Spiritan Mission Ireland

IN THIS SECTION:

Fifth Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers ~ Autumn 2023

Mission Impossible? Becoming agents of change in today’s world

Marking World Day of the Poor

Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers

Irish Province Book Club A Spiritan Mission Ireland (SMI) Initiative for 2019

21 May Novena of Reflection and Prayer, In Preparation for the Feast of Pentecost (31st May) 2020

The Spiritan Mission Ireland Animation Commission (SMIAC) – December 2021

ARCHIVED
Fourth Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers ~ Friday, 25th February 2022

Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers Autumn 2023

Spiritan Mission Ireland, has designed a tailor-made course aimed at incoming pastoral ministry workers. This course seeks to support the integration and orientation process of incoming pastoral workers and to prepare them for ministry in parishes and congregational settings.

The course is fully residential and takes place in the Spiritan Retreat and Spirituality Centre in Ardbracan, Navan Co Meath. This beautiful setting affords the participants the opportunity to learn together in a relaxed community atmosphere where there will be opportunity for personal and communal prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist.

Download the brochure for more information on courses (PDF)

Mission Impossible? Becoming agents of change in today’s world

Marking World Day of the Poor

Sunday 14 November 2021

A Resource to assist communities and individuals

           In service of those in greatest need

World Day of the Poor, an initiative of Pope Francis first held in 2017, is marked annually across the whole Church on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is a Day of the Poor not a Day for the Poor. As Christ’s presence among us, poor people are hosting us. We join them in active solidarity with their struggle but also to

allow ourselves to be enriched by what they can teach us about life, sharing and dependence on God. Pope Francis has marked World Day of the Poor with Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica with people who are poor and those who work with them, followed by a meal in the Vatican (pre-Covid).

Video: Catholic News Service, 18 Nov 2019.
Pope Francis at dinner with friends

Prayer

Prepare a simple prayer space – a lighted candle, a crucifix, a Bible and some flowers and background instrumental music if possible.
Introduce the prayer as follows:

“At the heart of all the many concrete initiatives carried out on this day should always be prayer. Let us not forget that the Our Father is the prayer of the poor. Our asking for bread expresses our entrustment to God for our basic needs in life. Everything that Jesus taught us in this prayer expresses and brings together the cry of all who suffer from life’s uncertainties and the lack of what they need”

(2017 World Day of the Poor Message of Pope Francis, No. 8).

Let us recite the Our Father now, the prayer of those who know their need of God, getting in touch with our own vulnerability and neediness, and in solidarity with people who are poor today, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Moment of Silence

Our prayer, too, is for the generosity to reach out to those around us who are in need. “The Our Father is a prayer said in the plural: the bread for which we ask is ‘ours’, and that entails sharing, participation and joint responsibility” (2017 World Day of the Poor Message of Pope Francis, no. 8).

Music – for example, the song ‘Whatsoever You Do’ composed Willard F. Jabusch, such as the version performed by Chris Brunelle – https://youtu.be/Wl_sapbbSEE

Reflection

Please read these quotes from the 2021 World Day of the Poor Message of Pope Francis and, when used in a community setting, invite comment:

  • “As I never tire of repeating, the poor are true evangelizers, for they were the first to be evangelized and called to share in the Lord’s joy and his kingdom (cf. Mt 5:3) (2). Believers, when they want to see Jesus in person and touch him with their hands, know where to turn (3).
  • “Unless we choose to become poor in passing riches, worldly power and vanity, we will never be able to give our lives in love; we will live a fragmented existence, full of good intentions but ineffective for transforming the world” (4). “There are many forms of poverty among the “rich” that might be relieved by the wealth of the “poor”, if only they could meet and get to know each other! None are so poor that they cannot give something of themselves in mutual exchange” (6).
  • • “We cannot wait for the poor to knock on our door; we need urgently to reach them in their homes, in hospitals and nursing homes, on the streets and in the dark corners where they sometimes hide, in shelters and reception centres. It is important to understand how they feel, what they are experiencing and what their hearts desire” (9).

Reaching out

By way of marking World Day of the Poor: Who in my life and world am I/we being called to reach out to at this time?

Hospitality

In a community context, before concluding, share a cuppa in as safe a way as possible.

Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers

Spiritan Mission Ireland, has designed a tailor made course aimed at incoming pastoral ministry workers. This course seeks to support the integration and orientation process of incoming pastoral workers and to prepare them for ministry in parishes and congregational settings.

The course is fully residential and takes place in the Spiritan Retreat and Spiritulaity Centre in Ardbracan, Navan Co Meath. This beautiful setting affords the participants the opportunity to learn together in a relaxed community atmosphere where there will be opportunity for personal and communal prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist.

FEBRUARY 2022

Pastoral Ministry

Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers

Spiritan Mission Ireland, has designed a tailor-made course aimed at incoming pastoral ministry workers. This course seeks to support the integration and orientation process of incoming pastoral workers and to prepare them for ministry in parishes and congregational settings.
The course is fully residential and takes place in the Spiritan Retreat and Spirituality Centre in Ardbracan, Navan Co Meath. This beautiful setting affords the participants the opportunity to learn together in a relaxed community atmosphere where there will be opportunity for personal and communal prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist.

