Jul 17, 2020
Here we want to share with you our story since we moved to Ireland to our wedding: it is the story of two young lovers who, thanks the tireless guidance and help of God, are building up the foundations of their family.
We were both at the final year of our degree when we first met. We were going to spend a weekend with some friends in Bagolino, a place in the mountain in the province of Brescia, Italy. It was immediately clear to both of us that we were done one for the other. After that weekend, we decided to know each other a bit better after that weekend, and we ended up spending the last six months of our degrees more or less always together. It has been such a beautiful and intense period!
Since that time, God has started building up the pieces of our relationships.
Immediately after the graduation none of us had a job. As a nurse, Paola was highly requested all over the world, whereas for Luca, a philosopher, things were a bit more complicated. The most obvious choice for his was to look for a PhD and this is what he ended up doing. Luca was offered a position at University College Dublin: he accepted and Paola decided to follow him. It was not an easy choice for Paola: it would have been definitely easier to find a job in Italy, to stay close to her family and friends instead of following a guy after only six months of relationship. She decided to do so anyway, and so we moved to Dublin in January 2017.
The first months were really hard for both of us: Luca had no scholarship and Paola had no job. She eventually found one in June and Luca took up a part-time job in UCD, while doing his research, to finance his studies. After some time, our professional lives became easier: after one year and a half Luca got a generous scholarship, and Paola secured a permanent job at St Michael’s Hospital in Dun Laoghaire. We took this as a sign: God was giving us some economic stability, even if just for a limited amount of time, to plan to bring our relationship at a further level and to start thinking about us as a family. Or at least, this is how we read this sign. We started thinking about getting married, and we seemed both ready and willing to take this choice. But we were still unsure that the sign we got was really indicating God’s way.
So, here is what happened. In August 2018, Pope Francis came do Dublin for the World Congress of Family. We were willing to go to the Holy Mass in Phoenix Park, but we couldn’t get a ticket. We were keep thinking that God was asking us to build up a family, and what a better opportunity that to hear what Pope Francis, in person, has to say about Family. We made every effort, but it seemed impossible to get two tickets. The night before the event, a colleague of Paola texted her that she had two spare tickets for the Mass. What a miracle!
Receiving the sacrament together: The best day of our lives.
The day of the Holy Mass in Phoenix Park was rainy, windy and cold: but how such warmness in our hearts! That was the definite sign that God was speaking to us as a family and, therefore, that He was telling us to marry. And so, Luca decided to make the proposal. It was the 6th of October 2018 when in the wild, colourful and amazing Dingle peninsula, Luca asked Paola to marry her! From this moment onwards, all our energies were directed towards the wedding. However, there was a “little” obstacle: Paola did not have any Sacrament. And here is another immense help from God: at that time, the Catholic Italian Community had Fr Fintan Gavin, now Bishop of Cork, as a chaplain and he was organizing a wedding preparation course for the community. Together with the wedding preparation, Fr Fintan set up a personal course for Paola to get all the Sacraments. Fr Fintan guided us into the mystery of the Sacraments, he prepared us to enjoy their spiritual benefits and he literally brought us to the altar.
On the 21st September 2019, Fr Fintan married us: from that day, our family has begun to exist, thanks be to God!
Luca & Paola
Mar 23, 2017
Living Life to the Full
Are we living our lives, or are we sleepwalking through life?
God has given us the gift of life and desires us to make the most of it. Yet how often are we just going through the motions? Or do we feel like the dried bones of the first reading? Perhaps we feel like Lazarus in the gospel, bound, blind, and buried?
Lent is Christian Spring. Just as the natural world comes to new life in Spring, so God gives us the season of Lent as a time for us to come alive in new ways.
What is it that binds us in mediocre living? What prevents us from using our talents to the full, or even from knowing all of our capabilities? What causes us to miss the mark of living a full life, free of useless habits and addictions?
In Hebrew, the word which we translate as “sin” literally means to “miss the mark”. It comes from the world of archery. Sinning is not just breaking laws; it is a failure to live life to the full. It is choosing to stay in the safe familiar tomb, rather than risking the big open world.
