The Sign of the Cross

 I was at Mass in Knock last weekend. I could not help but notice one of the Ministers of Holy Communion taking great care blessing herself after she received the Eucharist. The reverence that she used when blessing herself was lovely. It left me pondering. So often at Mass I see people quickly blessing themselves by making the sign of the Cross after receiving Holy Communion. More often than not they do it in a rushed manner. But why the rush? Why do people not bless themselves with care and purpose? 

When we bless ourselves, making the sign of the Cross, we say, 'In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.' We bless ourselves as a sign of reverence and for protection. We do it in the name of the Trinity, three persons in one. We are asking the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to be with us and protect us. I do feel that care should be taken when blessing ourselves. It should be an intentional act not a rushed action done out of habit. If you ever notice how the priest gives the final blessing at Mass he does it with care and purpose. Or the Bishop making the sign of the cross as he blesses the congregation as he processes after Mass, it is done slowly. Why shouldn't we do the same when we bless ourselves with the sign of the Cross? We do not need to rush it. Afterall, it is a prayer, calling on the Trinity to protect and stay with us. Blessing ourselves is a sign of our relationship with God. Slow down and do it with reverence. As you bless yourself think of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And 'Amen' as bringing the three together. Think of how blessing yourself with the Sign of the Cross unites you with God. In a world where we are always rushing, let us slow down with this simple act. Whether you are doing it at the start or end of Mass, after receiving the Eucharist or as you pass a Church, don't rush it, bless yourself with intention. 

I remember seeing a video on TikTok a while ago where the poster was telling people how to bless themselves. He said that 'The Son', the second action, should be at your belly button. That is very low and I disagree. However, as I write this and think about it, he had a point. When we bless ourselves we are making the sign of the Cross, so forehead down to stomach makes sense, the long part of the Cross. But I would say the top of the stomach. Personally I try go to the bottom of the breast bone. You are still making the sign of the Cross this way as you come back up to your shoulders for the 'Holy Spirit'. If we go to the centre of the chest the shape is not a Cross as the chest is more in line with the shoulders. If we bless ourselves with intention we will notice how we do it and be more aware of making a Cross.

                                            

Pray, Hope and Don't Worry

'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry' is a quote from St Pio of Pietrelcina. It is a bit of a slogan used bythe Capuchin Friars. Afterall, St Pio was a Capuchin Friar himself. Many years ago the Capuchins in Ireland got wristbands made with this slogan on it. I was sent a wristband at the time by a Capuchin buddy. I can almost always be seen wearing it. 

When I look at the wristband or think of the slogan, 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry' I often remember an encounter one night at scouts years ago and smile to myself. One night in the middle of our meeting one of the boys told me that I should do what my wristband said, 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry'. He said this out of nowhere, I was not stressing at the time. I was taken aback that somebody, a child, at a non religious event took notice of the simple wristband that I was wearing. I didn't think that people actually noticed what wristbands said. From this brief encounter I truly believe that we can easily have an impact on a persons life by what we wear. Had we not been in the middle of an activity at the time this could have been a great opportunity for me to speak to the young lad about the slogan on the wristband.

'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry', do I live by this slogan or is it just another wristband for me to wear? The wristband is very important to me. When my first one snapped I reached out to a friar to see if he had any more. He was vocations director for the Order at the time and these wristbands were part of a vocations initiative. The friar sent me two. But I do not feel that I always live by the slogan. Yes, I always pray but in the modern world it can be hard to have hope when there is so much war and violence in the world. And it can be difficult not to worry about different events going on in our lives, big or small. However, as Christians we need to trust in God. We are called to 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry' by trusting in God. Place your worries under the pillow of sleeping St Joseph or bring your worries to prayer and hand them to God directly. Worrying does not achieve anything in life, it is wasting energy. To worry is to not live our best lives as our energy is wasted worrying rather than being put to good use. When we are worried we are so preoccupied by what we are worrying about we miss the good things in life. Worrying about what has happened in the past is useless for we cannot change what has happened. Worrying about what might happen in the future is useless because we do not know what will happen in the future. We need to live in the present, not worrying about what is going on now but taking action to influence what happens in our lives. Life is too short to get bogged down in worry. If you find yourself in a state of anxiety, acknowledge it and take steps to deal with your anxiety to overcome it rather than get bogged down in it. The earlier you catch yourself in a 'low' the easier it will be to come out of it. 

