Nestor Moron in the Antarctic: Nestor is part-time chaplain to the Argentine Air Force VII Brigade in Moreno.  Members of the Brigade went on a spell of duty in the Antarctic in December and Nestor was asked to accompany them, because of his parish commitments in Areco he could not go then but agreed to travel in January. The trip was postponed twice because of adverse weather conditions, but finally on January 20 he travelled with a contingent to the Air Base in Rio Gallegos, however once again the weather was not favourable and they spent two days there awaiting a ‘window’ in the weather. Nestor celebrated St. Vincent Pallotti’s feast day with the group in Rio Gallegos and at 3.30 on January 23 they were informed that they had 20 minutes to get ready for their flight to the base in the Antarctic.

The flight was a further 4 and a half hours and Nestor writes “the plane began its descent and we saw appear a mountain surrounded by eternal ice and the islands of floating ice as previously only seen in books. On leaving the plane and walking on the Antarctic I felt like the astronauts who walked on the moon, the Pallottine community had arrived on the white continent.”

Nestor quickly set to work hearing confessions and that evening celebrated Mass and he blessed and enthroned a picture of St. Vincent Pallotti in the chapel of the Air Base. The rhythm of the following days was to hear confessions and celebrate daily Mass, visit other bases nearby and talk with the personal who spend from 12 to 14 months at the base and with others who rotate every three months. He was able to practice his English with scientists from the Czech Republic and Poland, and Portuguese with those from Brazil and proudly raised the Irish flag and that of the Community of Clonmacnoise, San Antonio de Areco. Those who are stationed at the Base number from 180 to 250, depending on the time of year and the visits from the priest chaplains are much appreciated. Those working there shared with Nestor their tasks in measuring the effects of global warming, in weather mapping and palaeontology studies.

There is an old saying that “you know when you are going to the Antarctic but you never know when you will leave it.” Nestor spent a week there and experienced temperatures which ranged from 12 centigrade below 0 to 40 degrees below. Nestor remarked that the beauty of creation and the profound silence there made him aware of the presence of God and of the hunger for God of those stationed there, every Sunday a Minister of the Eucharist leads a celebration of the Word and distributes Communion between visits from a priest chaplain. Before a group ventures out on a mission they always visit the little chapel because each mission involves risk.  Congratulations to Nestor on this milestone in our history—confirmation of “join the Pallottines and see the world”!

(From The Provincial Newsletter by Fr. Derry Murphy SAC)

what does the Year of Consecrated Life mean to me?   

To me the words of Saint John Paul II underline the real value of consecrating one’s life to God. Instituting the World Day of Consecrated life, in 1997, he stated that consecrated life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ, is a gift of God the Father to his church – a reminder to us of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord – that, as did Jesus through the action of Mary, so consecrated persons give their lives to God as their greatest gift. 

The foundation of this life is thus grounded in the life of Jesus. Through living our profession of the evangelical counsels the character of Jesus – the chaste, poor and obedient one – is made constantly visible and realized in the midst of the world. Eyes of faith are always geared towards the mystery of the kingdom. As a Pallottine, this mystery is witnessed every time our consecration is realized. 

St Vincent Pallotti added three additional promises to the three evangelical counsels, as stated in our Law: 

“By our consecration we give ourselves entirely to God, and we resolve to follow Jesus…So we promise to the Society: consecrated celibacy, poverty, obedience, perseverance, the sharing of resources and a spirit of service.” 

This profession commitment is our response to God’s invitation to live for him in the service of the world, and to realize the mystery of God in a fraternal community. We follow the example of Mary who offered the greatest gift to God, meaning Jesus who sacrificed Himself for our redemption and salvation. I am convinced that, to put this mystery into practise, one has to allow oneself to be cultivated inwardly by the presence of the Holy Spirit. Just as Jesus came amongst us as the apostle of the eternal Father, His Spirit must become our drive too. 

