Numbers Drawn were 14,16,29,31

No €17,000 Jackpot Winner

6 Match 3s win €167 each

Next week’s jackpot is €18,000

Numbers Drawn were 10,26,31,32

No €18,000 Jackpot Winner

1  Match 3 won €1,000

Next week’s jackpot is €19,000

Numbers Drawn were 04,13,14,22

No €19,000 Jackpot Winner

26 Match 3s win €39 each

Next week’s jackpot is €20,000

Numbers Drawn were 04,11,29,32

No €20,000 Jackpot Winner

2 Match 3s win €500 each

Next weeks jackpot is €20,000

Until Bingo resumes lotto draw will take place in the foyer of the Parish Centre and will be livestreamed on the Portlaoise Parish facebook page. Books of tickets are available at the Parish Centre. Thank you for participating.

Numbers Drawn were 08,13,27,29

No €20,000 Jackpot Winner

7 Match 3s win €143 each

Next week’s jackpot is €20,000

Portlaoise Parish Community Lotto Draw Results for Thursday 30th July 2020

No €20,000 Jackpot Winner

16 Match 3s win €63 each

Next week’s jackpot is €20,000

Numbers Drawn were 05,15,17,26

No €20,000 Jackpot Winner

22 Match 3s win €46 each

Next week’s jackpot is €20,000

Numbers Drawn were 01,12,19,32

No €20,000 Jackpot Winner

3 Match 3s win €334 each

Next week’s jackpot is €20,000

We are seeing now in the cities throughout America, the kind of violence that comes after justice is denied, and after oppression has lived in a land and amongst a people for far too long.

What you see on American streets now is a cry from the oppressed. It’s a cry from those who have been left out and looked over far too long. They are exercising their 1st Amendment rights. We don’t condone rioting. We don’t condone burning. We don’t condone looting. And we don’t condone irresponsible lawlessness. But neither can we condone racism and injustice, which has been in this American community for over 400 years, starting even before it became a nation in 1776.

America’s national sin is injustice. America’s national sin is systemic racism. America’s national sin is the denial to give opportunity to those who have been oppressed, left out, locked out, and given almost nothing to survive on for over 400 years in their nation.

What we’re seeing in America, is a new brand of   activism. Young blacks, young whites, young browns, college students who are out of school now because of COVID-19. They are now fed up and tired, and they’re standing tall. They’re standing toe-to-toe with authorities asking for denied justice.

Dr. Martin Luther King said that protest is simply the voice of the unheard. People like George Floyd, who suffered by a brutal murder, have been unheard too long. Millions across the Globe are standing now to demand justice. What you’re seeing now is simply America being called upon to pay the taxes for the racism and injustice that’s gone on far too long. If society want to stop paying the taxes for the wrong, then it also has to sit down and hammer out a new agenda where everybody’s included.

Racism is a virus that is not contained just in the U.S. but in every community across our planet. Here in Ireland in recent days I have listened to many testimonies regarding how people are judged and prejudiced because of the colour of their skin and unique ethnicity. The scandal of Direct    Provision System in this Republic will be lamented by future generations. It’s tolerated by the establishment because of the toxic silence of xenophobia on the ground.

Coronavirus has given us all an incredible opportunity to experience something of the vulnerability that so many of our brothers and sisters of humanity have lived with always.

With newly opened eyes, we should be meeting each other with compassion and empathy and accountability. And yet, hate and polarization dig in, and we squander the life-giving wisdom we could gain!

We are threatened by infection on the rise from not only one pandemic but two. There is COVID-19 and there is the deadly virus of white supremacy. Each have their super spreaders.

Science has guided us in flattening the curve of one. Let us pray that Holy Spirit, She who dwells in all people and creates unity across diversity, will offer the vaccine and cure for the other.

Matthew 25:35-40 

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’  And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

The post Black Lives Matter…. All Lives Matter appeared first on Portlaoise Parish.

