22nd March 2015 - Interview with Br Conor McDonagh OP - 5th Sunday Lent (Year B)

On this weeks programme John, Anne and Shane and joined by Br Conor McDonagh who shares his Dominican story and what it means to be a young religious in Ireland. We have a short reflection on the Sunday gospel as well as some other odds and ends.

You can listen to the podcast of this weeks programme HERE.

Interview with Br Conor McDonagh OP

Br Conor and Sr Louise after his diaconal
ordination 15th March 2015

Br Conor McDonagh OP joins John and Shane on the programme this week to share his journey to becoming a Dominican friar and onto his diaconal ordination on 15th March. 

In what is an interesting discussion, Conor reflects on what it means to be a Dominican and a in a particular way to reflect on what it means to be a young religious in Ireland today. Conor reflects on the challenges and opportunities that religious have as people of encounter and how religious life is an opportunity of evangelical witness.

You can listen to Conor's interview excerpted from the main programme HERE.

You can find out more about the Irish Dominicans from their website.



Conor was also involved in the video that was produced to mark the Year for Consecrated Life:

Gospel - John 12: 20-33

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feastcame to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.Whoever loves his life loses it,and whoever hates his life in this worldwill preserve it for eternal life.Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.The Father will honor whoever serves me.
“I am troubled now. Yet what should I say?‘Father, save me from this hour’?But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.Father, glorify your name.”Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.”The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours.Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.”He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

Here I am, imperfect, concerned, broken. 

I give it all to you - I let go trying to be in charge and 

I will let God be God in my life.

Prayer of Confession

(inspired by John 12:20-33)

Lord, we confess that we love our lives as they are.

We struggle with even the idea of change.

We wrestle with the thought of doing things differently.

But we know that the life we cling to is only a half-life.

Only you, O Lord, can give us true life in full.

Forgive us for holding onto the wrong things.

Teach us by your Spirit to let go of our agendas and assumptions.

Help us to let go of our self-righteousness and false notions of power.

Give us the strength and courage to try new things.

Encourage us – and even push us –

to let go of ourselves so we can fully embrace you, Holy God.

We pray these things in the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.

~ written by Amy Loving, and posted on The Worship Closet: The Place for Creative Worship Ideas. 




Reflections on this weeks gospel:

Word on Fire
Sunday Reflections
Centre for Liturgy


Liturgical odds and ends

Liturgy of the Hours: psalter week 1; 5th week of Lent

Saints of the Week

March 23rd - St Turibius
March 24th - St Macartan (anniversary of the death of Archbishop Oscar Romero)
March 25th - Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
March 26th - St Mochelloc of Kilmallock
March 27th - St Rupert of Salzburg
March 28th -Bl Donal O'Neylan

O happy day! - Cross post from Pilgrims Progress

Sr Louise 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, where the introit antiphon calls us to rejoice: “Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her.” The ordaining prelate was the Most Reverend Diarmuid Martin, who over the past few years has been a frequent visitor to St. Saviour’s Priory for the various ordinations to diaconate and to priesthood. Part of the liturgy for the ordination entails an ‘examination’ for those who are to be ordained. The questions posed are worth reflecting on: 

“Are you willing to be ordained for the Church’s ministry by the laying on of hands and the gift of the Holy Spirit? 
Are you resolved to discharge the office of deacon with humility and love in order to assist the bishop and the priests and to serve the people of Christ?
Are you resolved to hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience, as the Apostle urges, to proclaim this faith in word and actions as it taught by the Gospel and the Church’s tradition?
Are you resolved to maintain and deepen a spirit of prayer appropriate to your way of life and , in keeping with what is required of you, to celebrate faithfully the liturgy of the hours for the Church and for the whole world?
Are you resolved to shape your way of life always according to the example of Christ, whose body and blood you will give to the people?

In this examination, we get a glimpse of what the deacon is called to be at this point of his journey. It also gives direction for the journey which lies ahead as he continues towards the day of his ordination as a priest. It is all encapsulated in the phrase which the Bishop prays as he presents the Book of the Gospels to the new deacon:“Receive the Gospel of Christ, whose herald you are.Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach.” (Rite of Ordination).

With the new decaon Conor

A very poignant part of the rite of ordination is the Litany of the Saints, where the protection of the saints is invoked upon those who are to be ordained. As we call upon these men and women of God to intercede, we are mindful of the journey which they have walked in striving for holiness whilst on earth. It was wonderful to see lots of children present at the celebration and following all that was going on. Who knows what was going through their curious minds as they watched the ceremony! Friends, family and well-wishers joined with the Dominican brothers gathered from the various communities in Ireland to witness these young men move one step further towards being priests for God’s Church. Our sincere best wishes and prayers are with them all and may the Lord continue to raise up vocations, holy men and women to serve Him joyfully! 

For more news about the ordination, check out the Dominican website here. 

9th October 2011 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Rvd Deacon Nick Donnelly

In a slightly different format to our usual programme format, this week's programme featured an hour-long interview with Reverend Nick Donnelly. Rev Nick Donnelly is a permanent deacon of the Diocese of Lancaster,and an author for the Catholic Truth Society. He holds a BA Divinity in Theology and is studying for his Masters at the Maryvale Institute. He is also on the Editorial Team of The Catholic Voice of Lancaster, the newspaper of the Diocese of Lancaster.

He is also the founder of www.protectthepope.com, a website thatwas set up in the run up to Pope Benedict’s state visit to the UK in September 2010 as a direct response to the unprecedented level of hostility, ridicule and ill-will from certain public figures, sections of the press and blogs against the Holy Father and the Catholic Church.

Deacon Nick shares some of his incredible story with us... how his faith had helped him cope with chronic pain and illness from an early age and how despite his ill-health he was able to study theology with Maryvale Institute at the same time as preparing to be ordained as a married Permanent Deacon for the Church. Deacon Nick tells us why he set up the Protect the Pope website and the importance of honest dialogue on matters of the faith. He shares with us the lead up to the beatification of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman in the UK last year and how, through God's grace, and the intercession of Blessed Cardinal Newman and Blessed Pope John Paul II, he was healed. Deacon Nick speaks of the Catholic understanding of suffering and healing and especially of persevering in prayer.

Podcast is now available.