"Here am I..." on the Feast of the Annunciation

Today is a really special day for anyone discerning their vocation in life...It's the Feast of the Annunciation.
On this day we reflect on Mary's 'yes' to God. Read the account of the annunciation from the Gospel of St Luke. Read it slowly...

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you." But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."  Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore  the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her."

Pay attention to Mary's emotions and responses. She's perplexed. Sound familiar? Many folk who are discerning a vocation  talk about the difficulty they have in understanding the enormity (and beauty) of God's call. Mary 'ponders' all of this.Today, let's stop and ponder...

On Friday evening in Dublin I'll be running another Soul Food session. It's a relaxed evening of information, prayer and food for men interested in learning more about a religious vocation. We'll kick off at 6.15pm. Read more about it on our website...www.PresentationBrothers.org
If you'd like to come e-mail me at vocation@PresentationBrothers.org

Date for your diary...

If you're living or working in Dublin, or within reach of it, you might be interested in coming along to our 'Soul Food' Vocations Evening at Presentation Brothers, Glasthule on Friday evening 28th March.

Soul Food is an opportunity for men interested in religious life to come together for some prayer, a short talk, some discussion and some food.

The goal is to help men interested in figuring out their vocation to come together in a prayerful and supportive environment.

The evening is relaxed, informal and, hopefully, helpful too!

Soul Food begins at 6.15pm and finishes at about 9pm. We start with Evening Prayer and finish with Compline (Night Prayer).

Overnight accommodation is available for those who are travelling.

Booking is not essential but if you plan on attending, send an e-mail to Brother Anthony at vocation@PresentationBrothers.org or text/call him at 086-0898120.

Let us know if you'd like any more information. Do you know anyone who might like to come?

You can read more about it on our website.

Lent begins...

Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday. Many people set themselves goals to lose weight and get fit. Lent is a time for us to get spiritually fit. If you're discerning your vocation in life, this is very important (and very helpful).
Lent is about putting God - not ourselves and our ego - at the centre of our lives. It's about honestly recognising our sinfulness and doing penance.
This is an important time of year for anyone who is discerning a religious vocation. You might be tempted to take a consumerist approach - browsing through websites and catalogues, wondering what religious order is the best fit for you. However, in Lent, the focus should be on God - the author of your vocation. Shift the focus from you choosing to God who calls.
If you're serious about discerning then this is a great opportunity to start some practices and habits; the habit of daily prayer, of daily Mass, of daily Scripture reading, of helping people around you...
In the words of a famous advertising slogan, just do it! 

St Valentine's Day!

Today is St Valentine's Day, a day when we talk about love more than usual. A lot of the discussion you hear today will be light hearted and fun.
Here's something for discerners to reflect on about love...

Fall in Love
Attributed to Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ (1907–1991)

Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.
- See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/prayers-by-st-ignatius-and-others/fall-in-love/#sthash.vILdBG4X.dpuf

Alpha course about to start in Dublin...

A very helpful step for those who are discerning their vocation in life is to make an effort to deepen their faith. This can be done with private prayer but it is also helpful to be a part of a faith group.
Last autumn, we ran the Alpha faith development course at our house in Glasthule (just south of Dun Laoghaire) in Dublin. It went very well. The folk who attended really enjoyed the content of the course and valued the opportunity to meet other people each night.
We're going to run the course again! It starts on Tuesday night, 25th February at 7.30pm at the Presentation Brothers in Glasthule. It's free of charge. It's relaxed and informal. Why not give the first night a try?
If you'd like to find out more about the course, visit www.alphaireland.org
To book a place at our course, e-mail Brother Andrew at andrewhickey@PresentationBrothers.org

To Nigeria...

Brother Denis and I have now arrived in Nigeria. There are two communities of Presentation Brothers here.

As we visit we are hearing the upsetting news of the violence in Adamawa State which resulted in the deaths of some 53 innocent people who were attending Mass at the weekend. Another hundred people were killed in a neighbouring village on the same day.

We keep their families in our prayers and we continue to pray for peace.

Out of Africa...

I haven't been able to blog recently because I've been on a pretty intense visit to the Brothers' communities in Ghana. I've now moved on to the Brothers in Nigeria. We have two communities there.

It's been really enriching to meet so many young Brothers and so many men interested in joining the Presentation Brothers. It reminds me that the challenges facing the Church in Ireland and western Europe are not the challenges faced everywhere.

Please pray for the men preparing to be Presentation Brothers here in Africa and let's pray for more vocations at home!