tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4288966948436183302024-10-05T03:02:56.888+01:00Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-31744727010511384502015-12-23T13:08:00.000+00:002015-12-23T13:08:03.124+00:00

The Angel said to them, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people." Luke 2:10 It's Christmas. Today, in spite of the frenzy and excitement of preparation, I am taking a moment to listen inside to the warm pressure inside my chest. This is what Love is trying to say to me: That in spite of our losses, Love is real. Love is here

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-71185220717729295392015-11-13T11:33:00.002+00:002015-12-24T07:16:37.095+00:00

An extract of this essay was recently published in To Live From The Heart, Sr. Stan's latest book. St. Mary's Cistercian Abbey, Glencairn The Contemplative tradition echoes back through many centuries of spiritual wisdom from the early Christian saints such as the Desert Fathers and Mothers, St Bernard, St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich and Meister Eckhart.

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-15472091285491922072015-10-11T20:28:00.001+01:002015-10-11T20:28:37.004+01:00

I Know The Way You Can Get I know the way you can get When you have not had a drink of Love: Your face hardens,  Your sweet muscles cramp. Children become concerned About a strange look that appears in your eyes Which even begins to worry your own mirror And nose. Squirrels and birds sense your sadness And call an important conference in a tall tree. They decide

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-71118734580662760332015-07-23T22:03:00.000+01:002015-10-28T18:43:34.090+00:00

God is the infinity of the concrete immediacy of every moment. Dr. James Finley How many times do we catch ourselves being surprised by beauty, by the quality of light, by the sense of reflection from a bird or animal accompanying us on a walk, by a breakthrough at work, by the unexpected kindness of a shop assistant, by a sudden forward flow in our day after an equally sudden series

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-78246321701812489022015-07-17T23:53:00.000+01:002015-07-17T23:53:42.644+01:00

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing  and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. Rumi Beyond Acceptance and Rejection, Beyond Closeness and Distance, Beyond Welcome and Indifference, Beyond Openness and Reticence, Beyond being Included and Excluded, Beyond others being With you and Against you, Beyond Safety and Danger, Beyond Confidence and Insecurity, Beyond

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-11559766916397492202015-07-12T13:10:00.000+01:002015-07-12T15:53:22.522+01:00

I watch people in the world  Throw away their lives lusting after things,  Never able to satisfy their desires,  Falling into deeper despair  And torturing themselves.  Even if they get what they want  How long will they be able to enjoy it?  For one heavenly pleasure  They suffer ten torments of hell,  Binding themselves more

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-42390335190923040162015-07-04T22:41:00.000+01:002015-07-12T10:03:41.092+01:00

Gardening is cheaper than therapy, and you get tomatoes. Anonymous Mindfulness is a practice which has become greatly accessible to people of all traditions and faiths. Often sought as a remedy for excess mind activity and turbulent emotions, many people don't quite know why they are drawn to it - they just know they feel more balanced, centred and happy by having this

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-54046795333407778462015-06-19T20:15:00.000+01:002015-06-19T20:16:47.162+01:00

Don't surrender your loneliness  So quickly. Let it cut more deep. Let it ferment and season you As few human Or even divine ingredients can. Something missing in my heart tonight Has made my eyes so soft, My voice So tender, My need of God Absolutely Clear. Hafiz Once you have committed to being lived, to being moved, to being surrendered, you must stay with

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-58685599473618881342015-05-15T10:29:00.000+01:002015-05-15T10:29:03.386+01:00

A Parent’s Blessing When you were born Our hearts were so full of happiness That there was no room in us for words. When you were growing Our hearts were so full of care for you That we spoke soothingly And sometimes sharply, Fearful for your safety, But always In the deepest places of our hearts We spoke lovingly. Today, As we watch you Moving forward with your

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-77639813648355218762015-05-11T12:37:00.000+01:002015-07-06T12:11:10.399+01:00

A friend of mine recently handed me a copy of this book which I had come across many years ago, but had never quite got around to reading. It tells the story of Maura (Soshin-san) O'Halloran, an Irish-American Catholic woman who was one of the very few women ever to be allowed to train at a male-dominated traditional Zen monastery in Japan. She was ordained a Zen Buddhist monk in 1982.

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-83306507887286879212015-05-08T18:16:00.001+01:002015-05-08T18:16:08.624+01:00

Stained Glass at Mount Melleray Cistercian Abbey, Cappoquin The Divine Image To Mercy Pity Peace and Love All pray in their distress: And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness. For Mercy Pity Peace and Love, Is God our father dear: And Mercy Pity Peace and Love, Is Man his child and care. For Mercy has a human heart Pity, a human face: And Love, the human

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-19370871007051437752015-04-29T13:07:00.000+01:002015-07-06T12:41:16.818+01:00

I remember first being introduced to meditation in my 20s, and for some reason, in spite of an often restless mind, I also had a strong sense that I was somehow coming home. As I persevered with my initial clumsiness, I found myself looking forward to the ceremony of sitting, allowing my restlessness to soften, and wait. What I couldn’t name at the time was the experience of Presence which

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-73978210295269962542015-04-17T18:40:00.000+01:002015-07-06T12:42:42.121+01:00

