This week, each member of Teach Bhríde reflected on our time with the program and respond to the following prompt:
Since coming to Ireland with Teach Bhríde, when have you been surprised by joy?
Here’s what everyone had to say!
“So much of my life in the Wexford community has been joyful that the question of ‘surprise’ gave me pause – every conversation with the tea ladies, every mass in which I get to sing with my friends, every spur-of-the-moment tea with Fr. Denis has made me deeply conscious of how grateful I am to be here. Nevertheless, there are still moments in which the joy of community life takes me by surprise: most recently, the little fireplace in our house has become a source of childlike rapture for me. My housemates have been joking that this fireplace is the only thing I’ve been talking about since we got here. (Only partially true.) A couple days ago, Father Denis took us to the fuel shop to get briquettes and blocks of wood for the little furnace, and even gave us a powerful firestarter that we have lovingly dubbed ‘the flamethrower.’ I love the way the fireplace invites us into community: Father Denis giving us a tutorial in fire maintenance, Kelly Anne and Kati gathering around it for our community meeting (sans Andrew, who is home for his brother’s wedding), FaceTiming my brother Jack, the fire-building expert, to show him my work. It seems to be a reminder of how cared for I am here, of the kindness of the community around me, and of the simple ways God reminds us that we are loved.”
-Clare
“In my past year and a half with House of Brigid, I have found great joy in discovering many times that what at first seemed to be chance encounter with a stranger would in reality become just the first encounter in a dear friendship. So many of the people I consider close to me now are people who I could have never imagined meeting. I suppose that in order to be ‘surprised’ by joy, I have to allow for these kinds of new doors to enter into my life. Secondly, there is little more magical than that one graceful moment when, despite having practiced a piece potentially hundreds of times over the year, for some reason everyone’s minds and spirits seem to converge into expressing a hymn with more meaning than our words can describe. These moments are odd and certainly unexpected, but some of them occurred during our album recording last year, and more have happened this year during particularly emotional evenings. (Oh, and a grateful shoutout to my housemates, Katherine and Maddie, who blew me away me this year with my first ever surprise birthday party filled with my closest friends from over here. That was one of my favorites weekends of all time haha.)”
-Shane
“Joy runs through so much of my life here. I find myself constantly surprised by the little moments—interactions that become such a part of an ordinary day that I almost forget how extraordinary they are. Laughing every morning with the tea ladies, who tell the most dramatic stories of anyone I’ve ever known (and I know a lot of theatre kids). Breaking out into song whenever Kati, Andrew, or Clare says something even tangentially related to a musical….and hoping one of the others will chime in to finish the reference. Receiving a gift bag from Stephanie lending us all eight Harry Potter films—thanks to her generosity I can finally understand the hype! Spontaneous invitations for tea that bring quality time and quality conversation. Hopefully these moments continue to fill my days here in Wexford, and I will never stop appreciating them.”
-Kelly Anne
“My community (Shane and Maddie) have brought me so much joy this year. I love that we can be honest, silly, and ourselves with one another. It’s not always easy to live and work in community but, I find joy in the fact that we are all trying hard to make it work. Sunday masses, Taizé services, mundane office tasks, meals, walks home, and more are never chores or boring tasks when I get to do it with them! Rarely a day goes by when I don’t laugh so hard that my stomach hurts.”
-Katherine
“There have been a number of joy-giving moments this week: people graciously eating the cheesecake I bought from Lidl for community dinner dessert even though the best way to describe it is meh, laughing all together in the kitchen, and Fr. Denis making sure we are fed. But the most joyful surprise for me this week was the view at Kelly’s in Rosslare. We went to the tea room, which has these huge glass windows so you can see everything around you, and I suddenly felt like I was back home in San Diego. The curving coastline, the waves, the palm tree-esque plants, all made me feel at home. I am blessed that I got to relax in that room while everyone else had a cup of tea and take it all in.”
-Kati
“I think the moments of joy that have most surprised me have been those that come to me when I’m at my worst. When I’m exhausted after a long day, frustrated, and just ready to shut down and go to sleep, God usually decides to bring me something lovely to close out my day. It could be Shane and Katherine asking me if I want to join them in our living room for some impromptu community time, a really, really good meal, or an invitation to Adoration, to just sit with Jesus for a moment and take a breath. These moments of joy are nothing spectacular, but perhaps that’s what makes them so surprising; God can take any small, mundane thing and transform it into something special.”
-Maddie
“In the beginning was the word… God has come to me in so many small moments that the memory of them seems to escape me. A big moment for me though was our evening in Glendalough as a full group. The beauty of the night and the nature that surrounded us was augmented so well by the tangible love I perceived from my community members for me. Your support and affirmation are such incredible blessings, and your love has sustained me in so many ways since coming here. As God became incarnate among us as love, you have come to me in my hours of darkness as a light, and for this I am exceedingly grateful.”
-Andrew
How have you been surprised by joy?
