麻豆约拍

Good morning.

I was only homesick once. As you can no doubt hear I grew up in Southern Ireland. My father鈥檚 brother was a monk. Once he invited me to come and stay in the monastery guesthouse for a whole week. I was only 12 and I had never been away on my own before. 聽It took 24 hours for the flood gates to open, but open they did, and all I wanted was my mother or even my two older brothers, with whom I had fought as often as I had played.聽

When my Uncle arrived promptly after lunch, I blurted out that I wanted to go home. I was sure he was going to phone my family. 聽But he didn鈥檛.聽 Instead we went for a long walk. 聽The monastery was just beside the 鈥淓sker Riada鈥�, which is a series of low ridges formed in the last Ice Age. 鈥淓iscir鈥� actually means 鈥渄ivide鈥� and 鈥淩iada鈥� means 鈥渞oad鈥�. From ancient times, it was also called 鈥淎n tSl铆 Mh贸r鈥�,聽 鈥淭he Great Way鈥�. It was once a major route across the country. Now the stretch near the monastery is covered in woodland.

As we walked and talked, something changed in me. I lost my homesickness somewhere along those woodland paths, never to be found again. But I had found someone; a great friend, whom I would dearly love. My Uncle was to be a huge influence on me in the years ahead.聽 And it all began that day on the Esker Riada. He set me on a path, which I am still walking all these years later. 聽

Guide us, Lord, as we make our way from day to day,
Lead us, Lord, in the paths of life eternal. 聽Amen