Come & See Inspirations

On this weeks programme John and Martina have an interview with Dr Mary Healy. Mary is a professor of scripture in Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit Michigan and a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.  Mary spoke to us about her experiences in Charismatic Renewal and Healing. She also spoke to us about family life and marriage.  Mary grew up in a “Sunday Mass catholic home”. Parents took her to mass on Sunday but had no other faith activity during the week.They had no prayer life to speak of. Then her parents went on a “Cursillo” retreat and both her parents had a deep conversion experience after which the rosary, the sacraments, and personal prayer became so important  to them and they introduced their children to these also. Mary went to college, and as is quite common drifted from God due to having no prayer life. At end of college she was spiritually empty but went on to rediscover her relationship with God while attending in Steubenville University. Mary lived with a charismatic community in Mary

St Ita of Kileedy - Shane AmbroseSt Ita also known as the Brigid of Munster is associated with the parish of Killeedy and is one of the co-patrons of the diocese of Limerick. January 15th is her feast day, and on this weeks show, John and Shane discuss her feast day."St Ita, the patron saint of Killeedy, was born before 484AD in County Waterford, in the Tramore area. Her father was Cennfoelad or Confhaola and her mother was Necta. Cennfoelad was descended from Felim the lawgiver. Ita's name was originally Dorothea or Deirdre. She was a member of the Déisí tribe. Ita refused her father's wish that she should marry a local chieftain, as she believed that she had a calling from God and wanted to become a nun. To convince her father to change his mind, she fasted for three days and three nights. On the third night, God gave out to her father in his sleep. The next morning, Cennfoelad agreed that Ita could do as she wished. At the age of sixteen, Ita set off on her journey. Bishop (St.) Declan of Ar

John and Shane have a short discussion and reflection about the messages of Pope Francis over the Christmas period and how Christmas is a reminder to us that we should have hope; it doesnt end when the tree is taken down and the lights turned off but rather something to carry us through our daily lives no matter how dark the world around us can seemPope: ‘Let us allow ourselves to be challenged by the Child in the manger’

On today's programme we have a reflection on New Year from Sr Dympna Clancy. We have our regular reflection on this weeks gospel as well as some liturgical odds & ends including the selection of the blog patron saint for 2017.A New Years reflectionJanuary is personified by the two faced Roman god Janus which is a good metaphor which allows us to look back - to give thanks, and reflect on what might have been the burdens for 2016 - and also to look forward into 2017 and what we may wish and pray for.Sr Dympna leads us through a reflection on the New Year, time and peace.

John has a short interview with Michael Downes from the Charismatic Renewal who shares with John how he was inspired to write songs for his new CD - Precious in my Eyes.

On this weeks programme, Lorraine takes us through a reflection on the Jubilee of Mercy which is in its final week. On April 11, 2015, right before First Vespers of the Vigil of Divine Mercy Sunday, the Holy Father stood before the closed and sealed Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica and announced an historic event: an extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. "Jesus Christ is the face of the Father's mercy," Pope Francis says in opening his papal bull Misericordiae Vultus (The Face of Mercy). In this light, "Merciful like the Father" is the motto he chose for the Jubilee Year. It comes from Luke 6:36, "Be merciful just as your Father is merciful." The extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy ran from Dec. 8, 2015, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, up until next week Nov. 20, 2016, the solemnity of Christ the King. By calling for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis has underscored the signature message of his pontificate: mercy. Mercy is the Holy Father's answer to evil,

November can be a hard month for many people as we recall the memory of our dead. In the Roman Catholic tradition it is the month of the Holy Soul's. And it seems to be an appropriate time to reflect and pray for our dead as the year and seasons move towards the death of winter.But coping with death and grief can be difficult and on this weeks programme we are joined by Alice Taylor to reflect on memory and dealing with grief especially after writing her book As time stood still.Alice Taylor lives in the village of Innishannon in County Cork, in a house attached to the local supermarket and post office. Since her eldest son has taken over responsibility for the shop, she has been able to devote more time to her writing.Alice Taylor worked as a telephonist in Killarney and Bandon. When she married, she moved to Innishannon where she ran a guesthouse at first, then the supermarket and post office. She and her husband, Gabriel Murphy, who sadly passed away in 2005, had four sons and one daughter. In 1984 sh