Today, and every day, God offers us His life giving Spirit to transform us from being half alive to being fully alive. This offer is made in a special way at Easter through the Resurrection. However, even now in Lent, God invites us to allow His Spring to take root in our lives.
Mar 14, 2017
Gospel Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent
The Gospel (4:5-42).
A spring of water welling up to eternal life.
This is a rather lengthy reading containing different themes. Central themes are the Samaritan woman, the well, and the water. In Jesus’ day, there was deep enmity between Jews and Samaritans, who were regarded by the Jews as heretics and not part of the Jewish people at all. This division seems to have had very old roots. There was enmity between the northern kingdom, Israel, with Samaria as its centre, and the southern kingdom of Judah. A noted well in the area was connected with the patriarch Jacob.
In the evangelist John’s writing, the episodes in this reading function at two levels – this earthly one, and at a spiritual level, to which the earthly ones point. Thus, the water from the well is a symbol of the water that Jesus will give his followers, welling up to eternal life; this is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans worshipped at their own sacred site and the Jews at their Temple in Jerusalem, which led Jesus to speak of the coming age when both would be irrelevant, and God worshipped in Spirit and in truth. His own hunger gives Jesus an opportunity to speak of his intense desire, his hunger to complete the work the work the Father had given him, with the sowing of the Gospel seed and the ensuing harvest.
As a reflection on this reading, we can recall Jesus’ promise to give to those who believe in himself a spring of water welling up to eternal life – that is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives faith and hope, while Christian faith brings certainty.
A common feature of the world in which we live is doubt in matters relating to faith – doubt about elements of moral teaching, about truths of faith, and even at times about the very existence of God. An assertion of a certain philosophy, prevalent today, is that there is no certainty about anything. All we can have is speculation and guesswork rather than certainty, and opinions that vary from age to age.
An atmosphere of this sort adds to the difficulties of religious observance. Such doubt about fundamental matters is completely contrary to the teaching of the faith in matters relating to truths concerning this life and the life to come. Christian faith is thus described in the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:1): “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen”. Two of the terms used there call for our reflection: assurance and conviction.
The assurance and conviction spoken of in this verse are not psychological attitudes of souls rooted in the human mind or soul. They refer instead to the divine, theological, virtue of faith – a gift from God that gives conviction which is beyond that which human nature can provide. This assurance and certainty bring with them a peace of soul, the peace which Jesus has granted to believers, and a peace that no-one can take from them.
Feb 24, 2017
First Sunday of Lent
In the desert, Jesus is confronted with many temptations. Hunger and thirst, and the emptiness and quietness of the desert strip away all that stands between Jesus and his deepest self.
Just before Jesus was driven out into the desert, his Father told him at the Jordan that he was the Father’s beloved son. Rooted in the Father’s love, Jesus is able to face parts of himself that as a human being he might prefer to ignore.
The loaves of bread symbolise all those things we can put our trust in, such as food, money, and possessions. Jesus puts his trust in God’s Word instead.
Next, he is tempted to have power over others, to carry out his mission by lording it over others. Yet he rejected this path also. His path led to the cross, not to a throne.
The temptation to throw himself off the tower could be a temptation to live his life always looking for the most intense experiences. Sometimes, such desires can lead us to harm ourselves or others. On occasion, this temptation can lead to addiction.
Jesus rejected all these temptations. He put his trust in the love of his Father and chose the way of humble service.
This Lent, we are invited into the desert to face ourselves, to realise that the Father loves us also, warts and all, and to reject our own temptations in favour of the way of Jesus.
Fr. Con O’Connell MSC
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
Jul 19, 2015
Last Sunday we had the extraordinary opportunity to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life with a powerful Mass in the RTE Studios in Dublin. We had a viewship of around 60,000 people not just in Ireland, but around the world.
You can view the programme by clicking here.
We had people from a variety of religious congregations and a number of lay groups
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