Tag Archives: candle

ALMOST one thousand lights shone out of the darkness at an Ennis church on Wednesday evening, each one a beacon of hope that we will come through the current Covid-19 crisis. Cloughleigh Church was lit up with hundreds of candles in a special ceremony which was recorded and will be broadcast on Fr Ger Fitzgerald’s Facebook page. A number of people living in Cloughleigh also played their part by placing their own lights in the windows of their homes. According to Fr Ger he has been “overwhelmed” with the response to the Light up the Dark idea, and he hopes the broadcast will “bring a moment of peace to people.” “The idea for the Light up the Dark came, first of all, from the general sense of unease, uncertainty and anxiety that is around at the moment because of COVID-19. People are worried about their loved ones, themselves, their jobs and it’s for many a dark moment. So, I was …

Advent at Glenstal Abbey – Back to the Future The 1986 blockbuster film, Back to the Future, is not about Advent, the four-week season preparing for Christmas. However, both the film and the season are focused on time. While the main character of the film moves backwards and then forwards in time, Advent invites us to consider Christ in history, Christ today and Christ in the future. The season is divided into two unequal parts. During the first part of the season until December 16, we prepare for the second coming of Christ, which has not yet happened. We train ourselves to expect Christ’s coming. Our hope for this second coming is not without foundation because we know that Christ has come already 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. Christians await in hope for Christ to come and establish peace and justice in our troubled world. Many recognise the need for genuine peace and wait in hope for Christ’s coming. The …