If we don't have hope in life our lives will be miserable. We can have hope while remaining in touch with reality. I can be optimistic that x will happen but I also need to appreciate that x might not happen. If I appreciate that x might not happen I will not be too disappointed if it does not happen. Be a glass half full kind of person. Don't look at something not turning out the way you wanted as failure but as an opportunity to grow, Can I do something differently to get the outcome I desire? Or maybe a certain thing did not work out the way I would have liked because God has a plan and it has worked out how God wanted. In this incidence we need to trust God. You might not understand straight away what God's plan is but trust that His plan will be revealed to you in time. Remember that our time and God's time is different.  All will be well in the end. If all is not well it is not the end. 

So remember, 'Pray, Hope and Don't Worry'. Trust in God and hope will be part of your life. Turn to God in times of trouble and let Him hold your worry. Pray.

Unworthy

 On Sunday I was preparing to go out to Mass where I was due to read. As I was getting ready I was filled with a feeling of unworthiness. What right had I to read at Holy Mass? I am no Saint. If anything, I am a great sinner. But God is a great Saviour. Thinking of conversations I have had in the past, yes, I am unworthy, no one is worthy. We say it at Mass during the Eucharistic prayer, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof....." God loves us because we are his children, made in His image and likeness. God did not come to earth in the human form of Jesus for the people who were well, "I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Lk 5:32). During Mass last Sunday that part of the Eucharistic prayer struck me more than usual. Communion time came and they were short of Ministers. As a commissioned Minister I struggled to get up and help because I was still carrying this feeling of unworthiness. But then I remembered that as unworthy as I am, God loves me. I do not distribute Holy Communion because I am worthy but I do it in service of God because I am unworthy. 

When we think of being worthy we are thinking in human terms. However, God does not measure our worthiness in human terms. In God's eyes we are worthy no matter our faults and failures. So the next time you feel low and unworthy remember God loves you. And while you might feel unworthy, in God's eyes you are worth every bit of love that He has for you. And that is a lot of love because the love God has for each of us is unmeasurable. 

Gospel Reflection Thursday 4th December 2025 (Mt 7:21, 24-27)

 On Thursday I went to Mass down the country as I had an engagement in the locality. The Gospel was short but it really stuck a cord for me. The house founded on rock will not fall despite the hardships it endures. The person who listens to the words of the Lord and abides by these words is like the house built on the rock, stable. However, the person who does not pay heed to the Lord is like the man who built his house on sand with no stability. The Lord is our stability in faith and in life. 

But this Gospel struck a bit deeper for me. Even before the priest spoke about the importance of been in right relationship with self I was thinking about how this Gospel, for me, was speaking about the importance of our own foundations. The stronger our foundations the more stable we will be in life, able for all life throws at us. In life we all have baggage to work through. Maybe we did not have strong foundations growing up. But we have the ability within ourselves to work through our issues in order to strengthen our foundations and to get rid of the instability. For me that is what Thursday's Gospel message was saying, strengthen your foundations so that you can live your best life. The relationship that you have with yourself is the most important part of your foundation. Work to be in right relationship with self and the rest with be easier. And the Lord will be with you every step of the way. He is part of your foundation, the strength in the weakness. The hope in the despair,

Open to Interpretation

 

The above image was my profile picture on Instagram until quite recently. Over the weekend I read a comment that described this as a naked trio sculpture. My first thought was that this was not a naked sculpture. Some might identify it as naked due to the colour but I don't feel the trio are specifically naked. The comment about the trio being naked did get me thinking. This sculpture is very much open to interpretation. Every person who sees it will not necessarily see the same thing. Where we are in life, what is going on for us and the type of thinking pattern we have will influence how we look at such sculptures. As well as various other influences such as our upbringing. If you are a spiritual person you are more likely to see the spiritual side of the sculpture such as the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. but if you are more secular and your thought pattern is more of a sexual nature you could identify the trio as naked. Or you might see something totally different to the spiritual or naked interpretation. Not knowing where this piece was photographed no perception of this sculpture is wrong.  That is the beauty of the human mind, everything we see can be interpreted differently, people can see different things when they look at the same item. 

