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Spiritual Director's Page:
IntroductionWelcome to Muintir Mhuire’s first On Line Spiritual Direction section. It is important that we use the Internet as a means of Guidance and Direction to those who now have large scale access to the Web. All of the Prayers and reflections written in this section are given to help someone enter into a reflective and prayerful athmosphere.This section may have an Introduction, a Topic and a Conclusion each of which will be on an area of Spiritual interest.
The first Topic is “Depression “ and this will bring us through the some areas of concern, Encouragement and Hope, the Will of God and finally Conversion.
Topic - Depression
 Human Frailty | Heavenly Father, Because of our selfishness and human frailty we have made ourselves even more unworthy of your extraordinary love and at the same time much more in need of your grace. When we look to ourselves we see our inability to be what we want to be and our constant failure to do the good we want to do. We become discouraged and disappointed. We become depressed and disabled. We lose the ability to be creative and productive. We fall into a spiral of self-analysis and self-deception and contemplate self-destruction as a means of escape. We are in pain and have neither the will nor the energy to break free. Set us free from our selfishness and misery, from lust, greed and self-pity, from our pride, arrogance and ignorance and from every form of sinfulness. Let your Holy Spirit heal us and guide us that we may begin to live again. Help us to respond to your love.
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Topic : Freedom of Self
| Last year brought many blessings and we were very pleased with the continued success and progress of our many members. The continued progress of our passed members as we see them go from strength to strength gives us great courage and hope as we continue to guide and encourage those who are beginning their journey of discernment and renewal. That lovely passage from the Book of Lamentations (3: 21-24.) continues to direct us as we search for hope and change in our individual situations. “This is what I shall tell my heart, And so recover hope: The favours of the Lord are not all past, His kindnesses are not exhausted; Every morning they are renewed; Great is his faithfulness. My portion is the Lord says my soul And so I will hope in Him.” It is always our experience that every moment is a new opportunity, the possibility of a new beginning; it is because of this reality that we are confident that everything can either be changed or seen from a different perspective. The fact that we are alive means that we have the capacity for self movement. Not only can we move but we should be moving. The possibility of change is in our control. There is every reason why we should set out to improve and change not only what is around us but even more so ourselves. Once we come to an awareness of our true freedom we know that real change is possible. What does it mean to be Free? True freedom has more to do with our state of mind and can only be achieved when we are at ease with ourselves and our environment no matter what our circumstances. Freedom of thought and expression come before freedom of movement. Our freedom comes from the fact that we exist and are independant agents. While it is to our advantage that we are not alone, we nevertheless are curtailed in our actions because we must allow for the freedom and actions of others. We have to acknowledge the freedom and rights of others as well as our own. For all who believe in God there is always the realisation that all our freedom comes from Him to whom we owe our existence. Many people feel trapped in their particular circumstances and feel unable to be free. There is always a degree of truth in their assessment of their situation. Yet when they discuss their situation with someone, they become aware of different aspects that they had not seen while contemplating alone. It is a big surprise for many that by discussing a difficulty they can see a way around it. Deciding to stay isolated and trying to deal with everything on one’s own can be the biggest obstacle to finding a way forward.  |
Topic Divine Providence
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The following are a selection of short stories taken from a collection of true stories relating the experiences of Fr. Donal O’Callaghan our Spiritual Director. They give some insights into the varied and grace filled life of a priest as he experiences God’s grace. They are given here as witness to God’s |
Topic: Basic Christian Community
| Being one of the many new communities emerging in the Roman Catholic Church today we take our place beside a rich variety of Young Christian Communities who being true to their name are always ready to co-operate, to encourage, sharing resources and working in solidarity with each another. It is wonderful to experience the mutual respect, encouragement, and deep prayerful communion found in our time in a rich variety of vibrant Christian Communities. What the world needs and is receiving is a growth in the variety and number of basic Christian Communities. These through prayer and dependence on God are discerning and responding generously to the needs of our time. They are also discovering anew that the Loving God who created us is very close to us and anticipates all our needs and provides for us abundantly. From the experience of community life in Muintir Mhuire, I can see that an enormous amount can be achieved, with what from a worldly point of view seems to be very little. The hard work and determination of a few who depend on Divine Providence and who are convinced of the value of spending considerable time in prayer results in an ever increasing variety and volume of good works that bring great joy to the community and its faithful supporters. Through these good works not only are people outside the community being helped, but those within are gaining the sense of self confidence and self worth that helps them to make great progress in personal development. It is truly in giving that we receive. |
Topic: God is never in recession
| I must say that this too has opened my eyes to the reality that God provides all the resources necessary for every good work. All God needs is our co-operation. We too easily allow greed and corruption to prevail. As Christians we should lead by example. The responsibility for change lies with us. We need to accept that we can and should use less of the world’s resources for ourselves and share more. There is far more joy to be got from giving than from hoarding. The recent economic crises are helping many to accept that they can, not only survive but thrive on less. This could be a great lesson to all of us. We do not need to be hording for the rainy day while there are many around us who are already getting wet. All who give in God’s name know that there is no limit to God’s resources and that God is never out done in generosity. Having lived totally on Divine Providence for the past seven years, we can honestly say that we are better off now than when we started. In the meantime we as a community have not only been able to have enough to provide for all the young people, who sought our help and decided to come and join us, but our effort to redistribute medical and other supplies has been of enormous benefit to many in great need. All this has been possible because God truly loves us and we are greatly blessed. Once we forget about ourselves and abandon our concern for our own needs, we come to realise that God will use us in His great and loving plan and He will show us the way and provide fully for all of us. From the beginning we felt very strongly that we should depend entirely on Divine Providence. This has meant that we ask God to supply all our needs. We live trusting that He will guide us if we are faithful in fasting and in prayer, that He will provide the helpers, the people in need, the resources and all that He sees necessary for the work that we do. We do not expect that to happen without our involvement and hard work. Confidence in God gives us the ability to persevere even when everything seems to be against our survival. Time and time again God has given us great encouragement as he teaches us that nothing worthwhile is accomplished without sacrifice and self-denial. |
Topic: From small beginnings
| Muintir Mhuire began with little or no assets, no funds or source of income, only with divine inspiration and a strong faith in God our Father. It is our belief that God continues on a daily basis to show his unlimited love for us and cares abundantly for all our needs. To date He has done that in extraordinary ways through those He has put us in contact with and who have come to share our vision. Also His love is shown to us by the generosity of our supporters, benefactors and friends. While we are happy to share with everyone, what we do, it is entirely up to them to decide if they would like to become involved with us. We welcome all who desire to be involved with us and always emphasise that our greatest need is Prayer. It is important to record also that from time to time we are surrounded by those who bemoan everyone and everything and who knock everything and tell us all our prayer and work will achieve little. The parable of the sower who sows on different soil is helpful here. Some began with great enthusiasm but with the first difficulty they became frightened and withered away others last a little longer but are weakened by the detractors and pessimists and are unable to stay the course. Yet those who stay the course produce an abundant harvest. All of those who have been involved with us have played an important role and are appreciated and they have contributed in a positive way to our development. We thank God for each one. There are dark days when we find ourselves abandoned and alone and no indication of where the next act of support will come from. It is precisely while traveling through this desert, aware of the emptiness around us, that God gently and powerfully renews our energy and encourages us through gestures of kindness that always come through those who have faith and trust in Him. |
Muintir Mhuire, Muintir Mhuire, | Phone numbers: Mobiles: 086 257 1445, 087 7777970, 086 8247300 |