Our Lady’s Island is a place of natural beauty and ecology which has offered solace and peace to countless pilgrims over the years and which continues to provide rest and renewal to the modern day visitor too. Recently I visited this pilgrimage site for the first time since a family outing there during my childhood and I found it to be an uplifting and prayerful experience.
The recent Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann which took place in Mullingar was a fantastic success. Fleadh 2022 was a homecoming event in the town where Comhaltas was founded in 1951 and a celebration of the very best of what it means to be Irish.
I recently celebrated a big event in my life, my 40th birthday, in Liverpool. As I reached this milestone I was prompted to give glory and thanks to God for the gifts He has bestowed on me throughout my life and to entrust my future plans to his providence.
My faith in God has given me great spiritual and personal strength, and has guided my journey to chaplaincy. It has prompted my heart to be in gratitude for what God has accomplished in my life and given me the resolve to trust in the invisible presence of the Holy Spirit and hope for the future.
There is something precious about Knock Shrine that particularly resonates with me, I think it is the gift of serene peace which I usually receive while I’m there. The serenity and peace of Knock helps me to leave aside the noise and busyness of my day to day life and enter into the stillness and contemplative presence of God.