FRIENDSHIP

It could be said that FRIENDSHIP is the most important asset to a happy life.

For most of us, a good friend is someone we value and cherish

It's good to realise too that friendship needs to be fostered and developed by spending time with one another and being genuinely interested in the other person.

I believe God makes it easy for us to have good friends by 'touching' our heart towards another person.  We like to be with them / interested in them / sharing with them etc.

A true friendship will grow when two people have the willingness to respond to their heart and show their love for one another. 

Time is precious.  Let's spend it wisely and give quality time to our friends and loved ones.

EASTER

Easter is such a special time; a time when we are made aware of just how much God loves us.

At Mass we renewed our Baptismal vows...

Do I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?            I Do!

Do I renounce Satan and all his works?                                                               I Do! 

Do I believe in Jesus Christ, his Holy Son Our Lord, born of the Virgin Mary?  I Do!

Do I believe He suffered death, and rose again?                                                  I Do!

Do I believe in the Holy Catholic Church?                                                          I Do!

( Priest asked us to shout out our responses as we would at a match!)

This was very special for me. As a  practising Catholic I realise how important it is to speak out

and let the world know who I am and what my beliefs are.

Our commitments move us forward and help us to be a happy and loving person.

Good Friday

At 12 noon today we were invited to the 'Stations of the Cross', presented by the young people of the Parish.  It was a wonderful production and one could see a lot of work was put into it.

Each Station was dramatised by these young people with great sincerity and dedication.

What made a great impression on me was the Station of the Cross when Christ met his loving Mother.

The young actor paused, looked at his 'mother' and placed his hand on her shoulder.  It was very moving. Also, the tiny young girl who represented Veronica as she offered up the veil and wiped the face of 'Jesus'.

I must congratulate Fr. Donal for his part in this moving production and all the young people and singers and of course the core of the family group who help to make this happen.

Often Good Friday can be a sad day of penance, but not today, God bless them all!

Focus on Love

Now that we have stepped into Holy Week and already had the readings for Passion Sunday, life can become troublesome...

We are invited into the Life of Christ and His Passion and Death and the reality of how His suffering has saved our lives. By believing in Christ's love for us we can be filled with wonder and gratitude.

This is as it should be and yet...

Focusing on the Love of Christ leaves me with a dilemma of sorts.  Is the emphasis on suffering more important that love?

Perhaps a strange way to look at the Passion of Christ and yet I am moved more when reminded of Christ's love for us, willing to give His life so we might be free.

 Free to be selfish and do what we like?  No, this wonderful gift of freedom teaches us how to love and hopefully love greatly.

There is a book called The Imitation of Christ which is a guide as to how we may and can love with all that we have and are.

I must admit, the invitation to love draws me much more than than suffering.

Of course we know there is suffering involved in loving, yet let's focus on Love!

Courage to Change...

People sometimes say, as one gets older one becomes stuck... unable to change and move forward.

This is a huge fallacy as some of the greatest inventions and achievements in this world have come to us through people who never give up / people with the courage to change.

Change happens, whether we want it to happen or not.  

As long as we have a good heart and are willing to move forward, then we will be able and willing to go forward with whatever changes come into our lives.

Perhaps this is the real secret, to work at always having a good heart / a positive attitude to the invitations that come our way as regards change.

God will invite us, perhaps sometimes give us a little push, yet there is such high regard for our freedom of choice that the responsibility lies with us.

Am I a positive person?  

Am I willing to move forward with the changes that are presented to me?

Good questions to ask myself and to come up with the right answers.

Let's have courage to face the changes that come our way and with a good heart, move forward!

Accepting Failure

I believe it's in our nature to want to succeed at all we do, or at least give of our best.

However, there are and will be failures.  Our human and imperfect nature will cause us to fail / to make mistakes etc.

If we are aware of our tendency to fail / to perhaps at times try too hard to succeed, then we will not be surprised at our mistakes and shortcomings.

Rather, we will be surprised at how often we succeed.  

This would be a great and positive attitude to have and prevent us from becoming upset or depressed at failure.

God has a plan for each one of us and we often learn more through our failures than our successes.

Pride has a way of sneaking into our best efforts and giving us a sense of inflated importance.

We might then forget to thank God for all the graces and help we receive.

So, next time we feel ( and often it may only be a feeling ) that we have failed, then we can remind ourselves to thank God for this important lesson.

By accepting failure, we learn to accept ourselves just as we are in the sight of God.