Blessed Edmund Rice Day!

Greetings to all! Today, 5th May, is the feast of Blessed Edmund Rice, our Founder. I want to wish you all every blessing on this special day.

Edmund was a man with a vision for his time but it is also for our time. Our values and norms are often focused on ourselves and not on those on the margins. We must be willing to put Christ back in our lives and follow both Him and Edmund so that we can be a beacon of light to the world around us-to our communities, our parishes, our families and our young people.

Let us focus today on the man called Blessed Edmund and see what we can do in the 21st century that would inspire more men to join us and continue the mission of Blessed Edmund.

If you wish to learn more about the Presentation Brothers, don't hesitate to get in touch. I'm at; vocation@presentationbrothers.org

May is Mary's Month

Today is ‘la Bealtaine’ which translates as May Day. It’s a day that goes back many generations in Irish culture and history. It officially marks the arrival of summer ‘though it may not feel like it just yet. It was a day when the cattle were released to summer pastures. At the heart of Bealtaine is a reminder of growth and abundance at this time of year.

The month of May has traditionally been a time of special devotion to the Mother of God. A memory I have of growing up in a loving, faith-filled home was of my mother erecting the May altar with a statue or portrait of Mary, surrounded by flowers. Parish grottos were attended to and there were May traditions in many parts of the country. I came to discover later that we, Presentation Brothers, have a special devotion to Mary and are named after the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. 

Here in our community, in Glasthule, we have a series of three talks to honour our Lady during the month of May. You are welcome to join us. (cf. events@presentationbrothers.org)

Let's seek her intercession for all those who are discerning their vocation. Let today's young men and women echo her words, "Be it done unto me according to thy Word".

Saints needed...!

 

Here's a little reflection for you...It has appeared on a lot of Facebook pages and is often attributed to Pope Francis. It almost certainly wasn't written by the Pope but appears, at least, to be inspired by him...
These are the kind of people we need in the Presentation Brothers too! If you would like more information, send me an e-mail vocation@PresentationBrothers.org

 Saints

We need saints without veil or cassock.

We need saints who wear jeans and runners.
We need saints who go to the movies,
listen to music and hang out with friends.
We need saints who put God in first place,
but who let go of their power.

We need saints who have time every day to pray.
We need modern saints, Saints of the 21 Centenary,
with a spirituality that is part of our time.
We need saints committed to the poor
and the necessary social changes.

We need saints who live in the world and
who are sanctified in the world,
who are not afraid to live in the world.
We need saints who drink cola and eat hot dogs,
who wear jeans; who are internet savvy
and who listen to CDs.

We need saints who passionately love the Eucharist
And who are not ashamed to eat a pizza
at weekends with friends.
We need saints who like the cinema,
theatre, music dance and sports.
We need saints who are social, open, normal,
friendly, happy and who are good companions.

We need saints who are in the world

and know how to taste the pure
and nice things of the world
but who aren’t of the world.

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia!

It takes only a few moments of reflection to realise that I have to love something really deeply to bring it back from the dead. It is self-hatred and disregard for others that keeps our world the way it is. It is a lack of care on the part of some that imprisons communities and even nations into endless cycles of poverty, neglect, starvation, unemployment and hopelessness.

If I love sufficiently, our seas and waterways would be clean again, stars would reappear, trees would be healthy and green. Moreover, the strained relationships in families, work-places, offices and schools, the strange distances between colleagues and family members need only a smile or a word of love and acceptance to be healed. Who can love enough to resurrect our world and all who dwell in it?

The only great love that can deal with all this is to focus on the Easter celebration. It is God’s immense love for Jesus, the Christ.  God demonstrated boundless love and affection for Jesus in a resurrection. Jesus is swept up by God’s immense love and stands alive with a new kind of life, proclaiming peace and acceptance to all his friends, even to those who had denied and deserted him in his greatest need. Jesus associates us with himself and elicits from God the same kind of creative love that God has for him.

Best wishes to you all for a blessed and peace-filled Easter!

Discerning in Lent!

Part of a regular medical check-up is to have tests taken of your pulse, blood pressure, a heart check and perhaps a blood test. With the season of Lent, there is the invitation for a spiritual check-up – one that lasts for forty days!

