The Restory Retreat Centre

Statue of St Kevin and the blackbird at Knock I recently came across the beautiful Celtic story of St Kevin and the Blackbird. When St Kevin prayed in his hut with arms outstretched, the room was so small that he had to put one arm through the window. One day, while praying in this manner, a blackbird came, landed on his palm and started to build a nest. St Kevin did not want to disturb the new life that was taking shape in his hand and remained in that position until the little blackbirds were hatched, raised and ready to fly away. Christine Valters-Paintner reflected on the story in the following poem St. Kevin and the Blackbird (after Seamus Heaney) Imagine being like Kevin, your grasping fist softens, fingers uncurl and palms open, rest upward, and the blackbird weaves twigs and straw and bits of string in the begging bowl of your hand, you feel the delicate weight of speckled blue orbs descend, and her feathered warmth settling in for a w...

Quechua woman - Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica It is impossible, I think, taking our nature into consideration, that anyone who fails to realize that he or she is favored by God should have the courage necessary for doing great things.                                                                       St. Teresa of Avila Last year our friend Ralie introduced me to an author I haven’t known before, Gregory Boyle. He is a Jesuit priest who has been working under the gangs of Los Angeles for more than 20 years. In his book Tattoos on the Heart he recollects some of his experiences and the people he got to know and love. Here at the beginning of 2015 I want to post an excerpt from the book that deals with an episode in his life while still a very young priest, before his work in Los Angeles....