It was only at the weekend that I identified the trio as representing the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I first seen this piece in 2020 during my first visit to Tearmann Retreat Centre in Glendalough and I had to take a few photos, it was a sculpture that I was drawn to and wanted to be able to look back on. I am not sure what exactly it represented to me at the time or what I seen. I think I simply seen three people embracing, 3 generations, or maybe father, mother and child. This Sculpture has become very important to me this year, to the point that I am trying to get a wooden version made. Right now it very much represents the inner child being held by the older teen and them both been held by the adult. Three hurting beings holding each other. Or maybe it is the adult holding the child and God holding the adult as she holds the hurting kid. 

And there is the other joys of the human mind, our perception of something can change, what I saw in 2020 when I first encountered this sculpture I no longer see. I am in a different place five years on so I am looking at it differently. 

Gospel of the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time (LK 18:1-8)

 I went to the Vigil Mass for the 29th Sunday and heard the Gospel. There was no Homily due to Confirmation prep enrolment. So I left Mass thinking no more about the Gospel. It was only as I reflected on the Gospel the next day with the Pray as You Go app that I really started to think about the Gospel and felt a blog was required. 

In this Gospel passage Jesus compares God to a judge who will not grant a widow what she requires. The judge eventually grants her request so that she would leave him alone. The passage tells us that when we ask God for something He will grant our desires quickly. God knows our hearts better than we know them ourselves. He knows what we need before we know ourselves. Yet in order to get what we need from God we have to ask Him. He needs us to realise what we need and to ask. God never leaves us in the struggle, He walks beside us. At times even carrying us until we reach out and ask for more help. Once we ask, God responds, He does not leave us waiting. His response is not always what we want but will be what we need. There is a difference between wants and needs, what we want is not always what is best for us. God hears our prayer and gives us what we need. God has three answers to our prayer, yes, no, not yet. We may need to go through a hardship before God will intervene, but God is with us through the hardship. Before his death Jesus prayed to his father that the cup pass from him. He continued that plea by saying, 'not my will but yours be done'. He wanted the cup to pass him but at the same time he trusted his father and knew that his father had a plan for his life. 

Remember that God has a plan for you and loves you. Pray to Him and ask him for what you need. Trust He will respond to your prayer quickly but remember, His answer may not align exactly what you were expecting. My favourite prayer in times of hardship, especially hardships I know I need to go through, is, 'God, be with me in the struggle'.

I AM WHO AM

 Last week during my prayer time my reflection focused on the 1st reading of the day which was from the book of Exodus, Ex 3:13-20. This passage focuses on God identifying himself to Moses. As I listened to the passage I heard that God told Moses, "I AM WHO I AM" (Ex 3:14). This left me very distracted for the rest of my prayer time. I had to run to get my Bible because my memory told me that this was not how God identified Himself in the Old Testament, at least not in the NRSV translation. My memory was telling me God told Moses "I AM WHO AM". But upon checking my Bible these were the exact words that God used when telling Moses who he was. When I was finished my prayer time I checked my travel Bible, hoping it was a different translation but no, the I was reading the same words, "I AM WHO I AM. I checked with two priests. To my knowledge neither were experts in Scripture but they might be able to clear my confusion. The second priest I turned to is a Doctor of Theology so I felt he might have some insight. He told me it was just a matter of different translation. It still niggled at me as in College we used the NRSV translation when studying Scripture and I was sure we focused on the words "I AM WHO AM" yet my NRSV Bible that I was staring at had the words, "I AM WHO I AM"

As I sat watching TV later that night, still frustrated with the passage, as I remembered we focused on the words God used to identify Himself, "I AM WHO AM", when studying. But I could not remember what the importance was. Then suddenly I was struck by a revelation, I remembered the significance of these words. I was delighted. 

The significance, God identifies himself as AM, this is what God wants people to know him as. So by using the words, "I Am WHO AM" God is identifying himself as AM. I AM who AM, AM is his name. The same way I would tell people I am Melissa.  Whereas the other translation, "I AM WHO I AM", a similar translation but the use of thee second 'I' takes the emphasis away from the name. I would never tell people I am who Melissa, grammatically it would not make sense so why would God tell Moses I AM WHO I AM when identifying Himself? Looking at it deeply it does make sense, AM is who He is but I don't feel that people of the Old Testament would have understood it like that.   

Different translations really have the power to make us think. No translation is wrong. For a 100% accurate reading we would need to study the Scriptures in the original language. For now I will stick with the "I AM WHO AM" translation.