Jean's Journal

by Jean Farrell

Dear readers, I hope you are all still resting. I usually start the year off with some advice and some thought-provoking pieces.

Every New Year’s Day my mother said the following lovely Irish blessing, “Go mbeirimid beo ag an am so arís.”

I never knew that there was more to this old blessing until recently. Here it is. “Agus go deimhin do ghabhas mo bhuíochas ó chroí le Dia na Glóire a bhreith am beathaigh orm go bhfeaca an t-athrú aimsire sin.” Freagra: “Agus murar gear, nára measa. “

In English, this means “May we be alive again at this time. And indeed I give thanks from my heart to the glory of God for watching over me so as I can see the change of time.” Answer: “And if it’s better, it’s not worse.”

I’m grateful to a friend, who told me this. It was passed down to her family from her great-grandmother, Mary Maguire, born in 1884 in the West Clare gaeltach, Carrigaholt.

I’m sure she had a prayer book, as all our mothers had. I love this piece.

MY MOTHER'S PRAYER BOOK: “My mother's prayer book was huge. It was far and away the biggest prayer book in the house. It had a soft red cover with the word 'missal' grooved in gold leaf.

The edges of the pages were tinged with gold. Red ribbons ran down through it so that she could mark the good bits. There were Masses for weekdays and Masses for Sundays, Masses for Easter and Masses for Christmas, Masses for getting married and Masses for getting buried. There were Masses for everything.

There were prayers for before Communion and prayers for after, prayers for getting up in the morning and prayers for going back to bed, prayers before going on a journey and prayers for a safe return, prayers for people doing exams and prayers for people who were dying. There were prayers for everything.

There were holy pictures of John Bosco looking holy, and holy pictures of Dominic Savio with a glow around his head. There were holy pictures of St. Brigid standing in the middle of a field, and holy pictures of St. Patrick shoving his foot down on a snake.

There were holy pictures of St. Francis being followed by rabbits, and holy pictures of St. John the Baptist having his head chopped off. There were holy pictures of everyone.

My mother's prayer book went straight to heaven.”

I hope all our mothers are in Heaven too, along with their prayer books! I remember my own mother’s one being stuffed with memoriam cards. We read these during Mass when we were bored.

This tale may make you smile. “A group of 40 year-old girlfriends discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally, it was agreed that they should meet at The Ocean View Restaurant because the waiters there had tight pants and nice bums. 10 years later, at 50 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at The Ocean View Restaurant because the food there was very good and the wine selection was great. 10 years later, at 60 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at The Ocean View Restaurant because they could eat there in peace and quiet and the restaurant had a beautiful view of the ocean. 10 years later, at 70 years of age the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner. Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because the restaurant was wheelchair accessible and they even had an elevator. 10 years later, at 80 years of age, the group once again discussed where they should meet for dinner.

Finally it was agreed that they should meet at the Ocean View Restaurant because they had never been there before.”

The following is sound advice that comes with maturity.

"For a long time it had seemed to me that real life was about to begin. But there was always some obstacle in the way, some unfinished business. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

So, stop waiting until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have children, until your children leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until winter, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink.... there is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”

The following tale also has a strong message that we should heed. “Three good friends went for a swim. The one who was fat wished she was thin. The one who was curvy wished she was clever. The one who was clever wished she swam better. The really great swimmer wished she was witty. The one who was witty wished she was pretty. All three friends thought the other two were just fine. If only they could let their own bright light shine. So throw on your swimsuit if you're fat or you're thin. Enjoy fun and friendship. Love the skin that you're in.”

Isn’t Mary Berry to be greatly admired, still baking on television and publishing books at 90 years of age!

I’ll finish as I started and say, “Go mbeirimid beo ag an am so arís.”