Just as many of us do not like visiting doctors, many of us may not like the season of Lent. Perhaps it is for the same reason. Are there issues I may not wish to face up to? Perhaps I am not as well as I would like to be; perhaps changes in life-style will be called for, when I would prefer to continue as I am. Nevertheless, in both cases, I know it is for my benefit and I am being irresponsible if I avoid looking after body, mind and spirit. I don’t know about you, but the above certainly applies to me!

Lent can perhaps be seen as a check-up on how well we have been transformed into the mind, heart and vision of God. St. Paul puts it like this: do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2) 

Let us use the remaining time of Lent to examine our minds and hearts and to commit ourselves to transformation and renewal so that we truly can “discern the will of God” – what is good, acceptable and perfect”! 

If you wish to learn more about the Presentation Brothers, don't hesitate to get in touch. I'm at; vocation@presentationbrothers.org

St. Valentine

Wednesday, February 14th, is of course 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.

But who was St Valentine? There are some conflicting accounts but we know he existed and his remains have been identified in the catacombs of Rome. This feast day has been celebrated for 15 centuries!

Three things you need to know:
1. He was a Catholic priest. 
2. He was arrested for tending to the needs of the persecuted Christians of Rome. 
3. He was executed for refusing to renounce the Catholic faith during the persecution of Roman Emperor Claudius.

For men and women discerning a vocation, then there is an obvious resonance here.

For a start St Valentine answered the call to serve by embracing a religious vocation. Secondly, he served those in need and risked his own life to do so. Finally, he refused to deny his faith and has since been remembered as an icon of love. 

It's ironic that at a time when celibacy and chaste love are dismissed, the day on which the world celebrates love is in fact a day in honour of a priest who died for his faith!

(Take time to read this beautiful reflection below)

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.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2017

A Culture of Encounter

The Feast of St. Bridget!

The beginning of February is traditionally associated with the heralding of the start of spring and the arrival of fertility to the land. The land dormant during the winter months begins to stir and new life embarks on its journey towards the light. Precious seeds, deep within the soil are germinating, awaiting the breath of spring to accompany them to the earth’s surface.

These are days when we are invited into our own spring space – a space where new life is stirring, awakening and becoming, a space full of potential and possibility. These are days of rebirth and re-growth, of renewal and resurrection. Then with their first appearance they adorn the earth with their beautiful presence and remind us of resurrection.

The 1^st of February marks the feast of St. Brigid, patroness of Ireland, and we celebrate this great woman of prayer and her great devotion to God and neighbour. She dedicated her life to God and to the poor. She became known for her good works and many young women were inspired to follow her.

The following day is the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. We conclude a year of celebration for Consecrated Life as we celebrated the many priests, brothers and sisters whose faith, devotion and commitment influenced many of our lives. We remembered the young men and women who continue to discern a call to priesthood or religious life. We continue to pray for them all and thank God for their lives of quiet dedication.

We also celebrate the feast of St. Blaise on the 3rd of February, whose life was very simple and ordinary. He is known worldwide for his care of those who were sick and particularly those with ailments of the throat. Many churches will give a blessing on the day. If you can't make it to a church, then our own quiet prayer to St. Blaise will be just as effective and important. 

At the beginning of spring, maybe now's the time to go deeper in your discernment journey...

I'm always available at vocation@presentationbrothers.org if you'd like more information.

Cristus Natus Nobis, Venite Adoremus!

Advent has reached its end! The waiting is over! As we look at the infant in the manger we are not only reflecting on a wonderful moment in history - we are also challenged to find room in our hearts for the birth of Christ. A night of sublime comfort and extraordinary challenge!

Waiting in Joyful Hope!

These early days of December are marked by the beginning of our journey through Advent. It’s not a word you will find in many shopping catalogues. How many of us get excited about Advent and yet it is a season full of meaning and symbolism?

The word “Advent” is derived from the Latin “Adventus”, a name which means coming or arrival. The prayers of Advent touch on each person walking in some darkness and also awaiting and anticipating a great light. It is a time for us to hear those quiet whispers in our lives of a God gently calling us from darkness into light. Advent is a reminder of how we need this light more than ever in our own lives.

Life certainly moves fast and particularly in the run in to Christmas. Time appears to be going faster and everything takes on an air of urgency. Waiting for many of us may not be our greatest forte and we go directly to celebrating Christmas without getting in touch with that part of ourselves that is reflective, trusting and hoping.

