Mother of Mercy

One of the oldest prayers to the Virgin Mary is the ancient antiphon titled in Latin Sub Tuum Praesidium. By soom accounts this prayer dates to the third century. The beautiful words, first written in Greek, present the Blessed Mother as one who intercedes for us.

Wishing and Praying a blessed feast of
Our Lady of Knock
to all of you
– may she unceasingly draw all of us
ever more deeply into the heart
of her Son, our Eucharistic Lord.



The following is part of the homily given by Pope St John Paul II on his visit to Knock in 1979 – a prayer as relevant today as it was when he made it ... possibly even more so. Also our prayer for Ireland and for you today:

Blessed is she who believed (Lk 1:45)

In the parable of the sower, Saint Luke has left us these words of the Lord about the "good soil": "These are the ones who when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance" (Lk 8:15). In the context of Luke’s Gospel, this mention of an honest and good heart which hears and keeps the word is an implicit portrayal of the faith of the Virgin Mary.

With St. John Paul II, on his 100 Birthday we look at Mary, through his eyes …

Mary is a “woman of the Eucharist” in her whole life.

If we wish to rediscover in all its richness the profound relationship between the Church and the Eucharist, we cannot neglect Mary, Mother and model of the Church.

A Reflection on the Rosary by one of our Sisters.

Disposed from childhood to praying the Rosary, it has grown with me over the years or perhaps it would be more true to say I’ve grown with it. A prayer for all seasons of life, it has been my mainstay. I think of the structure of the rosary, the saying of the beads as a kind of enclosure, creating and protecting a sacred space, a shelter, within which Mary and I meet with Jesus on a daily basis and she shows unto me the blessed fruit of her womb, JESUS.

Pope St John Paul II called the rosary his favourite prayer. While the Mass is my favourite prayer, the rosary is not far behind in my preference. If for any reason on a rare occasion I fail to say the rosary, then I cannot sleep until I say it in full.

The rosary is mostly centred on Jesus and Mary so for that reason, it is very precious to me: Jesus who is Alpha and Omega, and Mary who is His Mother. In the company of these two very important people, I am always happy.

Unlike most people of my generation, as a child the Rosary was still part of our family life. We knelt at our chairs in the kitchen each night and recited it together. By the early seventies, as we grew older, activities at night demanded our time and attention and the family Rosary gradually faded into oblivion. But the example of my parents and grandparents who always prayed the Rosary daily remained. My dad always had his beads in his pocket and prayed the rosary on the bus each morning as he travelled to work.

On the First Friday of every month we have a special Holy Hour (7.30p.m. to 8.30p.m.) for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. This Hour includes the Rosary. Since October is the month of the Rosary we have decided to share the Reflections that accompanied the Rosary for this month’s Holy Hour.