On this weeks programme John has an interview with Milona Von Habsburg. Milona describes the fruits of living in the presence of God which grows from putting the Lord first in one's life and living the messages of Medjurgorje.As the name would suggest Milona is a member of the former Imperial family of Habsburgs, to be precise Archduchess Monika-Ilona "Milona" Maria Carolina Stephanie Elisabeth Immacolata Benedicta Dominica is the eldest daughter of Archduke Joseph Arpád Benedikt Ferdinand Franz Maria Gabriel, a member of the Hungarian Palatine branch of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Milona is the niece of Otto von Habsburg, the eldest son of the last Emperor Charles I of Austria and IV of Hungary.She shares her story of visiting Medjugorje in the 1980's and recalls that her father had taken their family to other apparition sites in Europe, like Fatima, but they had not made that big or deep an impression on her. But, when she and her relatives went to Medjugorje on a three-day pilgrimag

Mission SundayWorld Mission Sunday takes place on the second last Sunday of October each year. Since 1926, the Church has traditionally remembered its universal mission during the month of October. This year Mission Sunday will be celebrated globally on the 23rd October 2016. The theme is ‘Every Christian is a missionary’. Throughout the world the faithful will reflect on the universal call to Mission of all the baptized. They will be invited to contribute what they can to support the development and growth of young churches internationally and provides Catholics with the opportunity to unite with their missionary sisters and brothers overseas, and to recommit themselves to bringing the Joy of the Gospel to everyone they meet in their daily lives at home and at work. In October 2015, Irish Catholics contributed more than €1.7 million on Mission Sunday. The Mission Sunday collection is made available to be distributed to as many as 1,100 young Churches who are supported by the generosity of Churches that have

On this weeks programme we are joined by Noirin Lynch who gave us an update on various things around the diocese.Synod UpdateOn 15th October the delegates gathered to review the pastoral plan coming out of the synod and the action plans arising from that.Next Wednesday 19th 2016 chairpersons of Parish Pastoral Councils and Parish Priests will be briefed on the upcoming two year goals. Each parish, pastoral area and the diocese will take on new goal every two years building towards 2025.  It is a time of challenge and opportunity for us all in the diocese where each parish will work out how to enact the plans and actions as mandated by the Synod given the realities which are possible for each parish.

Limerick Diocese Synod 2016 - The Chosen ThemesOn this weeks programme John and the team are joined by Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon and Martina O'Sullivan to speak about the choosing of the themes for Limerick Diocesan Synod 2016. We have our regular reflection on the Sunday gospel as well as other liturgical odds and ends.This weekend across the diocese of Limerick we are marking another Synod Sunday to inform the diocese where things are with the synod process and also to seek their continuing prayer and support. On this weeks programme Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon comes back into studio to update us on how things are going with Limerick Diocesan Synod 2016 especially following the last Synod Delegate gathering on 3rd October when the themes to be discussed at the Synod were chosen and voted on by the delegates following the listening and discerning phase of the Synod during the early months of 2015. Martina O'Sullivan who is a regular panellist on the programme also joined us on this weeks programme to share wit

October is the month of the Rosary and so in this week's programme, the Sacred Space Team chat about the origins of the Rosary, why it is both a beautiful and a powerful prayer and they pray the joyful mysteries of the scriptural rosary. We also have our usual notices, prayer intentions and saints of the week. The full programme is available HERE.The Scriptural RosaryLast Friday we celebrated the feast of the Holy Rosary. The month of October is dedicated to the Holy Rosary. According to an account by fifteenth-century Dominican, Alan de la Rocha, Mary appeared to St. Dominic in 1206 after he had been praying and doing severe penances because of his lack of success in combating the Albigensian heresy. Mary praised him for his valiant fight against the heretics and then gave him the Rosary as a mighty weapon, explained its uses and efficacy, and told him to preach it to others:"Be of good cheer, Dominic, the remedy for the evils which you lament will be meditation on the life, death and glory of My S

The Sacred Space Team were delighted to interview Sean Bloomfield (Director Producer) and Cimela Kidonakis (Producer/DP) about their new documentary Apparition Hill which opens in Omniplex Cinemas on October 7th (The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary).  Apparition Hill is, as the tagline says, "a film about life... and what comes after." A film crew offered 7 free trips to a place of alleged miracles, Medjugorje, a little-known village nestled in between two mountains along the border of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia to film their experiences. Medjugorje has been a hotbed of debate as millions visit the town each year to see for themselves whether the legend is true: that Mary, the actual Mother of Jesus, has appeared to a select group of natives with regularity for the last 30 years. As of yet, the Catholic Church has declared no official ruling one way or another. The winners of the online video contest embarked on a journey seeking answers to life's questions. Sean and Cimela share with us ab

