KORCE FRIENDS, HOSTING AMERICAN SISTERS, PLANNING MEETING FOR BLIND GROUP.

TUESDAY 30 APRIL 2013 KORCE FRIENDS, HOSTING AMERICAN SISTERS, PLANNING MEETING FOR BLIND GROUP. Thank God, all has gone well since I arrived here in Korce on Monday last. I have enjoyed meeting friends. On Saturday last, two American Maryknoll Sisters had dinner here. One of the Sisters has been here in Albania for many years. The other was her Superior General or President who was en route to Rome, to attend the Conference of Major Superiors, plus their Albanian driver. A lovely surprise for me was the discovery that Sister Janice was, in fact, Irish-American as her McLaughlin parents hailed from Donegal!! So, for me, it was a very special day and I delighted in the connections made! On Sunday, I went to the nearby Orthodox Cathedral as they celebrated Palm Sunday. In the afternoon, we had a Communion Service, after which we celebrated Mother Foundress with chocolate and ice-cream. Our Church has grown since the Baptisms of Easter, so it was good to see the larger group. We were 40 persons and this included a number of visiting footballers too! Yesterday, I met with three persons from the Blind Group and we have planned a little project for these weeks. This will hopefully be continued later in the Summer. Have a good week and I will update again soon. I have added a few photos, showing the Cathedral and a few of the visitors we have had to our house. ALLELUIAS

KORCE, ST.MARY EUPHRASIA, UPDATE, GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY!

WEDNESDAY 24 APRIL 2013 KORCE, ST.MARY EUPHRASIA,UPDATE, GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY! The Easter spirit is still very much with us as I opened the blog. A surprise photo of our Easter Dawn Mass had arrived by email so I have shared that special moment with you! Today, Mother Foundress has added to our joy and all is well. Time has slipped by since Easter Sunday. In the weeks that followed, there was time to visit family and friends in Dublin and Cork. Then, life was back to normal - we had the ALPHA Review Session - quite positive. My own companions and I decided its riches lay in the fact that four denominations were involved had contributed to its success. On Friday evening, two of us succeeded in getting that last available tickets for "The Sound of Music"! The Grand Opera House was well packed and st. Agnes Musical Society excelled with a production of very high standard. On Saturday, we had a meeting of Good Shepherd Associates. We saw the need to increase numbers for a new life-giving thrust over the coming months. Then, early on GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY, I went to Mass at Clonard, returned to say "FAREWELL" and left for Belfast City Airport en route to Albania! I was happy to be met in TIRANA by Sister AMIRA. We enjoyed a good chat, attended 7.00a.m Mass at the Jesuit Church on Monday morning. I then left for KORCE, arriving just after noon. My friend Marieta chanced to be passing as I arrived at the City Centre and she was delighted to be first to greet me. A real KORCE welcome has ensued up to the present. Anna, my teacher came this morning and we have changed our Planning Meeting to Monday next when we hope to arrange a Programme for the coming weeks and for the Summer. Our ministry here has developed well and I hope to contribute to it. Enjoy the feast today and, hopefully, I will manage updates regularly over the coming weeks! ALLELUIA!!

EASTER JOY! ALPHA UPDATE AND KORCA TOO!!

