C&SI - Invitation to Lough Derg - 18 May 2025 (S05E25b) (podcast excerpt)

On this weeks C&SI we are entering into our Summer cycle of programming where every now and again over the Summer months we will be sharing reflections and homilies to provide some inspiration and prayer space for you. (Sharing these reflections also helps to the team to manage our availability as some of us have to travel with work as well! :) ). In part one we have our regular notices, liturgical odds and ends including our saints for the week and of course our weekly prayer space.In part two this week we are heading back to the summer of 2021 during the Covid lockdowns here in Ireland and we are sharing a reflection by Fr Laurence Gallagher from Mt St Alphonsus in Limerick from an online Summer Retreat which was provided by the Redemptorist Fathers. The topic of his reflection is a reminder to us that "Actions speak louder than words!".As always in part three we have our reflection on the Sunday Gospel and this week we have the final part of the priestly discourse from the Gospel of John and the promise of peace which Jesus bequeaths to all of his followers, a peace the world cannot give. Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

On this weeks C&SI we are entering into our Summer cycle of programming where every now and again over the Summer months we will be sharing reflections and homilies to provide some inspiration and prayer space for you. (Sharing these reflections also helps to the team to manage our availability as some of us have to travel with work as well! :) ).  In our podcast excerpt this week we are heading back to the summer of 2021 during the Covid lockdowns here in Ireland and we are sharing a reflection by Fr Laurence Gallagher from Mt St Alphonsus in Limerick from an online Summer Retreat which was provided by the Redemptorist Fathers. The topic of his reflection is a reminder to us that "Actions speak louder than words!".Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

C&SI are delighted to announce that we are returning to local radio on West Limerick 102fm every Sunday from 7 - 8pm. We hope that local listeners will join us there and share the word especially for those who may not be as podcast-savy.We will continue of course to post our weekly podcast/programme here!Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

On this weeks podcast, John and Shane meet up with Marcus from the Lough Derg pastoral team to discuss with him the on-going work taking place at one of Ireland's holiest pilgrimage spots - St Patrick's Purgatory on Lough Derg in Co Donegal. Faithful to a tradition inspired by Patrick, who himself found hope and new purpose in his time among the mountains, ​Lough Derg is here to offer opportunities for deep encounter with self ​and with God in these changing timesSt Patrick's Purgatory is an ancient pilgrimage site on Station Island in Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. According to legend, the site dates from the fifth century, when Christ showed Saint Patrick a cave, sometimes referred to as a pit or a well, on Station Island that was an entrance to Purgatory. It is historical importance as a place of pilgrimage comes down to us to the present day. Listen in as John and Marcus take us through the traditional three day pilgrimage but also how the Sanctuary has expanded its ministry in one day retreats, residential retreats, and school retreats and a pilgrim walk. It is also one of the three national pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee 2025 and you can even pick up your own Jubilee 2025 passport!You can find out more about the Sanctuary HERE.Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

On this weeks podcast, John and Shane meet up with Marcus from the Lough Derg pastoral team to discuss with him the on-going work taking place at one of Ireland's holiest pilgrimage spots - St Patrick's Purgatory on Lough Derg in Co Donegal. We have our regular run through the up coming liturgical odds and ends including saints of the week. We check in with Rome to see what Papa Leo has been up to and of course today was the Mass for the Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry in Rome where he was invested with the pallium and the ring of the fisherman. In part three we have  a brief reflection on the Sunday gospel which this weeks is taken from the Great Discourse in the Gospel of St John  with the presentation of the Great Commandment to Love.Invitation to Lough DergFaithful to a tradition inspired by Patrick, who himself found hope and new purpose in his time among the mountains, ​Lough Derg is here to offer opportunities for deep encounter with self ​and with God in these changing timesSt Patrick's Purgatory is an ancient pilgrimage site on Station Island in Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. According to legend, the site dates from the fifth century, when Christ showed Saint Patrick a cave, sometimes referred to as a pit or a well, on Station Island that was an entrance to Purgatory. It is historical importance as a place of pilgrimage comes down to us to the present day. Listen in as John and Marcus take us through the traditional three day pilgrimage but also how the Sanctuary has expanded its ministry in one day retreats, residential retreats, and school retreats and a pilgrim walk. It is also one of the three national pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee 2025 and you can even pick up your own Jubilee 2025 passport!You can find out more about the Sanctuary HERE.Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