On this week's programme Fr. John Mockler of the Servi Della Sofferenza (Servants of Suffering) chats with Lorraine about the upcoming triduum in honour of St. Padre Pio which will be held in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, from September 21st to 23rd 2016Fr. John begins by explaining why he has organised a triduum in honour of St. Pio and why St. Pio is the saint for our times. St. Pio, who was the first priest who had the stigmata (the wounds of Christ), is the saint for our times, because in bearing the wounds of Jesus, he witnessed to the fact of the Resurrection in his wounds.St. Pio also participated in the redemptive suffering of Jesus, as St. Paul says: "completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col 1:24). By uniting his suffering with that of Christ he was able to bring many people back to Christ in the confessional. For this reason, Pope Francis named him a 'Servant of Mercy' and

On this weeks programme, John continues a series of interviews with various volunteers and helpers who lead the Abbeyfeale Faith Summer Camp during the summer of 2016. It includes interviews conducted Mariah our roving reported who spoke with young volunteers from around the country who help run the faith camp. Also there are three more interviews with members of the family of Mary community, Sister Bridget, Br Gabriel and Fr Patrick Cahill.

On this weeks programme, John begins a series of interviews with various volunteers and helpers who lead the Abbeyfeale Faith Summer Camp during the summer of 2016.On this weeks programme John shares with Br Simon and Sr Marietta about their respective vocation journeys and how to came to answer the call being made to each of them by God

On this weeks programme, SS102fm team explore and discuss the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her forth coming canonisation on September 4th.Pope Francis will declare Blessed Teresa of Kolkata a saint at the Vatican Sept. 4. The date was announced March 15 during an "ordinary public consistory," a meeting of the pope, cardinals and promoters of sainthood causes that formally ends the sainthood process.Mother Teresa was widely known as a living saint as she ministered to the sick and the dying in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the world. Although some people criticized her for not also challenging the injustices that kept so many people so poor and abandoned, her simple service touched the hearts of millions of people of all faiths.Born to an ethnic Albanian family in Skopje, in what is now part of Macedonia, she went to India in 1929 as a Sister of Loreto and became an Indian citizen in 1947. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950.Shortly after she died in 1997, St. John Paul II

Abbeyfeale Faith Camp 2016On this weeks programme John and Anne are joined again by Martina O'Sullivan and Mariah Cullity but this time it is to discuss the Abbeyfeale Faith Camps which were held a few weeks ago.Martina and Maria join John and Anne on this weeks programme to share the experience of Faith Camps and in particular the St Ita's Catholic Camp which was held in Abbeyfeale between August 2nd - 5th. The camp was for 5-12 years old in St Mary's National School. The camp included activities in art, drama, sport and faith teaching. 

On this weeks programme John has a recording of a reflection on God's mercy from Maire  Beirne, a Charismatic Renewal speaker from Co Leitrim. The reflection was recorded at the Limerick Maranatha Prayer Group during May 2015. Maire lead a wonderful reflection in May 2015 and shared many stories and examples of the mercy of God in every day life. She reminds us that the mercy of God is flowing down from heaven and we can  do nothing to earn it. What we have to do is open up and receive this mercy which is eternal, new each day and powerful. Our response must start with prayer, we should not take the gift of prayer for granted. The best way to receive the mercy of God is to take to heart what Jesus said in the Beatitudes - How blessed are the merciful, they shall have mercy shown to them. We are called to let the mercy of God flow out through us to others. let us ask the Lord to give us a 'Heart Transplant' so that his mercy and forgiveness can flow out through us to others. As this mercy flows

This week's programme was the second of a two-part reflection on vocations. Last week we chatted about the universal call to holiness to which we are all called. This week we reflected on the particular vocations through which we can live out this universal call to holiness: marriage, priesthood, religious life and consecrated virginity (the dedicated single life). In particular we had a chat about the different ways in which we can all help to create a culture of vocations where each person is encouraged to listen to and respond generously to God's voice.Creating a Culture of VocationsOur good friend of the programme Sr. Louise O'Rourke PDDM (you can follow Sr. Louise on Twitter HERE, friend her on Facebook HERE and read her blog Pilgrim Progress HERE) is doing great work in promoting a culture of vocations. You may remember reading a cross-post from Sr. Louise on whether it is too late to create a culture of vocations in Ireland today (HERE). The short answer is no! But it does require the co