Accomplished, adventurous, of strong character, deeply committed to God, marriage and family, and quite simply delightful: these are some of the words which occurred to me as I pondered the family eulogy on Maud McGuire. She comes across as a force to be reckoned with in her day and I...
A heart that has never known true love, or has been manipulated, wounded or abused by another when trying to love, experiences a living death. It can happen between parent and child, between husband and wife, between siblings or friends. Since these are the foundational relationships of our life, the...
The prophet Isaiah speaks of the mourning veil which covers all peoples, as a reference not only to the reality of death but also to the terrible suffering the bereaved endure when a loved one dies. And it is terrible, because the prospect of death flies in the face of...
In the marriage register of St. Mary’s Parish in Largs, there is an entry for the marriage of James Harper and Sheila Catherine Quinn for 21stOctober 1967. I am not sure if I have read the parish priest’s handwriting in Latin properly, but he indicates that the marriage was presided...
None of us chose to exist. We just do. That’s either by chance or by choice. If by chance, then the meaning of our life is chance; it can mean anything or nothing. But if by choice, then the meaning of our life is in the will of the One...
I was thinking how that reading from Ecclesiastes is a sort of A-Z of all the things in life that there is time for. Steve’s A-Z about his Dad is almost an echo of it. The alphabet of life is the alphabet of time and by the sounds of it...
I suppose there’s no question that whoever wrote that reading we heard from the Book of Ecclesiastes is right in saying that in life there’s a time for everything under the sun. No-one can deny, though, that some use their time better than others, and use it for better things...
Renewed thanks to Elaine for delivering the eulogy on Shaun. The first word that came to mind as I read over it yesterday was: simplicity. Shaun comes across as a straightforward man, without complexes, accepting and getting on with whatever blessings, joys, challenges and sufferings life gave him. It sounds...
What strikes me first about John Bernard Girkins, going by the family eulogy, is just how full, and rounded, a life he led. His Jesuit education was providentially given the slight corrective, if I may say so, of a short time with the Franciscans! He had serious experience in flying...
Before I say anything else, it has to be made abundantly clear that, in the sensitive matters of life and death related to the Gospel of Life, we cannot possibly condemn anyone. It’s simply not our prerogative to even begin to do so, since only God can judge the heart....
