Newsletter. April May the eyes of your heart be enlightened that you may know the hope that belongs to God s call (Ephesians 1:18)

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1 Issue No. 14 Newsletter April 2018 May the eyes of your heart be enlightened that you may know the hope that belongs to God s call (Ephesians 1:18) Some years ago when one of my nephews was in probably 3 rd or 4 th class, I corrected his maths homework and got it wrong.. and naturally he was not best pleased with me. Since then my nephews know better than to ask me anything maths related. I didn t get the maths gene in my family, but that is okay. We can t all be the same or life would be incredibly boring. On April 22 nd we celebrated World Day of Prayer for ions, and on 1 st May we will celebrate Religious Brothers Day. Both are days to pray for and give thanks for Religious and Priests who dedicate their lives in the service of others. I have been blessed in my life to have been supported by many wonderful men and women who continue to inspire and share their gifts with me. I was educated, given a love of music and an awareness of creation, a love of animals, an appreciation of liturgy, and continue to be encouraged to share my particular gifts and talents by many Priests and Religious that I have met throughout my life. I value the friendships I have known and continue to grow with members of many religious congregations. I give thanks for the Sisters of Bon Secours that I currently work for. Their encouragement and trust in my gifts help me to grow and live out my ministry daily alongside them. All of these men and women have their own particular set of skills and gifts, but the one thing they all share is their Yes to God. They have all answered a call from God to spend their lives spreading the Good News and helping those they meet to come to know a loving and forgiving God who loves us all unconditionally. Being good at maths is not an essential requirement for priesthood, religious life, or in fact any call from God. just as well in my case!!! Whatever we are good at, let us give thanks for the opportunity to share our gifts and talents in the service of others, and may those called to Priesthood and Religious life hear, answer, and live out that call knowing that they are supported and appreciated by many. Anne-Marie Whelan, Evangelistaion & ions Officer, Sisters of Bon Secours.

2 VOCATIONS IRELAND SPRING CONFERENCE We had a very successful Spring Conference where we offered our Moving Forward in Hope programme for communities. We had 23 congregations represented on the day which was wonderful and everyone without exception enjoyed the day immensely. All felt it gave great hope and has enthused communities to move forward. The day was so successful that we hope to offer it again later in the year for those who missed out. We had 10 people on a waiting list and I am confident, based on the feedback from last weekend, many more of you will want to avail of this. Unfortunately I have had to be strict about numbers as last year proved to be difficult in terms of catering. Some did not book in time, others booked did not pay deposits and did not turn up but we still had to pay for the numbers we booked. Therefore, it is necessary going forward to insist on booking deposits and closing dates which I am sure you will understand.

3 A message to ions Ireland from Sr Lynn Levo Greetings from Across the Pond I am in the final preparations for my time with you in Athlone and the Understanding, Assessing and Fostering Psychosexual Integration Conference scheduled for 14-18, May. As I prepare materials and handouts, I am reminded of the changing times in which we are living and our need to update ourselves in response. In addition to our evolving understanding of being sexual and celibate, I am also very aware of these important and related topics for vocation ministers: understanding accompaniment, candidates need to learn how to reflect in an unreflective world, and some critical skills for living fully religious life: friendship, mutuality and contemplative dialogue. It is my hope that together we can explore these topics and learn together as we take an in-depth look at Being Sexual. Blessings, Lynn Lynn M Levo, CSJ, PhD Anyone still wishing to attend the Lynn Levo workshop in May can contact Margaret in the office. The special deal for accommodation is now closed but if you wish to stay at the hotel you will be required to book direct with the hotel for accommodation and book with ions Ireland for the conference. The second annual Religious Brothers Day will be held May 1, 2018, on the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. All religious brothers will be recognized during this international event. We send our blessings and continued prayers to all our Religious Brothers in ions Ireland.

4 WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES 2018 ions Ireland Programme 1) 17 th August 7.30pm CONFERENCE for families in Clarendon St. HAS THERE BEEN OR IS THERE CURRENTLY A RELIGIOUS VOCATION IN YOUR FAMILY? Come and share your experience with others. Hear from families who have had a son, daughter, brother or sister become a Religious or a Priest. What were their fears, hopes or dreams, and how they coped with this news at the time? What would you say to Families today if someone in their family announced they wanted to enter Religious Life or Priesthood? 2) 23 rd August 7.30pm MUSICAL The Call in Clarendon St. Featuring the music and stories from the musicals A Gospel Line and The Messiah directed by Gavin Byrne. 3) 24 th August at 5pm PEACE PILGRIMAGE through Dublin City We are walking through the streets of Dublin and stopping at different churches belonging to our religious families to pray for peace in family life today and for world peace. We will begin at 5.00p.m which will enable anyone who wants to attend the events in the RDS to do so and still be able to join the peace pilgrimage at whatever stage they would like. We will begin with a Taize style Mass in Clarendon Street church. We ask you to bring a lantern with you which will be carried through the streets of Dublin. We will stop at the OFM s on Merchants Quay, then on to Church Street with the OFM Caps. Next stop will be the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and finally to the Salesians in Sean McDermott Street where we will have a Peace and Healing service. We will be asking for as many priests as possible to be available for confession. During the Healing service we will have two guest speakers to speak on forgiveness & healing. We will finish with refreshments. I have written to each of the Contemplative communities to ask them to take responsibility for each Church to ensure there is at least two people praying before the Blessed Sacrament for the success of the pilgrimage. This event will be free. Anyone who wants to contribute to the refreshments can contact the office. I would ask that as many as possible from ions Ireland would attend these events and bring young people and families with you or encourage them if coming to Dublin to come and join us. Musicians will be welcome.

5 Other WMOF News 1) STAND: We will be taking a stand in the exhibition hall through AMRI and will require volunteers for the stand. A schedule will be sent out soon for volunteers. We hope to make the stand as interactive as possible. We will be providing tee shirts for the volunteers. 2) DISPLAY IN CLARENDON STREET We are inviting Religious Families to display something about your religious family and leave the display for the week in Clarendon street. Initially we thought of doing it in the shape of the icon but this was proving to be cost prohibitive. We have decided to leave this up to each Religious family to find a way of displaying you could use 2 pop up banners for example, 1 with your information about your religious family and the second one full of photographs of your various ministries. Please let the office know by the 31 st July whether you will have something for the display and what the display will consist of. October Conferences Bookings are still open for the October Conferences; 1 st to 5 th October: Orientation Programme 6 th to 7 th October: Ethical Issues 9 th to 11 th October: Behavioural Assessments More details can be found on the website

6 Congratulations to the Presentation Sisters on celebrating the 300 th anniversary of Nano Nagle. Presentation Sisters from across the world were joined by the Cork public in a twilight procession through the city on the evening of 26 th April to remember and walk in the footsteps of the Lady with the Lantern who is still very much loved in her native Cork. Sister Mary Deane, Congregational Leader, said: How fitting it is that this Congregational Gathering should take place for the first time in Cork at the very location where Nano Nagle herself founded the Presentation Sisters. It is doubly fitting that this gathering should happen in a place that celebrates Nano s vision of empowerment through education, community inclusion and spiritual engagement. The procession was a real-life enactment of a scene that many living in Cork city would have been familiar with in the 1780 s, when Nano wound her way through the narrow lanes of the city with lantern aloft. Nano Nagle was born 300 years ago in She died in 1784 the anniversary of her death is April 26th. On this anniversary we remember, acknowledge and give thanks for her living legacy and care for those made poor, and we pray for all of those who faithfully continue in her footsteps.