St. James’s Church, Castledermot, is situated on the site of monastery founded around the year 800 by the father of St. Diarmuid and is an active church in West Glendalough Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough, Church of Ireland.

Dean Philip Knowles, Priest in Charge encouraged the parishioners of the group of parishes of Narraghmore, Timolin, Castledermot and Kinneagh to hold a Christmas Tree Festival in St. James’s Church. Parishioners were encouraged to seek support from local organisations to erect and decorate Christmas Trees for the festival. The festival was officially opened by Martin Heydon TD. The church was transformed into an oasis of relaxed calm and colour and thirty trees were placed in windows, pews, corners and the sanctuary. 

As part of the commitment of the parish to the Church’s Ministry of Healing, the Healer Prayer Group of the parish agreed to participate in the festival by erecting a “Tree for Healing”. A simple four foot high fresh Christmas tree was provided and situated in front of the church altar which housed the most beautiful Christmas Crib. The figures of the crib were colourful pottery and made by a parishioner who attends a class which added to the whole scene of peace and expectation. Everyone who attended the festival was invited to write their prayer request for healing on a colourful slip of paper, which was pegged to the tree. This space was peaceful, prayerful and most colourful and was especially pleasing to the children. Parents encouraged their children to write a prayer to God for a family member who was ill—children responded very positively, in fact most people participated and helped to decorate the tree with their prayer request.

Whereas the main objective of the event was to provide funds for the rebuilding of the wall around the church, it must be acknowledged that the Healing Tree provided an opportunity for prayer and spiritual reflection, for a deepening relationship with God, forgiveness and grace and thanks for healing. Two thirds of the prayer requests were for healing. Other requests were for the homeless, for God’s creation, world peace, mental health difficulties, those suffering from dementia, those providing suicide initiatives.

On Sunday 28th January all the requests for prayer were placed on the altar for the service of Holy Communion and the prayers were prayed together. The experience excelled all expectations for me both spiritually and prayerfully and for all who participated and attended the event. Parishioners provided refreshments in the parish hall and Christmas handcrafts were for sale. The organisers were greatly appreciative of the peoples’ generosity.

Avril Gillat.
Avril Gillat is CMH:I Board member

“Gratitude … takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive,
is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God.
For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience.
And that is what makes all the difference.”
Thomas Merton

Nowadays we can hear a lot about the benefits of practicing gratitude. Research has shown that gratitude can improve both mental and physical health, and “not surprisingly, grateful people are also more likely to take care of their health”. A number of studies revealed other benefits, such as improvement in self-esteem, better sleep, reduced stress and even a help in overcoming trauma.

Personally I have experienced that on a bad day my mood can shift to having a better attitude when I take time to bring to mind all that I am grateful for. The practice of gratitude is one the best gifts we can give ourselves. It costs us nothing and is very simple to do. It does, however, require a little bit of effort, discipline if you like, but as anything worthwhile, it is valuable to invest time in it.

Gratitude does not deny negative things that happen in life but it puts them into perspective and helps us to face them with renewed inner strength and more determination. In Philippians 4:8 we read, “beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”. It further says that if we keep doing these things, “the God of peace” will be with us. God is with us always, but when we practice gratitude it will help to bring God’s goodness into our awareness.

If we want to make gratitude part of our daily routine, we can do so by writing a gratitude journal. We can treat ourselves to a journal that appeals to us aesthetically, and then start noting what we are thankful for on its pages. Each day we can write a few things that we are grateful for that particular day. Another way is to have a gratitude jar. We can take an empty jar and decorate it to make it personal. Then every day on a little paper we write something we are grateful for and put it in a jar. At the end of each month, or at the end of each year, we can open the jar and read what we wrote.

Gratitude will bring a new dimension to our lives, a deeper flavour to our life’s experiences. It helps us notice new growth, it turns despair into hope. May something stunning blossom for you over the next twelve months – even if it is ‘only’ you.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland

It is a few days to Christmas and some of us will find it harder than others to enjoy the festivities. It could be we have been very busy and need rest, but we don’t know how to incorporate it in our schedule over the next days. Or it could be that we lost a loved one this year, and Christmas is going to be harder for that reason, because our heart still aches because of the loss. There are other reasons why people are sometimes lonely at Christmas, and if you find yourself struggling reach out to a friend and ask for support.

There is an image, which I am afraid is not realistic, that portrays that we should all be happy at Christmas. This adds to the pressure for those who find this time of the year hard for whatever reason. Feelings of overwhelm are human, and in some circumstances quite natural, but we can diffuse them a little with taking time for self-care.

Prayer and mindfulness can sustain us during stressful times. Even a few moments of quiet, when we pause to take in the present moment in its fullness, look around and allow the Presence of God to wash over our hearts, slowly, silently, can provide a day-to-day support.

There is one other thing I would like to mention that can help in our challenges any time of the year, and particularly now as we are approaching Christmas. It is a practice of self-compassion. Dr. Kristin Neff explains that “self-compassion involves acting the same way towards yourself when you are having a difficult time” as you would towards someone else. We can pause in a day, say to ourself, “this is really difficult right now”, if it helps we can put a hand on our heart and allow ourselves to receive comfort from that acknowledgement. Kristin Neff says that the elements of self-compassion are self-kindness, common humanity – knowing that others go through hard times as well, and mindfulness. Neff has self-compassion exercises; some of them may resonate with you. As Christians we know that God is compassionate towards us, and when we offer ourselves self-compassion and self-kindness, we also offer ourselves His love, we nurture ourselves as we would nurture a plant in its growth.

At Christmas we will celebrate that Jesus was born in a stable, in imperfect conditions. If you find yourself in less-than-perfect condition at this time, know that He understands and His love is there to support you.

If you are struggling and having suicidal thoughts, you can call Samaritans on 116 123.

Iva Beranek
Dr Iva Beranek is the Ministry Facilitator for the CMH: Ireland