Nov 24, 2014
Vocations ministry in Ireland is busy at the best of times, but it looks like 2015 is going to be exceptional! Pope Francis has continued to revolutionise and encourage the Church by designating November 30th 2014 until February 2nd 2016 the Year of Consecrated Life. He believes that, “Religious life ought to promote growth in the church by way of attraction. The church must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! . . . It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up.”
A Year for Getting Up and Going!
This year in Ireland we are going to continue and expand our vocations ministry. We will have opportunities to walk the road less traveled along pilgrim pathways to Lourdes, Medjugorge and Santiago de Compostella. We’re going to take part in festivals at home and abroad where you can celebrate what it really means to be a Catholic with thousands of others. We’ll have Samuel groups, discernment weekends and Road Trips for those of you who are perhaps looking to really listen to where God is calling you, whether it’s marriage, the single life, priesthood or a religious vocation. We’ll also have our third year of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteering Project for people wanting to work in solidarity with the margnialised in South Africa. If the challenge is to wake up the world, then the question must be, ‘Why are you still lying around?!”
Over the coming week we are going to be advertising all of our programmes for 2015. Like our Facebook page or subscribe to our blog to make sure you get all the up to date information for the Year of Consecrated Life.
Oct 14, 2014
Spirit in the City Festival in London
It has been a summer of celebration for the MSC vocations team, filled with festivals, pilgrimages and volunteering. Most exciting of all we opened our new student community in Dublin on September 8th with two candidates, Kevin and Henry. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. In fact we’ll start at the very beginning of summer. It is, as the song goes, a very good place to start.
Arriving after 111Km on the Camino
June opened with a young adult pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago. For those of you who haven’t heard of The Way it’s an 800km walk across the north of Spain to the resting place of the Apostle James. It has been part of Catholic tradition for well over a millennium. Each year it inspires hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to leave hurry and noise of life behind, to walk or cycle or ride on horseback to Santiago in a spirit of reflection and prayer. Our group this year came from Scotland and Ireland and they were profoundly moved by the experience, in spite of the torrential rain once or twice. June was also a good time for festivals and we took part in Brightlights young adult weekend and the Spirit in the City evangelisation day in Leicester Square. They are at the forefront of engaging young adults and exploring what faith means today. (more…)
Sep 8, 2014
Kevin, Clare, Fr. Alan and Henry
It’s a real day of celebration for the Chevalier Family. Today we have three young adults entering formation in Dublin, two with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) and one with our sister congregation, the Daughters of our Lady of the Sacred Heart (OLSH). It is an exciting new departure, as they take that courageous next step exploring where God is calling them in life.
Meet the Students (more…)
Aug 3, 2013
Following World Youth Day in Rio 2013 some of the young people with the MSC Vocations team reflect on the week’s highlights.
Kieran Torbuck
One of my favourite experiences of the World Youth Day (WYD) so far had to be the visit to the Sugar Loaf Mountain. Despite the wind and cold, spirits were high as pilgrims from the world over united in song and chants, sharing photos and gifts. This was our first real experience of the WYD atmosphere and I’m pleased to say that it only grew bigger throughout the week as we made new friends.
The Opening Ceremony was another highlight for me, since although we were divided for our group it was easy to meet other groups and everyone was happy to mix and invite us in. For me, it is this feeling of togetherness, unity and celebration that has made WYD such a fantastic experience. (more…)
Jul 22, 2013
Okay, so the title is a little misleading, but the event itself is spectacular! MSC Vocations is over in Rio for World Youth Day 2013. The weather is perfect! We’re right next to Copacabana Beach! Pope Francis is en route! The atmosphere is AMAZING! Over the week you can follow our blog to keep up to date with all that’s happening in Brazil for the largest youth gathering on the planet!
Fr. Alan and Francis in Rio
Day 1 Next Stop Rio (more…)
May 27, 2013
A Catholic youth festival! In England! Surely such a thing is a contradiction in terms. It’ll probably be dull. There’ll be Mass on all day. Who’d want to go? It’s a pretty typical response from some people when they hear about the Brightlights Youth Festival – long, boring and preachy. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. (more…)
Vocations ministry in Ireland is busy at the best of times, but it looks like 2015 is going to be exceptional! Pope Francis has continued to revolutionise and encourage the Church by designating November 30th 2014 until February 2nd 2016 the Year of Consecrated Life. He believes that, “Religious life ought to promote growth in the church by way of attraction. The church must be attractive. Wake up the world! Be witnesses of a different way of doing things, of acting, of living! . . . It is this witness that I expect of you. Religious should be men and women who are able to wake the world up.”
