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Showing posts from December, 2013

Social media explained

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For anyone who has struggled to get their head round the purpose of social media... this one's for you, although a certain amount of insider knowledge is of course needed to decode the left-hand icons! So for those who have not yet set out into the brave new world of web 2.0 communication, here's the list of icons and the services they stand for: 1 = Twitter 2 = Facebook 3 = Linkdin 4 = Foursquare 5 = YouTube 6 = Instagram 7 = Pinterest 8 = Google+ 9 = Last.fm If you are still wondering what the point of some of these services is, don't worry, you are probably better off as you are in your blissful ignorance... says someone who is a frequent user of about half these services :-) but mostly in relation to my apostolate with young people/young adults. That's my excuse!

Our Mother House in Ploërmel...

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... at the end of our annual 2-day study session there just after Christmas. My spiritual home! via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/ikB9f4Dzq0/

Our first frost in Liverpool this winter.

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via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/iYa0nAjzsQ/

A lovely Christmas Carol flash mob

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This starts off as a typical choral flash mob in an average American shopping Mall (from 2010), but in the last part, the way they do "O Holy Night" is rather wonderful, and I love the expression on the boy's face at 4:40. And I love the way that the shoppers join in with them, everyone entering into the spirit of it. Got me welling up. A great way to warm up for your own local Carol Services, if you haven't had them yet.

Pope Francis living out the Gospel

Big thanks to Fr. Peter Morgan for pointing this out to me. It left me with a big smile on my face. Pope Francis showing how to live the Gospel and giving us an example to follow. From Zenit ( http://goo.gl/XJ9rvC ):  "Celebrating his 77th birthday today, Pope Francis invited the personnel of his residence at Casa Santa Marta to his daily morning Mass.... After the Mass, Pope Francis greeted all who attended the Mass. Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, Almoner to His Holiness, presented four homeless people who live nearby the Vatican to the Holy Father. All present wished the Pope a happy birthday and shortly after the Mass, joined him for breakfast." Glory and praise to you, O Lord!

Gratefulness, even in the darkness

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“Thankfulness creates gratitude which generates contentment that causes peace.” –Todd Stocker I found this quote a few weeks ago around the time of the American celebration of Thanksgiving and it led me to posting it on Twitter, as well as following it up with a couple of other points in my own words: "… and when that thankfulness is directed towards God, the resulting deep peace is truly God-given... Thankfulness/gratitude expressed through praise of God, in the midst of suffering, even as tears flow = tough, but such a source of blessing." These thoughts reminded me of a website that I look up from time to time, gratefulness.org and one of the leaders of the Gratefulness movement Brother David Steindl-Rast osb (Benedictine). The same day as my Twitter posts (Dec. 2nd) my sister in New Orleans posted the following on one of her blogs (wholiness.wordpress.com) in 2 articles: "Nature’s beauty can be easily missed — but not through Louie Schwartzberg’s

Pope Francis: being Christ to others.

Something tells me Jesus' heart rejoices at what Francis is getting up to. A man after his own heart indeed! The challenge is for us to find ways of showing the same love to those in need in our own situations and contexts. Be Christ to others! Click on the below link for the full article. Pope ramps up charity office to be near poor, sick By Associated Press VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has ramped up the Vatican's charity work, sending his chief alms-giver and a contingent of Swiss guards onto the streets of Rome at night to do what he usually can't do: comfort the poor and the homeless.