It happened in Rathmore, my home village in the south of Ireland. It is one of my first memories. It was Christmas Eve and I was four. The snow had started to fall. I was standing near the small door between our small shop and our small kitchen. I was beside myself with anticipation, hyped to the gills with Santa Claus. Christy Cremin had just bought his weekly ration of Woodbines. “Where is he now […]
Some things you don’t easily forget. I still remember a special moment from around this time last year. Their small faces ablaze with innocence, Kaitlin and Matilda lit the first purple candle in our Advent wreath. Something about the way they shyly smiled at each other was already providing us with a glimpse into the mystery for which we were preparing. What I was feeling was a kind of aching and longing. The focus shifted […]
It happened in Rathmore, my home village in the south of Ireland. It is one of my first memories. It was Christmas Eve and I was four. The snow had started to fall. I was standing near the small door between our small shop and our small kitchen. I was beside myself with anticipation, hyped to the gills with Santa Claus. Christy Cremin had just bought his weekly ration of Woodbines. “Where is he now […]
Let us try to understand the background to some of the words and events recorded in the readings of Advent and Christmas every year, to go a little deeper into the meaning than perhaps we usually do. During the coming weeks in our hymns and carols, our weekly and daily liturgies, even our everyday reflections, the same Christmas vignettes, memories and stories will be continually repeated. Here is a very sketchy introduction to the way […]