Renewing Vows in Kerry...

I travelled from Cork to Killarney on Thursday afternoon for a special ceremony at our International Novitiate. Br. Thiventhiran (Theiva) Pillai from Sri Lanka was renewing his vows as a Presentation Brother. Theiva made his First Profession last year and for the next several years he will re-commit to his vows.

The vows are Chastity, Poverty and Obedience.

Brothers and friends gathered in the novitiate chapel for the occasion. Two more young men from Sri Lanka, Colins and Duglus, led us in music and song. Colins and Duglus are novices. Novitiate is the name given to an important period of spiritual preparation before First Vows.

After the celebration of the Eucharist by Fr. Jim Lenihan we shared some lovely food provided by friends of Theiva. Theiva will soon make his first return visit to see his family and friends in Sri Lanka. It is important for a Brother to maintain contact with his family during his formation programme.

He will then return to Ireland where he will commence studies. Best wishes to Theiva for the future!

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

Exam time!

I'm sure many of you who follow this blog are preparing (or are in the middle of) exams these days.

Know that you are remembered in the Brothers' daily prayers during these weeks.

Here's a simple prayer I found which might help...

Loving God, as I begin my exams,
Help me to stay focused,
Help me to study with dedication and vigour,
Give me a clear mind to perform to the best of my ability,
Grant me the calmness to process the knowledge I have obtained.
Let me sleep peacefully at night, so that I am refreshed and renewed.
Be with me, loving God, during these days.
During the moments when I want to quit and give up, please sustain me.
Holy Spirit, guide me during times of trouble.
Protect me from feelings of anxiety and frustration.
Help me be satisfied with the work I have done.
And guide me in Your ways into the future.
Amen.

Lough Derg anyone?

If you are discerning a religious vocation, you will know that the need for time to reflect on God's call is very important.
On Friday, June 26th, the Presentation Family will be making the three-day, traditional pilgrimage to Lough Derg in County Donegal.
This pilgrimage is a unique spiritual experience that has endured for centuries.
It's nice to do the pilgrimage as part of a group

Learn more about our pilgrimage here

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.

Speaking on behalf of the poor...

I recently visited the Brothers at Edmund Rice International, an NGO at the United Nations in Geneva.

Edmund Rice International (ERI) works to promote and protect the rights of children and young people especially in regard to education. I am a member of the Board of ERI based in Dublin and we meet quarterly.

During my visit I attended sessions of the Human Rights Council dealing with  Egypt and the Maldives and discussions on the elimination of discrimination against women. It was incredibly useful to see how the work was conducted.

ERI plays a strong role in advocacy on account of the large number of contacts and sources of information it has in countries around the world. This is a great ministry of evangelisation working on behalf of the rights of children made poor throughout the world.

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 beginning 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 we are not as well as we would like to be; perhaps changes in life-style will be called for, when we want to continue as we are. Nevertheless in both cases, we know it is for our benefit and we are being irresponsible if we 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 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 and acceptable and perfect”. 

Keeping spiritually fit...

As the evenings lengthen, in this part of the world anyway, many people will be taking up some outdoors exercise again. Already, the numbers of people out jogging in the evenings is noticeable. 

Increasingly we hear about the role of physical fitness in warding off certain illnesses. We know it is important to look after our bodies.

There's an analogy here with the spiritual life. Just as we need to make an effort to get off the couch to go out for a walk or jog, we need to push ourselves to make time for prayer.

Just as with keeping physically fit, that demands time and effort too; but it's worth it. 

And for anyone discerning a religious vocation it's a necessity.