As I write this blog, I am aware of the bin men on the road moving up and down and emptying the huge rubbish accumulated over Christmas. I also see the postman trudging through the snow to offload the letters and parcels for all my neighbours on the street.

Sometimes I ask myself the question: am I happy to live an ordinary, normal life? To be an ordinary person? Happiness, defined as “an emotional state characterised by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment and fulfilment”, is something I think we’re all after.

Ordinary shepherds who were working in the fields around Bethlehem were the first people to receive the angel’s announcement of the birth of a Messiah.

Hands up if you’ve started your Christmas shopping? Even if you’re the last minute type, I can almost guarantee you’ve got a list somewhere - even if it’s only in your head! You may even have managed to add a bottle of Shloer or a jar of cranberry sauce to the weekly shop.

In the Catholic tradition, we believe we are never alone in our faith. There is a union between all the faithful but in a sense, that word “union” is too poor. So the Church uses the word “communion” - a union of love essentially, between all those in the Church.

Almost everyone in Ireland knows that May is a month dedicated to our Lady - culturally we ‘get’ it in Ireland! We probably all have memories of collecting flowers as children or learning a new hymn for Our Lady in school.

Recently at Mass one Sunday morning, I came across a prayer to Our Lady which began with the following words; “Take my hand O Blessed Mother, hold it gently lest I fall.

The second episode of our prayer series features a special guest, Jonna Schuster, founder of Catholic Revival Ministries.

We may think prayer is not for people like me. Instead, people who pray are very religious or holy or close to God. In today’s podcast, we explore prayer as a must for someone who wants to get to know God.

Sometimes we can arrive at Holy Week feeling like we’ve lost a bit of the stamina we had six weeks ago, and thus end up feeling a little deflated; like we could have done a bit better. But don’t lose heart - the race isn’t over yet! As St Irenaeus said “God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness.” We still have time to accompany Him this week.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been five years since the country entered its first lockdown due to the pandemic. One thing that the pandemic brought to light was our tendency to normally be ‘on the go’ – to be busy with something, to be going somewhere, to be meeting someone, to be hurrying from one place to another.

The season of Lent is just around the corner. While some of us might have our resolutions for the next forty days set in stone, perhaps some of us are scrambling at the last minute to decide how to make the best use of this time to grow in our relationship with God.

Some of you may (or may not) remember from childhood the gospel hymn, When the Saints Go Marching In. In it there’s a line that says “I want to be in that number!” I was reminded of it recently when I took a visit to York Cathedral. It’s one of the most famous landmarks in Britain and it is remarkable.

Oscar Wilde once said, “be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” It’s a call to really be the unique and unrepeatable person you are. There is something very compelling about authenticity and the choices we make say a lot about who we are.

I recently received some Christmas cards in the post. It’s such a novelty, because receiving actual post which isn’t a shopping item or bills is unusual. I enjoyed checking the postmark and looking at the handwriting to figure out who had sent it. The anticipation of opening a card from someone I’ve not seen in months forms part of the excitement!

Maybe you’ve been distracted by the run-up to Christmas - frantically buying last-minute gifts, worrying about the budget that was stretched too far or dealing with tough family dynamics. To quote the well-known cliché, we can end up forgetting the real reason for the season - God made man - and that all these things we do, are a means not an end.

Advent can be a bit of a blur for most people. And yet, if you can give it a moment it can really make an impact on these last few weeks before Christmas. It is a time of opportunity - or grace as we would say in the Catholic tradition.

In this last week before Advent, I always have mixed feelings. I’m torn between letting myself give in to the sheer and unadulterated excitement my children have about all the December merriment and climbing back under my duvet in fear and terror at the prospect of organising it all.

This is the second post in a two part series on the virtue of humility. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells us, “learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (11:29).

One day in 2018 while on a visit to the Holy Land, I took a short day trip to Bethlehem. I joined a large queue outside the Basilica of the Maternity, a Byzantine-style church marking the birthplace of Christ. In front of me stood a woman in her mid-eighties very small in stature.