Come & See Inspirations

C&SI brings together a series of reflections to share over the Christmas Season. Originally available for listening on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day, we are sharing the individual reflections to allow listeners a bite size moment over the days of Christmas - to allow us to pause and reflect for a few moments and also as a reminder that Christmas is not just "the day" but a season of faith where we celebrate the wonder of the coming of Emmanuel into the messiness of human suffering and existence.In this reflection Sr Caitriona Kavanagh from the Dominican Sisters of St Cecelia in Limerick city shares with us how throughout the Christmas story we can be struck by the hiddenness  of the Mystery and that if we are not attentive we can almost miss the significance of this at Christmas. Sr Caitriona asks that this Christmas that we pray for the grace of not being too busy or pre-occupied to see by faith the hiddenness of this Mystery and that we may discover anew the presence of God in the hu

C&SI brings together a series of reflections to share over the Christmas Season. Originally available for listening on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day, we are sharing the individual reflections to allow listeners a bite size moment over the days of Christmas - to allow us to pause and reflect for a few moments and also as a reminder that Christmas is not just "the day" but a season of faith where we celebrate the wonder of the coming of Emmanuel into the messiness of human suffering and existence.Noirin Lynch , Director of the FCJ Spirituality House, Teach Spiorodálta at Spanish Point  reminds us that we need to be aware that gratitude and service being at the centre of our Christmas celebrations. Noirin reflects on the contempory icon by Kelly Latimore "Dorothy Day and the Holy Family of the Street". “What we would like to do is change the world--make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And, by fighting for better

C&SI brings together a series of reflections to share over the Christmas Season. Originally available for listening on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day, we are sharing the individual reflections to allow listeners a bite size moment over the days of Christmas - to allow us to pause and reflect for a few moments and also as a reminder that Christmas is not just "the day" but a season of faith where we celebrate the wonder of the coming of Emmanuel into the messiness of human suffering and existence.This short reflection is from Bishop Brendan Leahy, bishop of Limerick dwelling on the child in the crib, who without words and big signs  and speeches that God is there for us no matter what we think.

John and Shane welcome you to our regular Sunday podcast on this special feast day dedicated to the Holy Family which is celebrated on the Sunday nearest to Christmas.On this weeks podcast we have our regular run through the saints of the week and some other liturgical odds and ends. In addition we continue sharing with you Christmas reflections from friends and guests of the podcast programme giving us pause for thought and rumination over the Christmas Season.As we continue into this Christmas Season, we remind ourselves that Christmas is not just a day or an event belonging to the far distant past but for all of us the Incarnation and Birth of the Christ Child is the moment of greatest hope for us in our lives. 

From all the Come & See Inspirations podcast team, wishing you and yours every best wish and blessing of this Holy & Festive Season and into the New Year 2021May the Peace of the Babe of Bethlehem be the gift you receive this Christmastide.Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh go léirFromJohn, Ann & Shane*******************On this special podcast we celebrate this special day with reflections, favourite Christmas carols and hymns, readings & reflections and our regular reflection on the Gospel of the day. We are joined on the programme with a reflection by Bishop Brendan Leahy and other special guests. The individual reflections will be posted individually to allow you to listen back in the days of the Christmas Season. "In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of N

C&SI brings together a series of reflections to share over the Christmas Season. Originally available for listening on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day, we are sharing the individual reflections to allow listeners a bite size moment over the days of Christmas - to allow us to pause and reflect for a few moments and also as a reminder that Christmas is not just "the day" but a season of faith where we celebrate the wonder of the coming of Emmanuel into the messiness of human suffering and existence.In this reflection Sharon Collopy shares her Advent journey, a time of hope and awaiting to help come close to the mystery  at Christmas. The journey of Mary & Joseph to Bethlehem, the journey of the three wise men and the shepherds all played a part in the Christmas story. We too are part of the Christmas story, Sharon invites us help to reflect on this and how we welcome Jesus into our hearts and world.  

