Sep 12, 2016
The MSC group in Poland for World Youth Day (minus Jaime – he had a sole leg)
After an amazing week with the parish community of St Mark’s outside Warsaw we finally arrived in KrakĂłw. There we were joined by Sarah, Anne Marie and the pilgrims from our Dublin a Parish. Our hotel was already full of Malawians and Canadians pilgrims, giving you an idea of the wonderful diversity of World Youth Day. The following day was about getting ourselves orientated and making our way to the Blonia, where all the big events in the run up to the WYD would take place.
Meeting some of the fantastic Polish volunteers who are always ready to lend a hand
The opening Mass and the concert that followed were full of joy and music, but it was the journey home that I remember. There were conga lines of every nationality making their way back into the city centre, as well as high five relays with Polish seminarians. As with every other WYD I’ve been to, the train stations get packed, but the atmosphere is always good humoured. (more…)
Oct 18, 2015
In 2015 we have been called in a special way to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life. It’s an opportunity to give thanks for the men and women who have worked so selflessly to serve the people of God at home and abroad. It has led the priests and brothers of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (MSC) to minister in over fifty countries around the world, working with some of the most marginalised communities. However it’s not just about the past. This is a story that is ongoing and that today moves us into areas that are both challenging and prophetic. The call to mission, wherever it may lead, is as important now as it ever was before.
Henry, one of our students, at the Spirit in the City Festival
On the Way
The Holy Spirit continues to inspire people to follow their vocation as a religious sister, brother, or priest. Some may question if such a way of life has anything to offer our world today. However it’s clear that in a society that esteems money, sex, and power as all-important, perhaps the gentle witness of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience may call us to a more genuine living out of our human dignity.
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Courage for Mission
Living out your vocation is less about certainty and more about having the courage to explore the possibilities. Many feel that they are not strong enough, not holy enough, or not prayerful enough to serve God as a priest, a sister or a brother. There must be so many others better suited to the task. However, it’s striking that Jesus didn’t go directly to the Temple or to the synagogue to call his first disciples. He invited fishermen and tax collectors. As it says in 1 Samuel 16:7 “People judge by outward appearances, but God looks at the heart.” He looked for those who felt a call to be part of something great; who had a sense of commitment beyond themselves; and above all had an openness of heart for God and others.
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Some of the Youth from the MSC Croatian Festival
We are, each of us, called to be part of God’s great mission, to be bearers of Good News and witnesses to hope, truth, and compassion. According to Shaw “This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can. … Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”
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Creating Space to Listen
This rejoicing in life is part of the underlying mission of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Each year our Vocations Team creates opportunities for discernment, where people can find the time and space to listen to the still small voice of God in their lives. This summer alone we have led young adult groups along the ancient pilgrimage routes of the Camino de Santiago de Compostella. We’ve also been part of several youth festivals at home and abroad where people have celebrated life and grown in faith.
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Working hard on the MSC Volunteering Programme
In addition this coming year once again we’ll be running our MSC Volunteering Project. Participants will be trained and sent to work with our sisters in South Africa who care for children who have been orphaned by HIV / AIDS and TB. 2016 is also going to be the year of World Youth Day. We had an incredible trip to WYD in Rio 2013 with a group of young people from Ireland and England. Next year we’ll be travelling to Krakow to join over 4,000,000 other pilgrims to meet Pope Francis and rejoice in hope together.
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Discernment Road Trip
If you’re interested in getting involved in pilgrimage along the Camino, volunteering in South Africa, Catholic youth festivals or World Youth Day 2016 we would be happy to hear from you. There are so many different opportunities now for people to explore God’s call for them, wherever it may lead.
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Feeling the heat at the FLAME II Festival
In addition for those who are exploring the possibility of a vocation to religious life or priesthood we have our Road Trip. Over a weekend we’re going to be travelling to a number of different MSC communities in Dublin and Galway. You will have an experience of the richness of religious life and the breadth of MSC ministries, including our parishes, student community, hospitals, prison chaplaincy, and our retreat spirituality centre. The Road Trip takes place this coming November.
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If you would like to know more you can contact me by email fralan@mscvocations.com or by phoning (086) 7857955. You can find further information about the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart on our website www.mscvocations.ie
Dec 24, 2014
This year it seems that Christmas has crept up on me. In the midst of the busyness of meetings, carol concerts and shopping all my hopes for Advent were quietly forgotten. As I was thinking this morning of something to write about for our vocations blog I came across a letter from Pope Francis sent to a group of prisoners earlier this month.
In it he apologies for not having written sooner and encourages the men there with a Christmas message of hope. He prays that as the feast of the Nativity approaches that Jesus will be born in the crib of their hearts. He asks them to seek those occasions “for genuine growth in order to find peace of heart and the strength to be reborn, a return to living the hope in the Lord who never disappoints.” (more…)
Jul 23, 2014
MSC Volunteering on Safari
It’s another day in the Holy Family Centre ( HFC ) during the winter holidays. Along with the staff the MSC Volunteers took the kids out to Moholoholo Animal Rescue and Game Preserve. The children were roared at by lions, got chased by a cheetah and were able to pet a hawk. When you follow that up with a picnic in the park it makes for an amazing day and a typical one for our volunteers. This is the second year that we’ve run the MSC Volunteering Project in South Africa. It’s an opportunity to give a number of young adults from Ireland and the UK an experience of making a difference by sharing their gifts and talents in the developing world. (more…)
Sep 7, 2013
Fr. John Jennings MSC working in a local school
What does it mean to be a Missionary of the Sacred Heart? Who are we and what do we do? How are we different from the diocesan priests and members of other religious congregations? It’s a difficult question to answer, but perhaps the best I can do is to show you. As part of our vocations blog we’ll follow four members of the Chevalier family, ministering in radically different parts of the world, but united in a common MSC mission: That the Sacred Heart of Jesus be everywhere known and loved.
Fr. John Jennings is an MSC missionary from Cork, Ireland working in one of the most marginalised barrios in Caracas, Venezuela. In addition to parish work John ministers as a part time chaplain in some of the country’s largest prisons. (more…)
Aug 27, 2013
Moments of wonder during the Pilgrims’ Mass
This August saw the beginning of a new idea. It’s about welcome. It’s about both the beginning and the end of a journey. This year the MSC Vocations team, along with priests and religious from the La Retraite Sisters, the Faithful Companions of Jesus and the Redemptorists, set up a ministry of hospitality in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella.
Welcoming team of Sr. Lynne, Sr. Maryanne, Sr. Helen and Fr. Alan
The Camino of Santiago has been a site of pilgrimage for well over a thousand years. People have walked from all around Europe and more recently have journeyed from the four corners of the world to ‘abrazar’ or embrace the famous statue of St. James and pray at his tomb. But the Camino is about the journey as much as it is about the destination. The Camino Frances begins just inside the French boarder and meanders across the north of Spain through town, villages, fields and woodlands. It’s during this time that people on the Way take time to relfect on their lives and explore the sense of their vocation in the broadest sense. The landscape is as varied as the people you meet. You’ll find pilgrims coming from everywhere, of all faiths and none. However they are all searching, very much aware that they are on a spiritual journey. (more…)
