Celebrate the gift of life advises Offaly columnist

It is so important as much as humanly possible to celebrate the gift of life and becoming a light for others. Earlier during the last week as the cold of approaching winter settled over Galway Bay, I walked along the Prom, that familiar shoreline which has witnessed so many of my prayers, tears, hopes and dreams. I have walked this path countless times, yet it is never quite the same. The wind changes, the rain falls differently, and the moonlight illuminates the majestic hills of the Burren and County Clare across the bay.

Somewhere between the sound of the waves and the silence of the evening, the heart begins to listen. As I walked, I thought about life and the people we love, those we have lost, the burdens we carry and the prayers for which we may never receive an answer. Sometimes life feels like a beautiful pilgrimage.

At other times, every step is a struggle. We fly along with confidence and hope, or we limp forward, exhausted by grief, illness, loneliness, disappointment or worries nobody else can see. Yet we keep walking. Perhaps that is where faith begins again, not in having all the answers, but in finding the courage to take one more step.

Life is not simply a burden to be endured or a problem to be solved. It is a precious gift to be received, a blessing to be celebrated and a journey to be lived with gratitude, compassion and love. This does not mean pretending suffering does not exist. It means recognising that even amid our struggles, moments of grace, unexpected kindness and beauty can still find us.

When we feel lost

There have been times in my own life when I have wondered how I arrived at a particular place, how worry and sadness clouded my heart, or how the light of faith seemed to flicker when I needed it most. We look at the wars, poverty, injustice and suffering in our world and wonder how goodness and joy can prevail.

Sometimes our own private storms are enough to overwhelm us. We wonder whether the darkness will ever lift or whether we will find our shoreline again. But perhaps we need to change the direction of our gaze. Instead of concentrating only on what is broken, let us look for what remains beautiful and joyful. Instead of dwelling solely on what we cannot change, let us ask what we can do. Psalm 23 reassures us: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me.”

The psalm does not promise that we will never enter a dark valley. It promises that we do not have to walk through it alone. Faith does not mean we will never cry. Prayer does not mean we will never question. Sometimes faith is simply getting out of bed, drawing another breath, whispering another prayer and taking the next step.

And sometimes, when words fail us, our tears become our prayers. Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Both belong to our human journey. Suffering can reveal how deeply we need one another, while beauty, friendship and abundance remind us of life's goodness. Neither our suffering nor our happiness determines our worth before God. We are loved in both.

Celebrating the gift of today

How often do we postpone our happiness? We tell ourselves we will be grateful when our worries disappear, our health improves or everything finally falls into place. Meanwhile, we risk overlooking the preciousness of the day we have been given such as a child's laughter, a friend's kindness, a cup of tea shared with someone we love, or the beauty of the sea beneath an evening sky.

Saint Paul writes: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18). Giving thanks does not mean being grateful for cruelty, injustice or suffering. It means refusing to let these realities blind us to every remaining gift of goodness. It means finding reasons to hope while working to change what is wrong. Celebrating joy is a spiritual practice. It teaches us to receive love without taking it for granted and to appreciate those who enrich our lives simply by being part of them. As the psalmist declared, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Not tomorrow, when everything is perfect, but today, with all its imperfections and possibilities.

Let your soul become a light

We cannot single-handedly end every war, feed every hungry child or heal every broken heart. But we can change the experience of the world for the person standing in front of us. We can visit someone who is lonely, comfort a grieving neighbour, offer a meal to a struggling family or stand beside somebody who feels forgotten. Jesus tells us that whatever we do for those who are hungry, thirsty, strangers, sick or imprisoned, we do for him (Matthew 25:35–40). What a challenging way to look at the world.

The person we pass on the street is not an inconvenience. The family experiencing poverty is not somebody else's problem. Every person possesses immeasurable dignity and deserves to be treated with compassion. Our faith must become more than words spoken in church. It must be visible in how we treat people, how we spend our time and how we respond when somebody needs us. A kind word may restore confidence.

A visit may remind someone they have not been forgotten. A generous gesture may help a family breathe more easily. We may never know how far the ripples of our kindness travel, but every loving action matters. And when we ourselves are struggling, let us have the humility to accept another person's kindness. Sometimes the person who seems to be helping everyone else is the one who most needs someone to ask, “How are you really doing?” or as Joey used to say in the famous TV series Friends, "How are you doin?" and stay long enough to hear the answer.

