Fr. Alan was interviewed last Sunday on Midwestern Radio about the new MSC Volunteering project.
For more information on the MSC Volunteering Programme click here.
For the interview with Monica Morley and Fr. Alan on Midwest’s Faith Alive programme click here.
In 1997, John Paul II called for consecrated life to be promoted throughout the universal Church. He declared February 2, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, to be observed as World Day for Consecrated Life (WDCL). The celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life invites all the Church to reflect on the role of Consecrated Life within the Christian community. Those who choose to live a consecrated life do so for the sake of the Gospel.
Some Christian women and men respond to God’s call to become followers of Jesus through profession of vows and a life dedicated to prayer and service. They live out the consecrated life in different ways. Religious sisters, nuns, brothers, religious priests, and monks consecrate their lives through their profession of the evangelical vows and live as part of a community. Single lay people may choose to be consecrated virgins and make private vows to the local bishop as they live out their vocation in various walks of life. Secular institutes are another form of living the consecrated life as single people. Those who become followers of Jesus through the consecrated life bless the Church.
As Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, we are an apostolic missionary community of priests and brothers. We work together to bring the message of God’s love to the world in the life we lead and the ministry we undertake. We usually live together, in a life marked by communal prayer, ministries of service and the vows of celibacy, obedience and poverty. We work in Ireland, England, South Africa, Venezuela, Namibia, Russia and the USA. Missionary work abroad is voluntary, but we support each other in what we do in all sorts of ways.
Some other groups and orders were set up to do one particular job, but we work wherever and however we’re needed. You could be serving the people of a parish, teaching at university or school, sitting with the sick as hospital chaplain, running a youth club, at development work in a mission country, guiding people through a retreat, helping people through the high of their wedding day or the low of a bereavement, and many other things in between.
Above all it’s about responding to God’s call, sharing His love with our brothers and sisters and being missionaries of His heart.
A lot of the time we can use jargon that can be difficult to understand, such as ‘postulant’ and ‘novice.’ Have a look at the short video below to help understand some of the terms we commonly use.
[youtube GpkgE7ob9C4?t=9s nolink]
Prayer for Vocations
Holy God,
during this Year of Faith,
With gratitude in our hearts,
we praise you for your love and your fidelity.
You have shown us the way to holiness
through Mary and Jesus
and many faithful witnesses.
You continue to call men and women
to dedicate their lives through the vows of
poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Give them courage to respond generously
to your call with “Here I am, send me!”
Blessed by your Spirit,
may we always proclaim your love
with our lives. Amen.
It was perhaps the dirtiest game of football I’ve ever witnessed. It was the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart vs. the Franciscans in South Africa back in 2003. The idea of turning the other cheek was dropped in favour of getting the boot in, although in a Christian and caring fashion – you helped the guy back up afterwards. We knew there’d be trouble when the Frans turned up in regular football gear when they’re really supposed to play in habits and open toed sandals. Not my idea, but thems the rules. I think we won – four fouls to three, but the craic was good. (more…)
Exciting news! Today marks the beginning of the exploreAway vocation discernment programme. Six people have begun the five weekend course that looks at how God is moving in their lives and inviting them to follow him. It’s a gentle, relfective time that gives space and quiet to share, pray and discern. The course will be facilitated by myself and Sr Gabrielle O’Farrell OLA. There’ll be inputs from members of a number of different congregations on areas like vocation, life journey, prayer, the vows and religious life.
We’d ask for your prayers for all those taking part in the course and for all those discerning their vocation at this time. We all have a role to play today in promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
Earlier this week on RTE, Ireland’s national broadcaster, John Creedon went behind the grille at the Poor Clare Convent in Galway. He was given a unique opportunity to see what happens in the convent and to chat with some of the community. It was a fascinating insight into the lives of the many sisters living lives of contemplation, coupled with creative outreach to the world around them.
It was wonderful to hear the vocation’s stories of the different women. They came from a wide variety of backgrounds and from all around the country. The University of Galway seemed to be an especially good place for vocations! What was most striking was the humanness of their individual stories. Whether they were working for the County Council or studying for a business degree before they entered they were united by a sense of God calling them to do something special. We tend to think that joining a religious congregation is counter cultural today, but it seems that it has always been the case. In an interview with one of the older sisters, John was informed that when she joined her family kept all her old clothes, because they assumed that she’d never last in the convent. You can watch the interview by clicking here. It runs from 36mins 56secs to 45mins 6secs.
Asking the sisters for their prayers and support has always been a strong tradition in the Poor Clares. Their community in Galway has taken it a step further, embracing the internet through the development of a new website. This initiative is in response to Pope John Paul II’s call that monasteries and convents should be schools of prayer and that they would continue to offer to today’s world an authentic experience of God. You can check out their website by clicking here. Judging by its popularity, as well as their Facebook page, it’s clear that people are open to their message and engaged by their spirituality and way of life – perhaps now more so than ever!
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!