Blogging With Purpose

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 ...

Sr. Dorothy Stang chose to live in extreme poverty in order to help others living in poverty. She had a passion for people of all cultures, for social justice, peace making, fairness, and respect for the environment.  She dedicated her life to defending the rainforest and indigenous people. Dorothy Stang is known today as the “Martyr of the Amazon”.     ...

Nano Nagle’s spirituality had a transformative effect on the Catholic community in Cork, in Ireland and eventually in many places throughout the world. What was Nano attentive to? Nano was attuned to the edges of things. She was in touch with the experiences of people who were poor and pushed to the margins. She was in touch with their experiences ...