In 1263 a German priest, Fr. Peter of Prague, made a pilgrimage to Rome. He stopped in Bolsena, Italy, to celebrate Mass at the Church of St. Christina. At the time he was having doubts about Jesus being truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. He was affected by the growing debate among certain theologians who, for the first time in the history of the Church, began introducing doubts about the Body and Blood of Christ being actually present in the consecrated bread and wine. In response to his doubt, when he recited the prayer of consecration as he celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, blood started seeping from the consecrated host and onto the altar and corporal.

Fr. Peter reported this miracle to Pope Urban IV, who at the time was nearby in Orvieto. The pope sent delegates to investigate and ordered that host and blood-stained corporal be brought to Orvieto. The relics were then placed in the Cathedral of Orvieto, where they remain today.

In the gospels there are plenty of times when Jesus is with people eating and drinking and today’s gospel is no exception. As always, Jesus is concerned with people and their real needs. They are hungry, so he feeds them. He is gracious in his abundant giving. But he feeds them not only with food; he also feeds them at a much deeper level. He teaches them, he welcomes them and he heals them. He treats us the same way; when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus welcomes us, he speaks to us and through his Body and Blood, we are nourished and we are healed.

The Eucharist is God’s greatest gifts to us. But it is not our right and we cannot demand it. Pope Francis reminds us of this when he says, ‘the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.’ That’s all of us and each of us!

Today, we are not only celebrating receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, we are called to remember that we are the Body of Christ, the Church. As St. Paul reminds us, ‘Now Christ’s body is yourselves, and each of you with a part to play in the whole.’ (1 Cor. 12.27). Today reminds and challenges to realise that we are the living Church, the Body of Christ, whose head is Jesus himself. Through our communion with Jesus and each other we are called to be living stones making a spiritual house.

St. Augustine, the great church writer said, ‘become what you receive.’ If we celebrate the Eucharist with each other and receive the Body and Blood of Christ, then we are called to be the Body of Christ, the Church today. And we are asked to be a missionary church. At the end every celebration of the Eucharist we are sent out with this great prayer of mission, let us go now to love and serve the Lord. If we share in the gift of Jesus’ Body and Blood, then we are also asked to share this with others when leave church. Today on this wonderful feast, may each of us be fed, nourished and healed through the Body and Blood of Christ.

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Blood of Christ, inebriate me.

Water from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passion of Christ, strengthen me.

O Good Jesus, hear me.

Within your wounds hide me.

Permit me not to be separated from you.

From the wicked foe, defend me.

At the hour of my death, call me

and bid me come to you

That with your saints I may praise you

For ever and ever. Amen.

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The global pandemic, has had a shattering effect on humanity. This deadly virus, has made no exceptions, its ugly presence has wounded Princes, Prime Ministers, celebrities, parents, grandparents, siblings, husbands, wives, colleagues and especially the most vulnerable in our society, the elderly and those whose health was already compromised. Living in a time of pandemic, has been difficult, lockdown and necessary restrictions meant that the ordinary things we once took for granted now are precious moments filled with gratitude as we return to a “New Normal”. As Church and members of Christ’s Body, we have felt the pain of a physical disconnection from our place of Worship but we too have discovered resilience, consolation and hope in the presence of Jesus, whose intimate affection for us thankfully does not require any social distance. Christ’s presence, has been felt by the heroic staff in our health service, Gardai, retail workers, postal service to name but a few of the many agencies who personified Christ, whose empathy in the Gospel tells “of Course I want to heal you”.

Since the start of Lockdown, I have celebrated 25 funerals. I pray for all families whose bereavement was so difficult because of the restrictions in place as a result of Covid-19. May they rest in peace.

It has been so difficult not to be able to celebrate Mass publically. Whist engagement with the online was a vehicle to communicate, nothing can compare to the personal encounter, that we now can return to after almost four months. The research team at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, at Dublin City University has been engaged in a research project regarding adult faith, which includes how adults coped whilst in lockdown. It showed a significant increase in engagement with the online world, seeking a forum to be nourished by faith. However it also highlighted that the vast majority intend once public Mass returns to disengage from the webcam and return to the personal encounter of community in their local church.