“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life…through his Spirit that dwells in you.” [Rom. 8:11] 

God’s Spirit is the core value of our consecration. Pallotti tells us: “If we are to imitate Our Lord Jesus Christ, it is very necessary that we possess His Spirit. Accordingly all our thoughts and feelings must be like those of Jesus Christ, so that we can…imitate him in our actions”. We are invited to give God’s Spirit a place in our hearts. It is indeed this Spirit who awakens and moulds our desire to respond fully to our vocation. In every age the Spirit of God enables men and women to realize the fullness of God. As Jeremiah put it: “You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced” [Jer. 20:7]. 

So the word of God is our guidance in this vocation. We ought to have a complete dedication characterized by a boundless love to serve all. Saint John Paul II’s words again: 

“The first missionary duty of consecrated persons is to themselves, and they fulfil it by opening their hearts to the promptings of the Spirit of Christ. Their witness helps the whole Church…to serve God freely, through Christ’s grace which is communicated to believers.” 

As consecrated persons, we are called to continually deepen our response to God, so that we become true signs of Christ in the world. Like the apostles, who left everything to gain life in Christ, we are encouraged to follow the steps of our Founder and to put all our trust in Christ. Through the gift of our charism, spirituality and apostolic life we must make visible the mission of the Church. We are challenged to continue reviving faith in our secularized world as consecrated persons. 

This year marks the 18^th year of celebration of the original ‘Day of Consecrated Life’, and now coincides with the theme proclaimed by Pope Francis, for a ‘Year of the Consecrated Life’. 

Let us use this precious moment to dedicate all consecrated people into the loving care of our mother Mary for her intercession. 

Dedan Munyinyi sac [IR] – Nairobi – KENYA

27.01.15

dedan.kingori@gmail.com

Awaking what is dormant…giving sound to the silence

I’m thinking about the arrival of Jesus, the new arrival for this time in my life, for all our time and I wonder in what space will he choose to be born again. There are the usual suspects – my sin, the areas of my life where I’m not in control, my vulnerability.

But then I remember an add on tv. A man is walking along the corridor of his company building when he hears an old phone ringing. The sound comes from behind a door of ‘The Complaints Department’. The man enters the room which is covered in dust and cobwebs; he answers the phone, listens to the voice on the other end of the line and replies something like, “sorry, you’ve got the wrong number!”

The product they are advertising has not had a complaint in years and there is no complaint now, so the man emerges from the room satisfied and he closes the door on the gathered dust within.

I’d like to be able to stand before God with no complaint made against me and, at Christmas, I’m hoping that Jesus will come and make his home within at least one of the areas where there is some complaint and need for improvement. But I suspect now that God has a different idea.

In the place where there is no complaint there is also no life, no engagement. It is in decay, dying, dead. The birth of Jesus is about life and engagement in places where decay is at work.

Yesterday I celebrated Mass with a group of special needs adults and their families at the St. John of God Centre, Ravenswell in Bray. I’m not used to a setting like this but decide at the outset that I would “be myself” as much as possible and go with the flow.

Most of the residents are not able to speak in the conventional way. Some make no sound at all and some make a lot of noise, different people would let out a spontaneous roar from time to time. I had no idea if I was communicating or not but I said what I had to say and had to shout a lot of the time to be heard.

Joy, the chaplain had prepared a lovely liturgy in which various members of the community placed a figure in the crib and a member of their family would read a prayer. As Louise placed a shepherd in the crib she was pure delighted that the red of his cloak matched the red of her jumper. She said it with signs and with a smile that had been previously absent on her anxious face.

When it was complete I suggested we sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. A bit cheesy maybe but it connected, so we sang it again. Everyone connects with happy birthday. And at the end of Mass we sang ‘Silent Night’ everyone joining in with whatever sound God gave them to sing with. I don’t think anything else I do over Christmas will compare with this.

After Mass I went down to Eugene, a man I anointed a couple of months ago because he was dying and here he is, revived, his beautiful blue eyes smiling. He has been silent for a long time but his sister sitting beside him said he was very animated and excited by the Mass. She hadn’t seen him so animated for a long time. He was one of the ones who let out a roar from time to time. And I understood the connection that had taken place. It was pure joy! And to think our society is moving in the direction of saying that most of the people at that Mass should not have been born.

