Today we get to go to real Mass
for Easter!

The car park at Kircubbin
is jam-packed with cars,
with Fr Anthony installed
inside a raised Perspex box,
speakers all around
and a warm welcome
from stewards
on this chilly, Spring day.

Although strangers to this parish
(we get lost twice on the way here!)
we feel at home.

Outdoor Mass begins.
Stone-chats chatting,
robins hopping,
crows cawing
and cold wind blowing.

Then, the highlight of the day –
the body of Christ
brought to us
in our car –
so precious
and so sorely missed
in these recent months.

Mass ends
and we leave.
Smiles again at the gate
and a Faith-Survival kit –
Easter eggs, holy water,
candles and writings to inspire.
We feel spoiled!

Time to trundle home
(picnicking on the way!)
truly filled
with the joy of Easter
and deeply impressed
by a community of faith
and friendliness
that has welcomed us
this morning.

I can’t help feeling
that this is a parish
with an indomitable spirit,
unbowed by Coronavirus
and the mighty challenges
that it brings.

And as we drive home
I give silent thanks
for this wee parish,
this beacon of hope
in dark times.

© Claire Murray, 4th April 2021

Lord,
thank you for the gifts
of faith and family,
life and health.

Thank you for the gift
of this brand new day.

Thank you for all the extra time
that we get to spend
with our grown-up children
as they work from home.

Thank you for helping us through
a challenging 2020.

Please bless our wee family
at the beginning
of this new day.
May it be God-filled
for each of us.

© Claire Murray

These are dark December days.
Not just the usual December darkness –
but a darkness made several shades deeper
by the shadow of Coronavirus
that cloaks all of our lives.

Grim times.

A splash of yellow
catches my eye
at the kitchen window
causing me to look again.
There, in the driveway,
reaching away up high
is a single yellow rose.
which sways gently
in an icy wind.

I’m surprised.
We had forgotten
all about this rose
which had spent all year
hidden
behind a honeysuckle.
December winds stripped the honeysuckle
of its leaves
so that it now stands bare
revealing this single yellow rose
standing tall and triumphant
in the depths of winter!

Thank you, Lord,
for our beautiful, yellow rose,
our swaying, golden beacon.
A welcome message of hope
from my wonderful God of Surprises
to reassure
and to brighten
dark December days.

© Claire Murray, 28th December 2020

It’s a December with a difference –
not only do we have
the doom and gloom of winter,
we also have a sense of sadness and fear
brought by Coronavirus.

Every day
I venture into our garden
to see what discoveries await me
and every day
there’s something new.

A massive toadstool,
resplendent in red
with white polkadots
(bigger than a plate!)

Two beautiful, pink, oriental flowers
which have sprouted, almost magically,
from the only two bulbs
that our squirrel hasn’t dug-up
(what can I say – he’s industrious
… and a little destructive
but oh, so cute!)

New leaves of bright green
on a wee, tiny shrub
that we rescued from cracks
in paving stones –
this shrub is thriving
in its new home!

A cheeky robin
who hops over beside me
and waits, with a beady stare,
for a scattering of suet pellets.

Evidence that a hedgehog
has visited our garden overnight
to forage in the (many!) fallen leaves –
wow!

So many wonders
in our garden,
so many little daily discoveries
to lift my spirits
in this dark winter of Coronavirus –
thank you, Lord!

© Claire Murray, 3rd December 2020

Thirty years ago today
Paul and I got married
on the feast of St Columba.

We were so young then
and we didn’t know it
as we made our vows
and stepped forward
together
into a hectic phase of life –
working, setting-up home
and raising three amazing children.

Coronavirus restrictions mean
that it’s not quite the celebration
we had planned.

Mass online
followed by a socially-distanced chat
with our two girls.

Take-away coffee
from Sinnamon coffee shop
and a picnic underneath an oak tree
at Barnett’s.

A walk along the tow path
where it all began
(once upon a time!)
when we were both students.

Cake to celebrate
and a beautiful bouquet of flowers
delivered to our door.

A day full of memories –
lovely!

Lord,
thank you for blessing us
with thirty happy years
together
and for blessing us
with our three wonderful children.

Thirty years of married life
have flown by
with you by our side, Lord.
Please bless us today
as we enter our next thirty years
(in retirement!)

© Claire Murray, 9th June 2020

Yesterday
our wee family
all came together
for a barbecue.

This was a barbecue
with a difference!

Two barbecues
were set up,
two tables
were prepared,
two travel rugs
were spread-out
and six chairs
were positioned with care.

This was our small family
get (not too close) together
because of Coronavirus restrictions.

Blazing sun and blue skies,
sun hats and sun cream,
birds singing and bees humming
but best of all
chatter and laughter
and the joy
of simply spending time together,
just the six of us
in person
instead of online –
priceless!

Lord,
thank you
for these happy moments,
this precious family time
spent not-too-close together
during Coronavirus.
A precious afternoon
of happy memories
to sustain us
until the time comes
when it’s safe again
to return once more
to a more traditional
family get-together
(around just one table!)

© Claire Murray, 27th May 2020

The song floating about in my head
today
is that Christmas classic –
It’s the Most Wonderful Time
of the Year.

But it’s only April!
Is this Coronavirus lock-down
sending my poor head
into a state of confusion?

No,
it’s simply that I feel
that today
I really must
count my blessings.

All of the people that I love
are healthy –
I’m blessed.

I’m able to continue to work
at a job that I enjoy
from the safety of my own home –
I’m blessed.

I’ve just returned from my daily walk
up around Malone Park
where the gardens
are absolutely ablaze with colour –
trees are laced with
white, pinks and yellow.
Shrubs are frilled
with orange, cerise and purple.
Leaves of fresh green, gold
and red
and a cherry tree
sprinkles pink blossom onto me
as I walk below.
I’m truly blessed.

Sunshine, blue skies,
sun cream and a choc ice
(as a special treat
on today’s walk!)
I’m blessed.

I’m in lock-down
but this summer weather
in April
has transformed Belfast
into a wonderland of colour
which I glimpse
every time I step outside
or look out the window –
I’m blessed.

It really does feel
like the most wonderful time
of the year
and I feel so blessed –
thank you, Lord!

© Claire Murray, 25 April 2020

It’s my birthday today
and I love my birthday!
Coffee and chocolate
for breakfast,
birthday cake,
time spent with family
and, generally,
just being spoiled!

Cornonavirus is here
and my plans have changed
but I still had coffee and chocolate
for breakfast
and I have a birthday cake
all ready and waiting!

But, best of all,
I have planned a Skype session
with our two daughters,
Aoife and Niamh.
Tonight I will see them in our kitchen,
thanks to the Internet,
so that our wee family
can all be together
for the cutting of the birthday cake.

I’m not going to spend my birthday
thinking about all of the frills
that we have had to dispense with
this year.
In the midst of this Coronavirus outbreak
the people I care about
are all alive and well.

Really,
who could ask for more?

© Claire Murray