Community is key to our local gathering. In our pathway ahead as Church we seriously need to reflect how present and relevant we are in the lives of our people. If not we will quickly return to the familiar routine where in many parishes there was a clear disconnect between Church and the local community.

As we return to celebrating public Mass, we need to do this sensibly and safely. I cannot police our local church, nor do I want to and I trust in all our faith communities, we will hold fast to our individual and collective responsibility, to ensure health and safety, is thoroughly upheld. In a time of pandemic, the experience of worship will be different. Pope Francis, has named that those who are vulnerable and need to protect their health should not in any way feel obliged to attend.

Social Distancing is fundamental to keeping us all safe. Our pews will be clearly marked to allow for this. Hand sanitising will be provided at all entrances. Pews will be sanitised after Masses. Any day you gather for Mass is sufficient for your traditional Sunday obligation. This is really important to allow as many as possible to return to Mass. Many liturgies continue to be available on the parish webcams.

I am also conscious of the kindness expressed to us priests during this time of lockdown. Surely this is a huge wake up call that the majority of clergy in every diocese had to cocoon. Elderly men, deemed vulnerable by public health officials, now expected to roll up their sleeves and get back to maintaining essential services.

It is this maintenance model of church that unfortunately makes lockdown the dress rehearsal for a sizable proportion of parishes in all our Diocese. Whilst Church leaders, have given great detail regarding health and safety measures for reopening Churches, little if any honest discernment has been shared on this obvious reality. How can we breathe life and energy into parishes no longer served by clergy? How can we support Christian leadership in a real way so that lockdown is not a permanent reality?

Crisis and pandemic, despite heavy burden, can also offer opportunity and hope. In our pathway to recovery, we must be honest and real, especially as clergy in our responsible role, to facilitate real action, that will halt the mechanical maintenance of services and perhaps begin renewal and new life to our faith communities.

I take comfort in the simple and profound promise “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am with you”.

The post Returning to Mass appeared first on Portlaoise Parish.

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Ireland have launched a new study, Protection with Dignity: Roadmap to System Change, which identifies necessary steps for system change to put an end to Direct Provision.

Five years after publication of the first fundamental review of the McMahon Report on direct provision there is unquestionable momentum for system change, especially in how protection applicants are accommodated. The Working Group on the Protection Process was focused on reform. Implementation of the Working Group’s 173 recommendations has been piecemeal and incomplete. The inconsistency in living conditions and standards between centres remains and was exacerbated during 2019 by recourse to unsuitable and costly emergency accommodation.

Undoubtedly the McMahon Report has informed policy since publication and there have been some notable improvements to the system in that period. In particular, the resolution of an estimated 2,000 long stay five year plus cases, commencement of the Single Procedure, the development of National Accommodation Standards and the extension of the remit of the Ombudsman’s Office to Direct Provision. Yet many key recommendations have only been partially implemented:communal catering is still only available to half of residents and additional living space has not been widely provided for families and individuals.

While the Government accepted the report, it never appointed an implementation body or adopted a clear implementation plan. Overall, the implementation process was uneven, delayed and at times only reluctantly undertaken. For example, the right to work was only realised after the Supreme Court intervention in 2018. Moreover, the recommended increases to the weekly allowances were only conceded in 2019. The result of this neglect is a system now deemed by many not ‘fit for purpose’ to meet post McMahon Report challenges such as a national housing crisis and the Covid-19 outbreak.

The newly adopted programme for government, Our Shared Future, commits to “ending the Direct Provision system and will replace it with a new international protection accommodation policy centred on a not for profit approach.”

The new Minister for Children, Disability, Equality and Integration, Roderic O’Gorman, recently cautioned Green Party members that it is not going to be easy as “there are 7,700 people who need to be provided with alternative accommodation”. Three mechanisms for system change: expedited long stayer scheme to achieve a twelve month case processing target; new model of accommodation provision based on a ‘distribution key’; and a holistic range of person centre supports from the moment of arrival.

