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…)
Vocations ministry in 2012 hit the ground running. From the launch of our website in February we’ve been around the world and back again and we’ve taken part in loads of exciting festivals, events and celebrations. 2013 however is going to be bigger, better and even more exciting!
We’ll continue with many of the events of last year. There’ll be a pilgrimage to Lourdes with the Irish Pilgrimage Trust after Easter. The exploreAway discernment programme will run through Spring, as six young people consider their call to religious life and priesthood. The Knock Summer Festival and the Brightlights WYD gathering are among the highlights of the summer. (more…)
Yes! It’s happening! The MSCs are going to Rio for World Youth Day 2013! We’ll join over 3,000,000 other young people from around the world next for two week this coming July. WYD is a fantastic occasion for people to gather together, to celebrate their faith, and have an unforgettable time.
The MSC group will include five young people from St. Albans, two from Princethorpe College, one from Liverpool and one from Drimoleague, as well as myself. We’re going to join up and travel with the pilgrimage from the Archdiocese of Westminster. During the course of the event we’ll also link in with other MSCs from Venezuela, Indonesia, Canada and of course Brazil itself.
Some of the young people from St. Albans, Phil from Westminster and Fr. Alan
The week is filled with activity and celebration, most of which takes place on the famous Copacabana Beach. There will be afternoons of catechesis, tours of local sights ( including a trip up to Christ the Redeemer ), volley ball on the beach, open mike and concert sessions, as well as creative liturgical celebrations culminating in the final Mass with the Pope.
For more information, as it happens, watch this space
Exciting doesn’t begin to describe it. It doesn’t do it justice. Are there even words to adequately explain what’s it like to have over 3,000,000 young Catholics sharing, exploring and celebrating their faith. A lot of the time people say, “You would have had to have been there.” This is one of those rare occasions when they’re actually right.
Next year’s celebration of World Youth Day in Rio promises to be one of the biggest youth gatherings in history. But it’s more than just a get together or simply a party. It about being a member of a universal Church, which includes people from all over our planet. It reminds us that, as Catholics, we have something to share and to celebrate. (more…)
The most essential piece of kit for the NPC
When people speak of the largest gathering of people in the world they often point to the Hindu celebration of Kumbh Mela, which can have more than 70 million pilgrims in attendance during the festival. As Catholics we often point to World Youth Day. In fact WYD in Manila in 1995 had over 4 million young people in attendance. How many there will be in Rio in 2013 remains to be seen, but we definitely plan on being there. Watch this space!
However all these events pale into insignificance when compared to the largest event in Ireland, the National Ploughing Championships, which will take place from September 25th to 27th at Heathpark, New Ross, Co. Wexford. It’s one of Europe’s largest outdoor exhibitions and agricultural trade shows and it attracts on average 189,000 visitors and 1,100 exhibitors. This year however there’ll be 1,001. I’ll be in attendance, along with some of my MSC brothers for the course of the festival. I’ve got my wellies and we’re ready for anything! We’ll be chatting with people, meeting benefactors and we’ve also got a novel of exploring what it means to have a vocation. It’ll involve centipedes, rotten eggs, moldy cheese and dog food. Enough said!
We’re in the lifestyle and tourism section called Barrow, Stand 756, Row W Block 1. If you’re around next week do drop by and say hello! You’d be most welcome! We’ll be blogging away during the Championship as well.
One generally associates Our Lady’s Shrine in Knock with gentle hymns and heavenly choirs, but on the last Friday in July Knock rocked to the sound of a very different style of music. It was an evening of final sound checks for the musicians getting ready for the Knock Summer Festival. In fact the whole area next to the Basilica was alive with activity as teams of people set up marquees, arranged chill out spaces and sorted out workshops, all under the watchful eyes of Helen and Nic, the fantastic Knock Youth Team.
It was needed, because over the course of Saturday morning over five hundred young people descended on Knock looking forward to an amazing festival and they were not disappointed! The day was different to any other with insightful talks by Fr.Conall O Cuinn who spoke on God’s love, John Lonergan who spoke on community and the need for us all to make a difference in our local community and Bishop Mc Keown speaking about the church as One Body in Jesus Christ. The workshops were on Drumming, taize prayer, love and relationships and youth alpha.
Just some of the people at the One Call Vocation Worshop
I was also really delighted to be invited to lead a workshop on vocation in the afternoon. I was hoping we’d get 40 if we were lucky, but we ended up with over 60. It was literally standing room only! The group was great and really entered into the reflection and the creative activities with all their hearts. There was clay, candles and letters all over the place as we looked at how we are all called to be lights to the world; how we are all letters written by God, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; and how we are moulded and created by a loving God.
Music was prvided by the amazing and talented Elation Ministries. There was loads of time for prayer and reflection and our final mass was celebrated by the parish priest in Knock Fr. Richard Gibbons. The day wrapped up with over five hundred people singing together, “Awake, Rise Up and Follow Me!”
Here’s a little bit of Elation to give you a feel for the sense of celebration we all had during the day.
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