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With Empty Hands
Comparison is not always a good thing, and this is especially so in the spiritual life. In comparing ourselves to others, we tend to forget that each individual human person has their own path to walk – my path is as different and as unique to me as yours is to you or to anyone else. Your path is no better to mine, nor mine to yours; they are simply different paths, even if the eventual goal – spiritually speaking – is the same. What matters is not to copy the path of another – which was designed and intended exclusively for them – but rather, that each of us…
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The Bread of Sinners
When I was thinking about retiring from my career as a nurse, one of the main reasons for wanting to do so – and to do so at that point – was in order that it might be possible for me to become a daily communicant. And so my decision was made. I duly retired and began to attend morning Mass during the week. Sitting in the silence and emptiness of the Church on those mornings, it is very hard not to simply stare in awe at the Tabernacle. I am perfectly well aware of Who resides within there and His presence is as real and as tangible as that of…
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Present Tense Saints
For two thousand years, the Catholic faith has proposed to every one of us that we are called to become Saints. When the Lord walked the earth, He counselled us – “Be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Mt.5:48). A saint is a person who has faithfully walked that way of perfection of which the Lord speaks, reaching Heaven as it’s conclusion. And so if the Lord tells us to ‘be’ perfect, then it may be hard to achieve – but it is at least possible. It’s all too easy for us to think about the Saints in Heaven in the past tense; they have been and…
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The Ocean of the Rosary
Apart from the prayers of the Rosary, I also love the beads themselves. Many years ago, a wonderful lady called Gayle Murphy – a friend of mine in the United States – taught me the basics of wire-wrapping with sterling silver wire and how to use this technique to create Rosary beads. Such Rosaries are very strong and unlikely to break in the course of normal use, even if used for a lifetime. Gayle’s daughter, Marian, now continues the work begun by her wonderful mother and her creations – you can see them at Simple Rosaries – are very beautiful. So I began to make my own beads and I…
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Bernadette After Death
The Relics of Saint Bernadette Soubirous arrived in Carfin Grotto, Scotland, this morning. St Bernadette is, and always has been, an immensely popular Saint of the Catholic Church. If the visit of the relics of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux to the Grotto in 2019 are anything to judge by, this visit by the little Saint of Lourdes will draw huge crowds from across Scotland, particularly as this is the only Scottish destination on the national tour of the relics. Many know at least the basic details of the eighteen Appearances of the Blessed Virgin to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes in 1858, and some know that she lived the rest of…
