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Thursday |
March
- 11 |
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‘With grief you have to leave all your doors and windows open; it comes and goes as it pleases. Those 10 years have been as kind as they can be, softening the edges of the pain, though leaving the centre largely untouched.’ ~Abie Philbin Bowman, (brother of Jonathan whose 10th anniversary occurs at this time
Many of us have experienced some significant loss in our lifetime. It is not just confined to the death of a loved one but it can also be any significant loss in our lives that throws us off balance. It has been said that time is a great healer and it is. But often with time the impact of the loss can really hit home. To describe time as softening the edges of the pain while leaving the centre largely untouched is an honest reflection. It is an indicator that for many people there is a lot of pain and issues unresolved. We try and move on but the pain of the loss will always be there in some way. It is good and healthy to name this pain and those significant losses in our lives. In the context of spirituality it is also good to ask God to bring healing to our pain and loss. We pray today for anyone who is grieving and coping with any significant loss in their lives. |
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Wednesday |
March
- 10 |
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‘In our fast living culture, there has grown a desire to find connectedness once again. Why are we reluctant to seek out the oasis that God loves us to experience?’ ~Jenny Hellyer
There is a growing desire to be connected to something worthwhile, meaningful and lasting. During the boom years we lost our sense of connectedness. We felt that everything and anything was within our reach. It seemed there were no limits but during the last few years we have had to painfully rediscover those limits. We have also had to rediscover our connectedness to things of lasting value. This includes family, friendships, community and anything of significant value including God. Connecting with God isn’t just for a chosen few or those with special skills. It is open to everyone and anyone. The benefits and blessings help us to make sense of a complex world of which we are all a part of.
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Tuesday |
March
- 9 |
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Awareness is noticing the blessings that often get overlooked in our busy lives. Gratitude for a special blessing can inspire us to look further and discover even more good in our lives. As we are inspired, let us also be inspiring to others.’ ~Author Unknown
If we tend to see today as the same as any other day then we have lost our sense of awareness. Yes there is a lot of repetition from day to day in many of the things we do, but the blessings that today will bring will never be the same as the ones we had yesterday and tomorrow is an entirely different story. Busy lives and heavy working schedules can often put on the blinkers and our awareness of these blessings. Can we pause when a special moment happens? Can we hold it? Can we allow it to inspire us? Lent is an opportunity to recognise that every inspiring moment has its roots in God. |
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Monday |
March
- 8 |
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‘Religious people often use the word ‘faith’ to describe their relationship with God. To the modern ear this sometimes sounds like a kind of vague belief, an inferior sort of knowledge, a not sure but I hope it’s true attitude. But faith really means trust or confidence in someone you already know or have started to get to know.’ ~Alan Walker
Faith is a lifelong journey. It could best be described as the paths, roads and walkways we journey on each day. These have many twists and turns and they sometimes have fabulous views. They also have potholes that need avoiding and signposts that have fallen down. But we trust these pathways and roads of life to get us to our destination. The same goes for our relationship with God. We put our trust and confidence in God to gently guide us through each day. It’s often described as simply having faith or growing in faith. These weeks of Lent give us many opportunities to treasure this gift of faith, of which we all have some without exception. It’s never the amount of it that is important but knowing that with it our life journey has meaning, direction and purpose.
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Sunday |
March
- 7 |
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The following reflection is by Fr.Tom Cahill
A google a day keeps the doctor away, researchers have found. Surfing the Net, even more than reading, boosts the brain. And its effects last long after the surfing stops. One theory holds that surfing stretches the brain by making it perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Fine! But let’s not forget what drives the search in the first place. And I don’t mean the hard drive. I mean curiosity. Were this lacking there would be no activity. Curiosity stimulates the search.
It’s what puts Moses in touch with God in our First Reading today. (Exod 3:1-8, 13-15) He sees something that arouses his curiosity: a burning bush that’s not consumed. His curiosity gets the better of him and because it does we discover two very important things; about God: he cares for us; about human beings: we’re holy. God tells Moses to come no closer and to take off his sandals because he’s on holy ground – God’s turf. I used to think that he was letting Moses know how unworthy he was to approach him. How wrong I was!
God is saying the exact opposite. Not being gods we must maintain some distance from him, yet nothing should come between us, not even a pair of sandals. Only what comes directly from the hand of God is worthy to be near him – hence the naked sole. Moses is a murderer. Yet God calls him. It’s easy to see God through goodness. But can we see him when evil blocks the view? If not, then let’s remember a murderer and a burning bush.