As Direct Provision was designed for short stays of no more than six months and the stated Government goal is to deliver final decisions in twelve months, we deem long stayers as persons more than two years in the process. This group should now be fast-tracked through the system. Such a new expedited long stayer scheme, using Working Group mechanisms, could eliminate backlogs. The aim would be to resolve the status of an estimated 2,750 two year+ cases over a six month period.

The current model of accommodation provision is not sustainable. A new model derived from EU Resettlement Programmes should be developed. This would be local authority led, based around a ‘distribution key’ to ensure equal geographical distribution and underpinned by designated hub locations with sufficient population, economic strength and support services. Smaller towns could act as spokes receiving less protection applicants but linked to services centrally in hubs. The new structure would be underpinned by an independent living model enabling protection applicants to have greater autonomy and effective control over their lives.

This approach would allow local authorities to manage community expectations and lead to equitable sharing of accommodation responsibility. The new housing responsibility for protection applicants would have to be balanced with existing responsibilities for vulnerable households and social housing needs locally. Clear communication will be very important to avoid frustration and tension between groups with competing housing needs.

Accommodation centres built on state land could act as a safety valve at times of large and unanticipated demand. Essentially, capacity added to state centres could act as a backstop long term for unanticipated large inflows or in the shorter term to facilitate the transition process from existing centres to the new local authority distribution model.

International resettlement experience demonstrates the benefits for protection applicants being welcomed in a communal setting for short initial periods. Newly arrived applicants should receive targeted reception and orientation supports through a one-stop-shop information and referral service and medical screening and vulnerability assessment to identify specialised needs. To improve long term integration outcomes, the right to work should be provided as early as possible, in line with international best practice. Barriers, such as those relating to driving licenses and opening bank accounts should be removed. Education is vital for the wellbeing of protection applicants.

At the centre of the protection system are people. Individuals, children and families who have been forcibly displaced from their homes and crossed borders in search of protection. Each has a name, a face and a story. Each is deserving of having their protection claim processed fairly and speedily and to be received and accommodated with dignity while awaiting a final decision. System changes require time and space to affect. Five years after the Working Group reported we have learned a roadmap is not enough – there needs to be an implementation plan and an adequately resourced implementing body to ensure system change committed to over the lifetime of this Government happens.

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During the past ten days, five lives have been lost to suicide in Laois. Wonderful lives, abruptly ended, leaving behind families overwhelmed with grief and sadness. We live in most challenging times, I suggest all our vulnerabilities are exaggerated in a time of crisis. The Coronavirus, is not just a threat to our physical health, but also adds greatly to the strain of our mental health. Lockdown, has intensified fear and anxiety to many people who live with struggling mental health. By the end of this pandemic perhaps more people will have died in Laois as a result of suicide than the actual Coronavirus.

Suicide prevention remains a universal challenge. Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for people of all ages. It is responsible for over 800,000 deaths, which equates to one suicide every 40 seconds.

Every life lost represents someone’s partner, child, parent, friend or colleague. For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected. This amounts to 108 million people per year who are profoundly impacted by suicidal behaviour. Suicidal behaviour includes suicide, and also encompasses suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. For every suicide, 25 people make a suicide attempt and many more have serious thoughts of suicide.

Suicide is the result of a convergence of genetic, psychological, social and cultural and other risk factors, sometimes combined with experiences of trauma and loss. People who take their own lives represent a heterogeneous group, with unique, complex and multifaceted causal influences preceding their final act. Such heterogeneity presents challenges for suicide prevention experts. These challenges can be overcome by adopting a multilevel and cohesive approach to suicide prevention.

Donal Walsh, before his death, pleaded earnestly to his young peers to value life. A message powerfully communicated to every Secondary School in this Country, in his DVD “Life is Gift”. “I realised that I was fighting for my life for the third time in four years and this time I have no hope. Yet still I hear of young people committing suicide and I’m sorry but it makes me feel nothing but anger. I feel angry that these people choose to take their lives, to ruin their families and to leave behind a mess that no one can clean up.” He pleaded, “Please, as a 16-year-old who has no say in his death sentence, who has no choice in the pain he is about to cause and who would take any chance at even a few more months on this planet: appreciate what you have, know that there are always other options and help is always there.”

