THE BIGGEST LOSER...Cork Edition

So last month Fr Maurice Colgan OP and myself began a competition between the two of us to see who can lose the most weight within one month. We weighed in on November 9th...

Christophe- 12.5 st

 Maurice 13.12st

The deal was to see who could've lost the most weight (actual weight...not proportional which put me at a disadvantage) by December 14th. If Maurice lost he had to pay me 10euro if I lost I would have had to say 2 rosaries for him.

Within the few weeks the competition got intense with each of us absenting ourselves from meals and trying to tempt one another with desserts. The other guys in the house chose their favorites and made bets.

Finally we weighed in today and the results were:

Maurice Colgan- lost 8lbs

Christophe Cole- lost 14lbs

I won by 6lbs... as they say, money won is so much better than money earned!!!

Halloween in Cork

Back home we don't have much festivities on October 31st, the Eve of all Hallows. We usually use Carnival to dress up and express ourselves. But in Cork, Halloween has become a pretty big thing over the last few years with many people especially children dressing up and taking part in the festivities.
The high point I guess would have been the parade which passed right in front of our Church in the night. Although it was quite short lasting for only about 20mins, it was really something.

Fr Philip and some children in front of the church

Cork Jazz Festival

On the weekend of October 29th to 31st, the City of Cork was buzzing with activity as it was the weekend of the Guinness Jazz Festival. The event basically featured a number of bands performing in many locations across Cork. Some of the events were free and others weren't. I of course only went to the free ones.
I visited different pubs on Saturday afternoon (with my friend Etienne and one of his coworkers), Saturday night (with Gerard Dunne and Alan Hopkins) and Sunday Night (with Alan Hopkins and some girls from the Pope's Quay choir), I couldn't help but notice the extra couple thousand people on the streets of the City especially during the day which seemed to have more of a family oriented vibe with many children around.
I have to say that it was in fact a good experience and I was particularly happy that it just so happened that two of my favorite brothers in the province, Gerard and Alan were visiting Cork that weekend and graciously took me out.

The Winter's Tale

So apparently I am not a fan of Shakespeare. I found this out this evening as I was dragged along when my novitiate group all went to see the production at the Cork Opera House which is right across the river from the priory.
It was the first Shakespeare production that I ever went to and although I have to admit that the props and effects were pretty cool, the language used in the script made it quite hard to keep my attention. At certain points I found myself completely lost.
I mean seriously... there was a point where a woman gave a 10min monologue just to say that someone died, (something that could have taken 10 seconds).
So to all of those who love classical theatre and all that, hats off cuz I am definitely not one of you.

Pilgrimage to Knock

A short tour of my room

I took the time to shoot a short video giving a tour of my room. Apologies for the poor sound as I had to speak quietly as some of the brothers were taking their afternoon siesta.

Franciscan Well

 After the ending of the Fatima Novena, Fr Joe, our prior decided to take Fr Fergal out for pizza and beer as a sort of thank you for all the work he put into it. Fr Solomon Ho (from Taiwan), Murchadh and myself decided to tag along.
We stopped off to order the pizza and then walked to the bar called the 'Franciscan Well'. The pizza was to be delivered to the bar. Little did I know that Fr Joe ordered three pizzas for the five of us to share. The thing is that at the end of the night there were only like 2 slices left back...not bad huh...
That night I also tried apple cider for the first time and boy is that thing a creeper, but I loved it.
Yeah a typical night out with the boys...

