by Vincent | Sep 28, 2013 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion, Photography
On Friday September 27th, the parish of Keash/Culfadda celebrated with its recently retired Parish Priest, Fr Jim Finan, the occasion of his Golden Jubilee of Ordination. The Church of St Kevin, Keash was filled to overflowing for the celebration. Bishop Brendan Kelly was the Principal Celebrant at a con celebrated Mass. Fr Jim was joined on the Altar by a number of priests from the diocese and by his brother, Fr Joe. The local Church of Ireland Rector was also in attendance. It was a wonderful celebration of Jim’s priesthood and the affection in which he is held was clearly visible. Jim recently retired as Parish Priest having spent twenty-three years in the parish.
Fr Jim was one of my teachers when I was in St Nathy’s. He was always, and remains, a very likeable man. I was glad to see him so honoured this evening. He recently moved to Collooney Parish and I know, from my own time there, that he will be made feel welcome and at home. Ad Multos Annos.
by Vincent | Sep 26, 2013 | General Interest, Reflections
I know I left it just there ….
This van belongs to a man in the parish! He’s a plumber and recently I asked him to check out a problem we were having with the boiler. He arrived and was having a look. As I passed his van I noticed the dash, covered with such an array of bits and pieces ….. washers, nuts, a pressure gauge, a pen, sunglasses, receipt, brochures, a torch – so, so much and, all of it, there for a purpose.
He reminds me a lot of my father, God rest him. He’s the type that will try to fix rather than replace and the greater the challenge the more likely he is to rise to it.
The challenge this time was years of birds nesting in the boiler house, which is part of the bell tower. Years of nests were piling one on the other in a twisting pipe that went almost as high as the bell. He was in his element – climbing, opening, releasing and at day’s end, fixing what was broken.
I’m not saying everything he needed was on the dash but it was somewhere in the van or in his head. He knew what needed to be done and wasn’t happy until it was done. “Your heat will be a lot better now”, he told me. He was right.
Yes, he reminded me a lot of my father – I say if he needed anything off that dash, he’d have known exactly where to place his hand. Nobody else might be able to find it but he knew it was where he left it …..
There seems to be someone like him, thankfully, in most parishes.
That’s a good thing for sure …
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PS. There’s another similarity between him and my father. It takes me back to my Ordination Day. Fr Charlie Doherty, R.I.P., was our curate at the time and he spoke about my father in the few words he shared with us after the meal. He talked about how good daddy was to help around the church if there were jobs to be done. There was however, one problem, it could be hard to get my father at times and even harder to get him to remember to do something. Charlie said he had discovered the way around that and that it went back to the Wedding Feast of Cana. When there was a problem the thing to do was to let “Mary” know!! She’d do the rest so when he needed my father to do a job around the church he’d “Ask Mary”!! This man’s wife isn’t called Mary but I’ve found the same approach works ……
by Vincent | Sep 26, 2013 | General Interest, Reflections
Alyssa Josephine O’Neill was a normal, outgoing teenager, a cheerleader at her Eerie, Pennsylvania high school, and was preparing for her freshman year at The Behrend College. She had been diagnosed with epilepsy in January 2012, but didn’t let that stop her from enjoying her life.
On September 3, Alyssa texted her mom asking if they could go to Starbucks so she could try a Pumpkin Spice Latte for the very first time, but they never got the chance. The next day, the 18-year-old passed away from an epileptic seizure.
“We tried to think of something that we could do that would be a little bit positive,” her father Jason O’Neill told us in a Skype chat. He and his wife, Alyssa’s mother Sarah, went to their local Starbucks and bought Pumpkin Spice Latte for themselves, as well as the next 40 customers. All they asked of the baristas was that they write #AJO on the cups, and explain to the customers why their drink was free.
What they weren’t expecting was that customers who received their drinks would respond the exact same way, by paying it forward. Soon enough, the O’Neill’s #AJO campaign spread throughout their community, the country, and the world.
“Next thing you know, we hear about someone donating $600 at a different location,” says Sarah. “It just spread like wildfire.”
The acts of kindness in Alyssa’s memory aren’t limited to the seasonal beverage. The O’Neills hope that people will be inspired by this movement to do other good deeds to improve the lives of others.
“Just take the five minutes out of your day to do something nice,” says Sarah. “It doesn’t have to cost you a dime.”
Says her father, “We’d like to pay it forward and try to make everybody a little bit of a better person, because that’s what Alyssa did.”
If you’d like to learn more about Alyssa and the O’Neills’ campaign, visit ajoforever.com.
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See below for original piece on Ellen’s Blog ….
http://shine.yahoo.com/ellen-good-news/parents-pay-forward-pumpkin-spice-lattes-221300973.html
by Vincent | Sep 20, 2013 | General Interest, Reflections, Religion
Where will you be this week Sam??
On Sunday the cameras will focus on you several times before and during the All-Ireland Final. We’ll see you shined and polished, ready for the road and draped in the colours of Dublin and Mayo. You’ll just sit there, the prize waiting to be claimed – the destination point of a country – but focus will shift from you to the teams and officials on the pitch. There will be commentary and analysis, statistics and facts and at game’s end, you will be handed to either the captain of Dublin or Mayo – he (Andy!!!) will hold you high to a cheering crowd and give thanks for your presence, thanks to all who have supported the team through “thick and thin”, good days and bad and, in a special way, to the generations who have kept the faith and held strongly to the belief that this day would come. Come it has. The hour is here.
You’ll not force yourself on anyone Sam but remain there, centre stage, for the hands that have been proved worthy of lifting you on high. You are happy in the colours of any county and willing to go where invited so that a people may feel upbeat and renewed. You’ll stay as long as you’re welcome, go wherever you’re brought and be there for anyone that approaches you. You will be a prized possession, a certain friend and a reminder that all is possible.
In ways Sam, you could remind us of Jesus. He is our goal, our prize and our intended focus. Sometimes we allow our focus drift from him to the game on the pitch but even if we do, we know that it’s only when he’s taken in hand, lifted on high and invited to join us on our journey that he’s fully alive in our hearts and forever treasured.
![St Paul’s Bessbrook]()
by Vincent | Sep 18, 2013 | General Interest, Religion, Photography
Last week I had a call from my classmate, Dermot Maloney, to see if I’d be free to share a thought or two with a group of students who would be visiting Knock Shrine today. I said I would and was happy to spend a bit of time with them at the Gable Wall. A very impressive group of young people and a credit to themselves and their school.
There were 150 students along with the School Principal, Fr Dermot and other members of Staff. They were a pleasure to meet and I hope they have a great year. Just checked the School Website and noticed some pictures from Knock so borrowed the one above. I hope they’ll not mind:)
