Pilgrim progress- a disciple on a journey!

Myself with the neo-deacon Damian,OP “We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it” (St. Paul to the Ephesians). On the 15th of March 2015, the Dominican Province in Ireland was in great celebration for the ordination to diaconate of 6 of their brothers: Br. David McGovern, Br. Damian Polly, Br. Ronan Connolly, Br. Conor McDonough, Br. Eoin Casey and Br. Daragh McNally. In the Catholic Church, the diaconate is the first of three ranks in ordained ministry. Deacons preparing for the priesthood are transitional deacons. As ministers of Word, deacons proclaim the Gospel, preach, and teach in the name of the Church. As ministers of Sacrament, deacons baptise, lead the faithful in prayer, witness marriages, and conduct wake and funeral services. As ministers of Charity, deacons are  leaders in identifying the needs of others, It was very fitting to have this liturgical celebration on Laetare Sunday, w...

I am happy to share some of Sr. Kathryn's thoughts which are published weekly in the parish bulletin of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Athlone. Sr. Kathryn is one of my PDDM sisters in our Athlone community.     "I belong to a congregation called the Disciples of the Divine Master. So whenever the word disciple pops up in the gospel, it immediately connects to something very close to my heart. It’s heartening to acknowledge that I belong to a people whose vocation to discipleship can be traced right back to the Gospel story. Actually, we can all claim to be a thread in the long line of sinners or saints or in-betweens that Jesus looks upon so lovingly. Today we are given a glimpse at how Jesus calls his first closest friends. Our own call is just as authentic as theirs. As we know, the initial encounter is just the beginning. We don’t just follow Jesus or remain with him. As our Gospel unfolds, we too are invited to enter into a very close friendshi...