Jul 8, 2015
Only 100km to go!
The plane was late. Only an hour, but in Spain connections are precarious. However finally everybody touched down and we managed to make a mad dash to get our bus. When we arrived in Sarria we began to move at an entirely different pace. On the Way you have to leave the hurry and bustle of the world behind, if only for a short while. It’s an experience that has drawn people from all around the world, including nine pilgrims making up our MSC Camino group.
Just after dawn the next day we began our 111km journey to Santiago de Compostella. It’s an incredible experience of walking from horizon to horizon across the beautiful Galician countryside. We followed in the footsteps of countless thousands of pilgrims, stretching back over a thousand years, towards the resting place of St. James the Apostle.
Follow Your Heart – Wisdom on the Way
Our group was made up of college students and staff, with Henry and Giacomo along for good measure. We walked about 25km per day, arriving at our destinations before the heat of the noon Sun. Then there was the opportunity to have a siesta, explore the town, and chat with fellow pilgrims. In the evening there was time for Mass and the famous €10 Camino three course dinner. There were surprisingly no blisters ( well, not many anyway ) and everybody got on like a house on fire. (more…)
Mar 15, 2015
Welcoming all the youth from St. Albans to Flame 2
For Cardinal Tagle it was all about mercy. For the youth it was an opportunity to gather to celebrate faith. For the MSC Vocations team it was all about the Smarites!
Flame 2 was the largest Catholic Youth Event in UK in 2015. It brought together amazing speakers like Cardinal Tagle from the Philippines, Baroness Shelia Hollins, and Fr. Timothy Radcliffe OP. Worship was led by the double Grammy Award winning Matt Redman and his band. All in all it was an incredible day, but it was a lot of hard work!
Henry and Pat O’Brien running the Guinness Book of Records Smartie Challenge
Seeing as the MSCs were one of the main sponsors of Flame this year Henry and I were at Wembley SSE Stadium bright and early with our Starbucks in hand. Once we got our high vis. vests and event passes it was off to set up the vocations stand before the onslaught of thousands and thousands of teenagers. They came from all over England and Wales and created an atmosphere that could normally only be found at World Youth Day. It’s hard to describe, but it’s one of joy and hope and once you feel it you can’t forget it. (more…)
Dec 30, 2014
Take time to walk the Way
You’ve heard about it from a friend. Perhaps you saw the movie. You know, the one with Martin Sheen. Maybe you stumbled across it somewhere online. For whatever reason as the New Year begins you’re thinking of walking the Camino, but you’re not sure where to start. Look no further.
The Camino is about walking each day towards the horizon and seeing what could happen
This summer we’re leading a group of young adults along the last week of the Way from Sarria to Santiago de Compostella. This will be our third year leading groups on the Camino and so far it has been a fantastic experience. It’s both profoundly spiritual and great fun. It’s a wonderful opportunity to try something entirely different, as each morning you take up your backpack and walk to the horizon with the sun rising behind you. You’ll follow in the footsteps of hundreds of thousand of pilgrims stretching back over a millennium. We’ll make our way through he beautiful Galician countryside by roadside, forest path and cobbled lanes, until we reach the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella. (more…)
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…)