Let love become our action

Walking long-distance trails has taught me that there is no single right way to make a journey. Some walk quickly, others slowly. Some seek answers, others are healing from loss, and many simply want to experience the world while they can. We may share the same road, but we do not necessarily share the same journey. Life is much the same. We can spend so long meeting other people's expectations that we forget to ask what God might be calling us to become. A ship may be safest in harbour, but that is not what great ships are built for. Neither were we created simply to avoid every storm.

Jesus tells us: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). An abundant life is not necessarily filled with possessions or unbroken happiness. It is a life rich in meaning, faith, generosity and love. But what does it mean to surrender our lives to God? Perhaps it means allowing love to become our deepest desire, our daily prayer, our daily eucharist and our daily activity. Not a love that constantly asks what it can receive, but a love that gives freely, forgives courageously, shows mercy, care, and charity and seeks the good of another without demanding anything in return. This is the transforming power of divine love as it challenges our selfishness, softens our hearts and calls us beyond ourselves. Through prayer, daily eucharist, silence and contemplation, we make room for God to shape the people we are becoming. I know I do not have all the answers. I am still working on myself, still learning, still trying to live the faith I profess. But perhaps that is part of the journey, not pretending to be perfect, but remaining willing to be changed by God's grace.

Kindness alone cannot prevent every tragedy or solve every problem in our complicated world. Yet we can each try to make somebody's experience of being alive a little better, rather than harder. I cannot change the whole world, but I can take responsibility for what I put into it. Perhaps that is where we must begin, with the words and prayers we speak, the judgements we make, the forgiveness we offer, the help we give and the compassion we show when nobody is watching.

Every step can become a prayer

During many of my charity walks and pilgrimages over the years, I was reminded that a journey is about much more than the distance covered. It is about the people we carry in our hearts. I thought of family, friends, neighbours and colleagues, those sick in hospital, those grieving and those facing difficulties they might never share publicly. I thought of children and families we may never meet, whose lives we hope to improve through our charitable efforts. Prayer is not confined to a church or chapel. It can be found in every step taken for someone else, in the tears we shed for those we love and in the generosity that asks for nothing in return.

We cannot reach everyone alone, but together we can turn concern into action and compassion into practical support. Saint Francis of Assisi's prayer asks God to make us instruments of peace. We can carry peace into our homes, workplaces and communities. We can choose patience instead of anger, mercy instead of judgement and understanding instead of division. We can try to leave every person we meet a little more hopeful than we found them.

The beauty of another beginning

As I approached the end of my walk that evening recently, moonlight spread across Galway Bay. The ancient outline of the Burren stood majestic against the night sky, and I stopped for a moment simply to look. The waves continued their rhythm. The night held its silence. The beauty was there, whether I had noticed it or not.

Perhaps we need more moments like that: moments when we stop rushing, breathe deeply and remember that life is a gift, even when it is difficult. There will be days when we dance through life and days when we struggle to put one foot in front of the other. There will be days of celebration and days of sorrow, days when our prayers overflow and days when all we can whisper is, “Help me and please remember me, Lord.” Through all of them, may we remember that we are held. We may never understand every loss or know why some prayers appear unanswered. But we can still choose hope, choose love and choose to begin again and let God hold your hand.

Thought for the week

As your thought for the week please remember that life is not a burden to be endured until better days arrive. It is a precious gift to be lived, cherished and shared. Take the next step with faith, celebrate the goodness that finds you, and become a light for someone whose way is difficult. For in the end, it is not simply how far we have travelled that matters, but how deeply we have loved and how much hope we have left along the way. This week, reach out to someone who is lonely. Tell someone you love them. Forgive where you can. Give generously. Stand up for those who are vulnerable. Celebrate the goodness of the people around you. As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, may we become more attentive to those whose lives already feel dark. For the world does not need us to be perfect. It needs us to be present. It needs us to care, to love, to pray and to act.

Let me leave you with a prayer for the journey - "Loving God, hold our hands when we are frightened, steady our feet when the road is difficult, and open our eyes to the beauty surrounding us. Bless those who are sick, lonely, grieving or struggling silently. Comfort those who mourn, feed those who are hungry, shelter those without a home and bring peace to those living amid war and violence. Teach us not merely to pray for a better world, but to become part of the answer to our prayers. Help us to love generously, forgive readily, listen patiently and serve joyfully. When darkness falls and we cannot see the road ahead, remind us that we are cherished and that tomorrow offers another opportunity to begin again. Lord, take our hands. Walk beside us. Help us to leave no one behind. Amen."