Joseph, the husband of Mary can only wait with her, loving and supporting her and their unborn child, but unable to accelerate the process. Unless we step aside from all of this and reflect on this great event and its relevance to us, take time to see where we fit into the bigger picture, we have failed ourselves. 

The season of Advent is an opportunity to step aside. The sheer speed of life today can literally choke and block out those beautiful, simple and ordinary moments that no money can buy. Advent gives us the chance to appreciate that we are indeed on a privileged journey.

Happy Presentation Day!

November 21^st, the feast of the Presentation of Our Lady - is the feast day of the Presentation Brothers and Presentation Sisters. It is an occasion each year when we celebrate our call and mission as religious men and women in the Presentation Congregations.      

 

The feast recalls a Jewish custom whereby young Jewish men and women went to the Temple of Jerusalem to dedicate their lives to God.

In this feast we remember that Mary PRESENTS her life to God. Mary in turn PRESENTS Jesus to the world. This is the ideal of the Presentation Brothers and Sisters - to do their best to present Jesus Christ in the world today by the example of our lives. The mission of the Presentation Brothers is Forming Christ in the Young.

Christmas ads are already appearing on our television screens. They remind us of a time of year that is fast approaching. Part of Christmas is the giving of gifts. The challenge for those of us as Presentation religious is to present our lives as a gift to others. Each one of us is blessed with many gifts, we may not think so but we are a gift to others. 

“Never doubt the power of a small group of committed people to change the world, for indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Meade 

During the week the Presentation family around the world celebrate the Feast of the Presentation. All associated with the Presentation Family, communities, schools, friends, and young people are invited to join with the Presentation Brothers in celebrating this great feast.

For those of you informing yourselves about your future careers, I encourage and challenge you to keep the option of serving others as a Presentation Brother or Sister among your list of options. Do not be afraid, have courage, be risk takers and explore this option. I believe people need the witness of Brothers and Sisters in a world where there is so much suffering, pain and division. 

For those of you discerning your vocation in life - know that you on this special Feast dedicated to Mary our Mother, are held in our thoughts and prayers.

In November we Remember!

We celebrate the feast of All Saints on November 1^st which reminds us that October 31 truly is All Hallows Eve. It is the beginning of the last month in the Church’s Year so we call on all the saints of all time to intercede for us before the Lord. We have many saints in the Church calendar. The Church devotes the month of November to prayer for our loved ones beginning with All Souls Day on November 2^nd. Often overshadowed by the two days preceding it, Halloween (Oct. 31st) & All Saints Day (Nov 1^st), All Souls Day is a solemn celebration commemorating all of those who have gone before us! Indeed, the Church encourages us during the month of November to take time to pause, remember and pray for all our loved ones.   

But the month is not limited to the many saints whose names are in the calendar and are celebrated at an appropriate date with a feast day and memory. It includes all the faithful departed who have gone before us and are now in the presence of the Lord. The vast majority of these are not canonised but are known to those with whom they lived and loved. We all know many good people whose lives were exemplary and a testament to all those around them. During the month of November, we have all of these in mind as we remember with confidence our saints.

Many people pay a visit to a cemetery with a flower or a night light. ‘It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be freed to eternal life’. In prayer we are in God’s presence and we believe we are in some way in communion with our loved ones. 

We may wish of course to avoid talking about death, we don’t like being reminded of our mortality. Woody Allen famously quipped, “I’m not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” It strikes a chord because that is how many of us deal with death. We joke about it while keeping our real thoughts and fears to ourselves.

Some of our deceased relatives we got to say goodbye to, while others left us before any goodbyes could be exchanged. By remembering our deceased in prayer or by visiting their resting place is an attempt at saying we haven’t forgotten them and that they will always be a special part of our lives.  

It’s a custom too in Ireland to abstain from alcohol and or cigarettes during the month of November. Fasting and sacrifice help us to focus our mind on prayer. ‘I’ve given up alcohol. And, yes, it’s tough!’ As we spend the month recalling the example of people of faith who went before us, spare a thought for your future too. Would life as a religious help you to be the saint that you are called to be?

May all our loved ones who have died, rest in peace!

Happy Halloween!

