QuietMoments
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A Hymn for a Wandering People, the Weary and the Small
A new hymn and reflection exploring Celtic thin places, St Columba’s crane, and finding sensory sanctuary amidst the recent community tensions in Northern Ireland. Continue reading
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The Bread of Heaven at Clonmacnoise
Fresh from the altar at Temple Connor… At 11:00 a.m. today, on this Feast of St Columba, we gathered beside the Shannon where prayers have risen for fifteen centuries. As the notes of the Eucharist settle into the ancient stone, we reflect on what it means to be fed—and then sent. The Bread of Heaven… Continue reading
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A hymn celebrating the Eucharist—“O Christ, our Manna in the Wild” (CM)
New Hymn: Taste the mystery of the Eucharist woven into Ireland’s bogs, hills, and thin places. “O Christ, our Manna in the wild”—sing it today. Continue reading
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But why so flipping hot?
Summer by the Barrow brings hawthorn blossom, swallows, sunshine, fluid restrictions, and one recurring prayer. A humorous NeuroDivine reflection on gratitude and heatwaves. Continue reading
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The Echolocation of Grace
After dialysis, the bats over the River Barrow became unexpected signs of grace. In this reflection, Br Michael explores the intersections of chronic illness, Benedictine stability, and neurodivergent faith in the quiet, liminal space of twilight exhaustion. Continue reading
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A new hymn for Trinity Sunday—”O Trinity of earth and light” (DCM)
Celebrate the Three-in-One through the otters and hearth-cats of Kildare. This new Trinity hymn weaves ancient mystery into the sensory rhythms of the Irish landscape. Continue reading
AnglicanTradition, Autism, AutisticFaith, BenedictineSpirituality, CelticChristianity, CelticSpirituality, ChurchOfIreland, ContemplativePrayer, IrishAnglicanVoice, IrishSpirituality, LiturgicalReflection, ModernMonasticism, MonasticWisdom, NeurodivergentFaith, NeuroDivine, PangurBán, PoetryOfPlace, Prayer, QuietMoments, Routine, RuleOfStBenedict, SacredRoutine, SacredSpaces, ScriptureAndStillness, Spirituality, SpiritualJourney, Trinity, TrinitySunday -
As Far as I Could Go
After keeping a final night’s vigil for my father, I travelled south for the medical treatment keeping me alive. A reflection on love’s necessary limits. Continue reading
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The Southward Track: A Liturgy of Woven Threads
I was writing the prayers my heart would need before my eyes even knew the shape of the mountain ahead. Continue reading
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Keeping Vigil at the Veil
Beside death’s quiet veil, love keeps vigil beneath Christ’s gentle presence. Continue reading
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Threads Gathered on the Road North
This morning I travel north again. The road from Leinster toward Antrim has begun to feel less like geography and more like pilgrimage: a long ribbon of motorway and memory carrying me back toward the small room where my father, Brian, rests now at the edge of the great crossing. In recent days, I have… Continue reading
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A Journey of Faith and Farewell
A train journey north, turning impending heartbreak into a holy poem. Continue reading
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A Space for Grace
A quiet Irish café, ancient ruins, and an overflowing cup. Explore how sensory peace becomes a form of sacred hospitality for the neurodivergent soul. Continue reading
Autism, AutisticFaith, ChristInTheEveryday, FaithInTheEveryday, FindingConnection, HolyStillness, IrishReflection, LiveWithADisability, NeurodivergentAndProud, NeurodivergentFaith, NeurodivergentTheology, NeuroDivine, Pilgrimage, Poetry, PoetryOfPlace, QuietMoments, QuietWitness, Routine, SacredRoutine, SacredSpaces, SmallMercies, Spirituality, ThresholdOfGrace, writing -
A new Pentecost hymn—”Spirit, flame upon the heather” (87 87 D)
The hymn “Spirit, Flame Upon the Heather” celebrates the Holy Spirit’s presence in nature, emphasizing individuality and community while preparing for Pentecost and expressing authentic faith. Continue reading
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A Mystical Eucharistic Hymn by the Barrow for the Sunday After Ascension (Easter 7)—“O God who rises, veiled in light” (DLM)
Grounded in the River Barrow’s gentle flow, this contemplative Ascension hymn weaves Irish ecology with Eucharistic mystery, inviting weary souls into the Spirit’s protective, hidden peace. Continue reading
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A new hymn for St Matthias—“When saints are called in hidden ways” (CM)
Celebrate the “hidden” call of St Matthias through this neurodivergent lens. A lyrical CM hymn honoring quiet presence, Irish landscapes, and the courage of being seen. Continue reading
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A new hymn for the Ascension Day—”Across the hills where skylarks rise” (LM)
Experience the Ascension through the “bottom-up” beauty of the Irish landscape. This new hymn finds Christ’s “steady grace” in the salmon, the fox, and the hawthorn. Continue reading
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A reflection of birth, place, and thanksgiving
I was born on 3 May, eight weeks early, in the old Waveney Hospital in Ballymena—a building that has since disappeared, though its memory remains stitched into my own beginning. I had barely arrived before the world tilted into urgency. Within an hour I was lifted into an ambulance and carried to Belfast, the capital,… Continue reading
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The Lift of May
The first days of May feel like a blessing I can actually feel on my skin—soft air, bright light, everything finally opening out after the long drag of winter. In weather like this, my senses settle a little. The world feels more spacious, more possible. With my birthday falling on Sunday, I’m hoping the good… Continue reading
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A hymn for Pip & Jim — “Christ, the Path of ancient blessing” (87.87.D)
Philip’s longing and James’s steadfastness meet the neurodivergent “haze” in this new hymn. A prayer for those finding ogham courage on the Church’s quiet thresholds. Continue reading
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A Pilgrim Church, A Shared Table: A hymn of mission—“From wells where ancient saints once prayed” (DCM)
From wells where ancient saints once prayed 1.From wells where ancient saints once prayedand fires of Brigid shone,you formed a Church of wandering heartsto make your mercy known.Through coracle and pilgrim staffyour Gospel crossed the sea;and Ireland’s monks in distant landsbore witness faithfully.2.At your shared table, Christ, we stand,recalling love outpoured;in broken bread and lifted… Continue reading
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