Blog - Kirnan Coaching Associates, LLC

Today is National Grief Awareness Day

“𝑹𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒋𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆; 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏.” 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝟏𝟐:𝟏𝟓 Today is National Grief Awareness Day, an opportunity not only to remember those we have loved and lost, but also to become more aware of the many ways grief has touched our own lives. When we hear the word grief, we naturally think …

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46 Years Later, Still Running the Race and Blessed by God’s Grace

“You are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you.”— Isaiah 43:4 That beautiful line from Scripture was at the heart of the homily Fr. Vincent Hevern, SJ, gave when Jean and I were married 46 years ago today—and all these years later, it still captures exactly how I feel about her. Looking …

Reflections Spiritual Coaching

Our Lady of Mount Carmel School: Where the Seeds of Faith Fell on Fertile Soil

I recently returned to the place where so many seeds of faith, friendship, learning and service were first planted — Our Lady of Mount Carmel Grammar School. As I walked along the old school grounds, so many memories came rushing back— all the fun and games we played during recess, the games of punchball and Buck Buck, the monthly Hot Dog Days, ice cold cartons of milk, the school bell, the upper gym which became our version of Hoosiers, our beloved Sisters of Charity and lay teachers, my classmates, and the priests and church that defined that formative period of my life. What has stayed with me most over these past 57 years is the increasing realization that it was these ordinary moments and extraordinary people who helped shape the person I became—and the person I believe God is still calling me to be. I am forever grateful.

Spiritual Coaching Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Reflections

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬

What if the voice telling you that you are not enough isn’t the voice you should be listening to? The story of five loaves and two fish reminds us that God doesn’t ask why we don’t have more. He simply asks us to bring Him what we have.

Executive Coaching Career Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭. 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐥𝐚: 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

In 1521, a cannonball shattered the leg of a vain, ambitious soldier named Íñigo López de Loyola at the Battle of Pamplona. Months of painful recovery followed — and in his boredom, reaching for stories of chivalry, he found instead the lives of Christ and the saints. That shattered leg became the doorway to sainthood. …

Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗿-𝗩𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗠𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿

One of the greatest misconceptions about grief is that healing means leaving the past behind. We hear phrases like, “It’s time to move on,” “You need to let go,” or “You have to get over it.” Though usually well-intentioned, these words can leave grieving people feeling that healing requires forgetting the person they loved or …

Bereavement Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐞

“𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢?” “𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒,” ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑. — 𝐿𝑢𝑘𝑒 18:41 (𝑁𝐼𝑉) Back in 2013, over lunch with an old friend, I was asked a question that changed my life — one I’m still answering today. That friend was Fr. Hank Hilton, SJ, and the lunch was …

Bereavement Grief Coaching Reflections Spiritual Coaching

𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐮é𝐬: 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟, 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

“𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐.” 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒘 𝟔:𝟐𝟏 Last Friday, I completed the Camino Portugués, walking 227 miles from Porto through Santiago and then on to Finisterre — often called “the end of the world.” As I reflect on the journey, three graces stand out: 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐞: 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 My first …

Spiritual Coaching Bereavement Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 — 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐠𝐮é𝐬

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙨, 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙮 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮, 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙝, 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙪𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙟𝙤𝙮𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙗𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚.” — 𝙒𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝘽𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙐𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 (𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟭) Today, …

Career Coaching Executive Coaching Grief Coaching Spiritual Coaching

The Loyola Retreat Experience — Discerning God’s Call in the Silence

“𝙃𝙚𝙮 𝙅𝙖𝙘𝙠, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚?” — 𝘼 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡 Two weekends ago, my brother Matt and I stepped away from the noise of everyday life and attended a 42-hour Silent Retreat at Loyola Jesuit Center in Morristown, NJ. Matt and I have …