We are about to move from the month of October to November and there is a sense of time slipping by very quickly. A reminder of that is in the shops and at the entrance to our houses. They are awash with ghoulish and macabre Halloween outfits and accessories.  Grinning skulls, skeleton costumes and fake tombstones can be purchased. Witches’ broomsticks and wizards’ wands are accompanied by various images and symbols marked with an RIP.  It’s all very different from the simple Halloween apples and nuts festivities of my childhood. Rightly so, time moves on and social habits change. 

The word Halloween has been corrupted with time. It's full title is ALL HALLOWS EVE, which means 'the evening before All Saints'. 'Hallow' is another word for holy or saint. We meet it in the common version of the Our Father. 

Halloween has its origins in Celtic times associated with the ancient Gaelic festival of 'Samhain', which was a celebration of the end of the harvest season and take stock of supplies and prepare for the winter. It was at this time of the year a celebration of the transition from light to darkness was ritualised. Our Celtic ancestors also believed that the boundary between our world and that of the dead was very thin; they believed the spirits of the dead returned. The veil between this world and the next was at its weakest, demons crossed over from the beyond and extracted their revenge on those they felt scorned by, carrying you or yours back to hell with them. People wore masks and costumes to mimic or appease the spirits. I wonder if the death-themes in our Halloween celebrations are an attempt to recapture the spirit of the Feast of All Souls, on November 2, when Christians remember and pray for their deceased relatives!

We may think Halloween is silly nonsense driven by commercialism and a waste of money. In recent times, it is very much a children's feast with their custom of dressing up in various scary costumes and visiting the houses in the neighbourhood. At the door they shout 'Trick or Treat' - implying that they would play some trick on the people if they did not receive some treat from them. Children love it and always will. Halloween has a lot to offer. It can put us in touch with the mystery of life and that some things in life are often clouded in darkness. It puts us in touch with the struggle between light and darkness and the struggle between good and evil. Halloween may have pagan origins but it embraces the Christian message too. It’s a simple Halloween message that God calms, encourages and reassures us, especially when we struggle with darkness, evil, mystery and the unknown. Enjoy a happy and safe Halloween break!       

October we celebrate Mission Month

Each year the focus is put on mission during the month of October. In the past when we thought of mission we thought of the thousands of heroic Irish women and men who went all over the world giving of their time to work with people in spreading the Gospel. There are in excess of 1,000 Irish missionaries serving throughout the world. During the month of October, we celebrate the work of our missionaries, remembering them in our prayers and asking God's blessing on the good work that they do.

However, we have a wider sense of mission today. Pope Francis gives us the theme for World Mission Sunday on 22^nd October 2017, when he says, ‘Mission is at the heart of Christian Faith’. In his message for World Mission Sunday, he focuses on the need to gather round the person of Jesus and to heed his call to “proclaim the Gospel of the love of God the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit”. He also emphasises the Church’s role as being “missionary in nature” and that “young people are the hope of mission”.

Every Christian is a Missionary. Today every country is mission territory, every Christian, each one of us is called to witness to the joy of the Gospel in our families, in the factories and on the farm, in offices and schools and in the places where we socialise. Being a missionary in this sense can be as simple as an encouraging word, a smile, reaching out to a neighbour in need, being with people who grieve, encouraging or being patient with the young or the old. That is how the Gospel is spread. And for most of us that ‘home mission’ is the difficult challenge we face every day.

If you would like to be a missionary or wish to find out more about the Presentation Brothers, don't hesitate to drop me an email at: vocation@presentationbrothers.org. 

A Visit to the Ploughing Championships!

‘No one who puts their hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God’ Lk. 9:62.

I always enjoy a day at the ploughing championships maybe because of the happy memories I retain from growing up on the family farm. The world and his mother beat a track to the ploughing every September. It is Europe’s largest outdoor event with in excess of 280.000 visitors attending this year’s event in Screggan, Tullamore. Local farmers provided 600 hundred acres of their land to meet the requirements for the ploughing events, parking and approx. 2,000 exhibits. 

I was representing Vocations Ireland. I shared a stand with Franciscans OFM. NET Ministries Team joined us for the three days. We were kept on our toes with the footfall to our stand which was very encouraging. People were requesting prayers of all kinds; children were seeking prayer cards for their pets and animals. Farmers a blessing for their land and others a prayer for sick friends. Wrist bands and crosses were also in great demand.    

