Women of Faith Hosted Autumn Breakfast Reflecting on the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.
In Greystones, on Friday, October 16 — The Women of Faith group invited the community to an autumn breakfast at Kilian House Family Centre.
The gathering celebrated the harvest season and offered time to reflect on the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Organisers said these qualities remained essential sources of strength, perspective, and hope in an increasingly secular society.
The morning also explored themes of faith and renewal. Faith reminded attendees of the value of perseverance, hope and personal growth, while renewal encouraged openness to fresh perspective and the courage to move forward with confidence.
Guest speaker Rev. Rosemary Lindsay, a Christian minister of the Methodist Church in Ireland, led practical reflections on how these spiritual fruits could be incorporated into everyday life. Rev. Lindsay served for 17 years in parishes along the East Coast and in the Midlands before retiring from active ministry and has remained widely involved and available for ministry and community life.
Fr. Des Hayden, Parish Priest, guided attendees through an the Ignatian Examen, a simple prayer that helped them reflect on how they are living in the present. Through this practice, Fr. Des encouraged participants to recognise works of the Holy Spirit in both the joys and struggles of each day.
Held in autumn, the event invited participants into a quieter, more contemplative season. As nature released its leaves, the morning encouraged attendees to let go of worries and negative habits, and to enter a new season of faith, trust and hope.
Some feedback to share:
“Thank you to the team for a lovely event on Friday morning. The message and words from Fr. Des and Rosemary have stayed with me. I feel very fortunate to live in such a faith-filled community and thankful to have spaces like Friday’s to be in.”
“Thank you for a beautiful joyful meeting on Friday. Rosemary was an inspiration. I am doing the examen as so well explained and presented from Fr. Des.”
