Tuesday 29 January 2013

A TALE OF TWO FAMILIES

One of the greatest gifts we have are our families and it is from the family that the seed of a vocation is sown. And like any seed a vocation needs to be nourished. A vocation is nourished by a faith filled prayer life and the support of family and friends. And also the Holy Spirit at work putting people in our path and creating events that manifest the will of God for our particular vocation.
When one discerns the future regarding God's call and answers the call, no matter what age you are, it is one of the most rewarding and happiest moments in one's life. It is not a case of leaving your family or past behind you but incorporating the love and experience that you have received into the everyday moments of your apostolic life.
Pictured is Br. Sean Kelly on the day of his ordination thanking his sister Phil and brother Thomas for their support in bringing him to this day and also  Br's Richard Hendrick and Sean Donohoe waiting to welcome Br. Sean as brother into the Capuchin Franciscan family.

If you feel that you are being called to our way of life don't hesitate to call our Vocation Directors
Br. Terence Harrington on 086 3230638 or email at tharr@eircom.net

or

Br. Sean Kelly on 087 0550584 or email at kellybrosean@aol.com.



Thursday 24 January 2013

Interesting dialogue on faith

Faith


Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.
...
Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is Satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does Satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theatre became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavour. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

P.S.

I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. And if so, you’ll probably want your friends / colleagues to enjoy the same, won’t you?

Forward this to increase their knowledge … or FAITH.

By the way, that student was EINSTEIN

Monday 21 January 2013

Why should I practice my Faith?

Yesterday evening I attended the launch of a YouCat study group which have come together for the Year of Faith. The question of why it's important to practice our faith was highlighted and this story was told.....

Imagine you are an Olympic Athlete. Your ultimate goal, surely, is to win a Gold Medal at the Olympics? As Christians our ultimate goal, surely, is to spend eternity with God in Heaven?

Now if you are going to win that Gold medal you are going to need to train and to commit yourself to this training. And based on training alone you may or may not win that Gold Medal. For Christians, this training equates to our good works and we may or may not enter Heaven based on our good works alone. We don't know.

But how much more prepared will you be for winning that Gold medal if you are training AND listening to your coach? As for us how much more prepared will we be to follow our spiritual goal if we are doing our good works AND listening to the Word of God. These alone may or may not allow us achieve of goals.

But how much more prepared will you be for winning that medal if you are training, listening to your coach and eating the right food? As for our spiritual goal, how much more will we be prepared if we are doing our good works, listening to the Word of God and receiving the Body of Christ? And these things alone may get us to our goals.

And how much more prepared will you be as an athlete if you are training well, listening to your coach, eating well AND taking some time to rest and recover? Much more I would feel. The same for us, how much closer will we be to achieving our goal if we are doing our good works, listening to the word of God, sharing in the Eucharist AND resting in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament?

And finally, how more prepared, even on top of all this, if during your training and preparation you get an injury that you take the time to visit the Physio and have it repaired so you can perform at your best? So for us, when we make mistakes, as we all do, we turn to God for healing and mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

If we do our good works, listen to God's word and integrate it in our lives,receive the Body of Christ, rest in prayer & Adoration and turn to God for forgiveness, when things go wrong, surely, we will be at our best to run our finest race.

 'Do you not know that in the foot-race the runners all run, but that only one gets the prize? You must run like him, in order to win with certainty' (1Cor 9:24)


Friday 18 January 2013

Our Friary in Raheny launch a new Facebook Page

Peace to you!

This week we are delighted to announce that the Capuchin Friary in Raheny, long a centre for Prayer, Contemplation and Spirituality, has launched a Facebook Page to update us on all that is happening there.

The Friary currently has a community of ten ranging in ages from 20's to 90's!! The spirit of St Francis is alive and well here as the Brothers share their life of prayer and fraternity with the wider Raheny community.

The page details the times of daily prayer and Mass, as well as, the many groups that use the Friary as their base. If you are in the local area, why not drop in for some time of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament. There is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, each day, from 6.30am to 9.00pm. You can also join the Friars for morning Mass at 7am (weekdays) and for meditation, rosary and evening prayer from 5pm.

Please have a look at the page and become a friend of Raheny Friary!! Attached are some photos from candlelit night prayer which takes place each Friday from 8.30pm to 9.00pm..a perfect way to end your day and week.

Capuchin Friary Raheny Facebook Page

Pax


Br Martin

Friday 11 January 2013

Year of Faith: Profile of St Francis




Peace!

As part of the Year of Faith, Veritas have published a number of on-line faith profiles and this month's is Pope Benedict's catechesis on the life of St Francis of Assisi, a great example and model for the year of faith.

If you feel inspired by the story of St Francis and feel that God may be calling you to follow in his footsteps....please make contact with our Vocations Director.

Profiles in Faith: St Francis of Assisi

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Come follow me ...

 
 

Should you happen to be considering a vocation at this point in time and would like a chat with a vocations director do feel free to contact me. I'm vocations director for the Capuchin Franciscans. My mobile number is: 086-3230638. Email: tharr@eircom.net. Visit our vocations blog at capfrans.blogspot.ie.
God bless,
Br. Terence Harrington.

Thursday 3 January 2013

What's in a name?




Today, as Franciscans, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. We use Jesus' name a lot and in many ways..some of them not always the best ways. The calling on Jesus' name was been a practice since the earliest days of the Church and it's promotion is accredited to our Franciscan brother St Bernadine of Siena. The famous IHS motive (the first three letters of the name Jesus in Greek), used on many liturgical vestments and cloths, is that of St Bernadine. This was later adopted by the Jesuits as their Congregational Seal.

When we call somebody's name we make them present to us. They come to heart and mind in a real and tangible way. To call on the name of Jesus is to do the same. In addition to this name, Jesus, has many titles which try to describe who He is. I have attached a short video meditation on these names.

The name Jesus is central to all Christian prayer and invocation. We say it often..but how often do we stop to think about what we are saying and who we are calling?


Tuesday 1 January 2013

New Year Greetings

 
                         

                                  May 2013 bring you and your family many many blessings.