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,”. It’s consequence leaves a permanent heartache in the lives of loved ones who are left behind wounded, bereaved, broken and so often void of the apparent answer to why a sibling, son or daughter, brother or sister, partner, neighbour or friend; should end their life in such a tragic manner. Of course the darkness and despair in those final moments when life is ended by suicide, in no way defines the totality of that persons life. In the same sense “Nothing can separate us from the love of God”.

Gods love is best summed up as our saviour dying out of love on the cross prayed aloud; “Today you will be with me in paradise”. The frequency of suicide is an alarming reminder of how fragile and vulnerable the human mind is. I believe mental illness is the most difficult of any human cross to carry. When illness is physically manifested, it is tangible, acceptable and real. Illness of the mind is more subtle, and less apparent than a broken leg or physical illness. However, mental illness can be hidden, stigmatised and much more difficult to “fix”.

Perhaps the greatest devastation that results from suicide is the unanswered questions that loved ones will forever struggle with. Why did this happen? Should I have recognised the signs? Why did they leave this pain on us? How did I not know that they were so unhappy? I believe the burden, anxiety and overwhelming despair that brings somebody to end their own life is itself the most lonely and vulnerable cross any human has to carry. I suggest that theirs surely is the Kingdom of Heaven – a kingdom that transforms despair into hope, darkness into light, and being lost into the joy of being found. Any individual whose life has ended in the darkness of suicide also has a life story filled with brightness, gentleness and tremendous actions of human love. In these dark days that are so uncertain and difficult for so many, please talk out your fear to somebody. Avail of so many listening ears in family and community who can offer support and help.

It’s ok not to be ok.

There is a vaccine to this dreadful reality, that is to have the courage to seek help, to talk, to avail of so many services waiting for you to listen. If you need someone confidentially to listen …..

The Samaritans

116 123

SM: 087 260 9090

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Ode to a mouse or a spider:

Robbie Burns writes well on the little things. When he was ploughing, he disturbed the home of a mouse. He apologised in a poem. ‘Ode to a mouse.’ He admits too, how careless humans are and disrespectful of the social status of life where every little mouse (and everything else) has a place. But then he wanders towards his own problems:

Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But Och! I backward cast my e’e,

On prospects drear!

An’ forward tho’ I canna see,

I guess an’ fear!

Robbie had a friend in Robert the Bruce (of Scotland). The Scottish myth catches an important Message, for all of us. Robert was on the run from the English and was hiding in a cave. He watched a little spider building a web. It didn’t matter how often the spider failed, he kept going until he finished the job. Robert was inspired. And so we can. It is the little things always.

“The best laid schemes of mice and men (and women too) go often askew.” (Burns)

The blessedness of little things:

Oh it is the little things. It is the gestures. The smile. The word. The call. The thank you. The hello. The –is there anything I can do? The appreciation. The praise. The touch. The shopping for the cocooned. The neighbours on the roads as a guard of honour for the funerals. The handing in of the Trócaire boxes. The collections in case the parish might be short. The opening up. The disinfecting of the churches. The tidy up. The patience of everyone. The small talk of life; the chatter; the gossip; the bantering; the raimeis of everyday. And what then is prayer? It is noticing the little things. The little people. The little gifts. The little beauty. The hidden gems. The wonder. It is being able to see. To take off the shoes. To bow the head. To be grateful. To being aware.

To looking back and remembering the graciousness of life in people. It is looking around and seeing the Godly image in everyone. It is being at Mass and knowing that it is holy ground and listening. It is watching with amusement and amazement the scatter of seed in life and seeing the gentle growth. It is the marvel of Isaiah’s words on the effectiveness of God’s word which depends on our response. Oh it is the little things that matter. Every day and every moment is grace and blessing.

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

taking, as He did, this sinful world

as it is, not as I would have it;

trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him

The post Appreciate Little Things appeared first on Portlaoise Parish.