31 MARCH 2013 EASTER SUNDAY. EASTER JOY! ALPHA AND KORCA UPDATES!! ALLELUIA!! Happy Easter! My greetings come almost directly from our "DAWN MASS" on the Lagan riverside in Belfast. For me the Mass, celebrated this year by a Canadian Jesuit, is a very special highlight. Chilly yes, even in the shelter of a massive ancient tree. Otherwise, a warm, welcoming parish community that knew how to celebrate - even to rewarding all with an Easter Egg as we left reluctantly! I joined two people who climbed a nearby hill to roll the eggs thy had brought along and so this added to the festive spirit as we returned to the river towpath. A young man who had greeted me with a question as I left the car - "Is there any prayer service around here?" - told me, as we walked along the river bank, that he prays regularly at our Lys Marie Adoration, with Youth 2,000 so I felt at home in his company. Dessie has promised me a photo of our Mass setting and I promise to share it with you when possible. I was happy to see his delight when I told him we were en route to Mass and he fell into step with me immediately. On Good Friday, I re-connected with another local get-together. All our parish denominations gathered in nearby Ormeau Park, the Cross was carried and we followed, in procession, to the Presbyterian Church where a most meaningful Service followed. These two events have been key to Easter for me over the years and I am so glad that they are alive and thriving too. I must admit I missed them over the past three years when in the mountains of south Albania. Now, its the turn of Korca to be in my mind and heart as I heard, with joy, of its five Baptisms and nine first Communions due to take place there last evening at the Easter Vigil. This surely brings NEW LIFE to the women of Korca and Good Shepherd has helped nurture this development in a very small, but strong, Catholic Church, kept alive over the years by the great work of Maltese Catechists. These good friends of ours nurtured our insertion into Korca community life! And just one word about our ALPHA Course. We gathered for 12 weeks and this needed good commitment. What joy it was to greet all these new friends, when we met at the Service on Good Friday. We will meet once more to review the 12 weeks and reflect on a way forward for us. I may not be part of the next phase, or at least the begginning of it, as i plan to respond to a mini-call to Albania a few days after our planned celebration and meeting! Now I go to see Pope Francis as he gives his Easter Blessing. Happy Easter again to each one.

101 BIRTHDAY, PRIMROSES, POPE FRANCIS!

19 MARCH 2013. FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH. 101 BIRTHDAY, PRIMROSES, POPE FRANCIS. Saint Patrick's Day really began when we went to Lys Marie for Mass. The Chapel had been very simply and beautifully decorated by Sisters Vivienne and Regina. The Sri Lankan touch was very obvious. We began with -"The Deer's Cry" and our Liturgy included a few other Irish touches for the special day! Towards evening we began to prepare for our dear Lelia's 101 Birthday and all was well by the time our Pre-Chapter Facilitator arrived for our first meeting. THE BIRTHDAY began officially at 8.50a.m. Sister Lelia had already received President O'Higgins commemorative Medal and its accompanying personal letter. Then, her dear friend Denis Maloney came to wish her well. He presented her with a beautiful heart-shaped box of chocolates and drank a cup of tea with his friend. His earlier than usual visit was due to the fact that he was on his way to our nearby City Airport. With his sister, Maria, he was en route to the inaugural Mass for Pope Francis and so his visit for Sister Lelia's birthday was brief. We had Mass celebrated for her at Lys Marie and again it was a very joyous moment. The rest of our day was a little different as we had three, quite long, Pre-Chapter Sessions. At evening meal, we sang once more and cut the beautiful cake. This had been made and iced in Sister's favourite white, with touches of pale green shamrocks and a pale pink greeting. All enjoyed this very special community event. Very beautiful floral bouquets arrived but the primroses that adorned our garden and parts of the house were a constant reminder of our Birthday Lady as she has always loved them. We were just delighted when our Dublin Newscaster announced that the Inaugural Mass would be broadcast from Rome. Early this morning we were "on-site" and so happy to see the glorious sunshine in Rome for this wonderful event. In fact, the election of Pope Francis has dominated recent times and we have eagerly shared fragments of his family and priestly history as they emerged. However, it has been his own personality, plus his very significant choice of name, that has given us great hope that he will accept the directive given by Christ - "Go and rebuild my Church". This evening we plan to join religious and local people at our Cathedral for our Belfast Celebration to mark Pope Francis taking on his responsibilities. In our own Good Shepherd community, we had a new beginning with the feast, as Sister Cait took up her responsibilities as Leader. We now feel on the last stretch of the journey towards Easter and so let us be united with one another a we pilgrim towards the coming week. Peace and Blessings to each one!

END OF AN ERA, ALPHA, WOMEN'S WORLD DAY.