We have a BUMPER podcast this week for listeners!So in normal programming which had been planned for quite a number of weeks, John and Shane were delighted to speak to Mother Catherine, the prioress of the Cobh Priory of St Benedict of the Congregation of the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmatre a.k.a. the Tyburn Benedictine Nuns. We learn about the sisters daily life, their history and also their role in honouring the 350 martyrs of Tyburn including St Oliver Plunkett.But obviously given the week that is in it we couldn't ignore the news from Rome and the election of Pope Leo XIV on Thursday so John and Shane had to very quickly get to grips with the information about the new man and rapidly change our plans for this weeks podcast on Friday morning!We do have our regular run through the liturgical odds and ends including up coming saints of the weeks and our congratulations locally to (Fr - to be) Tim Collins who is to be ordained for our home diocese of Limerick on 11 May. Our gospel reflection this week is a tad shorter than usual but hopefully will give listeners some food for thought as we mark the 4th Sunday of Easter also knows as Good Shepherd Sunday or Vocations Sunday and in Ireland in particular we lift up our prayers for the Lord of the Harvest to send labourers into his vineyard. Habemus Papum!Well! Have you caught your breath yet with the speed of events? White smoke on Thursday evening around 5pm Irish time with the presentation of the new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV to the faithful about an hour later. We have a brief chat about what we know so far about the new Holy Father and share some thoughts and a little bit of C&SI speculation as to the days ahead.One thing for listeners is to have good, reliable sources of news information and here on C&SI when it comes to things Papal at the moment we have three solid recommendations:Vatican News (hear it from the horses mouth!The Pillar - the team have done an amazing job of covering the last few weeks, brilliant coverage, loads of digestible information with a solid Catholic understanding of what is going on. CruxNow - John Allen and Co provide excellent coverage and analysis as always.One article which caught our eye is the reportage from a press conference given by the American Cardinals - have a look and see what you think.Contemplative love at the heart of the ChurchOne of the things we like to do on the podcast is to help listeners explore the many facets of religious life in the church. On this weeks podcast we were delighted to chat to Mother Catherine of St Benedict's Priory in Cobh, Co Cork who shares with us the contemplative Benedictine life of the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmatre. She shares with us their daily life, the history and foundation of the congregation in France, its exile to the UK and the fortuitous story of how they came to be custodians of the memory of the Reformation martyrs at Tyburn in London. Tyburn Nuns main web site in UKSt Benedict's Priory Cobh webpageText us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

So in normal programming excerpt this week which had been planned for quite a number of weeks, John and Shane were delighted to speak to Mother Catherine, the prioress of the Cobh Priory of St Benedict of the Congregation of the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmatre a.k.a. the Tyburn Benedictine Nuns. We learn about the sisters daily life, their history and also their role in honouring the 350 martyrs of Tyburn including St Oliver Plunkett.One of the things we like to do on the podcast is to help listeners explore the many facets of religious life in the church. On this weeks podcast we were delighted to chat to Mother Catherine of St Benedict's Priory in Cobh, Co Cork who shares with us the contemplative Benedictine life of the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Montmatre. She shares with us their daily life, the history and foundation of the congregation in France, its exile to the UK and the fortuitous story of how they came to be custodians of the memory of the Reformation martyrs at Tyburn in London. Tyburn Nuns main web site in UKSt Benedict's Priory Cobh webpageText us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

Well! Have you caught your breath yet with the speed of events? White smoke on Thursday evening around 5pm Irish time with the presentation of the new Holy Father Pope Leo XIV to the faithful about an hour later. We have a brief chat about what we know so far about the new Holy Father and share some thoughts and a little bit of C&SI speculation as to the days ahead.One thing for listeners is to have good, reliable sources of news information and here on C&SI when it comes to things Papal at the moment we have three solid recommendations:Vatican News (hear it from the horses mouth!The Pillar - the team have done an amazing job of covering the last few weeks, brilliant coverage, loads of digestible information with a solid Catholic understanding of what is going on. CruxNow - John Allen and Co provide excellent coverage and analysis as always.One article which caught our eye is the reportage from a press conference given by the American Cardinals - have a look and see what you think.Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

On this weeks podcast John and Shane delve into the world events coming from Rome after the death of Pope Francis. We reflect back on the funeral of Pope Francis and then look forward to the process of the Novemdiales, the General Congregations and then the Conclave itself.Conclave isn't just something where we are passive bystanders. In an interview with The Pillar  Bishop Varden reflects on praying in a papal interregnum: ‘We’re never passive bystanders’.In terms of some websites for information which we would recommend as being solid and also covering the nuances of things Catholic:Vatican NewsThe Pillar (substack) -highly recommended!Before ‘habemus papam’A ‘sede vacante’ lexicon: Know your congregations from your conclavesCruxEWTN Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]

On this weeks podcast John and Shane delve into the world events coming from Rome after the death of Pope Francis. We reflect back on the funeral of Pope Francis and then look forward to the process of the Novemdiales, the General Congregations and then the Conclave itself.May is the beginning of the Summer in Ireland and May 1st is the historical Celtic festival of Bealtaine. But of course it is also the month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary so over the month of May our music choices will have a very strong Marian focus :)We have our regular run through the liturgical odds and ends in part one including the saints of the week coming.We have our regular weekly reflection on the Sunday gospel which is from gospel of St John (21: 1-19) and reflects on Jesus dialogue with Peter asking him to "Feed my sheep". Conclave isn't just something where we are passive bystanders. In an interview with The Pillar  Bishop Varden reflects on praying in a papal interregnum: ‘We’re never passive bystanders’.In terms of some websites for information which we would recommend as being solid and also covering the nuances of things Catholic:Vatican NewsThe Pillar (substack) -highly recommended!Before ‘habemus papam’A ‘sede vacante’ lexicon: Know your congregations from your conclavesCruxEWTN Text us at +353 874668950 or email at [email protected]