Our world screams out for poetry even if it can’t cope with it. Faith can only exist in a world of poetry. God is always big and bigger. Little minds have nothing worthwhile to say of God or faith. The rigids and the dogmatics and the absolutes, live in the world of machines or robotic faith, and not in God’s world or among real and true humans. We need to rewind and revisit Buzz Aldrin some 50 years ago: Pause, contemplate, give thanks and enter into real Communion. Allow the unexpected to happen. Believe that Shane Lowry can win the Open. Believe that the broken Tiger can win the Masters. Believe that Kilkenny can win the All Ireland. Believe that anything can happen and that we can reach out beyond the confines of our present thinking and celebrate with a new heart. Oh yes. And why not – believe in miracles ……

A motivational speaker walked confidently around the room holding a glass of water while leading a seminar on stress management. Everyone guessed she was going to ask the ultimate question, ‘Half empty or half full?’ She fooled them all. “How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile. Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz. She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” She continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.” “As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden – holding stress longer and better each time practiced.

So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Pick them up again tomorrow if you must.

And remember;

1. Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon, and some days you’re the statue!

2. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4. Drive carefully… It’s not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5. If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

6. If you lend someone €20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8. Never buy a car you can’t push.

9. Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.

10. Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.

11. Since it’s the early worm that gets eaten by the bird – sleep late.

12. The second mouse gets the cheese.

13. When everything’s coming your way you’re in the wrong lane.

14. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

15. Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

16. We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colours, but they all have to live in the same box.

17. A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

18. Save the earth….. It’s the only planet with chocolate!

We all know that life is the best educator.
Simply its never to late to begin again. Every day the challenge is for us all to see the glass half full…. The more we grow in our inner journey the greater we will notice the beauty and gift that is this moment.. so be positive, calm and mindful…. Enjoy the beauty of this Harvest time. May the month of August be a healthy and happy one for us all.

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I was moved by Brendan O Connor’s interview with Brent Pope recently. Brent spoke of his reflective-time during the lockdown. He thought of his mother in New Zealand who had gone into a home. He thought of those 30 years in Ireland away from home and family. He realised what he had missed. He spoke of his father. He reminisced on his visits home. Holiday visits are less real – he missed the humdrum of ordinary family life. He spoke of his father’s funeral. He spoke of not having a wife and not giving his family, children. He recalled why he left New Zealand. He was a well-known rugby player and a successful coach. He was paralysed by self-doubt, shyness; lack of confidence; mental health problems. A high-achiever couldn’t admit to such problems in a macho-culture.

He found a niche for himself in Ireland as a rugby pundit on the media and as a businessman. He now spends his time talking to men and helping them to speak about their inner stories.

It was a very moving programme. If such a successful person could be so nervous and riddled with doubt – how many more of us, might admit to feeling much the same? Would that be why many of our intelligent and articulate folk are so reticent in venturing into print? How little we know.

People aren’t only wearing masks these Covid days; we all wear masks. My own view is that the work in a Parish and in the Church, is primarily to give people confidence; to help people believe in themselves; to nurture the gift of God in everyone. We are all John the Baptists. We call out the wonder of God in every person. Mental health seems to be a major concern at present.

What is positive mental health?

Positive mental health is about reaching our potential and feeling like we always have the chance to give everything our best shot. Not just feeling positive, but also getting out there in the big bad world. Positive mental health not only prevents mental ill health, it also leads to greater enjoyment and satisfaction with one’s life.

TELL SOMEONE

This is the most important one. The biggest thing you can do to improve your mental health is talk to someone about how you are feeling. A friend, family member or counsellor if needed. You don’t need to feel the way you do and there are lots of people willing to listen. So do your mind a favour and talk.

Don’t Judge

A teacher teaching math in a class of 6-year-olds asked a boy named Adi.

‘ Adi, if I give you two mangos and another two mangos, how many mangoes will you have?

He answered “5 mangoes”.

She was surprised by his reply but she tried again. Now this time she uses her fingers to make him count with her.

“Ok Adi, look if I give you One, Two. Two mangoes and another one-two. Two mangoes. How many mangoes will you have?”

He again answered ” five mangoes”

This time she gets really annoyed by his answer but she controlled her anger and remembered that his mother once told her that he likes the strawberries. So, she tried this.