It is said that people who are close to the earth are close to God and to the beauty of God’s creation. Jesus uses many images from the land in his stories in the Gospels. He uses the image of the plough. “No one who puts their hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God”. The person who is constantly looking back will get nowhere. Too much time is wasted and lost in looking back. Nothing can change anything we have done in the past. Getting it right now gives us much more control in doing things better. God wants us to move focus on the job at hand and move forward in hope.

If you are interested in finding out about the Presentation Brothers, don’t hesitate to email me at the following address;vocation@presentationbrothers.org.

Vocations Ireland NET Team

NET Ministry (National Evangelisation Team) is an international voluntary movement consisting of teams of young adults. Their mission is to share faith through personal witness of God’s love for them and invite young people with whom they engage to get to know God’s love in their lives. They do this by giving of their time, nine months possibly in another country as a NET Missionary. It was a privilege to meet with the NET Teams in Rossnowlagh, in August and especially with the team who are now working with Vocations Ireland.

The NET Ministry volunteers spend six weeks in preparation for their mission sharing their own faith journey and building team relationships. They engage with thousands of youth each year in schools and parishes throughout Ireland and elsewhere. A team of six will work in schools and parishes in Kilkenny, in parishes in Dublin and Dundalk. They will work with the Presentation Brothers Evangelisation Programme in Glasthule, Co. Dublin and use the centre for some of their activities. The Team members are; Conor and Vanessa from Canada, Rachel and Rene from the U.S. Pierce from Ireland and Alex from Scotland. They will be with us ‘til May 2018.   

Their ministry is to Parish groups as well as doing encounter days in schools, facilitating retreats and engaging with youth. They also initiate Sunday morning Family Programmes in their associate parishes. They work with young adults from their Parish to prepare them with the necessary skills to continue the programs once the NET Team departs. They are a lovely, talented, inspirational and happy group of young people and well worth getting to know.

(Should you wish to contact the team, you can email them at; vocationsirelandnetteam@gmail.com) 

New Beginnings

The words of St. Augustine, “If you aspire to great things, begin with little ones, remind me the summer holidays are over” thus signalling a return to work, to school and the halls of academia. The return can be both a stressful and an enjoyable experience. Much will be achieved but always in small steps.

As we welcome the month of September, my hope is that all of us, irrespective of age or disposition will be open to new beginnings and to new possibilities in our lives.

I enjoyed a visit to Rossnowlagh, Co Donegal recently to meet with forty passionate, enthusiastic young people in their faith from NET Ministries (National Evangelisation Team). They are an international voluntary movement consisting of teams of young adults. They were preparing to embark on mission to selected schools and parishes during the next nine months.

They were spending six weeks in preparation for their mission sharing their own faith journey and building team relationships. They will engage with hundreds of fellow youth in schools and parishes throughout Ireland and elsewhere. It was a privilege to meet with the team who will be working with Vocations Ireland for the coming year.

Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Blessings for the year ahead!  

Summer is here.

Summer holidays are in the air. Our weather is warm and sunny. Days are long and bright, airports are busier than usual, strawberries and ice-cream is popular again - all announcing that summer is here. The schools have closed until late August or early September, and university exams are all but over. Families are making plans to get away to the sea-side or   take a break. Despite what St. Paul seems to be saying in Romans 8:9, 11-13, we really do owe a debt to the flesh, in the sense that we have a responsibility to care for the bodies with which God has blessed us. Our bodies, minds and spirits all need to be renewed and refreshed from time to time, and, for most of us, summer is the traditional time for that.  Paul’s focus is on a theme he often repeats: If we engage in dull, destructive, repulsive pastimes, we’ll naturally end up dull, deadened and repulsive. And that’s hardly an expression of appreciation to the God who loved us into life. The debt we owe to the flesh is to revive its energy, to bolster it up, to prepare it to encounter life’s stress.

In Mt. 11, 25-30, we hear Jesus’ invitation to rest.  And it’s an invitation that is supported by his action. The Gospel writers make frequent references to his going off by himself to rest and pray.  Without rest and renewal, we do, in fact, reduce our productivity, and become irritable, prickly and testy. All too often, rest and holidays fall into the category of privilege rather than necessity.  I am reminded of a cartoon that depicted a family on a beach outing, all in swim wear - dad is sitting under an umbrella tapping away at his laptop, mum is seriously talking on her I-phone, and two teenage children are fully engrossed in electronic games. Even on holidays, we feel the need to be constantly connected with the business and people we have left behind, through emails, texting, What’s App, Facebook and other social media. Perhaps we might need to consider that rest for the weary and heavily-laden is as much a matter of justice as of anything else.

