New Vocations DVD launched by Archbishop.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on the 12th of November 2009 launched our new vocations DVD. The new DVD is aimed at anyone who wants to reflect on a vocation to the priesthood and seek insights into how others have had the courage to say Yes to God's pan for their lives. Four Dublin Diocesan Priests share their journey, how they overcame fears and doubts to embark on such a rewarding and fulfilling life changing experience that continues today! The honesty and depth of the sharing is sure to be of immense help especially to anyone who has yet plucked up the courage to seriously consider whether priesthood is for them or not.
Copies of the DVD are available free of charge from vocations@dublindiocese.ie or by phone/txt 0868346071.
Pictured from left to right: Fr Damian Farnon, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Fr Eamonn Bourke (Vocations Director) and Fr Damian McNiece.
St. John Vianney Discernment Group.
To coincide with the Special 'Year For Priests' the Vocations Office is organising a 4 session Discernment course under the patronage of St. John Marie Vianney, patron of priests.
The discernment course takes place over three Saturdays; on the 17th of October, the 21st of November and the 19th of December and one weekend from the 5th to 7th of February 2010.
The session will begin at 11am and run til about 2.30pm. We will begin with prayer using the scriptures followed by input on the following themes: October 17th: What is a vocation?, November 21st: How God calls...examples from scripture, December 19th: What is priesthood like today?, the sessions will conclude with Mass and something to eat.
The weekend away in Maynooth will provide participants with an opportunity to have some space to discern their unique vocation and through discussion, prayer and input have an opportunity to find clarity on their own call.
Places are limited so those interested should apply to the director of vocations at vocations@dublindiocese.ie or by phone 0868346071.
There is no cost involved in taking part.
REDEMPTORISTINE NUNS
MONASTERY OF ST ALPHONSUS
ST ALPHONSUS ROAD
DUBLIN 9
We, the Redemptoristine Nuns are a contemplative community, dedicated to the service of God and his people through contemplative and community prayer and supporting ourselves by our work.
Find out more about our life on www.rednuns.com
Single women interested in finding out more about monastic vocation are invited to join in our life of prayer, liturgy, work and recreation on the weekend of 23rd -25th October ‘09 Please contact
Sr Gabrielle O.Ss.R. at
086 816 4179
gabrielle.fox@redemptorists.ie
9 Day Novena to Mark beginning of
'Year for Priests'
Download Novena Prayers: Pdf format
Download Novena Poster: pdf formatposter for Novena
The text of the Novena Prayer leaflet is below this news item:
To mark the beginning of a special ‘Year For Priests’ (19th June 2009– 19th June 2010)
inaugurated by Pope Benedict the XVI to mark the 150 anniversary of the birth of St John Mary Vianney patron of priest’s.
Beginning on the 19th of June and running for 9 days with the theme
‘Pray for Priests and Vocations to the Priesthood’
‘Send Labourers to the Harvest’
All parishes are asked to take part in this Diocesan Wide Novena in Honour of St John Marie Vianney to pray especially for priests with particular emphasis on prayer for VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD.
Novena Prayer leaflets will be distributed to all parishes at the beginning of June. Parishes will receive 200 copies of the Novena Prayer leaflet. If your parish requires more please let me know in the Vocations office ASAP. TXT or Phone 0868346071 or email vocations@dublindiocese.ie.
As you pray this novena please offer prayers for
Vocations to the priesthood and religious life asking the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest.
JUNE 19th DEEP FAITH
Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney you were born of a deeply religious mother; from her you received the Holy Faith; you learned to love God and to pray. At a young age, you were seen kneeling in the front of the statue of Mary. Your soul was supernaturally carried towards the things on High. Despite the high cost, you answered your vocation!
Against many obstacles and contradictions, you had to fight and suffer to become the perfect priest which you were. But your deep spirit of faith supported you in all these battles. 0 Great Saint you know the desire of my soul; I would like to serve God better; from Him I have received so many good things. For this, obtain for me more courage and especially the depth of faith.
Help me to be better in the future.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
JUNE 20TH COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD
Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney, what confidence the people had in your prayers! You could not leave your old rectory or your humble church without being surrounded by imploring souls, who appealed to you as they would have appealed to Jesus Himself during His earthly life. And you, O good Saint, gave them hope by your words, which were full of love for God.
You, who had always counted entirely on the heart of God, obtain for me a deep filial trust in His Providence. As the hope of divine goods fills my heart, give me courage and help me to always obey the Commandments of God.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers). Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
JUNE 21ST: TRUE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR
Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney because of your love of God you showed great charity towards your neighbour. You could not preach on the Love of God without burning tears of love. During your last years, it seemed as though you could not talk about any thing else or live for anything else. Thus you sacrificed yourself to your neighbour by consoling, absolving and sanctifying them to the limits of your strength.
