Oct 9, 2012
On Thursday coming we’re going to be launching the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme at the DCU Volunteering Expo. We’ll be in the Venue – Students Union from 11:00am to 3:00pm, so if you’re around make sure to say hello. Below you’ll find details of the Programme.
With the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme you will work with a community who need your skills, talents and enthusiasm. It’s about being in partnership with others, teaching and learning at the same time, and sharing of yourself in order to make a real difference in your world.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme (MSCVP) is a new initiative that:
– looks to provide enriching, challenging and meaningful short term voluntary experiences.
– seeks to share the talents of our volunteers with our partner projects.
– works towards promoting responsible volunteering in our partner projects in South Africa.
We are looking for young men and women, between the ages of 25 and 40, who are interested in undertaking three months of volunteering work abroad over summer. Ideally applicants should have relevant skills, such as a teacher, mechanic, carpenter, nurse, electrician, doctor, etc. All necessary training will be provided. Part of the expenses for the trip will be provided, but there will be a need for fundraising.
If you would like further information you can contact Fr. Alan on (086) 7857955 or by email fralan@mscvocations.ie
Sep 22, 2012
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.
Jul 17, 2012
It’s almost time. We’re nearly there. At the end of this month the Knock Youth Festival is kicking off. The Festival is for all people between the ages of 17-30. It is a chance to come away and experience something amazing. Hundreds of young people will gather together on the 28th of July for a day with a difference. Drumming, Gymnastics, Elation Ministries,Trocaire, Magis, inspiring speakers, practical workshops, celebration of the Eucharist, chill out time, a chance to meet new people. The festival is FREE, all you have to pay for is your food. The day will begin at 12:00 and finish at 6:00pm. There are some buses coming from around the country. For more information click here.
Last years event saw over 600 people coming together, this is what they said….
‘The atmosphere in the chill out marquee was relaxed and welcoming. The weekend overall was one to be remembered’.
“It was great!! Countin down till next year already!!” says one festival goer.
“I had a brilliant time at the Youth festival. I will definitely be back again next year” said another.
In the run up to the Festival young people from the dioceses of Clogher, Raphoe, Kilmore, Elphin and Achonory will take part in a pilgrim relay. Young people will begin their walk in Lough Derg and walk to Knock Shrine, starting on the 22nd July. This walk will be organised by the different dioceses.
While your in the West, why not climb Croagh Patrick on ‘Reek Sunday’ Sunday the 29th of July. It is an amazing experience to climb the Holy Mountain with thousands of other pilgrims that will make the climb that day.
For any further information on the event you can contact me at fralan@mscvocations.ie or get in touch with the fantastic Knock Youth Team by clicking here.
Jul 17, 2012
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!
Jun 27, 2012
Leah Libresco has caused something of a stir in the US. Most of us in Ireland and England probably never heard of her, but she’s all over CNN at the moment. In the course of her regular atheist blog, ‘Unequally Yoked: a geeky atheist picks fights with her Catholic boyfriend,’ Libresco announced that she is in the process of becoming Catholic. For Libresco this journey of faith has been about finding one’s moral compass and exploring questions of morality.
“I had one thing that I was most certain of, which is that morality is something we have a duty to,” Libresco told CNN in an interview this week, a small cross dangling from her neck. “And it is external from us. And when push came to shove, that is the belief I wouldn’t let go of. And that is something I can’t prove.” “There was one religion that seemed like the most promising way to reach back to that living Truth,” Libresco wrote about Catholicism in her conversion announcement post, which has been shared over 18,000 times on Facebook.
Such a road to Damascus experience has been equally lauded by churches and pilloried by atheists. For some this is an opportunity to crow about the unassailable truth found in religion in general and Catholicism in particular. For others it marks a phase or an illogical shift into the world of self delusion.
For ourselves though it represents a reminder of the richness of the tradition we have in the Church and, most importantly, the compassion of Christ in reaching out to all people. This mustn’t be simply a case of one-upmanship, because I suspect that the number of Christians becoming atheists is greater than the reverse. We need to be able to enter into reasoned and faithful dialogue with others. Above all we need to follow Peter’s command to be “prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have within in you ( 1 Peter 3:15 ).” It’s more about spreading Good News than winning converts. Above all it’s about helping others discover the vocation that God has for each one of us.
Additional reporting available from CNN
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/22/prominent-atheist-blogger-converts-to-catholicism/comment-page-35/#comments
Jun 20, 2012
Last Sunday 60,000 pilgrims gathered in Croke Park for the Statio Orbis of the 2012 Eucharistic Congress. This gathering was the culmination of a week’s celebration of hope, exploration of faith and sharing of love. When people were asked what was so special about the Congress the answer that was most often repeated was the atmosphere. There was a real sense of being reminded why we gather in communion; why we share the Word; why we break open the bread, the body of Christ.
It was an opportunity to remind ourselves of the precious gift we receive in the Eucharist. The words on the banner over the altar, Become What You Receive, offered encouragement, as well as a challenge. There has been a great deal of talk in Ireland, England and Western Europe about renewal in our church. If the Eucharistic Congress is to mean anything last Sunday wasn’t the end, but a new beginning.
Photos Irish Times Monday 18th June 2012
On Thursday coming we’re going to be launching the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme at the DCU Volunteering Expo. We’ll be in the Venue – Students Union from 11:00am to 3:00pm, so if you’re around make sure to say hello. Below you’ll find details of the Programme.
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme (MSCVP) is a new initiative that:
