Photo was taken at Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí (Bantry Community College), West Cork (Irl)

Every school throughout Ireland and indeed across the world had a very busy week with plays, pageants, shows and concerts. It is all part of the lovely build up to Christmas. Bantry was no different and Transition Year Students in Colaiste Pobail Bheanntra√≠ performed ‘Back To The Eighties’ which went fantastic

Thought on Sunday – December – 23/12/2018

‘Mary doesn’t wrap her newborn baby in purple silk, she swaddles him with what’s available, even if it’s only strips of cloth. And she doesn’t demand a golden crib for her Son, she makes do with what’s handy, even if it’s a hay filled manger.’ ~Kathleen M.Carroll

The events of Christmas night are far from ideal. It’s not the stuff you would expect for such an important event. It’s certainly not the stuff of God or so it would seem. But God clearly had other ideas and not what anyone had expected.

The same happens today as well. God often comes into our lives in the least expected place. Maybe we are trying to find God in the wrong places and forget to look in the stable. The stable is that part of our lives that may not be pretty, may not seem important and the last place we would want God. This is where God wants to be and where God wants to hold us, encourage us, help us, guide us, direct us, energise us and be with us every step of the way.

There is no such thing as a perfect Christmas. Every advertisement that you see on television suggests strongly that this is the way it must be. What a pressure to be under. All any of us can do is our best, to make it special in our own way and to make it as a relaxing time as we can. We need this time to recharge and revitalise in the depths of winter. In these precious days before Christmas, the invitation is to leave the stable door open, even ajar and let God do the rest! Happy Christmas to you and every blessing on you during 2019.