Photo was taken yesterday at the RDS, Dublin, (Irl)

The 2010 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition came to a close last evening. Our photo today is a section of the Col√°iste Choilm students from Ballincollig who had a fabulous week. If a picture and body language tells its own story, then it’s fair to say a great week was had by all.

Thought on Sunday – January – 17/01/2010

Given the awfulness of the story unfolding in Haiti we continue our prayers today for all the victims of the earthquake, those left behind and for the different aid agencies trying to get food, medicine, water and essentials to the thousands who are in desperate need at this time.

Our reflection today is by Fr.Tom Cahill

I wonder if the UK-chart topping, 1986 hit Lady in Red by Chris de Burgh would have soared so high had she been in green. Wearing red not only gets you noticed, it can get you ahead even in the Olympic Games, according to one lecturer at Durham University, England. Wearing red marks you as aggressive and dominant.
Today’s First Reading (1 Cor 12:4-11) lists distinguishing marks for members of the Christian community. The colour red doesn’t get a look in. Neither do designer labels, gym workouts, health-food diets or high-tech gizmos (even had they existed). But then they wouldn’t; all the qualities listed are for service not dominance or ego-gratification.

Also, everything on the list is internal to the individual not external. I don’t need to enhance my appearance for service, but I do need to enhance my self. And the gifts listed in this reading do just that: wise utterance, knowledgeable speech, faith witness, power to heal, working miracles, prophesying and the ability to discern spirits, talking in tongues and interpreting them.
To put these gifts in more contemporary wrapping we might list them as: having cop on, being informed, practising what I preach, comforting those in difficulty, helping without counting the cost, being my brother’s keeper, being in touch with life’s basics, being open to God’s Spirit and open to those open to God’s Spirit.
It’s surprising at times that if you should go public, so to speak, and say that these are the qualities that distinguish true Christians some of that public, even those not Christian, will probably see red!