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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 23

If Christ is our pattern for life, love and glory, then joy and sorrow will always be woven through this.

How do you hear Christ’s promise?

(John 16:2-23, Friday, Sixth Week of Eastertide)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 23

Though I have chosen a picture today of a girl jumping, my own experience of joy is much quieter. It has something to do with integration, with all the parts of my life fitting together. It’s not the absence of suffering. It’s more a feeling that joy and suffering can stand side by side.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 23

I have certainly imagined certain situations to be much worse than they actually were. It’s a lot more subtle when people talk to us about our hearts being filled with joy. Real joy is something very personal.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 23

They have already shared together the ‘bread of affliction’ and Jesus now asks them to imagine a time when their hearts will be full of joy. I imagine the disciples in a haze that night.

Often when people warn us that something it going to be really hard it can be difficult for us hear them.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 23

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (H)
HEARTS

When Jesus speaks to the disciples and tells them that their ‘hearts will be full of joy’, I wonder how they understood it. John sets this lengthy discourse around the table of their last meal together.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 21

How is God calling you to manifest his glory?

(John 17:20-26, Thursday, Eastertide, Week 7)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 21

What Christ prays to the Father in these words ‘so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.‘ can be our prayer too. Eastertide gives us the opportunity to stay with these words.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 21

Kavod and shekinah then are both ways of talking about the felt presence of a loving, saving and guiding God.

In baptism we are sealed with Chrism and caught up in God’s glory too.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 21

Glory is perhaps the most difficult to quantify and understand.

For the Hebrew mind the word glory (kavod) has a range of meanings which include ‘importance’, ‘honour’ and ‘weight’. Related to kavod is another Hebrew word ‘shekinah’ which is a way of talking about the divine presence.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 21

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (G)
GLORY

The opening of John’s Gospel weaves together in poetic prose the major theological themes that we will encounter in its pages: life, light, love and glory. It’s hard to explore one without exploring all three.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 17

Where in your life do you most need the power of the Holy Spirit?

(Acts 7:51-8:1, Sunday, Eastertide, Week 3)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 17

The early disciples faced persecution, yet they did not shrink back in fear. Instead, they prayed, received strength, and spoke boldly. Today, we are called to do the same—to stand firm in faith, seek the Spirit’s guidance, and share the gospel with confidence.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 17

When they spoke, it was in the Spirit that they spoke. When they healed it was in the Spirit that they were healed.

In our own lives, this verse challenges us to ask: Are we praying with expectation? Are we open to being filled and used by the Spirit?

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 17

Nothing than change that.

In Acts 4 we are told that Peter and John are ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’. This filling was not merely an emotional experience—it empowered them to proclaim the word of God boldly. Peter and John allowed the Spirit to guide them completely.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 17

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (F)
FILLED

When our parents and godparents presented us for Baptism they did so in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit. As the water was poured over of heads and the chrism anointed our foreheads the Holy Spirit made a home in us.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

Yes, the glorified body is a physical body, but somehow different. I find this a very exciting prospect.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

How can you be open to encountering Christ this Eastertide?

(Luke 24:13-35, Easter Wednesday)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

As the weeks of Eastertide unfold, we too are invited to be open to those moments when someone comes and walks alongside us. We are invited to be attentive to the times when by chance we are invited to share a meal with others. There will be times when our hearts too will burn.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

Scholars have speculated as to where Emmaus might be. In a sense it doesn’t really matter. The disciples set out on a physical journey and find through an encounter with a stranger that they have made a life-changing inner journey.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

As the disciples walk towards Emmaus, I imagine that they are experiencing a knot of grief and confusion as they try to hold together the events of the Upper Room, Gethsemane and Calvary.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

There is something about the rhythm of walking and being alongside another person that helps knots to unravel and allows a new perspective to open up.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 12

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (E)
EMMAUS

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing the Emmaus story. I almost know the text by heart. I’m struck today as I sit to write this reflection just how healing a long walk with a friend can be.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 10

Where is Christ calling you to show care and attention this Eastertide?

(Acts 9: 31-42, Saturday, Third Week of Eastertide)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 10

It’s likely that my tunic and scapular would only fit me. When I hear this story I am reminded of the care and attention that is needed when you make a garment for someone else.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · May 10

The detail of the widows showing Peter the clothes she had made always strikes me. We live in an age where handmade clothes are a rarity. As a monastic I have the privilege of every part of my habit being handmade, including my leather belt. It’s not just handmade, it’s made to measure.

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