Mar 15, 2014
Peter Ng’ang’na MSC, from Kenya, celebrated his Diaconate Ordination earlier this month with his Missionary of the Sacred Heart broters. Here he tells us what happened.
Preparation for my Diaconate Ordination began with a six days retreat led by Fr. Nick Harnan at our house in Makhado. Fr. Jonas Mokoena continued with a final week of preparation to the ministry of Diaconate and practice. The Parish Youth from Vleifontein village prepared the Liturgy and hymns for the Mass. Fr Vince Carroll was very welcoming at the house and proved himself to be an excellent host in every way. (more…)
May 30, 2013
A Novena is a very special time of reflection. It is a time of intense personal prayer and petition. It is also a time of communal prayer with many hundreds of others who join with us, in person at one of the centres where the novena is being prayed and celebrated, or remotely across Ireland and England with people following the novena in their own homes. There will be community Novena celebrations in Myross Woods, Ballyvaloo and in Sacred Heart Parish, Western Road.
During a Novena we not only pray for our own needs, and the needs of those close to us, we also pray in communion with all those others who are making the novena. We join with those who are far away in many different parts of this country and abroad. It is an opportunity to continue to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life as well. It is an area of prayer that has been overlooked in recent years, but it is an essential part of vocations promotion.
As part of this prayer drive we have sent over 20,000 vocations prayer cards to benefactors of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. The idea is that we can create a climate of prayer that once again celebrates the baptismal call of all people and encouages those who might be considering whether to become a sister, brother or a priest. In Africa they say, ‘People are people through people.’ It is through our relationships with God, others and ourselves that we realise who we are. Let us pray today for that grace to fulfill our own vocation, while supporting others to do the same.
You can join in the Novena through the Novena prayer:
O Divine Jesus, who said,
“Ask and you shall receive”,
I kneel at your feet.
From whom shall I ask if not from you,
whose heart is the source of all blessings.With a lively faith in you, I come to ask ( pause and mention petition here ) I admit I am most unworth of your favours, Jesus,
but this is not a reason for me to be discouraged.
You are the God of mercies
and You will not refuse a contrite heart.
Look with pity on me, I beg you,
and your compassionate Heart will find in my weakness
a motive for granting my request. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on me.
May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere loved.
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, pray for us.
May 25, 2013
Yesterday was all about engagement. It’s more than just a buzz word. It’s about looking at how we as a Church in general and as vocations directors in particular outreach to young people. Sixty vocations directors from a wide variety of religious congregations gathered in the Emmaus Centre in Dublin to share, brainstorm and realise new and exciting ways of making contact with people considering a call to religious life and the priesthood. (more…)
May 24, 2013
For those who are considering the possibility of a vocation to priesthood or religious life this coming Sunday something special is happening. As part of Vocations Ireland’s exciting new exploreAway programme for 2013 we are holding a taster afternoon for those who want to find out more about exploreAway, with no strings attached. (more…)
Mar 21, 2013
‘The Africa Bug’
Last weekend saw the first gathering of our lay missionary volunteers in Sacred Heart Community, Western Road. It was an opportunity for the four people who are preparing to journey to South Africa for three months to meet up and get to know one another. As part of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme ( MSCVP ) they are going to spend the summer working with the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the team in the Holy Family Centre in Ofcolaco. The Centre is home to around seventy children, ranging from babies to teenagers, who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and TB. (more…)
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!
