I've just found the dictate function on my new laptop so I'm starting out by speaking this blog rather than typing it. However, it got me thinking - I wonder how accurate it can be. So far it hasn't managed any punctuation, but it's typed exactly what I've said. I simply gone back and added the punctuation just so it is possible for you to read. And you know what I'm thinking now - just imagine if the words that started to appear on the screen we're not mine, but God's answers to my questions that I have for him at this time.

On Saturday May 29, two of Rosie's brothers - Stephen and Daniel - were ordained to the Priesthood. Here, in a reflection originally written for Catholic Outlook, Rosie shares about her own joy celebrating this day.

Eleven years ago, my brothers Daniel and Stephen surprised most of my family, including myself, by announcing they were joining a religious order, the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity. While I’ve had over a decade to get my head around the reality that two of the six brothers I’ve played sport and board games with and done farm chores alongside, and even occasionally fought with, were preparing to become priests, it was still surreal watching them be ordained.

Imagine the best view you have ever seen… where were you and what did you see?

Were you sitting on a beach and watching the constancy of the waves as they constantly broke upon the shore?

Had you climbed a mountain, rising to the top and looking out to see a panoramic view of trees, rivers, hills, cities and more?

Were you watching a sunrise or sunset, awestruck by the colours?

I have been particularly seeking to hear more from the Holy Spirit – the voice of God. I was on my 3-day solitude facing hectares of land of green trees and hills at Mt Carmel where the MGL Sisters in Sydney live.  It was a lovely, sunny day and was the second day of my solitude. God had been silent, but I was not worried about it because when I go on solitude, I always expect a conversation with him regarding what is on my heart or a particular situation in my life.

Here is another in our Songs I Love series.....

I am definitely a fan of musicals – one of my favourites is Starlight Express. In a nutshell, the plot centres around a whole heap of trains that are going to compete in a race. Each of them take a turn to tell their story through song. Whilst I love it all, the song that I want to share about today is called Freight. It features the freight trains and the coaches, who are arguing about whether it is better to carry cargo or passengers.

The celebration of my Perpetual Vows was every bit as beautiful as I imagined it would be.  Since joining the MGL Sisters in 2012 I’ve often wondered what this occasion, which in many respects is like a wedding day, would be like.  I got excited as a I designed invitations, chose a ring, planned the Mass and thought about things like music, decorations and having a cake to cut – it really felt like a wedding!  I was overwhelmed by love as family and friends travelled from all over to attend and pitched together to make it such a special occasion.  It felt very surreal to walk down the aisle as Mass began, carrying my candle and hearing the voices of everyone singing and realising what a massive moment in my life was taking place.

You may have missed it in our recent newsletter - Judy shared about the beautiful gift of consecration which we live as MGL Sisters. 

Nothing on earth could persuade a healthy young woman to give up all plans for marriage, career and individual freedom.  Yet Jesus, with a unique intimate invitation into ultimate eternal love, has persuaded many to make a life commitment to be given for God so that many others may come to know God’s love and experience life to the full.  This is always a miracle of grace.

Did you get a chance to check out our latest newsletter?

As the Easter Octave draws to a close, we join with Thomas and his experience with the Risen Jesus.

If I told you there in Japan, they grow square watermelons because they will stack better in the shops, would you believe me, or would you be filled with doubt? Leave that one in the back of your mind for a moment, and come with me on a journey with Thomas, commonly referred to as the doubter.

Today, once again, there is a very clear call to proclaim the Good News, to share the gift of our own story and relationship with Jesus with the whole world. This call to share what we have been given reminds me of a television show that was around a number of years ago.

Today, as we continue to ponder the Resurrection, we join Jesus on the beach as he eats breakfast with his disciples.

No doubt you have heard people say that the peace that Jesus can bring is like nothing else. But what does this really mean, and what might it look like in our lives. In today's Resurrection Reads, we pray with the story of Jesus offering the gift of peace to his disciples.

Today’s blog is a reflection written from the point of view of the disciple who was walking with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. I pray it helps you to enter in to the story.

Have you ever gone long distance walking? Most people have at some stage in their lives, and it was something I enjoyed doing, even though it was the primary means of travel anyway. Somehow it helped to clear my head, so I would go when I was worried, stressed, confused, sad. I would walk to all kinds of places, along clearly defined paths and through scrubland, through desert like places where the dust would coat my feet, and along the shore where the gentle waves would cool me after a long day, over rocks, up mountains, through tall grass, – you name it, and it is likely to be territory that I have traversed.

Happy Easter – He is Risen – Alleluia.

I love the Easter Octave. Everyday this week we are celebrating Easter Sunday. It is a clear message to us that this is monumental – that Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead really is at the centre of our faith, at the centre of our lives.

Each day this week, we will reflect together on the Gospel of the day – you guessed it – a resurrection story. Today we turn our attention to Matthew 28:8-15.

Happy Easter – Christ has Risen – Alleluia!

Today is a day of joy, today is a day of hope, today is a day of grace, today is a day of promise, today is a day of love, the greatest and most amazing love that we can ever encounter. Jesus has conquered death, Jesus has risen – and because of this everything is different.

I know we’ve been reflecting on songs just recently, but I actually don’t think that there is a song that fits the awkward nothingness of Holy Saturday better than stark silence.  As in, no sound at all!

It’s the day we don’t know what to do with.  Friday is all invested in the grief and sorrow of watching Jesus suffer and die.  And Sunday is all about the joy of the resurrection.  So for us who believe, Saturday is the awkward-inbetween: we know the resurrection is coming, but we can’t shake the solemnity of what we just witnessed the day before.

Today is Good Friday, and we continue on this solemn day to reflect and pray through the use of songs. The song chosen today is How can it be? (Lauren Daigle)

Today marks a shift in Holy Week as we now head into the Easter Triduum.

We continue to pray in song, and today reflect on Stay with Me (Taize).

During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating.

Today we pray with Anastasis, from Hillsong Worship.

During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating. Before you have a read of the blog, listen to the song and ask Jesus to speak to you through the power of the words.

Today, we pray with At the foot of the Cross, by Fr Rob Galea

During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating. Before you have a read of the blog, listen to the song and ask Jesus to speak to you through the power of the words.

Today, we pray with Love Ran Red, by Chris Tomlin.

During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating. Before you have a read of the blog, listen to the song and ask Jesus to speak to you through the power of the words.

Today, we pray with King of my Heart written by Bethel.

I really love board games! My sisters could testify that when we were growing up, I would often ask them to play games with me, but the problem was that for them they were more like bored games.

Have you ever played Blokus? It is a strategy game that involves putting down as many of your coloured pieces onto the board as possible. Each new piece played must touch another piece of your colour, but the one rule is that only corner-to-corner contact is allowed

In his Lenten Message for 2021, Pope Francis reminds us that Lent is a time for believing, for welcoming God into our lives and allowing him to “make his dwelling” among us (cf. Jn 14:23). We are invited and challenged to grow closer to God and to allow him to draw nearer to us. He also reminds us that "Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. The path of poverty and self-denial (fasting), concern and loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope and effective charity". In this three-part series, we will consider the place of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in our Lenten journey to Easter and beyond. Today, in part three, the focus is on almsgiving