Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

I found this great post over at www.vocation.com so thought I would share it. A postles. From the very beginning, help your children see that a Christian is meant to make a difference in the world around him, we are Christ’s ambassadors. Light of the world and salt of the earth. Make them aware that their faith is a gift and talent to share. A nswer your children's questions about priesthood or religious life; never discourage them or ridicule them if they bring it up. Baptism. Celebrate each one’s Baptism Day as well as birthday – and yours too. Build family traditions around the celebration… a specially decorated Baptism Candle that you light for the occasion with a special prayer…, displaying photos of their baptism.., writing a card or saying a prayer for the priest who baptized them…. B ring your family to an Ordination Mass or prayer vigil for religious.   C atechism. Teach, explain, challenge and have them memorize. Always connect it with life. C hallenge your teenagers ...

Our PDDM community in Ireland, present in Athlone and in Dublin Many people have never heard of our religious Congregation so here is some basic information and answers to the questions which we get asked most! Name of the Order:  Disciples of the Divine Master (PDDM) Apostolate/Charism/Mission: Strong contemplative-apostolic lifestyle of loving and active silence. A three-fold charism: the main mission is to be 'living lamps' before Jesus present in the Eucharist, offering our prayer and Adoration for the intentions of the whole world. From this Eucharistic mission, two other ministries flow: that of liturgical service and of priestly service. We promote liturgical formation and animation through the production and distribution of sacred art. Alongside this, we are involved in different ministries throughout the day, ranging from sewing and embroidering vestments, painting, sculpture, architecture, music in order that prayer may be characterized by beauty and dignity. We ...

“I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord's living garden.” ― St. Thérèse de Lisieux Today is one of my favourite feastdays, feast of St. Thérèse, also known as the Little Flower! I know it is predictable but one of my favourite spiritual books is the ‘Story of a Soul’ which I came across as a teenager.Generations of Catholics have admired this young saint and found in her short life more inspiration for own lives than in volumes by theologians. Yet Therese died when she was 24, after having lived as cloistered Carmelite for less than ten years. She never went on missions, never founded a religious order, never performed great works. The only book of hers, publis...

Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI This piece was written by Ron Rolheiser over ten years ago but it still has so much to say to us today, especially to those who work in vocation ministry and with young people. The italics and bold in the text are my addition.  The Right to Call Another to a Vocation June 23, 2002 "Recently I participated in an International Conference on vocations. It gathered a wide assortment of persons to reflect upon why less people in the Western world are entering the priesthood and consecrated religious life.It was a wonderful event, filled with prayer, hope, and energy. It was too a time of reflection on strategy: What might we be doing, practically, in terms of attracting more people into priesthood and religious life? What became clearer as the conference went on is that, in terms of drawing people into a deep religious commitment of any kind, strategy is not what is ultimately at issue. What is? Depth of commitment and sanctity within our own live...

With Vocations Sunday on the horizon, here's some tips for those of you who might be discerning if God is leading you to serve Him in priesthood or religious life. Twelve Exercises to Discern Your Call Imagine yourself 5 to 10 years from now. Do you want to continue in life as you are now? Imagine yourself as a priest or religious ten years from now. Fantasize by going through an entire day in your future as a priest. Visualize yourself being a priest and doing what you imagine a priest does. Notice how your gut reacts to this exercise. What is usually the most life-giving part of your week? What does that say about you? Shadow a priest or religious for a day. Accompany them through the various aspects of ministry. For one week, live as if you decided to enter the seminary or formation program. Notice how you felt. The following week live as if you decided to drop the church vocation question and dismiss it. What feelings are stirred within you? Imagine Jesus loo...

This Thursday, 2nd of February, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation, designated as World Day for Consecrated Life by Blessed John Paul II in 1997. As we thank God for the wonderful work done by so many religious men and women throughout the world, we continue to pray for courage and strength for those whom He is calling to follow Him through this particular way of life. Here is a proposed outline for a Holy Hour of Prayer for Vocations. I am firm believer that no prayer = no vocations! HOUR OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS OPENING SONG: Here I am, Lord Introduction: We are gathered before Jesus present in the Eucharist so as to rest upon his heart and to offer Him our prayer for vocations. Our thoughts are many in this moment but our priests find a special place in our prayer. We pray for them and with them and in the midst of this darkness only courageous faith allows us to pray that Jesus send new and fervour filled young men and women into his harvest. Silence ...