Apr 7, 2012
When the women went to the tomb early on that Sunday morning one can only wonder what was going through their minds. Only a week earlier Jesus was welcomed into the Jerusalem with cheering and acclamation, as the long awaited Messiah. Now his body was left bruised and broken, hastily buried in a nearby tomb. They must have felt fear, for we are told they traveled early in the morning, just as the sun was rising when no one would be around. They were surely apprehensive at the task ahead of them, as they prepared to anoint the corpse of one they had loved so dearly. What they encountered was beyond their wildest hopes and has changed the course of humanity forever.
We are called to be Resurrection people. We are invited by God to live out our vocation as people filled with the hope of Easter. In the sacrifice of Christ on Good Friday we witness a power stronger than death, a love so profound that it is beyond our comprehension. It’s this love we are challenged to live out each day of our lives. If we look at the women who journeyed to the tomb that Easter morning almost 2,000 years ago we see something of that witness. Their faith, we are told in all four Gospels, is rewarded by making them the first messengers of the Resurrection.
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This Easter let’s follow the example of the women, who didn’t keep the good news of the Resurrection to themselves but shared it with everyone they knew. For this sharing of faith is what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ.
Apr 4, 2012
As we ready ourselves for the celebration of Easter it’s probably a good time to pause, to reflect, and to ask ourselves how are we feeling at this time. What is going on in my heart? What are the things I am truly thankful for? Are there any blocks or struggles in my life that I need to let go of and surrender, so that I can enter these days of prayer unencumbered by useless baggage? What is God saying to me this year? What are the quiet words that he is speaking in the silence of my heart?
Diarmuid O’Murchu, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, has spoken a great deal of the central message of Jesus’ vocation, especially as it is lived out in the reality of Easter. He talks not in terms of the Kingdom of God, but of the Companionship of Empowerment. To illustrate what he’s saying he points to Palm Sunday. On the one hand we have Jesus, coming from the east, representing in his way vulnerability, empowerment, non-violence and prophetic action. He is living out something entirely new and challenging to the way the people of his time saw their world. (more…)
Apr 2, 2012
This Holy Week and throughout Easter we look at the what it really means to be a follower of Christ. A lot has been written on the subject, but I think an article in today’s Irish Times really sums up what it takes to be a true disciple.
As a minor aside when I went looking for a photo to accompany the article one wasn’t available. If you Google ‘Fr. Brian Ryan’ eight photos come up and none of them are him. If you Google ‘Kardashians’ you get 402,000,000 results. Enough said.
Let’s hear it for the uncle Brians of this world
FRENCH NOTES: Being part of a sport where the successful are lauded as heroes by media, we can lose sight of the fact that the real ones live anonymously amongst us, writes MATT WILLIAMS (more…)
Mar 31, 2012
Almost 9 out of every 10 Irish nationals identify themselves as Roman Catholic
“Census results reveal that the number of people who disassociate themselves from any creed has risen by 45pc, with the majority being from the Irish community. The overall figure grew by 83,500 to 269,800.” Irish Independent March 30th
There’s no denying that it has been a turbulent few years in the Catholic Church in Ireland. We’ve had a lot we had to deal with and even more to own up to in how we have lived and practiced our faith. One could be forgiven for a sense of despair, especially given the nature and extent of media coverage of the Church. When I looked up the first the results on last year’s Census in Ireland it was with a fair degree of trepidation. Indeed within reading a few words in the leader article in the Irish Independent it would seem that my worst fears were confirmed. But when you actually get down to read the large print of the Census it presents an incredibly different picture about the life in the Catholic Church. (more…)
Mar 26, 2012
Fr. Jules Chevalier MSC
When our founder, Fr. Jules Chevalier, established the group in 1854 he did not believe we should be tied to just one type of work. As a result you will find Missionary of the Sacred Heart ( MSC ) brothers and priests living and working throughout over 50 countries, engaged in all sorts of ministry. Hospitals, prison, schools, colleges, universities, parishes, local community projects, counselling centres and many more locations provide the settings for MSC members to carry out the overall mission of being and bringing the Good News of God’s love to the people we meet. (more…)
Mar 23, 2012
In a world that esteems wealth, sex and power above all, what place is there in the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience?
In a recent blog we looked that how the Vow of Celibacy was not about closing ourselves off as human beings, becoming the ‘frozen chosen,’ but about opening ourselves to others unreservedly, most especially those in need. We pointed out that it was drawn from a deep prayer life, a healthy sense of our own sexuality and a profound belief in our vocation.
Obedience as Listening
When people talk about the challenges of religious life the vow of celibacy is always given a great deal of attention, but for me at times the greatest difficulty has been understanding the Vow of Obedience. It’s not about doing what you’re told and being unthinkingly submissive. In fact it’s nothing like that at all. Obedience is drawn from the Latin word oboedīre, which means to hear or to listen. The Vow of Obedience is about listening, really listening to the will of God and where He is inviting you in your life. It’s about putting God’s will at times above our own desires, trusting His plan for us. As it says in Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.” (more…)
When the women went to the tomb early on that Sunday morning one can only wonder what was going through their minds. Only a week earlier Jesus was welcomed into the Jerusalem with cheering and acclamation, as the long awaited Messiah. Now his body was left bruised and broken, hastily buried in a nearby tomb. They must have felt fear, for we are told they traveled early in the morning, just as the sun was rising when no one would be around. They were surely apprehensive at the task ahead of them, as they prepared to anoint the corpse of one they had loved so dearly. What they encountered was beyond their wildest hopes and has changed the course of humanity forever.
