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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

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 · 23/05/2025

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 · 23/05/2025

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 · 23/05/2025

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 · 23/05/2025

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 · 21/05/2025

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 · 21/05/2025

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 · 21/05/2025

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 · 21/05/2025

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 · 21/05/2025

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 · 17/05/2025

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 · 17/05/2025

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 · 17/05/2025

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 · 17/05/2025

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 · 17/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 12/05/2025

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 · 10/05/2025

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 · 10/05/2025

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 · 10/05/2025

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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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

To be remembered as one who ‘never tired of doing good or giving in charity’ is a significant accolade in the language of the Early Church. She has spent her life embodying Christ’s self-less service.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Acts records just a handful of details about Dorcas. We have become accustomed to listening to the silences in our biblical texts. That she is named already marks her out as someone significant.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (D) DORCAS 'Peter went back with them immediately, and on his arrival they took him to the upper room, where all the widows stood round him in tears, showing him tunics and other clothes DORCAS had made when she was with them.'

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

How does Luke’s vision inspire you today? (Acts 4:32-37, Tuesday, Second Week of Eastertide)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Benedict understands human weakness and knows that ‘one size fits all’ will not work in monastic living. I take heart from this. Accepting where you fall on this spectrum is an important part of the inner journey in monastic life.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

‘Whoever needs less should thank God and not be distressed, whoever needs more should feel humble because of his weakness, not self important because of the kindness shown him.’

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

This vision of the early church is something which inspired St Benedict in the Sixth Century. Chapter 34 of his Rule is entitled ‘Distribution of Goods According to Need’. He quotes Acts 4 and makes the very important qualifier:

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

This is a touchstone text for anyone who wants to explore living in community. Living in a way which expresses unity is something to which we can all aspire. There are of course many ways to do this. No one way perfectly embodies this text.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (C) COMMON ‘The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed for his own use anything that he had, as everything they owned was held in COMMON.‘

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Has anything over the past few months filled you with awe and great joy ? (Matt 28:8-15, Easter Monday)

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The work of the Alistair Hardy Trust has shown that 75% of people claim to have had some form of spiritual experience, often in childhood and often related to nature. There’s something about the nature of childhood that makes us open to these moments of awe, these touches of God.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The women, who had come to the tomb expecting to mourn, instead encountered the miraculous: an empty grave, a risen Saviour. Moments of awe are part of our own faith journey’s too.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

The women have been reassured by an angel that that there is no need for them to be afraid. Jesus has risen as he said he would. I imagine this news filling every fibre of their being. This a powerful moment of transformation—from sorrow to joy, from doubt to belief.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Throughout the story of our salvation we meet those who have come close to the holiness of God and have experienced awe. There are dramatic moments on mountain tops, but also quiet moments when prayer has been answered.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

EASTERTIDE ALPHABET (A) AWE ‘Filled with awe and great joy the women came quickly away from the tomb and ran to tell the disciples.’ I am struck today at how this text conveys a mix of emotions as it couples ‘awe and great joy’.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Thanks! Every blessing on your ministry.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I saw many things in Pope Francis. He certainly embodied for me one who could earnestly pray ‘daily make me harder hope and dearer love.‘ Look back over your week, has anything deepened your faith and invited you to dearer love?

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Whether we need concrete assurance or are happy to take things on trust, the invitation is the same: live in the light of the resurrection. The events of the past weeks in the liturgy and with Pope Francis’ illness, death and burial certainly have focused my mind on the mystery of life and death.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I love these lines from Godhead Here in Hiding and they always come to mind when I hear today’s Gospel. I am not like Thomas, wounds I cannot see, But I plainly call thee Lord and God as he: This faith each day deeper be my holding of, Daily make me harder hope and dearer love.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Give me your hand; put it into my side. Doubt no longer but believe.’ this is as much a challenge as it is a comfort. Thomas now has the choice to live in the light of the resurrected Christ or to walk away and find a different path.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I feel I have a lot in common with Thomas. I am more at home with things that are enfleshed and concrete than theories and abstractions. It has always struck me that when Jesus says to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

It’s easy for me to understand how Thomas might be feeling when the disciples say that Jesus has risen and that they have seen him.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER John 20:19-31 There’s nothing worse than being with a group of people who are talking about an experience that you haven’t had. There’s only so far that you can go in trying to understand what they are saying and feeling.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

Mary’s exclamation of ‘Rabbuni’ is our cry of recognition too. Where do you recognise the face of the Risen Christ? * At Turvey we use this Gospel every year at our Easter Vigil.

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Sr Miriam McNulty @srmiriamosb.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

At Turvey the Gospel is sung at our Easter Vigil and the music reaches a beautiful crescendo at this point. ‘Rabbuni’ resonates through the whole chapel. I am struck by the need in all of us to have someone say our name and to know us as we truly are.

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