Learning Objectives

On completion of the course, participants will have received a holistic introduction into life in Ireland which will help them adjust to their new home, feel confident in fulfilling their pastoral role and ensure that their ministry meets the needs of those they serve. Participants will:

  • Gain insights and understanding of approaches to ministry in Ireland
  • Explore issues related to liturgy and spirituality in the context of pastoral ministry in Ireland
  • Explore various themes of inter and cross cultural communication (change, conflict, authority, leadership, listening, collaboration and personal well being)
  • Have received a broad overview of the socio economic, political, cultural landscape and history of Ireland
  • Be awarded a certificate of training from the National Board of Safeguarding of Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland and be fully compliant with the protocol for safeguarding training for people in ministry in Ireland

Irish Province Book Club A Spiritan Mission Ireland (SMI) Initiative for 2019

Seán Goan, Co-Ordinator, Spiritan Mission Ireland

Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading. ( Rainer Maria Rilke ) 

Book Clubs draw people together to share an interest in reading, and encourage conversation and friendship. Further to the suggestion of some members of the Province, Spiritan Mission Ireland will launch an Irish Province Book Club on the margins of our 2019 celebration (in Kimmage, on Friday next) of Libermann Day when we give thought to our call to grow as disciples of Jesus. 

The idea is simple. Anyone who is interested is invited to find like-minded people in their community or specific area of Spiritan life who might be interested in reading the suggested book. A suitable time and place are chosen when this small group can come together to share in an informal and relaxed way their ideas of the work that has been chosen. The aim is to promote informal reflection and discussion, and to encourage friendship and dialogue with those with whom we live and work. After the sharing, a volunteer secretary might then forward a summary of reflections and views to the Communications Office for inclusion in a Province communication. 

21 May Novena of Reflection and Prayer, In Preparation for the Feast of Pentecost (31st May) 2020

Each year as we prepare for the Feast of Pentecost, the Spiritan Congregation prepares a Novena to the Holy Spirit.  This year, the Spiritan Mission Ireland Office, through Sean Goan has prepared the Novena. The link to the Novena is here below. The Novena starts on Friday 22nd and to the eve of Pentecost, May 31st.

The Spiritan Mission Ireland Animation Commission (SMIAC) – December 2021 

Set up in 2021, SMIAC has as its objectives: to animate, facilitate, coordinate and resource the work of all who are actively involved in mission in Ireland, and to progress Spiritan commitment to same. 

Activities in hand include: The Marino Institute Migrant Teachers Project; appointment of a youth worker and / or chaplain to be shared by Templeogue College and Kimmage / Greenhills parishes; the development of both a mission-focused adult faith-formation programme and a youth-at-risk apprenticeship programme. Current membership (until 2024) comprises the following 11 individuals: 

Brendan Carr C.S.Sp. (chair of the commission) served in Angola. An ex-board-member of Spirasi and Misean Cara, he ministered in Kimmage Parish and spent 6 years on the Spiritan leadership team. 

Patricia Carroll is a Pastoral Coordinator (Dublin archdiocese) and a PhD student. A former Director of Education for Parish Services in the UK, she has worked in pastoral development for over 20 years. 

Séamus Claffey has been a parish pastoral worker and university chaplain. A member of SET’s ethos sub-committee, he has written on faith and justice matters, and has done facilitation / animation work. 

Peter Conaty C.S.Sp. worked in Africa, Mexico and the USA. In Ireland he has served in formation, and as a member of the PLT. He is based at the Spiritan Retreat and Spirituality Centre in Ardbraccan. 

Amanda Dillon has a PhD in Biblical Studies.  Principal Investigator of her NISAR Project which is researching the spiritual development of women readers of the Bible, she has lectured in Biblical Studies, Theology and Spirituality.

Rachel Harlowe is a History and French teacher and 2nd Year Dean in Blackrock College. From Dublin, she studied in Loreto Dalkey, has a Diploma in Catechetics and recently completed an M Ed. 

Daithí Kenneally served in education and parish ministry in Sierra Leone. In Ireland, he has worked in formation, parishes and safeguarding, was Kimmage Community Leader and served on the PLT. 

John Laizer C.S.Sp. is from Tanzania. Ordained in 2000, he ministered in Zimbabwe before coming to Ireland. He has served on the leadership team, in promotions and in parishes in Dublin and Elphin. 

Deirdre Markey is a qualified accountant who worked at a senior finance level in the private sector for many years. Following a career break and further study, she has been with Spirasi since 2017. 

ARCHIVED

Fourth Orientation Course for Incoming Pastoral Ministry Workers ~ Friday, 25th February 2022

A residential orientation course for incoming pastoral ministry workers in Ireland has just concluded.

The fourth to have been held in recent years, the two-week course was organised by Spiritan Mission Ireland and ran for the last fortnight in the Spiritan Retreat and Spirituality Centre in Co. Meath.

  • The 14 participants (pictured, with Fr Brendan Carr, chairperson of Spiritan Mission Ireland) were from India (6), Nigeria (5), and – with 1 each – Cameroon, Uganda and Ivory Coast.
  • There were ten priests, one seminarian and three women religious.  Two of the priests were from the Syro Malabar rite.
  • One sister was from the Our Lady of the Apostles (OLA) congregation; the others were members of the Disciples of the Divine Master. Male congregations represented were: the Passionists, the Society of African Missionaries and the Spiritans.
  • Five Irish dioceses sent participants: Clonfert (3), Dublin (2) and 1 each from Achonry, Elphin and Waterford & Lismore; one participant will minister in Scotland. 

Speaking as the course came to its conclusion, Fr Brendan Carr C.S.Sp., who served both on the home mission and in Angola, remarked that course participants have found a warm welcome in their new communities in Ireland and were very open to learn of the reality of society and Church in Ireland. He added that some talked of “coming to walk with, and support, the Irish Church in a time of difficulty especially as their home churches received so much from Irish missionaries over decades”.

For additional information, please contact Spiritan Mission Ireland (smi@spiritan.ie)