Photo was taken yesterday in the grounds of the old Francisan Abbey dating back to the 13th century, in Wicklow, Co.Wicklow (Irl)

Ben Hartnett and Mary Winters relax after their wedding Mass yesterday. They got married in the church of St.Patrick which can be seen in the background through the window of the Abbey.

Thought on Sunday – April – 17/04/2011

The following reflection is by Jane Mellett. To mark today Psalm Sunday the reflection is called ‘Taking up your cross’

From triumph to agony. It’s a time where the Temple of the moneychangers is cleansed. A time where bread is broken, friendships betrayed and denied. Often we try to place ourselves in these scenes and wonder, what would I have done? Would I have run away, betrayed, kept awake, denied or stayed at the cross until the end?

When we join a procession or a protest, (holding a palm branch or a placard), we are committed to stories of our own Passion. We might want the long Gospel to be over quickly, but we must try not to miss the journey that this week offers us:

‘You have to incorporate your pain into yourself. This is what Jesus means when he asks you to take up your cross. He encourages you to recognize and embrace your unique suffering and to trust that your way to salvation lies therein. Taking up your cross means, first of all, befriending your wounds and letting them reveal to you your own truth.’ (Henry Nouwen)