28 FEBRUARY 2013 END OF AN ERA, ALPHA, WOMEN'S WORLD DAY OF PRAYER. This evening marks the end of an era with Pope Benedict XVI's final Blessing and farewell words at Castel Gondolpho. Now we, with the rest of the Catholic world, enter Kairos or God's time, until the Holy spirit will enable the election of his successor. For us, here in Belfast, we heard before Christmas that Sister Cait would join us in February so, on this final day of the month we awaited her arrival. Cait arrived after 6.00p.m. We will welcome her formally on Sunday, when our new era will begin. Cait has spent many years in Galway, where she lived with just one Sister and was on her own for more than the past year. So, getting to know a different culture and moving into a large community will present many moments of change for her in the coming weeks and months. These days we have had wonderful sunshine and Spring has really arrived in style. We have lots of daffodils and snowdrops and we are enjoying this time of year. The ALPHA course I have been attending with one of our Friends, Rosemary, continues. This evening at our weekly session we finalized plans for a day at Methodist Edgehill Training College, here in the city, on Saturday next. There, we will have a day of input on the Holy Spirit. We all welcome this quiet day for prayer and reflection as we feel its a great need both at Church and community level. Tomorrow evening a nearby Church of Ireland will host Women's World Day of Prayer. The Minster's wife invited me to the service which has been prepared by the women of France and has the theme of - "I was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me". A number of us will be happy to attend this Service. Let us all spare a moment to remember women throughout the world in prayer tomorrow. Let us remember especially women who have been rescued from trafficking situations in so very many countries. Have a Blessed St. David's Day tomorrow and, I heard recently the word "Lent" is an old word for Spring. So, may the month of March be full of life and growth for you as we move towards Easter.

BIRTHDAYS, LYS MARIE AND DARK HISTORY,

19 FEBRUARY 2013 BIRTHDAYS, LYS MARIE AND DARK HISTORY. "WHY IS A CAR'S WINDSHIELD SO LARGE AND THE REAR VIEW MIRROR SO SMALL?" "BECAUSE OUR PAST IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS OUR FUTURE. SO, LOOK AHEAD AND MOVE ON" Anonymous Today is glorious, another day of sunshine and nice temperature too. I will clarify my reason for the above question a little later! Since my last entry, it has been a time of settling in, of renewing acquaintances, meeting friends and even, its been a time of 'flu and of beginning a process of de-cluttering! A time of Birthday celebrations - in community, friends and family. Our 97 year old Sister Brigid Keane shared her day, on Sunday 17 February with the 80th Anniversary of the setting up of our contemplative community at Lys Marie. To celebrate, we invited the community to join us for tea in the afternoon. We began with a song of welcome for our two Sri Lankan Sisters. Sisters Vivienne and Regina later sang for us in their own language and in between, we shared la lovely tea, much singing and a great time. In fact, the Birthday theme continued until yesterday, when I spent the day with my sister Bernie, in Dublin. We enjoyed a special day of sunshine, beginning with the arrival of a classmate of hers, laden with flowers. Later, we visited a favourite restaurant of ours in the Dublin mountains and the festivity of the day was complete! The past few weeks have had a clear focus as a bright light has been shone on our dark Good Shepherd history. The rumblings of the past have thrown up some very dark moments. Today is the culmination, when there is a full-scale debate in our National Parliament on this same reality. Martin McAleese, husband of our ex-President, completed a report that has sparked this full-scale discussion. This will highlight once more our dark history. Listening, even to fragments of past memories,as they are reflected by our ex-residents, has been truly a huge shock. Even allowing for some exaggeration and, possibly, creativity, yet there is an underlying very dark history. Glimpses of this darkness have been most salutary for each one of us. In fact, they led to my opening question. I felt we needed to realize that "our past is not as important as our future" and so, "it is time to look ahead and move on" rather than sink into the quagmire of these reflections. Brother Philip Pinto, cfc, speaking in Dublin last month, told the group - "Dark times are normal to life; there's nothing wrong with us when we periodically plunge into the abyss - no rebirth is possible without moving through a dark passage"! So, Lent has presented us with this new journey and hopefully, with the possibility of new birth, led by compassion and reconciliation. Blessings on each one at this time, until it is a moment for another entry!