John and Shane are delighted to welcome back our old friend Noirin Lynch on this weeks podcast to catch up with her on her new project at the FCJ Spirituality House in Spanish Point and more importantly for this weeks podcast, for Noirin to share a reflection "Pregnant with Promise" for the fourth Sunday of Advent, taking as its starting point the account of the Visitation which is the gospel account for the Sunday liturgy.We have our regular items including saints of the week taking us into the Christmas Octave and we have few local notices including reminding people that they can listen back to the Advent talks from Glenstal and Knock Shrine on their respective websites. In addition just to let people know that if they wanted to take a moment in the week ahead, the series "A Time to Reflect - Online Christmas Reflections" are available to listen back to on the Limerick Diocese Facebook page. Some lovely reflections from Dr Jessie Rogers, Sr Betty Baker, Sr Helen Culhane, and Sharon Collo

John and Shane are delighted to welcome back our old friend Noirin Lynch on this weeks podcast to catch up with her on her new project at the FCJ Spirituality House in Spanish Point and more importantly for this weeks podcast, for Noirin to share a reflection "Pregnant with Promise" for the fourth Sunday of Advent, taking as its starting point the account of the Visitation which is the gospel account for the Sunday liturgy.FCJ Spirituality House, Spanish PointNoirin introduces us to a new venture in hospitality and spiritual accompaniment by the FCJ Sisters in Spanish Point Co Clare where the sisters are opening the door of their home to welcome in people to enable moments of reflection, recollection, community and prayer with both the local community in Spanish Point and further afield.Given the current situation with the pandemic some of it is in person, some of it is online and you can find out more at the Facebook of the FCJ Spirituality House, Spanish PointEmail - info@fcjspiritualityhouse.ieRe

The C&SI team welcome Fr Frank Duhig to the podcast this week. Fr Frank is PP in Newcastle West parish and he gets frequent mentions on the podcast from John and Shane as Fr Frank leads the local lectio divine group and we are always delighted when he has the time and space to come on the podcast with us.Fr Frank shares an Advent reflection with us where  he reminds us of the words of Jesus that 'Heaven and Earth will pass a]way but my words will not pass away' (Lk 21:33). Recent events have really brought home the fact that we are not in control as much as we thought. We have witnessed the collapse of so many 'Pillars' in our society in recent times - the collapse of banking system,  our health systems coming under pressure because of Covid-19 to name a few. Jesus would say - do not work for the things that don't last, keep your eye on where you are going and he will guide you. Fr Frank reminds us that Advent is a time to listen to the power of God's Word.  It is a time whic

The C&SI team welcome Fr Frank Duhig to the podcast this week. Fr Frank is PP in Newcastle West parish and he gets frequent mentions on the podcast from John and Shane as Fr Frank leads the local lectio divine group and we are always delighted when he has the time and space to come on the podcast with us.In addition to Fr Franks reflection we have our regular run through the saints of the week and of course a reflection on this weeks Sunday Gospel (Luke 3:10-18)Advent ReflectionFr Frank shares an Advent reflection with us where  he reminds us of the words of Jesus that 'Heaven and Earth will pass a]way but my words will not pass away' (Lk 21:33). Recent events have really brought home the fact that we are not in control as much as we thought. We have witnessed the collapse of so many 'Pillars' in our society in recent times - the collapse of banking system,  our health systems coming under pressure because of Covid-19 to name a few. Jesus would say - do not work for the things that don

This week we welcome Sharon Collopy to our podcast from St John's parish in Limerick city. Sharon shares some of her faith journey with us including her using Godly Play concepts in bring faith stories to the young and not so young. Sharon is currently participating in the Limerick Lay pastoral Ministry formation programme and shares her experiences of this after one year on the course.We have our regular notices, a run through the saints of the week and of course our weekly reflection on the Sunday gospel which this week brings to us the great Advent figure of John the Baptist. 

This week we welcome Sharon Collopy to our podcast from St John's parish in Limerick city. Sharon shares some of her faith journey with us including her using Godly Play concepts in bring faith stories to the young and not so young. Sharon is currently participating in the Limerick Lay pastoral Ministry formation programme and shares her experiences of this after one year on the course.

Today begins a new year - in liturgical parlance - as with the first Sunday of Advent the church enters into another liturgical year. On this weeks podcast the C&SI team begins advent with music and three reflections from two of the current great online evangelizers - Bishop Robert Barron (auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles & founder of the Word on Fire ministry) and Fr Mike Schmitz  (Ascension Press) sharing their thoughts on the season of Advent and the message of hope that it brings to our world. We have our regular run through the saints of the week, some local notices and reminders and of course a reflection on the Sunday gospel where we begin to travel through the liturgical year with St Luke. 

