Pentecost: Happy Birthday!

Prayer for the Help of the Holy Spirit

O God, send forth your Holy Spirit into my heart that I may perceive, into my mind that I may remember, and into my soul that I may meditate. Inspire me to speak with piety, holiness, tenderness and mercy. Teach, guide and direct my thoughts and senses from beginning to end. May your grace ever help and correct me, and may I be strengthened now with wisdom from on high, for the sake of your infinite mercy. Amen.

Saint Anthony of Padua

Prayer for the Indwelling of the Spirit

Holy Spirit, powerful Consoler, sacred Bond of the Father and the Son, Hope of the afflicted, descend into my heart and establish in it your loving dominion. Enkindle in my tepid soul the fire of your Love so that I may be wholly subject to you. We believe that when you dwell in us, you also prepare a dwelling for the Father and the Son. Deign, therefore, to come to me, Consoler of abandoned souls, and Protector of the needy. Help the afflicted, strengthen the weak, and support the wavering. Come and purify me. Let no evil desire take possession of me. You love the humble and resist the proud. Come to me, glory of the living, and hope of the dying. Lead me by your grace that I may always be pleasing to you. Amen.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Hail Mary

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, gentle Mother, loving presence, joyful noise
Blessed Lady, consoler of grief’s tears, eternally wise

This true devotion is seeped in a grateful emotion
Purest love, deeper than the immensity of any ocean
As worship speaks intercession, her voice is heard
A faithful disciple, revelling in the Fathers Word
Full of grace, pray for us sinners, who weep in sorrow
Guide our faltering steps toward a heavenly tomorrow
Standing with us at the altar, eyes fixed upon her Son
Reminding each one present of the victory he has won

Fr Patrick Brennan © 2012 all rights reserved

Playschool...What window shall we look through today?

Playschool…what window shall we look through today?

Last night I enjoyed a Pizza with a few fellow priests. One priest could not come as he is unwell with a painful bout of kidney stones that cut his holiday short too. It is his birthday today and he is awaiting an operation to remove the painful kidney stones. Happy Birthday John! Get well soon. There are many good things that happen in the church. Many good things in our priestly ministry and many things that cause concern and worry and debate too!

The church reminds me sometimes of Playschool, a programme from my youth! Looking through the different shaped windows gave a glimpse into an aspect of life in the Playschool. The church has different shaped windows too! The windows that allow married priests to pass through into the mainstream life of a Catholic diocese, how does that work then? Or the window that allows the Ordinariate to find its way into the Catholic Church while remaining in essence separate and exclusive, whatever happened to just becoming a Catholic? Or the window that is being opened to allow the SSPX to climb back in to the church….climbing in backwards of course, how else! All these windows open from time to time to allow unexplainable things to happen! What window shall we look through today?

Yesterday I was called to the hospital to give the last rites to a parishioner who for many years had been a faithful Catholic, a warden at Church, a thoroughly placid and gentle man, a very good man. He died not long afterwards, God rest him and special prayers to his family. His funeral will take place in church soon.

Today I sat in the sunshine! I sat on a bench at the cemetery as I was to bury the ashes of a much loved parishioner. It was as always a reminder of the special grace and privilege of being a priest. The life of the parish is like a heart beat that beats in time with the grace of God. Getting in tune with that heart beat comes from moments of grace, in burying the dead, attending the sick and dying, all flowing from prayer and “the” prayer the celebration of the Mass.

The Lourdes pilgrimage is coming up shortly and I must say I am very much looking forward to immersing myself in the great and wonderful peace that the grotto at Lourdes offers.

My Humanity

My Humanity

My humanity

Walks in humility
Embracing charity
Immersed in mercy
Striving to live justly
Desiring immortality

Shunning useless vanity
Calling me to become holy

Beyond this present reality

So as to reach heaven safely

Fr Patrick Brennan © 2012 all rights reserved

Sermon Notes: The Ascension

Looking up at the sky at night can be a rewarding activity, the beauty of the stars and the immensity of the heavens above can be most captivating. It can make us marvel at what is actually up there. Men have spent billions upon billions to fly rockets into space and some wonder if the money could have been better spent alleviating hunger and eradicating poverty. A preoccupation with looking upwards can result in neglecting what is important below.

I remember once being in Chester for a few days and walking on the walls of the city. I was looking at something ahead high up and I missed my footing on the last couple of steps and came crashing to the earth. Concentrating on what was above my head made me stumble as I did not concentrate on where I was walking!

In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles the disciples are looking up to the sky as they have just witnessed Jesus ascending to his Father and two men dressed in white say “men of Galilee why are you standing there looking up at the sky?” For Jesus had ascended. The disciples could have been forgiven for wanting to remain in that moment, caught up in the glory of God that they had witnessed. But the disciples reaction is shown in the words of the gospel when it says that the disciples went forth and preached everywhere the Lord working with them.

The temptation may be to look to the sky and remain in the rapture of the glory of God but the reminder today on the feast of the Ascension is that there is much work to do here on the earth to proclaim the gospel.  Our task as disciples is to go out and preach the word of God to all peoples. That preaching embraces caring for the poor and needy and being compassionate to the weak and troubled. It means being concerned with the world we live in and making it a better place for all.

Strength

Strength

In my weakness I exist
Flawed, beset by mistakes that persist
I flee to the refuge and strength of my days
To hide within the shadow of his wings, to discern his ways

Fr Patrick Brennan © 2012 all rights reserved

This Rose

This Rose

This rose is so vibrant to my sight, velvet to my touch, silent to my ears
Along it's green soft stem, sharp thorns drop down as the falling of tears
I breathe in the sweet perfume of its pungent scent, this roses regal glory
A breeze gently caresses my skin, reawakening the passion of love's story
I bend down upon one knee in an act of reverence to the beauty of this rose
My flesh brushes a thorny blade that decorates the stem, my blood flows
One cut is made, as I part this flower from its resting place in the ground
This rose I give to my love, to express the painful joy of a true love found

The adventure of love begins with this rose, this symbol of true love starting

When life’s journey of love ends this rose celebrates a tenderness in parting

Fr Patrick Brennan © 2012 all rights reserved