A Joyous Occasion for the Presentation Brothers!

            

  (Br. Barry Noel, Director of Novices, at the reception of four Novices to our Novitiate in Killarney)

September 16^th was an occasion of joy for the Presentation Brothers as four young men were received into our International Novitiate in Killarney. Novitiate is for a period of two years. It is a time of spiritual preparation. It involves prayer, reflection and study.

The four young men requested admission to the novitiate during a celebration of the Eucharist by Fr. Jim Linehan in the presence of Brothers and friends. They begin their journey of formation as they respond to follow God’s Call to be Presentation Brothers at this time.

Three of the novices Stanislaus, Collins, Douglas are from Sri Lanka and David is from Canada. This gives a great sense of hope as the vocation of Brother in the Church continues to be relevant and significant in our world today.

Elsewhere fifteen men embark on various stages of the journey to becoming Presentation Brothers. They come from Ghana, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Canada.

We welcome and congratulate these men as they journey with us in the Presentation Family and we keep them in our prayer as they respond to God’s call in Religious Life.

If you would like to learn more about the Presentation Brothers, feel free to drop me an email; vocation@presentationbrothers.org

A bolt from the blue!

I am always inspired by the number of sports people who are not afraid to express their faith openly by giving testimony through external gestures. Whether it Katie Taylor thanking God after overcoming her opponent or David Luiz of Chelsea making the sign of the cross after scoring a goal or the William sisters thanking God after a tennis victory. Spirituality has played a part in many athletes’ lives.

The fastest man on the planet has said he feels “blessed” after winning his third 100m world title. Usain Bolt gave thanks after narrowly beating his main rival Justin Gatlin to the Gold medal in the 100m final of the World Championships recently.

The Jamaican sprinter acknowledges a greater power at work in his life; he has been outspoken about his faith in the past and he is regularly seen blessing himself and praying before and after races. After his 200m victory at the Olympic Games in London in 2012 he said nothing was possible without God.

Becoming spiritually fit mirrors to a degree the challenge of becoming physically fit! Both take effort. Both processes are demanding. Both are necessary. 

If you’d like to try to become spiritually fit with the Presentation Brothers, please get in touch! I’m at vocation@PresentationBrothers.org.

If you are discerning a vocation to religious life, I encourage you to make sure you are getting spiritually fir as you try to live the Christian life. St Paul says: “Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. (1Cor. 9:24)