“Ok Adi, If I give you two strawberries and another two strawberries. Now, how many strawberries do you have?”

“teacher, 4 strawberries”.

She felt relieved that he is back on track. So, again she asked him.

“Now tell me, Adi, If I give you two mangoes and another two mangoes. how many mangoes do you have?”

He answered ” teacher, five mangoes”.

The teacher outburst in anger ”how can you have five mangoes if I give you four mangoes?”

“teacher, because One mango I have in my bag”.

Complete silence. The teacher calms down and regrets her anger.

Moral of the Story: Two sides to every story. Never judge others.

We should not make a decision for others without knowing their point of view. We make the decision on the basis of what is logic rightness i.e. what is the obvious answer and don’t try to know the practical rightness i.e. what is the actual truth.

The post Mind Your Mind appeared first on Portlaoise Parish.

John Hume put his devotion to what was right above what was best for himself, his life’s work was given its ultimate return in the Good Friday Agreement he signed 22 years ago. Hume had a multitude of qualities that allowed him be a singularly resolute peacemaker during The Troubles but his selflessness was surely the one that shines above all others.

That very same agreement that brought peace to the island arguably cost the party he founded electorally in the years since he stepped back from public life. This very nobility was clear even in his retirement and in 2010 he was named as Ireland’s greatest person.

Hume was born in Derry in 1937 and like many of his generation his Catholic faith was at the core of his upbringing. He studied for the priesthood in Maynooth but ultimately returned to his native city to become a teacher after graduating with a degree in French and History.

His career began as an organiser. He founded the first Northern Irish Credit Union and became president of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) while in his twenties. Throughout the 1960s Hume became a central figure in the city’s Civil Rights Movement as he and others sought fairness in franchise, jobs and housing. It was a fraught time in which the movement faced violence from the State and militants from various factions became increasingly active. Hume was literally at the front of tense marches that marked the period and can be seen in a documentary released last year facing paratroopers in the week before Bloody Sunday.

Hume was first elected as an independent nationalist candidate for the Foyle constituency in 1969 before founding the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) a couple of years later. As violence exploded in Northern Ireland throughout the 1970s, Hume remained committed to politics and was elected leader of the SDLP and to the European Parliament at the end of the decade.

He was elected as an MP in 1983, a position he held until 2005. As efforts intensified to find peace in Northern Ireland throughout the 1980s, Hume continued to denounce violence while also beginning dialogue with Gerry Adams, then the leader of Sinn Féin. The long-time moderate nationalist was criticised by politicians and commentators from both sides of the border for his engagement with Adams, but the Hume-Adams talks as they became known are now seen as a vital step in the peace process.

In the 1990s, Hume was the preeminent voice of nationalism in the north and he participated in various peace efforts that sought to find a resolution to the conflict. When the Provisional IRA called a ceasefire in 1994 and again in 1996, Sinn Féin were allowed to enter the talks process, as were loyalists who had also called a ceasefire. The ultimate result of these renewed efforts was the Good Friday Agreement, which was secured following a tortuous process at which Hume was at the centre. When the agreement was passed by a huge majority in the Republic of Ireland, it was opposed by Ian Paisley’s DUP and was passed by a smaller majority in Northern Ireland’s referendum. It was Hume who took perhaps the largest responsibility in selling the deal, famously appearing with the UUP’s David Trimble on stage with U2′s Bono.

In 1998, he and Trimble were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in securing peace in Ireland. Hume’s retreat from public life was due to a struggle with dementia, something his wife of 58 years spoke about.

Upon his 80th birthday in 2017, Hume received praise from all around the globe. President Higgins said the “moral architect of an inclusive peace process”, and “a man of courage, a committed European and dedicated and visionary peacemaker”. Bill Clinton called him “the Irish conflict’s Martin Luther King”.

As well as the Noble Peace Prize, Hume was also awarded the Ghandi Peace Prize from the Indian Government and a Knighthood from Pope Benedict XVI.

But while Hume’s legacy may appear to be rooted in the past, it is not a stretch to say that his ideals may well influence the future.

