A Brother's Work is Never Done...

Doing a job I never did before...

The Presentation Brothers here in Dublin are very involved in our local parish, St Joseph's Glasthule.

Br Majella helps out in the sacristy and I assist at weekends with the family mass group. All of the Brothers in our community attend mass daily in the church.

At the moment, I'm helping out with preparations for a little party scheduled for the end of Lent for the children of the parish. Today that involved painting strips of paper onto balloons...don't ask...

All I know is that these are the very small ways that as a Brother I help other people. Sometimes trivial tasks like these slow us down a little and help us to reflect on the idea of service- of giving our time for others in small ways.

Giving our time to others in small ways is a big part of being a Brother.

Lent begins...

Take a look at this video with a reflection for the beginning of Lent.

It's hard to believe that Lent is here again. It's late this year. We almost got used of a springtime without fasting and prayer.

The Church here in Glasthule was packed this morning as people attended Mass to receive their ashes.

"Repent and believe the Good News" - there's a challenge for all of us.

I'm not sure yet what my own Lenten resolution will be. But I think it will involve a renewed focus on prayer. Life is just so busy nowadays that time and space for prayer can too easily be forgotten.

Speaking of prayer- please keep in mind a few men I am in touch with who are currently at the early stage of discerning a religious vocation.

And don't forget to pray for those of us who journey with them.

Happy Lent!

Vocations Information Days

Have you been thinking about a religious vocation?

Do you have 101 questions to ask?

We, the Presentation Brothers, are holding an Information Day for men aged 18-40 in Dublin on Saturday 5th March 2011 and in Cork on Saturday 12th March 2011. It's an opportunity to meet a Brother and ask questions about what is involved in becoming a member of a religious order.

The Information day begins at 11am and finishes after lunch at about 2.30pm. The event is free of charge and is without obligation.

A free Vocations Information Pack will also be given to those who attend.

Most of the men I meet in my role as vocations director have been thinking about a religious vocation for some time but often the information they need is not readily available. That is the purpose of this day- to provide some advice and support to any man who would like to do something worthwhile with his life and has considered a religious vocation.

For full information, please contact me, Brother Ray Dwyer, at 01-2300824 or email prescall@eircom.net

Don't forget to follow the Presentation Brothers on Facebook.

F.I.T in Church!

Members of the F.I.T group at a recent meeting.

What supports exist for men and women who are in formation with a religious congregation?

A group of religious women and men have decided to provide that support themselves and have been meeting regularly here in Dublin for the past while.

The group meets to share their experiences, their hopes, struggles and enthusiasm as they journey through their formation process.

Their new blog, Formation, Information, Transformation (F.I.T in Church) contains an impressively worded mission statement:

"Motivated by faith in Christ and the attractiveness of His call we journey in solidarity with each other. For the people of our time this is a radical counter-cultural witness moving from self-centeredness to self-giving, and from self-gratification to self-emptying. Young people are as generous today as in the past in giving their lives to God in the service of others. This life consists not only in a total dedication to prayer but also to an active service of their fellow men and women. Grounded in Christ our self-giving becomes more than a humanitarian outreach, but rather a sharing in the redemptive work of Christ the Redeemer."

Keep an eye on their blog!

F.I.T in Church!

Graduation in Hull

After the graduation in Hull

I'm just back from a few days in England. I graduated with a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Hull. For the past few years I've been studying part time for this degree and needless to say I'm delighted to have graduated. While the degree is awarded by Hull University, my lectures took place at Presentation Brothers, Mardyke House in Cork city and were run by CLEO.

CLEO stands for Christian Leadership in Education Office and was founded by Presentation Brother, Br. Matthew Feheney. Its courses have been attended by dozens of teachers from all over the Munster region over the years.
Even though my recent studies have been in the area of education my original training was in social care. It's an example of how life as a Brother takes many different twists and turns!

If the life of the Presentation Brothers interests you, just get in touch - prescall@eircom.net

Still time for resolutions...

Taking down the tree in Glasthule parish church...

I was taking down the Christmas tree in St Joseph's Parish Church here in Glasthule recently and it made me cast my mind back to the day it went up last December. Christmas always seems to fly past.

Now, here we are well into a New Year. I suspect many people who made New Year Resolutions are already probably starting to falter!

I've always thought that it's safer to make your resolution after you've given yourself a chance to settle into the New Year!

On that note, maybe now's the time for you to consider thinking more deeply about your vocation in life.

What is it that you think God might be calling you to do with your gifts and talents?

What good could you do in serving God and other people?

Big questions.

Why not resolve to giving yourself some time to considering these in the next few weeks and months. As always, if I can be of any help, feel free to get in touch at prescall@eircom.net

Happy New Year!

A Happy and Blessed New Year to you all!

This is the time of year for a fresh start- for New Year Resolutions. If you've been thinking about a vocation to religious life why not make a determined effort to explore your vocation seriously in the weeks ahead. If you would like any discernment advice just get in touch at prescall@eircom.net