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For the fainthearted . . .

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Monthly Archives: May 2012

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Every day

For the fainthearted . . .

There was a stunned silence as the hundreds of people filed from the church. We had attended the funeral of a nineteen year old; fit, active, with his whole life ahead of him, he had died in his sleep from no apparent cause. What was there one might say? Nothing.

Had it been my son, I could not have shown the dignity of the bereaved parents.

A colleague, charged with the task of saying something, spoke of how the young man’s life had been filled with so much that was …

Sermon for Trinity Sunday, 4th June 2012

For the fainthearted . . .

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory ‘ Isaiah 6:3

Back in the 1960s, a tape recording was made of children from Dublin’s north inner city retelling Bible stories in their own way.  A decade ago, the stories were put into a cartoon animation called ‘Give up yer aul sins’.  One of the lines that sticks in the memory is a child recalling John the Baptist sending his disciples to question Jesus.  The child’s version of the question they asked is, …

Waiting time

For the fainthearted . . .

‘Liverpool 08 – European City of Culture’ says the logo on the carpet, betraying its age.  The airport operators could probably provide an accurate estimate of how many feet have walked on the carpet since. Contemplation of the carpet arises from the fact that after eight o’clock in the evening, there is only one more flight from the airport, that to Dublin, and it not until quarter to ten; and the fact that there is not much else to occupy the mind.

An industrial landscape fills the view across the …

Flag waving

For the fainthearted . . .

There are two flags in my study; one royal blue and white and bearing the name and crest of Leinster Rugby, for which I buy a season ticket each year, the other the sky blue and white colours of the French club Aviron Bayonnais, whom I follow from afar, the flag being a souvenir of a trip to San Sebastian to see Bayonne beat Stade Francais. To be honest, neither flag has ever been waved in anger, not even with half hearted enthusiasm – waving flags brings too many memories.…

A matter of taste

For the fainthearted . . .

A ’99’ to round off a riverside walk.  The cone was wrapped in a paper serviette and handed across the counter. Stepping out into the May sunshine, a bench that might have been set to overlook the river, instead ran parallel with the street, giving a view of passing traffic and houses opposite. Spurning such a panorama, a low stone wall provided a resting place beside the dark waters that were once a major thoroughfare.

The ice cream had been pumped from a machine, curving upwards in a swirl. What …

Jesus and Husqvarna

For the fainthearted . . .

Monday is the day off, except when it’s not. On the first Monday in May, there was a wedding. On the second Monday in May, there was a funeral. On the third Monday in May, there was a meeting two hours’ drive away. So tomorrow is the fourth Monday in May, and may provide the first day off in a month.

This is not to complain, many farmers will work Seven days a week for month after month and they will have no guarantee of pay at the end of …

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