What’s more, we may well benefit from reflecting on some of the implications of accepting Jesus’ invitation: “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” Is it an invitation we accept with eagerness? When did you and I last respond to it with joy? In reality, I can use busyness as a means of keeping myself away from a personal encounter with Jesus, of keeping God at a distance. Accepting Jesus’ invitation implies getting close to him, and that can make me uncomfortable.  I may have to ponder some of his questions and reflect on his challenges.

Eucharist Procession

The sun reigned on the ninety second Annual Eucharistic Procession on Sunday 18^th June, 2017. It is a significant part of Cork’s Religious Heritage.

The procession takes place on the Sunday afternoon nearest to the feast of “Corpus Christi”. People walked from the North Cathedral of St. Mary’s and St. Anne’s and gathered in Daunt Square. Bishop Buckley, of Cork brought the Blessed Sacrament from the Cathedral to Daunt Square where there was a religious service consisting of prayers, readings and hymns. On arriving in Daunt Square, Bishop Buckley first blessed the sick and infirm in a special reserved area near the altar. Bishop William Crean, Bishop of Cloyne preached the homily.

The idea of a Eucharist Procession through the City of Cork is that it is a public witness to faith. It celebrates the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and also in people today, when we gather as a community of brothers and sisters and reach out to people in need. Many Catholic groups who contribute to the life of the city attended the procession. Cork’s multi-cultural nature was on display during the procession, with members of the Asian, African and East European communities in the city in attendance.

The ceremony was live-streamed to facilitate households, patients in hospitals, nursing homes and Cork people around the world.

Bishop Buckley thanked the City Council, the Gardai, the Civil Defence, order of Malta and St. John Ambulance brigade for their assistance with the procession. He thanked the Church of the Incarnation choir for their singing, particularly soloists Jessica O’Connell and Ramelo Gregorio, and paid tribute to the organising committee.

Remembering All Students Doing Exams

Lord, today I am just really stressed. You know, Lord, that I am having some trouble with the test I am about to take. I know it's probably not the biggest world problem, with people starving, people turning away from you, people in wars, and more. But, Lord, it's what I'm facing right now, and I need you in this time. I know that no problem is too big or too small for you to handle, and I need to turn this stress over to you to help me with.

Lord, I just need to be able to focus. I need your help to look at this information so I can remember and apply it well on my exam. I need you to help me feel more confident going into the test and relax a bit so I can concentrate. Lord, please help the people around me to understand that I need to focus and study.

Also, Lord, help me when I walk into the exam. Give me the peace, when it is all said and done, to know that I walked in and did my best. I pray, Lord, for your guiding hand as I take the exam, and I ask for your welcome calm when I walk out of the classroom after.

 Lord, thank you for all the blessings you have placed in my life. Thank you for being here in this time when I feel a bit overwhelmed. Thank you for always being there and allowing me to rely on you. Praise your name. Amen.

Chapter 2017

The curtain came down on our Chapter (Assembly) after Easter in Rome. A sense of quiet satisfaction reigns as Brothers reflect back on the two weeks and allow ourselves the credit of a job well done. Guided by the facilitator, Sister Catherine Ryan, a direction for the next six years was charted.

It was a good experience being at Villa Palazzola. It was an opportunity to meet with Brothers from other units around the congregation. It was for me a prayerful, reflective time and a time of inspiration and openess. I enjoyed the sense of Brotherhood, the communal dimension of shared meals, laughter, negotiating the stone stairways, the walks and beautiful scenery, the various liturgies, and the opportunties to share faith, A graced time!

On the final day, participants departed by taxis for the various airports or other places. We were happy that the Chapter was a graced moment and a wonderful experience. Jesus was among us and the Spirit was present in many moments of invitation and challenge.

A Chapter Statement will eventually be shared more widely and its inspiration will inform decision-making across the wider Congregation of the Presentation Brothers. We wish the new Congregation Leadership Team success and many blessings. They will be supported by the prayers and good wishes of many. For updates from the Chapter, you are welcome to visit; chapter 2017.presentationbrothers.org