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Saturday |
March
- 6 |
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‘A theology professor once recommended that we read poetry. Why poetry? Because it says what cannot be said. Preachers have to talk constantly about God, whom they have never seen. Poets do not try to box up and parcel God. They possess the great charism of humility before God’s awesome mystery.’ ~Michael McGrath
Poetry is alive and well and not something confined to the past. Many poems continue to be written each day. Many of these never get published but are written to express something personal and important. Many of them are hidden gems. Poems that in some way refer to God are often uplifting, open and honest because they simply do not attempt to box up and parcel God. A mistake of formal religion is to sometimes put God in a box or parcel and then add on the gift paper ready made. It can’t be done and can often be out of touch with the experience of people at ground level. Everyone’s experience of God is different which is why we always need an approach that is open, fresh and liberating. Poets do it naturally and there is a poet in all of us.
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Friday |
March
- 5 |
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‘Somebody hurt you, maybe yesterday, maybe a lifetime ago, and you cannot forget it. You did not deserve the hurt. It went deep, deep enough to lodge itself in your memory. And it keeps on hurting you now. Forgiveness is God’s invention for coming to terms with a world in which, despite their best intentions, people are unfair to each other and hurt each other deeply.’ ~Lewis B.Smedes
Forgiveness is a word that is often spoken about in our Gospels. Jesus says we are to forgive seventy times seven. This is another way of saying that forgiveness is to be part of our lives, woven into our relationships with each other. It has been said that forgiving is love's toughest work and love's biggest risk. It is hugely challenging. We live in a fragile and imperfect world. It affects us every day and sometimes extremely so. To forgive someone allows us to take a step forward, a step towards new beginnings. Not to forgive means we stay firmly rooted to the one spot, we never move on and any chance of a new beginning just never happens. If forgiveness is to be a part of our lives and woven into our everyday relationships, then we sometimes have to take the first step to make it happen.
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Thursday |
March
- 4 |
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‘Consult not your fears but your hopes and dreams. Think not about your frustrations but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in but with what is still possible for you to do.’ ~Pope John 23rd
It is a long time since daffodils have failed to flower early in March. They are weeks behind schedule because of the harsh winter, snow and bitter frosts. Even out in the countryside fields are brown and burnt from the harsh conditions. A rise in temperature will be much appreciated by gardeners and farmers. Lent can be translated as springtime. If we use the image of heat then it’s fair to say that spiritually there are parts of our lives that feel frozen. Lent is about a thaw, allowing God to penetrate what is frozen, allowing in God’s blessings, warmth and allowing God to nourish our spiritual side. We so often put the focus on our failures. Lent is recognising that failures need not be limiting, but instead, to allow them help us achieve all that is possible.
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Wednesday |
March
- 3 |
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The best and safest thing is to keep a balance in your life, acknowledge the great powers around us and in us. If you can do that and live that way, you are a really wise person.’ ~Euripides
There are always different ways of seeing things in life. We are either optimistic or pessimistic or somewhere in between. The constant message from our Gospels is that there is always a bigger picture. If we take one event in isolation it can give a distorted view. Our world has been around for millions of years and we are a tiny part of the whole story. If we can see the bigger picture, if we can see life from experience, if we can look at it from a faith point of view, if we can look at it from the foundation of good sound values, then life can be viewed with balance. Our prayer today can be a simple one asking God for more balance in every aspect of our lives. |
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Tuesday |
March
- 2 |
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‘Life is a succession of crises and moments when we have to rediscover who we are and what we really want.’ ~Jean Vanier
For a cyclist it is always easier to cycle with other riders who will take turns in breaking through a headwind and make it easier to keep the momentum up. A lone breakaway cyclist will always have to work harder on their own. They will have to do all the work breaking through any headwind. The same can be said of us too. Sometimes when we move out of the safety and protection of others or when we do a solo run we are open to feeling the elements more. It is at this time that we begin to understand more about ourselves, our limits and where we want to go. But it is always good to come back into the strength of team, family and community. God encourages us to maximise the support structures around us. Is there any person I know who needs my support at this time? Can I support them with some of my time, love and energy?
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Monday |
March
- 1 |
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'When we accept the darkness then finally we can stop pretending. No longer do I need to conceal the cracks - impatience, sharp temper, a spirit of judgement, lust, lying, envy. I am all of these but more. I am also compassionate, sensitive, charitable. I never condemn the whole because a part of me is disordered. I work on that and with the grace of God I can make progress.' ~Martin Tierney
Isn't it so often that we allow the cracks to take over and dominate our lives. Much of low self esteem and lack of confidence is because we see only the cracks. The cracks will always be there and its a fool who thinks otherwise. But if we take all the positive and good in our lives the cracks begin to look insignificant. Cracks have the potential to get bigger and multiply if we don't deal with them in the context of God's love for us and also the great love and goodness we generate each day.
Today is a good day to begin to accept the cracks but importantly not to allow them dominate. |
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