SacredSpace102fm was a weekly programme produced by "Come & See Inspirations" in West Limerick. The programme included inspirational music, chat, interviews, what’s on locally and not so locally and a reflection on the Sunday gospel reading of the day. It was presented by John Keily, regular panelists, contributors and invited guests. Programmes are available to be listened to online on our podcast pages.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Mother Mary Angelica, the Roman Catholic nun who started a religious broadcasting empire based in Alabama, is in declining health, according to her ministries.
Eternal Word Television Network, which the nun known as "Mother Angelica" founded, and her fellow nuns at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery north of Birmingham issued statements saying the 92-year-old Ohio native had been fitted with a feeding tube because of her worsening condition. "The good part is that she now receives the necessary nutrients she needs," said the statement. "There were some up and down moments, and Mother has suffered a great deal these past months."
The network described her condition as stable on Thursday.
Mother Angelica suffered a debilitating cerebral hemorrhage in December 2001, and she has had a series of less-severe strokes in the years since. While she hasn't appeared live on Eternal Word Television Network in years, reruns of her old "Mother Angelica Live" shows remain a programming staple.
Born Rita Rizzo in Canton, Ohio, Mother Angelica entered a monastery in Cleveland at age 21 and joined other nuns at a new monastery in Alabama in 1962.
With only $200 in startup money, the nun began broadcasting a religious TV show from the monastery garage in 1981. That grew into Eternal Word Television Network, a worldwide TV, radio and publishing operation.
Today, EWTN Global Catholic Network calls itself the world's largest religious media network with television, radio, online and publishing arms. Its TV programming is available to almost 260 million households in 145 nations and territories.
On this weeks programme John and Shane are joined by Fr Noel Kirwin to discuss the beginning of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy by Pope Francis on 8th December. We have our regular reflection on the Sunday gospel as well as other liturgical odds & ends. You can listen to the podcast of this weeks programme HERE. Jubilee of Mercy
On 8th December 2015 in Rome, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica inaugurating an extraordinary jubilee year dedicated to the mercy of God. The last jubilee year was the Great Jubilee in 2000 and the next one was scheduled for 2050 so this one is an extraordinary one. Pope Francis reminds us that "we need to constantly to contemplate the mystery of God’s mercy; mercy the bridge that connects God and humanity, opening our hearts to the hope of being loved forever despite our sinfulness…..The mercy of God is his loving concern for each one of us. He feels responsible; that is, he desires our wellbeing and he wants to see us happy, full of joy and peaceful...As the Father loves, so do his children. Just as he is merciful, so we are called to be merciful to each other". "It is my burning desire that, during this Jubilee, the Christian people may reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It will be a way to reawaken our conscience, too often grown dull in the face of poverty. And let us enter more deeply into the heart of the Gospel where the poor have a special experience of God’s mercy. Jesus introduces us to these works of mercy in his preaching so that we can know whether or not we are living as his disciples. Let us redis-cover these corporal works of mercy: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. And let us not forget the spiritual works of mercy: to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead." On this weeks programme Fr Noel Kirwin joins us to give a reflection on the mercy of God and what the Jubilee year will mean. You can listen to the interview with Fr Noel excerpted from the main programme HERE. Bishop Brendan will open the Holy Door of St John’s Cathedral on December 8th also and during the year there will be various events and celebrations to mark this Holy Year presenting each of us with an opportunity to reflect on and experience the mercy of God in our lives.
Vatican City, 18 November 2015 (VIS) – As we approach the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis dedicated the catechesis of today's Wednesday general audience to the meaning of the “Holy Door”, which he will open on 8 December in St. Peter's Basilica. This great door is that of God's mercy, which welcomes our repentance and offers us the grace of forgiveness; a door which is opened generously but whose threshold must be crossed with courage.
Francis referred to the recent Synod of Bishops, “which gave all families and all the Church as strong impetus to meet at the threshold of this open door. The Church was encouraged to open her doors, to go forth with the Lord towards His sons and daughters who walk together, at times uncertain, at times lost, in these difficult times. Christian families, in particular, have been encouraged to open the door to the Lord Who waits to enter, bringing His blessing. But the Lord never forces the door; He asks permission to enter through ours, although His doors are always open”. “There are still places in the world where doors are not locked, but there are also many where reinforced doors have become normal. We must not accept the idea of having to apply this system to our whole life, to life within the family, in the city, in society, and far less so in the life of the Church. … An inhospitable Church, like a family closed in on itself, mortifies the Gospel and makes the world arid. No more reinforced doors in the Church!” he exclaimed. “The symbolic management of doors – thresholds, passages, frontiers – has become crucial. The door must protect, certainly, but not repudiate. The door must not be forced: on the contrary, it is necessary to ask permission to enter, as hospitality shines in the freedom of welcome, and darkens in the arrogance of invasion. The door is opened frequently, to see if there is anyone waiting outside, who perhaps does not have the courage or even the strength to knock. How many people no longer trust … to knock on the door of our Christian heart, at the doors of our Churches. … We have lost their trust; please, we must not let this happen. The door says many things about the house, and also the Church”.