Your charity inspires me to greater love of God, a love which is shown more by acts then by words. Help me to love my neighbour generously as Christ loves them.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers). Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
JUNE 22ND: AVOID SIN
Saint John Mary Baptist Vianney, you were so adamant against sin, yet so sympathetic and so ready to welcome the sinner. I come to you today as if you were still alive, as if I were kneeling at your feet and you could hear me. Bend towards me, listen to the repentant confidence for the weaknesses and miserable deeds of mine.
Priest of the Lord, inexhaustible Confessor, obtain for me the strength to avoid sin. I want to take your advice and make the resolution to break bad habits and to avoid the dangerous occasions of sin. Help me today to examine my conscience.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers). Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
JUNE 23RD CONFESSOR OF SOULS
O Holy Priest of Ars, you knew how important was a good confession for the Christian life. It was to procure the happy fruits of millions of souls that you agreed to be in an uncomfortable confessional, which was like a prison, up to 15 to 16 hours on certain days.
I will try to develop the habit of frequent confession, to prepare properly each time and to have always regret for my sins, so that the grace of final perseverance but also the sanctification of my soul will be assured. Ask this grace for me.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
JUNE 24TH REAL PRESENCE
O Holy Priest of Ars, whose only comfort in this world was the real presence of Jesus in the tabernacle, was it not your great joy to distribute the Eucharist to the pilgrims who visited you? You, who each day at Holy Mass received Holy Communion with great love, give me some of your fervour. With freedom from sin, obtain for me a sincere desire for healing from receiving Holy Communion.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
JUNE 25TH DISPELLER OF EVIL
O Holy Priest of Ars, the infamous attacks of the devil which you had to suffer and the trials which disheartened you by fatigue would not make you give up the sublime task of converting souls. The devil came to you for many years to disturb your short rest but you won because of mortification and prayers.
Powerful protector, you know the temptor's desire to harm my baptized and believing soul. He would have me sin, by rejecting the Holy Sacraments and the life of virtue. But good Saint of Ars dispel from me the traces of the enemy. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
JUNE 26TH EXQUISITE PURITY O Holy Priest of Ars, a witness of your life made this magnificent praise of you: 'We would have taken him for an angel in a mortal body." You so edified others: the modesty and the exquisite purity radiated from your body. With such charm and with such enthusiasm you preached to others about these beautiful virtues which you said resembled the perfume of a vineyard in bloom.
Please I beg you to join your entreaties to those of Mary Immaculate and Saint Philomena in order that I guard always, as God asks me, the purity of my heart. You, who have directed so many souls towards the heights of virtue, defend me in temptations and obtain for me the strength to conquer them.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers). Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
JUNE 27TH DESIRE FOR HEAVEN O Holy Priest of Ars, your precious remains are contained in a magnificent reliquary, the donation from the priests of France. But this earthly glory is only a very pale image of the unspeakable glory which you are enjoying with God. During the time you were on earth, you used to repeat in your dejected hours, 'one will rest in the other life." It is done, you are in eternal peace, and eternal happiness.
I desire to follow you one day. Until then, I hear you saying to me: "You should work and fight as long as you are in the world."
Teach me then to work for the salvation of my soul, to spread the good news and good example and to do good towards those around me in order that I will receive the happiness of the Elect with you. Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... ((mention silently your special intentions, please mention vocations to the priesthood among your prayers).
O St John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests!
Who is St. John Vianney?
St. John Vianney, Priest(Patron of priests) Feastday - August 4 (Universally known as the "Cure of Ars),"
St John Mary Vianney was ordained a priest in 1815. Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the Christian world. Accustomed to the most severe austerities, beleaguered by swarms of penitents, and besieged by the devil, this great mystic manifested a imperturbable patience. He was a wonderworker loved by the crowds, but he retained a childlike simplicity, and he remains to this day the living image of the priest after the heart of Christ.
He heard confessions of people from all over the world for the sixteen hours each day. His life was filled with works of charity and love. It is recorded that even the staunchest of sinners were converted at his mere word. He died August 4, 1859, and was canonized May 31, 1925.
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Vocations Chalice
The Vocations office has taken possession for one year of a special chalice which will be offered to parishes to take for one week and to be used to offer Masses for vocations to the priesthood. For more information plus a history of the Chalice please click herevocations chalice newsletter
To take part in the initiative please download the reply slip and return it to the Vocations Office.return slip.
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‘YEAR FOR PRIESTS’
19th June 2009—19th June 2010
"Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests."
Pope Benedict XVI declared a year of the priest in an effort to encourage "spiritual perfection" in priests. He will open the special year with a vespers service at the Vatican on June the 19th- the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the day for the sanctification of priests. He will close the celebrations during a World Meeting of Priests in St. Peter's Square June 19, 2010.