Lord Make me a channel of Your peace

Where there is hatred, let me bring Your love

Where there is injury, Your pardon Lord

And where there’s doubt, true faith in You

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This pandemic, is far from over, whilst hopefully it remains contained, on our Island. Here in Laois, we face the second week of restrictions, I believe necessary, in our collective responsibility to ensure safe public health and our shared desire that children will return to school in September. The recent spike of Covid-19, highlights that the vulnerable remain very susceptible and exposed to this virus. Direct provision residents, meat factory workers and members of the travelling community accounted for many of the confirmed cases in recent weeks. Remember cases are real people not just numbers. I pray that all will make a full recovery and return to good health.

Half of people living in direct provision have been unable to social distance from other residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, while more than 40 per cent continue to share a room with a non-family member, according to new research seen by The Irish Times.

The Irish Refugee Council’s (IRC) Powerless report, which examines the experiences of direct provision residents during the pandemic, says asylum seekers are suffering “fear and trepidation” because of their “inability to control” their health and safety during the pandemic.

The call to end direct provision has become “more compelling than ever” in the context of the pandemic, the council says. The new Government has committed to ending the system.

Two levels of safety standards have been created during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to IRC chief executive Nick Henderson. “One for the general public, where social distancing is encouraged, and another for people in residential settings such as direct provision, where sharing of intimate space is implicitly accepted.”

The study was carried out through an online survey made available to residents between April and June 2020. Some 418 people – 5.4 per cent of people living in direct provision – from 38 direct provision centres and 22 emergency accommodation centres took part.

Sharing space

The IRC found 55 per cent of people surveyed felt unsafe due to the pandemic, while 50 per cent were unable to social distance themselves from other residents. Some 42 per cent said they were sharing a room with a non-family member.

More than 15 per cent shared a room with three people and 5 per cent shared with four people. One respondent said they were sharing a room with 11 others.

More than half of respondents said they shared a bathroom with non-family members and 53 per cent said they continued to eat in a communal dining area. Nearly one-quarter said they did not have regular access to soap and hand sanitiser in their centre.

Respondents expressed concern about overcrowded living conditions. One remarked: “We are powerless, just sitting ducks waiting to die.” A pregnant woman said she lived in “constant fear of being infected” as she shared a kitchen with more than 100 people.

Some participants said they were concerned about the behaviour of fellow residents as some were acting irresponsibly.

Many complained about a lack of communication from managers about the spread of the virus, saying there was “no visibility” about the number of cases at their centre. However, in a small number of cases, respondents said managers had been a source of support in recent months.

Local response

Respondents said some local communities presumed residents had Covid-19 because they lived in direct provision, while one respondent recalled having been described as “Covid people”.

Parents who took part in the survey said the closure of schools meant their children had to learn in overcrowded conditions and were left without a “sense of normalcy” in their lives, according to the report.

Of the 204 respondents who said they were employed, more than one-fifth worked in hospitals, other healthcare settings, or the care sector. Those in direct provision who lost their jobs because of the pandemic were initially not eligible for the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment (PUP).

In May, a letter signed by 40 organisations and led by the IRC requested that asylum seekers, who currently receive €38.80 per week for an adult and €29.80 for children, receive an additional €20 per week during the pandemic. The request was rejected by then minister for social protection Regina Doherty.

However, on Friday, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys announced that direct provision residents would now be eligible for the PUP, which she said will be paid retrospectively to them from when a person was laid off. Residents will also be able to claim the Covid-19 illness benefit payment, said the Minister.

This change in policy follows months of campaigning by support groups and the Taoiseach’s assertion earlier this month that direct provision residents be treated the same as any citizen in terms of social protection supports during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The IRC report also calls for a “constructive” internal inquiry into the Department of Justice’s handling of centres during the pandemic and requests that all people who are unsuccessful in their asylum application, but worked in healthcare during Covid-19, be given permission to remain in the Republic. The decision-making process for international protection applications should now restart to avoid further delays, it recommends.

Matthew 25:35-36 “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

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