Fatima Novena

From September 24th to October 2nd, the St Mary's Priory in Cork hosted a Novena dedicated to our Lady of Fatima.
It was preached by Fr Fergal Mac Eoinin OP, the prior of the Dominican house in Galway. Fr Fergal really  got things rolling in high style and continued with a lot of energy for the entire week. One main thing that really struck me was that unlike most priests I've seen here in Ireland, he opted to not preach from the lectern but walked down the aisle of the church preaching. This showed a real ability to connect with the people which was also reflected in the content of his homilies.
It was basically nine days where special masses were dedicated to the Novena. Before each mass the rosary was said and the novena prayers were offered during each mass and Fr Fergal was the main celebrant.
On the Tuesday, there was a reconciliation service and the format of the mass on that day showed just how liberal Fr Fergal was (it was pretty cool tho). People came up individually and had a kind of abridged confession and were given absolution by the priests present.
The Thursday was dedicated to healing and as Fr Fergal made clear during his homily that day, it did not necessarily mean physical healing but could have also encompassed spiritual healing which so many ppl seem to need. Again, persons were given the opportunity to come up individually for the sacrament.
During the course of the Novena, the church saw mainly older women in the congregation and although there were more people present than at weekly mass, it was not as packed as years before (according to my sources). On the last day, however, the church was packed almost to capacity but, nonetheless, with old women, a few old men and just a handful of persons under 40.
I however still enjoyed it. I managed to befriend the few young ppl who came in between and even some of the older ppl. It was truly an experience.

Visit to 'Jesus Youth' Prayer Meeting

Today after the Novena mass I was speaking to an Indian family (father, mother and two daughters) who were there for the entire novena thus far and they were telling me about a youth group that the older daughter is involved in called "Jesus Youth".
Not having ever heard about it before Janet (the daughter) invited me to come down that very afternoon to check out their monthly prayer meeting. So I decided to leave lunch early and head down to St Francis Church to check it out and boy was I glad I did.
The group was mainly, well entirely made up of young Catholics from India who were now living in and around Cork and their enthusiasm was unbelievable.
It also just happened to be the day that the national coordinator for Jesus Youth, Sijo, was visiting the Cork group so I had a chat with him. He was telling me that the group has been in Ireland for about five years and in Cork for about 2 of those years. Apparently, the movement has a presence in other counties as well including Sudan and Congo.
The prayer meeting was actually a lot of fun with praise and worship having not only singing and clapping but also dancing. They did a bit of lectio, played a little game (which the team I was in won!), and had a little sharing on the life of St Therese of the Child Jesus, whose feast was today. They invited me to come back next month when they meet again and I'm pretty sure that I will.

Garda Card

Yesterday our novice master took the two Trinis to get our Garda card. We rushed out of the house right after morning prayer and basically ran across town to the Garda Headquarters.
When we got there it was about 8:30am and there were already two people in line and we had to wait until 9:30am for the office to open. Like five minutes after we got there a queue formed behind us and before i knew it the room was full. I guess the running did make sense after all.
At the counter we had to explain the situation to the immigration officer and luckily Philip spoke to a previous novice from the US who had to renew his card earlier this month, we knew exactly what we needed to bring. Unfortunately, because we were only insured until August 2012 that's all the time we got on our card. But for now I'M LEGAL!!!

Visit to the English Market

This week Fr David Barrins OP took me to the Famous English Market. Now David, although he is the SubPrior in Cork, he is really cool, kinda like a big brother figure for me here. He's just under a year ordained and works as coordinator for the knockdown camp and chaplain to the UCC Campus.
He's also promised a cinema trip sometime soon which should also be fun!

Visit to the Black Abbey

On Monday,  between Maurice's first mass in the morning and Denis' first mass in the evening we had some time to spare so Fr Philip decided to take those of us in his car, to Kilkenney to see the Black Abbey which is the oldest church owned by the Irish Dominican Province.

The building was really cool dripping with history in every corner and we were given the tour by the former prior in Cork, now resident there, Fr Eddy Conway.

We were then able to get a cup of tea and be on our way...

Ordinations Weekend!!!

This weekend was by far the most active since I've been in Ireland.

Two of the brothers were being ordained to the priesthood on Sunday 18th September, 2011. Our Novice Master, Fr Philip McShane OP therefore decided to carry us up to Dublin for the ceremony, but because it was a 3hour drive, we went up a day earlier and stayed in the motherhouse of the province in Tallagh, which is also part of Dublin.

On the Sunday morning we eventually made it down to St Saviour's in Dublin for the ordination. It was pretty cool to be among the Student brothers. It was also pretty reassuring to see them all looking very happy to be where they were. This made me a bit excited to finish my novitiate year and begin formal studies but not too much so that I would forget to enjoy my novitiate year.

