Blogging With Purpose

I am reflecting on ‘doorways’ today.  Seemingly ordinary things. In Roman mythology, Janus represents not only the god of doors and doorways but also the god of new beginnings and of endings. Janus is a two-faced god.  One face looks to the past, the other, to the future. Doors open, close, and revolve.  An open door points to a new ...

We step into another lenten journey (from cross to resurrection) in appreciation of the opportunity it offers to simply and hopefully reconnect to that deepest knowing of what resurrection actually means and how it is, and can continue to express itself in every encounter of our lives. Christian joy flows from listening to, and accepting, the Good News of the ...

We are at a ‘crossroads’ halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox on February 1st.  A crossroads can be a good place to stop and refuel for the journey onward and outwards, and we can do this in no better company than that of Brigid whose feast day is on this day (Lá Fhéile Bríde). Brigid never ceases to ...

A new year and a new opportunity to be grateful and feel blessed.  The seasonal rhythm from Autumn and Winter into Spring (from, darkness to light) and old year into new, is an opportunity to stop, recognise, gather and appreciate the fruits and treasure of the year past – the outcomes of a life journey.  A journey that the feast ...

Sr. Bernadette Purcell, University Chaplain at TU Dublin Tallaght, talks to us about the recent Social Justice Week, organised by the Students Union and University Chaplain,  focusing on current issues in society.     What was the theme of Social Justice Week? Bernadette: The theme for this year was “Our lives begin to end the day we stay silent about the ...

Advent meditation by James Finley: What does the story of Jesus’ birth teach us about how God is present in our lives?  “God is inexplicably born in our hearts moment by moment, breath by breath. In order to discover that, we must leave the noise and business of the inn, finding our way in the dark back to the stable. ...

Tradition maintains that the cross, kept at Presentation convent George’s Hill, was a gift to St. Francis Xavier from an Indian Prince whose son he had miraculously cured. Saint Francis Xavier was born in the kingdom of Navarre, now in northern Spain, in 1506, the youngest son of a councillor to the king. As was common for prosperous families at ...

One of the final events marking the Tercentenary of the Birth of Nano Nagle was the official opening of Nano’s Global Garden in her birth place of Ballygriffin, on 7 September 2019.     Inspiration for the Global Garden came from two of Nano’s quotes – “I have made myself a pretty garden…” and “if I could be of service ...

Presentation Day is happily approaching (the 21st November each year).  An important date for Presentation people everywhere. Not just a day to celebrate, but so much more. In the course of Presentation Life jubilee celebrations are truly a moment to share great happiness (jubilate deo) and to celebrate a very particular journey both individually and as community.  These are both ...

  Hilda of Whitby or Hild of Whitby (c. 614–680) is a Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby. An important figure in the Celtic Christianity, she was known for her wisdom. Today she is recognised as a patron saint of poetry and culture.   The source of information about Hilda is the Ecclesiastical History of ...