A quiet day's pause  Time slows to an easy pace Nature is basking Hurry finds no hit today Contentedness arises How lovely to find a long quiet day stretching out ahead, with no appointments, no deadlines, and nothing at all to be achieved. It is with a grateful heart that I find one, today. Everyone needs a moment to immerse themselves in their own natural way. It is my

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-84416319946410752142015-04-09T15:51:00.000+01:002015-04-09T16:11:15.893+01:00

A host of golden daffodils I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-1505845367892495492015-03-19T06:47:00.000+00:002015-03-19T21:25:18.085+00:00

Essay published in Spirituality magazine, March/April 2015. The gloriously scented bluebell Easter is probably my favourite liturgical time of the year. At some point many years ago, I realised that a wonderful sense of wellbeing and enthusiasm comes over me at this time of year. It is also matched by the warming springtime, longer days, daffodils and bluebells. This sense of

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-65722155777350915982015-03-17T08:14:00.000+00:002015-03-17T08:36:51.675+00:00

Hail, glorious Saint Patrick, dear saint of our Isle On us thy poor children bestow a sweet smile And now thou art high in thy mansions above On Erin's green valleys, look down in thy love. Today marks the feast day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It is a celebration which is marked throughout the world, when the Shamrock is worn, and the Green is on display. Much

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-23055940499475268562015-03-08T11:44:00.001+00:002015-07-12T09:54:06.174+01:00

Beyond The Shadows There are times when we fight with shadows that don’t even exist. Then, there are times when we shock ourselves by the darker sides of our nature. We see that we contain openness and closed-mindedness and closed-heartedness. We contain dark and light, love and hate, peace and rage, acceptance and rebellion, hope and despair, success and defeat, approval and rejection.

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-67423364007508261632015-02-26T21:55:00.001+00:002015-06-21T10:55:33.936+01:00

Stained Glass at Mount Melleray Abbey The Pillar of the Cloud Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom; Lead Thou me on. The night is dark, and I am far from home; Lead Thou me on.  Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant scene;  one step enough for me.  I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou shouldst lead me on;  I loved to

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-23130230339125349552015-02-18T21:31:00.000+00:002015-02-18T21:31:13.508+00:00

If the Cross is deeply contemplated, it is saying that love is supreme, and that the darkness and the apparent unfairness of life can be endured. In the Cross, love is able to speak ... speak to any human situation, whether of loss, of persecution, of disillusion. Fr. John Woolley As we begin the Lenten season, it reminds me again to look within, to recognise those unhelpful

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-78201636858873034142015-02-13T12:53:00.000+00:002015-03-01T16:41:37.519+00:00

God's poet is silence! His song is unspoken  And yet so profound, and so loud, and so far, That it thrills you and fills you in measures unbroken - The unceasing song of the first morning star .... Joaquin Miller, The True Poet There was a beautiful calmness this week, a gentle invitation for the Spirit into Silence. It was restful, with a grateful recognition of peace,

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-25258439939821238352015-02-08T22:35:00.000+00:002015-02-14T16:44:02.856+00:00

The highest good is like water, nourishing life effortlessly, flowing without prejudice to the lowliest places. It springs from all  who nourish their community with a benevolent heart as deep as an abyss, who are incapable of lies and injustices, who are rooted in the earth, and whose natural rhythms of action play midwife to the highest good  of each joyful

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-39060300468638945072015-02-01T08:37:00.000+00:002015-02-02T10:36:13.703+00:00

Feast of St. Brigid 1 February The 1st of February marks the Feast day of St. Brigid, also spelled Bridget, Bridgit or Bríd. She is the patroness of Ireland and was also known as Mary of the Gael. The daughter of a pagan chieftain from the province of Leinster, she was born into slavery as her mother was a servant of the chieftain. After a period of time being fostered, she

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-75794391126549810382015-01-29T20:57:00.000+00:002015-02-05T12:18:15.704+00:00

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton was born on 31 January 1915. Worldwide seminars and gatherings are planned on this date and throughout this year to commemorate his centenary and honour his spiritual legacy. Thomas Merton was born in Prades, France. His father was an artist from New Zealand, and his mother, also an artist and diarist, was American. He suffered much bereavement and isolation in

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-18979280602526946812015-01-27T23:25:00.000+00:002015-02-14T17:01:48.547+00:00

Withdraw Yourself Presence speaks in many wordless ways. The events of our life as they unfold are the clearest words. Life is endlessly speaking wisdom into our hearts. Life is challenging us to allow even greater ease, even greater freedom, disguised as hardship and limitation. Once allowing is allowed, it presents our deepest places yet longing for freedom, longing to be allowed.

Anne Marie Maguirehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13001126858176666876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428896694843618330.post-79138278147622688272015-01-23T14:36:00.000+00:002015-02-15T15:42:56.244+00:00

Contemplation is a form of prayer and inner knowing. Thomas Merton calls it the intuitive grasp by which love gains certitude of God's creative and dynamic intervention in our daily life. Contemplation isn't something we do, but rather an explanation or description of how we are transformed from within. St. John of the Cross wrote about this inner transformation in The Dark Night

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