The actual ordination mass was pretty good, a beautiful liturgy (I mean, it had to have been after they shelled out 1000Euro for the choir and other stuff). They also managed to cut out some of the rather unnecessary stuff from the liturgy so that the mass was not too long.

The only problem was after for the reception. Apparently Irish people storm as well and in no small numbers. Fr Joseph Dineen OP was telling me, after the reception, that they catered for 200ppl but the caterer said that they served over 400 plates of food.

We stayed in Tallagh for another night to go to both of the first masses. Now the two ordained guys were really different and this showed in the first masses. Maurice Colgan is a really nice guy, really down to earth, a people person and his mass was on the Monday morning with not an entirely packed church but his  family and friends most present. It was in his hometown parish and the reception after was in the primary school next-door.

A lil note about that: We went into the school during school hours and there were kids playing in the courtyard. Now I went in ahead of everyone not knowing that the children were going to be outside. When they saw me walking into the yard, they all stopped. One kid yelled "Look a priest!!!" and they all ran up to me wanting to shake my hand and stuff.  To be honest, I was a bit reserved cuz Ireland has all these laws about interacting with children and so on...but I've since gotten a book about the Child Protection Policy and plan to read it sometime.

Anyhow, after, we went to Denis Murphy's first mass which some people described as more of a coronation than an actual mass. It was almost entirely latin, Denis preached himself and did not share any part of the liturgy of the eucharist with the other priests present. Further to this, he was clothed in liturgical vestments from pre-Vatican II times (personally I found he looked a bit silly). After the mass, we couldn't take anymore and the group of novices and Philip decided to skip the reception and head back to Cork.

Riding in Cork

On Friday I went riding with Paul Delaney, a soon-to-be novice, who happens to be from Cork. Paul was supposed to take the habit with the rest of us but unfortunately, his contractual obligations with his place of employment prevented him from doing so.  He hopes to be able to join us soon.

Anyhow, we rode for about 6miles and were able to see quite few interesting sights including part of the UCC Campus, a couple historical monuments and some really beautiful parks. We journeyed basically up the River Lee to the point before it splits into the north and south branches.

If I keep up this kinda activity everyday, those potatoes would have no chance!!!

Retreat at Ennismore

Before our reception of the habits, the postulants and novices were taken to a week-long retreat at Ennismore Retreat Centre in Montenotte, Cork.

The place was absolutely beautiful with lots of landscape and a well manicured garden. The facilities were also pretty top of the line (not to mention the food) and it was actually not too far from our Priory in Pope's Quay so we walked (although the walk took almost an hour)

We had the privilege of having Fr Paul Murray OP as our retreat director and he focused the week around the theme of "Realizing what you are". His talks were very deep, moving and even hilarious at times and always seemed to be exactly what we needed. 

Now it was supposed to be a silent retreat, which it was for the most part although the silence kinda began to dwindle in the last few days as the novices began to bond.

Really good retreat preached by a very holy Dominican priest, I could not think of a better way to begin the Noviciate year.

Irish Dominicans Receive New Novices

September 14th, the feast of the Triumph of the Cross, is also the feast of the Irish Dominican province. It is on this day that traditionally new novices are received into the Order. In keeping with that tradition, today the Irish Dominican friars received five novices in a ceremony of clothing during the conventual Mass in Saint Mary's Dominican church, Pope's Quay Cork.

The five novices received today are Gerard Flynn, Kevin O' Reilly, Fr Murchadh O Madagain, Christophe Cole and Sean Crepin.

Gerard Flynn is originally from Clonmel in Co Tipperary. Before joining the Order he has been lecturing in a teacher training college in Dublin. He has recently completed a doctorate in theology.

Kevin O Reilly from Dublin has been lecturing in philosophy both in Ireland and overseas for some years.

Fr Murchadh O Madagain is a priest of the Galway diocese and has held various positions in that diocese. He holds a doctorate in theology (spirituality) from the Dominican university in Rome - the 'Angelicum'.

Christophe Cole is from Trinidad where the Irish Dominicans have had a presence for over 100 years. He is a graduate of the University of the West Indies and has been working in the communications for the diocese of Port of Spain in recent years.