On this weeks programme we sit down with David O'Hare from Trocaire to chat with him about Trocaire's current work including updates on what has happened since the Lenten campaign. He also tells us about appeal for humanitarian response to hunger crisis in East Africa and the launch of Trocaire's Christmas Gifts of Love.To support Trocaire you can find information on their website HERE.We have our regular run through the saints of the week (in the last week of the liturgical calendar!) and our reflection on the gospel for the Sunday which is the solemnity of Jesus Christ, Universal King. 

On this weeks programme we sit down with David O'Hare from Trocaire to chat with him about Trocaire's current work including updates on what has happened since the Lenten campaign. He also tells us about appeal for humanitarian response to hunger crisis in East Africa and the launch of Trocaire's Christmas Gifts of Love.For those who wish to support Trocaire go to their website HERE.

Currently Limerick Diocese is over halfway through the first cycle of its Lay Pastoral Ministry Programme and are now recruiting for the second cycle. This week John chats with Rose O'Connor, (Pastoral Implementation Manager) and Michael Kelly (Pastoral Outreach and Formation worker), both with the Limerick Diocesan Centre.  We are also joined by Con Buckley from St Munchin's parish in Limerick city who is currently participating in the Lay Pastoral Formation Programme. Con shares with us how he became involved with the programme, his experience to date with the programme and what he hopes will be part of his faith journey in the future.The programme is aimed at people who are involved in, or wish to become involved in, Lay Pastoral Ministry in their Parish, Pastoral Unit or in the Diocese.  The programme is a 2.5 year programme which involves a Diocesan ‘wraparound’ programme covering discernment, pastoral training and pastoral placements as well as a 2 year Level 6 Certificate in Pastoral Ministry

C&SI team are delighted to be joined by Rose O'Connor, Michael Kelly and Con Buckley to share their experiences about the Limerick Diocese Lay Pastoral Ministry Programme which is open for new applicants for the up coming training cycle with up coming information evenings. We have our regular notices (with reminders about the Advent talks at Glenstal Abbey and also Knock Shrine), the national memorial Mass at Knock on 14th November for all those who have died during the pandemic plus of course our regular saints of the week. We also have an attempt to reflect on this weeks challenging gospel (Mark 13:24-32) which is one of the discourses on the end of times and the return of the Son of Man - appropriate as we are coming to the end of the churches year.Limerick Diocese Lay Pastoral Ministry ProgrammeCurrently Limerick Diocese is over halfway through the first cycle of its Lay Pastoral Ministry Programme and are now recruiting for the second cycle. This week John chats with Rose O'Connor, (Pastora

Today on the podcast we invite you to take a time out. You can listen to this at any stage throughout the month of November as we invite you to pause and reflect on November as the month of our beloved dead. As we begin this time of music, reflection & poetry we invite you to light a candle and gather with us to push back the darkness of November slightly. In Ireland for many millennia, the month of November – Samhain – has very much been the month of the dead. From pre-Christian to modern days, it has been set aside as a “thin time/space” when the seasons call us to pause and remember….to stop, to reflect….and to grieve.On the full podcast we have our regular saints of the week and of course our reflection on the Sunday gospel also.

Today on the podcast we invite you to take a time out. You can listen to this at any stage throughout the month of November as we invite you to pause and reflect on November as the month of our beloved dead. As we begin this time of music, reflection & poetry we invite you to light a candle and gather with us to push back the darkness of November slightly. In Ireland for many millennia, the month of November – Samhain – has very much been the month of the dead. From pre-Christian to modern days, it has been set aside as a “thin time/space” when the seasons call us to pause and remember….to stop, to reflect….and to grieve.

This weeks podcast C&SI looks at COP26 - the UN Climate Change Conference  being held in Glasgow from November 1st - November 12th 2021. We are joined by Jane Mellet from Trocaire who helps explain what COP26 is, what it is trying to do and how we should look and engage with it from a faith perspective.COP26 - Why does it matter to people of faith?Jane Mellet is the Laudatio Si Project Officer for Trocaire and she joins John and Shane to explore what is COP26 and why it should matter to people of faith. Jane will actually be attending COP26 on behalf of Trocaire in Glasgow. Pope on COP26: Sharing, love, respect should shape efforts for better futurePope: Crises present us with the opportunity to build togetherFive things you need to know about COP26 - TrocaireLaudatio Si Movement UKCOP26