There was part of Eugene that had gone silent, something that lay dormant within him. Yesterday at Mass God came and awakened that which was dormant and gave a sound to the silence within him. There is part of me that lays dormant, a fear and a love choked within me. This is perhaps my special need.

It reminds me to allow God himself to choose what part of my life He will enter and touch this Christmas or at any other time. Like King David, the most noble part of me  wants to provide Him with the most appropriate dwelling place but God insists that He will make the choice and, like Mary I will now let Him do just that.

My prayer for the remainder is simply, “Come Lord Jesus, let it be done to me according to your Word!”

Eamonn Monson sac http://emonson.blogspot.ie/

My Vocation Story

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveller.”

On a cold day, in February 1993, as I prepared for my mock Junior Certificate, I first encountered the words of Robert Frost, words which have remained with me, and words which I have returned to on many occasion as I have forged my way through life. That very day, back in February 1993, I first really contemplated where my life may bring me, and which road I would take on the path of life, would it be married life or priesthood. Would I be a engineer or a priest, where would God lead me in life, and am I willing to put my trust in God to lead me.

            The day arose to fill in my CAO form for college, and nowhere was ‘priesthood’ an option, and I was too afraid to ask anyone, so I decided to go to college and study engineering. Although I succeeded in my engineering, I was never fulfilled, satisfied, or happy, leading me to return to Robert Frost’s words and once again contemplate on my vocation in life. It was then I first applied to religious life, a young lad of 20. For three years I struggled with my studies, and was of the view, “if God wanted me to do this it shouldn’t be so hard.” I still remember the day I knew I was in the wrong place, I was lonely and alone in a seminary, in a class of over twenty lads, and over one hundred and seventy lads studying for Diocesan Priesthood. Feeling so alone, opened my eyes, God truly wants all people to be happy, and fulfilled so I decided to leave and travelled the main road of society. I got a great job in an engineering company, and for almost ten years was extremely successful, succeeding in purchasing a house, new car and enjoying the pleasures and pain of life.

            A life changing event happened in 2008, I travelled to Australia to the World Youth Day, where once again my faith was reinvigorated; and it was there I decided, during my time in prayer that God was still calling me to priesthood, the only decision was where? A return to Diocesan Priesthood or Community/Religious life? Throughout that year I discerned and prayed for guidance, for which road should I travel? In my discernment I prayed the words of Mary, the Mother of God, “Be it done unto me according to your word,” as I prayed these world I realised the necessity to truly listen to God, listen with my mind and heart and then the need to surrender my will to God, similar to Jesus as he lay on the cross, “Not my will, but your will be done.”

            While attending a Youth 2000 event, I meet with the vocations director of the Pallottines, and he invited me to a weekend retreat in Thurles, where I could learn more about the Pallottines, St. Vincent Pallotti the founder of the Society and about myself and where God was guiding me in my life. During that weekend I felt welcomed and at home, and knew God was calling me to ‘give, offer and surrender my whole life to God.’ On August 11^th 2009, while in Medjugorje on my annual retreat I received a phone call from the Provincial of the Pallottines, congratulating me that my application to become a member of the Society of Apostolic life, in order to study for the priesthood had been accepted. Three years late I took my first promises to the Society, ‘to give, offer and surrender my whole life to God’, and this I do each day by trusting in God, surrendering to his will, and by believing in God, that he is guiding and directing me each day, so that I will receive that strength and courage to follow the road less travelled by, and always say, “not my will, but your will be done O Lord.”

On my way back from giving a retreat one winter’s day, I stood in Maam Valley admiring the mountains, pondering the words of the Prophet Isaiah – Let every valley be filled in, every mountain and hill be laid low. (Isaiah 40) – and I thought, what a sad prophecy. It didn’t make sense to me to think of such majesty being lowered, filled in; majesty that speaks so clearly of the Beauty and Majesty of God.Then I understood that the levelling and the filling in are about making it easier for God and His people to meet. The simplyfying of religion, making it less complicated. It is done by making a straight highway for our God – preceding verse from Isaiah 40.