Oct 9, 2012
On Thursday coming we’re going to be launching the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme at the DCU Volunteering Expo. We’ll be in the Venue – Students Union from 11:00am to 3:00pm, so if you’re around make sure to say hello. Below you’ll find details of the Programme.
With the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme you will work with a community who need your skills, talents and enthusiasm. It’s about being in partnership with others, teaching and learning at the same time, and sharing of yourself in order to make a real difference in your world.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme (MSCVP) is a new initiative that:
– looks to provide enriching, challenging and meaningful short term voluntary experiences.
– seeks to share the talents of our volunteers with our partner projects.
– works towards promoting responsible volunteering in our partner projects in South Africa.
We are looking for young men and women, between the ages of 25 and 40, who are interested in                 undertaking three months of volunteering work abroad over summer. Ideally applicants should have relevant skills, such as a teacher, mechanic, carpenter, nurse, electrician, doctor, etc. All necessary training will be provided. Part of the expenses for the trip will be provided, but there will be a need for fundraising.
If you would like further information you can contact Fr. Alan on (086) 7857955 or by email fralan@mscvocations.ie
Aug 25, 2012
The call of the disciples doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense. Jesus, after spending time in the desert reflecting on who he was and what his Father was calling him to do, invites an unusual group of people to follow him. These are the men who are going to help him proclaim good news, to bring healing to the broken and to reveal the presence of a loving God to all. In these days of human resource management and professional recruitment there are criteria that must be fulfilled, references to be checked and qualifications to be earned. To this end one could have asssumed that Jesus would have chosen from among the powerful, the learned and the influential. But our God is a God of surprises and He rarely acts in ways we aniticipate.
So it was with the apostles. In Luke 5 Jesus invites Simon Peter and his companions to put out into deep water, to respond to an invitation that seems pointless. The resulting catch is astonishing and it opens Simon Peter’s eyes to the fact that something extraordinary is happening. Once again Jesus invites Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John, but this time to do something far more profound. Their true vocation is to become fishers of men and women. Jesus wasn’t interested in the external trappings that people valued, as much today as back in his time. What Christ was looking for were people with a heart that was open to God’s call, not when they were ready, but when he needed them.
I’ve only been involved with vocation promotion for less than a year, but it’s been a powerful experience. It’s about journeying with people and listening to their story and how God continues to love, challenge and call them. For some they are thinking of becoming a priest, while others are interested in consecrated religious life. Very often though there is a sense that people feel that they don’t have enough faith; they are not holy enough; or maybe that they are not ready. But if we are going to wait until we ourselves are ready, well that day will most likely never come. Sometimes we need to take the risk, we need to leave our nets behind and we need to follow God’s call. If you look at the life of Peter and how he shaped his world and built up the people of God, it all began with that simple invitation to “Come and follow me.” That’s your invitation too. What’s your answer?
Jun 4, 2012
Some of the children who stay at the Holy Family Centre
You couldn’t have planned it if you tried. After a very long drive and a good night’s sleep I’m up and wandering around the Holy Family Centre with Sr. Susan. There are children running around, playing football or simply chatting with one another. As I turn the corner by the hall next to the pitch there are two children aged 11 and 7 and the older one is reading her Bible to her friend. It’s all about Moses, Pa-hair-ooh ( think about it! ) and the ten plagues. She stumbles over some of the words, but soliders on with great energy. It’s about frogs, locusts and plenty of drama. What’s not to love! (more…)
May 31, 2012
After Mass in the neighbouring township of Ivory Park
There’s a clock on the office wall of the Tshwaranang Hospice and Care Centre that advertises the services of a local funeral director. It’s a sombre reminder of the reality facing South Africa in light of the HIV / AIDS crisis. But in a place that could easily be overshadowed by despair hope reigns, at least for now.
As we walk around the ground with Mna. Joanna, the centre director, we meet Sammy working in the garden. Sammy was once a patient in Tshwarang, but because of the care he received he has now recovered, at least temporarily. He is now looking after the vegetables that the Centre grows and sells in order to help support itself.
Tshwaranang Hospice
The word ‘Tshwaranang’ means ‘holding hands.’ It is small centre, with only eighteen beds. On the weekend we visit one person has died and two more patients have been admitted. What is important here is the quality of care. From the food prepared in the simple kitchen, to the grounds where the patients sit out on warm days, to the gentleness of the nurses, there is a sense of something special happening.
Tshwaranang is a place where the Gospel message is very much alive. It’s not enough to treat the sick because they are in need of medical attention or even because they are our brothers and sisters. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus tells us the mark of a Christian will be their ability to see the divine in the poor, the imprisoned, the refugee and the infirm and to treat them as they would treat Christ himself. This is an essential part of our truest vocation and the greatest challenge of our faith, to see the divine spark in all people, especially those at the margins.
May 26, 2012
By my very nature I’m not a nervous passenger. In fact I love travelling. I love the sights, trying the food, making new friends, and experiencing different cultures! But by any measure this trip has gotten off to a rocky start.
I’m sitting in Cork Airport with an incessant ringing in my ears typing fast and furiously. It’s because there’s a power cut and I forgot to recharge the laptop last night. The aiport siren though is working perfectly, letting us no there’s no power. One would have thought that the complete absence of lights anywhere in the building would be a good enought indicator, but better safe than sorry. On top of that my flight to London is delayed an hour and a half. And to make mtters just that little bit worse there no coffee, because the coffee machine isn’t working, because there’s no power. Even Job would be getting a little antsy at this stage and I’m definitely no Job.
Fr. Herman in the after school project
However it’s all for a great cause. I’m off to South Africa for two weeks to look at setting up a volunteering programme with our Missionary of the Sacred Heart brothers in the Region. Along with Sr. Susan Jones, a member of the Holy Faith Congregation and a chaplain in DCU, we’ll be travelling around the country, working in the various projects and looking at possibilities for short term volunteering ( three months ). We’re going to begin in Tembisa, one of the largest townshops just outside Johannesburg. Fr. Herman van Dyke, based in the Ivory Park parish, is involved with the local Tshwaranang AIDS Hopsice and the Pilani youth project. We should be starting on Monday, so I’ll fill you in as it happens.
In the meantime God has taken pity on my plight. The electricity is back on. The sirens have stopped. Perhaps now is a good time to see if the coffee machine is running again. Things are beginning to look up!
May 21, 2012
Steve Colbert
“If you don’t have it, don’t spend it.” As far as common sense goes it doesn’t get any more self evident than that. But are there certain things that are absolutely essential, things that we cannot abandon, without sacrificing values that make us who we are?
This was evident last week when the Irish Government stated that is was still committed to keeping its UN target of allocating 0.7 per cent of gross national income to overseas aid by 2015. We are in a time of cut back, redundancies and closures and one could be forgiven for thinking that the future looks a bleak. You would think that this would be a time when we need to look after our own first, after all charity begins at home. (more…)
On Thursday coming we’re going to be launching the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme at the DCU Volunteering Expo. We’ll be in the Venue – Students Union from 11:00am to 3:00pm, so if you’re around make sure to say hello. Below you’ll find details of the Programme.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme (MSCVP) is a new initiative that:
