearranges the chaos into some new order.’ Today, on the feast of the Ascension we celebrate not the arrival but the departure of the strange attractor: the Risen Lord.
Change ‘systems’ to ‘individuals’ above and you have many a person’s life story. Confusion and doubt are necessary for intellectual and psychological growth. As Timothy Ferris writes in Coming of Age in the Milky Way, ‘Yet it is turmoil and confusion and not calm assurance that mark the growth of the mind.’
Into our personal confusion steps the ‘strange attractor’. As we flounder, his helping hand pulls us up and out of our confusion – not, however, on to a placid and permanent plateau, but to a higher level of confusion. No sooner are our feet placed firmly on Mother Earth than we are whisked to heights that make us dizzy. If our faith doesn’t s-t-r-e-t-c-h our mind, we’re not people of faith, but people of reason. Belief in the Ascension should make us gasp. Do we realise what we’re saying we actually believe in! First: that someone flatline dead didn’t just revive and return to his former state but resurrected to a higher, super-human, everlasting one. Second: having done so, then ‘ascended’ to a totally new quantum-leap environment we call ‘heaven’.
Wow! Wow! Wow! is all I can say.
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Thursday |
May-21 |
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The following few words were spoken by Cathal Leahy, (6th Year Head) during the Graduation Mass for Leaving Cert Students of Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig yesterday. The words here are so positive and affirming. They are a reminder of the multitude of blessings that our young people bring us no matter where they are.
A community college is about participation and learning. You have embraced the idea of a community in the last 5 months in particular. Your teachers have been impressed by your understanding of what to do when a community needs support. The spirit of generosity and friendship that you have shown to each other is what a community is all about. We are sure that you will carry this spirit into your work, study and personal lives in whichever community you choose to live.
This community spirit has been seen in you not just in the last few months but also over the years. The school is proud of your achievements in football, basketball, hockey, camóige, golf, table tennis, hurling, athletics, soccer, music, choir, musicals, performances, public speaking, debating, school participation, art, young scientist and in a host of other extra-curricular activities.
In a world characterised by greed, your school has proven that a generous spirit exists. Your teachers have given generously of their time and talents so that your talents might be nurtured. It is now your time to pay it forward and bring that spirit of generosity out into the world. Remember you will gain more and profit more by giving rather than taking. Make use of what you have learned inside and outside the classroom. Get involved, volunteer, play a part, use your talents. Both you and your community will be enriched. As Seamus Heaney says: “It’s time to swim out on your own and fill the element with signatures on your own frequency.”
Thank your parents – they have worked for you. Thank your teachers – they have educated you. Work hard in the coming weeks. Good luck and do your best, that’s all that anyone asks of you. |
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Monday |
May-18 |
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My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love. God's love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God's love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
The following reflection is by Fr.Tom Cahill
Today's First Reading (1John 4:7-10) is a tricky one. Having just told us the wonderful news that 'God is love' (v8), John now seems to undo it all by saying that God 'sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins' (v10). Here we have that seemingly awful image of God, as the one who demands appeasement for the sins of humanity by the death of his beloved Son. So which is it? It can't be both, can it? How can a God who is love possibly want the one he loves to be slaughtered to appease him? To put it bluntly: is there some way of honouring the text without dishonouring God?
Now you can try to resolve the dilemma by saying it is God"s love for us that compels him to send his son to be killed. But, the possibility that God could love human beings more than his 'beloved' son stretches the mind that little bit too far, don't you think? If God, indeed, is love, and totally independent in how he expresses it, then why on earth would he demand sacrificial appeasement? Does that not smack of hardness of heart, even vindictiveness?
You may introduce justice into the equation and claim that divine justice demands it. But is that not making love subservient to justice? And love is greater. Indeed, as Paul says in 1Cor 13:13 "the greatest of all is love". Once God forgives, justice goes out the door. So, are love and demands for appeasement mutually exclusive? If you find out, let me know. |
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Sunday |
May-17 |
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My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God
and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love. God's love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son
so that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean:
not our love for God, but God's love for us when he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
The following reflection is by Fr.Tom Cahill
Today’s First Reading (1John 4:7-10) is a tricky one. Having just told us the wonderful news that ‘God is love’ (v8), John now seems to undo it all by saying that God ‘sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins’ (v10). Here we have that seemingly awful image of God, as the one who demands appeasement for the sins of humanity by the death of his beloved Son. So which is it? It can’t be both, can it? How can a God who is love possibly want the one he loves to be slaughtered to appease him? To put it bluntly: is there some way of honouring the text without dishonouring God?
Now you can try to resolve the dilemma by saying it is God’s love for us that compels him to send his son to be killed. But, the possibility that God could love human beings more than his ‘beloved’ son stretches the mind that little bit too far, don’t you think? If God, indeed, is love, and totally independent in how he expresses it, then why on earth would he demand sacrificial appeasement? Does that not smack of hardness of heart, even vindictiveness?
You may introduce justice into the equation and claim that divine justice demands it. But is that not making love subservient to justice? And love is greater. Indeed, as Paul says in 1Cor 13:13 ‘the greatest of all is love’. Once God forgives, justice goes out the door. So, are love and demands for appeasement mutually exclusive? If you find out, let me know.
Fr Tom Cahill SVD, Divine Word Missionaries, Donamon, Co Roscommon
Email tomcee@eircom.net
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Friday |
May-15 |
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‘Labels are everywhere: gay, goth, skanger, chav, queen, anorexic, retard, geek, clown, druggie, freak, knacker and so on. But what you might regard as harmless stereotyping is actually a practice that can have serious, far reaching and even fatal consequences. ~Karen Cogan
Labelling whether positive or negative is disabling. People have rich and varied personalities. We are indeed unique, complex and made up of a wide variety of beliefs. But we do no favours to ourselves or others when we try to squeeze people into boxes. God never created any of us to be squeezed into categories or labels. We so often make assumptions about someone based on externals or on what we’ve heard from other people. This is so limiting and unfair. God created each of us to be free but we often try and limit other people by what we think of them and what we say. Our need to label people often comes from a lack of understanding about a particular group of people. We pray today for a better understanding in how others are trying to live their lives. They too are trying to do their best. Let’s give them a fair chance. |
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Thursday |
May-14 |
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‘The greatest thing any of us can do is to be our real self and to live our lives as lovingly and as faithfully as we can and in a way that is pleasing to God.’ ~Ronan Scully
Many books have been written about God. There is one obvious link between them all in describing God as love and that this love is very different from human love. God’s love is unconditional and it’s not based on feelings or emotions. No matter what our standing in life, poor, rich, successful, unsuccessful, struggling, depressed, hopeful, God loves each of us as we are and not as we would like to be. It is we who push up the expectations. We need to be patient and much gentler with ourselves. We need to learn to accept ourselves as we are. God’s love for us is beyond our understanding, it is totally genuine and it gives our lives meaning and depth. When ever in doubt or struggling, hold on to the following words: ‘I am unique in God’s eyes and nothing will ever change God’s total love for me’. |
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