Sean Crepin, also from Trinidad has attended the University of the West Indies and in recent years has held a teaching post.

The Irish Dominicans anticipate receiving one further novice in the coming weeks bringing to 6 the number of novices for the province in 2011-12.

Irish Dominican Vocations wishes our new brother novices every blessing in the year ahead as they take the first steps in their Dominican formation. Please pray for them and for vocations to the friars of the Irish Dominican province.

Bloggers and other media are very welcome to use the images in this blog post, but are asked to credit Irish Dominican Vocations blog www.irishdominicanvocations.blogspot.com

Below are some images from the clothing ceremony today:

The five postulants prostrate themselves prior to receiving the habit of the Order

Gerard Flynn is clothed by the prior provincial

Kevin O Reilly receives the habit of the Order

Fr Murchadh O Madagain is clothed

Christophe Cole receives his habit

The prior provincial clothes Sean Crepin

The rosaries of the five new novices are blessed



From one Stage to Another

When we look at the imagery of a caterpillar entering into a cocoon to emerge after a while as a butterfly, beautiful, with greater potential than ever before, we can compare that with our own lives. For many of us, we are in places of transition or in places intended, just like the cocoon, to form us into the beautiful people who God has intended us to be. Our cocoons are the schools that we attend, our jobs, our parishes, our communities, our families and even our friends, all of which form us into the people who we eventually become. 

We must, however, remember the fundamental differences between our lives and the life of a butterfly. For one, our lives are filled with choices (caterpillars don’t choose to become butterflies, its automatic). We on the other hand have to choose how we are to live out the rest of our lives, whether we decide to become doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, or dare I say it, priests or religious. The choice is ours. 

Another fundamental difference is something that I was reminded of while speaking to a friend sometime ago. He said to me “why do we always think of our vocation as something that is to come?” Unlike the caterpillars, we are not dormant while we are being formed into who we are to become, our Catholic vocation begins from the point of our baptism and we are called to live it for the rest of our lives. The vocation may evolve over time as we grow older and wiser and as God gradually reveals his plan for our lives. We do not need to wait until we decide to get married or decide to enter religious life to start living out our Catholic Identity.

For me, my Catholic Identity has always been at the core of my being and my decision to enter religious life is just another step in the same journey. It was in the midst of living out the vocation to be a child of God that He was able to reveal to me His plan for my life. Now I do not know where this road will lead, nor do I know what lies ahead but one can only stand at the edge of the cliff for so long before you either decide to take the leap or walk away. I was never one to walk away.

Another friend said to me “The worst thing that can happen is that you decide that it’s not for you and you leave. But the best thing that can happen is that you realize that this is for you and you are happy for the rest of your life.” In my view, the important thing is that I have opened up myself to the Lord’s will, (never a bad idea) something that everyone should have the courage to do, but not everyone does.

One of the hardest parts of taking the leap is uprooting myself from all of the work and ministry that I have been involved in and in particular, Vision. 

This, being my last issue as editor, I would like to thank the readers and contributors to the magazine for the support shown over the years. I would also like to thank the team members both past and present for all of their effort in bringing the magazine to where it is today. My prayer is that the team is able to continue to forge new paths in the ministry of Vision. I also pray that God grants the new editor, Kwame Weekes the graces and fortitude to rise to the challenge of taking the paper forward.

I also extend my best wishes to Bishop-Elect, Msgr Jason Gordon, who has been a source of guidance and support for me, as he also begins a new phase on his journey. May he continue to be a light, radiating God’s love to the people of St Vincent and Barbados.

To Archbishop-Elect, Fr Joseph Harris and the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, I wish all the best in the mission of building a civilization of love here in Trinidad and Tobago. May this year enable Catholics across the country to truly rediscover and come into an appreciation of their Catholic Culture & Identity. 

To the friends and family who have been my support system, my cocoon, forming me into the person who I am today I also wish a heartfelt thanks. All I ask is that you continue to keep me in your prayer as I keep you in mine. May we all continue to live out our vocation to be people of God and have the courage to open ourselves to His will everyday of our lives.