After a week on retreat and going to see the ‘hot house flowers’ last night I woke up exhausted this morning.

I felt guided to driving into Cork city and after an hour or more in a coffee shop I went on one of my ‘Holy Spirit’ walks…this is when I feel a supernatural force around me and am guided where to go. After 5 minutes I ended up at the franciscan friary! I am not familiar at all with Cork so it was nice of God to guide me there. In I went and I literally cried for an hour as I felt the love and pain the Lord has for the mentally unwell. This is part of the intercession that I usually go through before praying with people.

A few people passed me by. After an hour a lovely blond haired lady asked if I was ok as she saw the tears which I couldn’t hide. I could tell she was from the travelling conmunity and inwardly I smiled that she was the only one to stop as many settled people say unkind things about the travellers.

After a few minutes of sharing she stopped and said ‘ there is something very different about you, a peace in your eyes, are you going to be a priest?’. I told her my life story and of the healing gift God gave me. She asked me if I’d pray for her.

I closed my eyes and saw her pushing a pram as a single mother, I sensed the rejection from her family. She was quite amazed and if I’m honest so was I even if I should be used to these things at this stage. I prayed with her. Sadly her child who was now grown up was in hospital with a mental illness. We prayed for his healing through the intercession of my o old buddy Pio!

She then asked me for some money and I confess getting a bit cynical but inside I felt to stay calm. I told her that I’m sort of a,traveller too and that financially I hadn’t much. I gave her ten euro and five sterling.

As we continued to talk she introduced me to her partner who was at the back of the Church and so I prayed with him too. We had a great chat. Finally I had to go and she offered to give me back all the money. I told her to keep it anyway but instead to say a prayer for me. They both prayed the most beautiful prayer for me!!

After all that the Holy Spirit guided me to ‘subway’ to eat a sandwich where I am now. I wonder what God has for me next!

What a strange life I have and yet how blessed I am to be the Lord’s instrument. It makes all the suffering worthwhile!

Appreciate your prayers. Keep the faith, be encouraged, God is real!

How the Lord loves the poor, the misunderstood. Give us your heart Jesus!

The lesson I learnt today. God’s blessings don’t always look like blessings at the time but with the clarity of hindsight we can see Him there!!

For a while now my front tyre has been losing a bit of air. It was on my list of things to do! Last Wednesday I had a 4 hour journey which took me to a remote retreat centre hidden in the mountains. I arrived safely literally on roads with sheep and grass in the middle!

Today I decided to go for a drive as 2 days of silence was getting to me. I meandered off and found a coffee shop in the middle of nowhere. Funny enough the owner had once upon a time considered entering religious life in that very community. I knew in my heart that I was supposed to be there and that talking to her was no coincidence.

Mass was at 5 and so I left at about ten to 5 to find my front tyre flat as a pancake! Before I might have got angry with God or considered this to be some sort of spiritual attack but something in me knew better. I knew that it was a blessing….

A blessing it didn’t happen in the middle of nowhere with only sheep, a blessing it didn’t explode while I was driving which happened me years ago….and a blessing that I now had to go back into the shop and talk to this lady again!

I changed the wheel and mass being well over I said my goodbyes and drove off. There is a beach nearby and so I said I’d have a look. I went for a walk and a bit of a jog and after finding the local store I decided to come home.

About 3 minutes from my destination I spotted the Church.of the local parish (seperate from the retreat centre). I said I’d pop inside to say a prayer and to get mass times for the week. Little did I realise that it was bang on 7pm and there was a mass just about to begin at that very moment!! I just sat there and smiled and couldn’t help but thinking that Jesus was showing off a little!!

So that puncture was a blessing in disguise. Had I got angry I may have just driven home and missed all the blessings that were to follow!

Incidently I forgot to pay for the coffee so I’ll have to go back! God works in mysterious ways! Let us do our best to trust in God even when it seems like things are going wrong. He might have other plans that are far better than our ones!

The other day God called me on a little adventure. One might be surprised to know that after years of such adventures I was still quite nervous and finding hard to trust God!

I was on my way out to mass when the Holy Spirit whispered in my heart to leave my wallet at home. Usually I like to get myself a coffee after mass (habit I picked up in Oz) so I was a little cheesed off at this idea from God!

Choosing to obey I trotted off to mass at the local convent. Grumbling to God that I had no breakfast I felt the spirit say that the nuns would invite me in!! Now I’ve discerned religious life before but I jokingly said to God that I’d never discerned becoming a nun!!

After mass a nun did approach me and invited me for breakfast. She was so kind and gentle. We had a great chat even if she did ask me if I was doing the leaving cert (highschool) which I was very surprised at as I hadn’t shaved for.a few days….i think Jesus likes joking with me about this.

After my breakfast I was asked to lunch by somebody else who had heard me give a talk and we prayed together after which I was given a little money with which I bought myself….a coffee…

Why did I doubt?!! Anyway, moral of the story and message I wanted to share is that God works with us all in spite of our doubts and we should do our very best to trust accepting that it is hard at times! He works with us in our humanity and just like I got my coffee in the end, He doesn’t want to take from us all the things we enjoy but rather He wants us to put Him first and trust that He will look after us!

Jesus I believe, help my unbelief!!