During this jubilee year, the pope will also proclaim St. John Vianney to be patron saint of all the world's priests. At present he is considered the patron saint of parish priests. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of this 19th-century saint who represents a "true example of a priest at the service of the flock of Christ," the pope said. St. John Vianney is widely known to Catholics as the Cure (parish priest) of Ars who won over the hearts of his villagers in France by visiting with them, teaching them about God and reconciling people to the Lord in the confessional.
The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity". More information on the Year for Priests will be available on the vocations directors website: http://www.vocations.ie/yearpriests
Plenary Indulgence Offered for Year for Priests
The Vatican is offering a plenary indulgence for all faithful on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which is set to begin June 19 and last one year.
The decree was made public today and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary.
The Year for Priests marks the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, also knows as the Curé de Ars.
The decree noted that Benedict XVI will preside at the opening liturgy June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, "a day of priestly sanctification." He will celebrate vespers before the relics of the saint, brought to Rome for the occasion by the bishop of the French Diocese of Belley-Ars.
The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity."
For priests, the plenary indulgence can be gained by praying lauds or vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle. They must also "offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of penance."
The plenary indulgence, which under current norms must be accompanied by sacramental confession, the Eucharist and praying for the intentions of the Pope, can also by applied to deceased priests.
Priests are granted a partial indulgence, also applicable to deceased priests, every time they "devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them."
For the faithful, a plenary indulgence can be obtained on the opening and closing days of the Year for Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean-Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.
To obtain the indulgence the faithful must attend Mass in an oratory or Church and offer prayers to "Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to his heart."
The conditions for the faithful for earning a plenary indulgence are to have gone to confession and prayed for the intentions of the Pope.
The elderly, the sick, and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes may obtain the plenary indulgence if, with the intention of observing the usual three conditions as soon as they can, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."
A partial indulgence is offered to the faithful when they repeat five times the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."
Click above for more details
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin recently annnounced a series of initiatives to foster a broad programme of renewal in all sectors of the life of the diocese. One of these initiatives is the establishement of the permanent diaconate. Deacons are ordained to work alongside priests and lay ministers, with a particular focus on the ministry of charity and on bringing the ministry of the Church to those who are on the margins. They also assist in the liturgy and are given some responsibility for the Word of God. In general the diaconate is exercised on a voluntary part time basis. Applications are welcome from married men between the ages of 35 and 56, or single men between the ages of 25 and 56, who have the recommendation of their parish priest. Further details on the permanent diaconate can be obtained from any of the priests of the parish
Ordinations for Dublin.
July 5th will be a very joyful day in the life of the Dublin Archdiocese with the ordinations of three of its seminarians. Revs. Michael Kelly (Hunstown), Richard Shannon (Waterford) and Dan an Nguyen (Vietnam) will be ordained together in Dublin's Pro-Cathedral. We wish the lads every blessing in their time of preparation.
Year Of Vocation.
The Year Of Vocation was launched at Dublin's Pro-Cathedral on Sunday 13th of April. This 'Year Of Vocation' will be an opportunity for all members of our baptised community to reflect on their own unique calling as a child of God. We are all called to be disciples of Christ and to live lives that show the world our love for Him and each other. This Year is also an opportunity for people to reflect on a vocation to priesthood and religious life. The challenge of priesthood and religious life is one that needs to be placed before us often so that those who are being called by God to this way of life may be encouraged to respond in generosity.
What is YOUR vocation in life?
Marraige. www.yourvocation.ie
SEEK HIS FACE
A Prayer Initiative of the Vocations Office
Achieropoitos
One of Irelands leading Iconographers, Sr Aloysius McVeigh, a Mercy Sister, from Derry, has provided us with an appropriate icon as the focus of our prayer.
The icon depicts the face of Christ. Its title is ‘ACHIEROPOITOS’ (image not made by hands), and is based on the shroud of Turin. This image is very appropriate as it is Christ who is the one who calls us to our true vocation in life– the vocation of holiness.
The theme of the prayer endeavour is ‘Seek his face’. This icon was blessed by his Holiness Pope Benedict in Rome over Easter and will travel around our diocese spending a week in parishes encouraging parish communities to pray for vocations.
Look to the LORD and his strength;
seek his face Always.
1 Chronicles 16:11
Allow these words to enter into your heart
Slowly Read the Following Passage:
The Calling of the First Disciples
As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4: 18-22
Where is the Lord Calling You?
Dear Lord,
You love me and you want me to be happy and at peace.
Reveal your face to me,
show me the path I must walk,
Give me wisdom to know where you are calling me and the courage I need today to answer that call
Help me to seek your face each and every day of my life so that my life can be spent in your service.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.