Province

New Superior of Dublin Community

Posted by on May 31, 2016 in Community, NEWS, Province | 0 comments

Fr. Rene Esoy, SSS has been appointed as Superior of the Blessed Sacrament Community in Dublin, Ireland. He made his Profession of Faith before Fr. Peter Dowling, SSS, Provincial Superior of the Province of Great Britain and Ireland, at the 11.00 o’clock Mass last May 26, 2016. At the end of the Mass Fr. Rene expressed his gratitude to Fr. Peter and Council for their trust and confidence on him. He assured them that he will try his very best to fulfil his responsibilities as the new local superior of Dublin community. He asked everyone to pray for him. We congratulate Fr. Rene on his appointment. Please keep him in your prayers as he assumes this new set of...

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National Board Child Safeguarding Review 2016

Posted by on May 4, 2016 in Church, Congregation, Province | 0 comments

Statement from the Provincial Superior of British-Irish (Sts. Peter and Paul) Province On behalf of the British-Irish Province of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, I thank the reviewers of the National Board of the Catholic Church in Ireland for their work in examining the Case Files of those members of the Province against whom allegations of child sexual abuse have been made, and also, for their assessment of the Child Safeguarding Procedures now in force in the Province. We regret that it is found that some of the criteria for compliance with the National Board Child Safeguarding Standards were not fully met, and we assure the Board that we will implement the Recommendations made by the reviewers as soon as possible. I acknowledge the deep distress experienced by those who have been sexually abused and that it has lifelong consequences for them. I deeply apologise to those who have suffered as a result of the actions and behaviour of members of this Province, and I assure them that we, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, will endeavour to see that they are provided with whatever means of healing they may require. I should add that I again invite anyone who has been abused by any of our members, or by those who work in association with us, to come forward and make themselves known to us. I can assure them that they will be welcomed, treated with understanding and sensitivity, and assisted in every possible way towards healing. I assure the Church, and society at large, that we, the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, are determined to continue the work of affording safeguarding and protection to all children whom we meet in the course of our ministry and in our lives. Peter Dowling, SSS Provincial Superior I invite anyone who may have safeguarding concerns regarding Blessed Sacrament Fathers and Brothers to contact our Designated Person Jim Campbell, SSS: 01872 4597 TOWARDS HEALING: Counselling Support Service Free Phone Ireland: 1800 303414; Free Phone UK: 0800 0963315; www.towardshealing.ie Monday-Thursday 11am – 8pm; Friday – 11am -6pm TOWARDS PEACE: Spiritual Support Service. Tel: 00 353 (0) 1 5053028: Mobile: 086 771 0533: Email: www.towardspeace.ie A PDF Copy of the National Board Report can be found using the following link: National Board Child Safeguarding Review...

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Patterns of Thinking for Our Way of Living: The New House of Studies- Chicago, IL.

Posted by on Oct 16, 2014 in Church, Community, Congregation, Province, Reflections, VOCATION | 0 comments

Returning to the United States after the completion of my Canonical year in New York in January 2013, it is funny how little things serve as a reminder that not everything is the same between Anglo-American friends.  The paperwork that accompanied me from Glasgow does not fit into the neat little pockets I purchased from Office Depot.  It was only then that I remembered the U.S. standard letter paper is not the same as A4.  However, the rest of life seems to be a good fit. The formation journey that formally began in the Community Chapel with the St. Jean Baptiste SSS Community on 6th January 2012 has many voices to narrate it.  A bit like Fr. Peter Julian’s intuitive sense of the aspects and episodes of his life being knit-together for the purpose of promoting the ‘Reign of the Eucharist’, I am mindful that I am being given a new opportunity for ministry within the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament and that nothing ought to be wasted in that mission.  Formative experience in professional social work, ordained ministry in the Anglican Church, and more recently the experience of day-to-day living in countries and cultures other than my own are making this precious time of initial formation a particularly rich and internationally flavored experience. In fact the more I reflect on days past the greater the summons of today to recognize and live Religious life joyfully as the gift it is.   It is the re-wording of Soren Kierkegaard’s famous statement about the nature of our understanding. “Life can only be understood backwards”, he insisted, “but it must be lived forwards.”   Because we are never given the vantage point of remaining still in time and looking at life at it is, how we understand is always something ‘becoming.’   Increasingly, I am understanding the life of St. Peter Julian’s Eucharistic Congregation, and my place in it, as ‘life understood backwards, but as lived and celebrated TODAY.’ The Acts of the XXXIVth General Chapter clearly proclaim, “We are ‘one body and one spirit’, one single family, and we should collaborate and express a solidarity at all levels of the Congregation, as regards personnel, economy and formation.  The intercultural community springs from the Eucharist.” [Acts VI, 5, a.]   At this stage in my formation I am realising powerfully that whilst I belong to one Congregation, its life is expressed quite differently depending on location and culture.  To deny that is to naively deny the humanity of who were are as Religious.  It is for that very reason that being part of the formative days of the new House of Studies here in Chicago is such a tremendous opportunity because it is a presence that is animating where the Congregation  desires to be TODAY.   The initial student community here at SSS Chicago will comprise student priests from Vietnam, Sri Lanka, as well as a British scholastic, with Fr. Mike Arkins SSS, a native of Chicago as our pastor. I cannot stress enough how such international initiatives, when they have as their horizon a sense of trust, hope and joy in the truths contained within our Eucharistic charism, prove to be far more than fashionable gimmicks in our increasingly trans-cultural and globalized-world.  They actually lead to the formation of a more humble sense- yet at the same time- confident Religious life.  As a fellow scholastic Brother from the Philippines came to realize during his exposure-year in Ireland and Scotland, when the seed of formation is planted in different soil,  suddenly the seed becomes aware of its own growth in a radically...

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My visit to India: a rich experience

Posted by on Mar 26, 2011 in Province, Reflections | 0 comments

Last August I had the immense pleasure of visiting India again for a month – my second visit. I went there to experience its people’s life and rich culture, to listen to them, to learn from their wisdom, to understand them and particularly to meet my fellow SSS religious. Ever since I read the life of St. Francis Xavier as a boy, I had a special interest in India. After visiting there in 2003, I wanted to go back and see more. India’s civilisation is as ancient as that of the Middle East, with a splendid and enduring culture. Despite growing economic development, the people of India have not lost their ancient values – I was deeply impressed by their love of education and their determination to succeed, their respect for people of all ages, their ability to endure hardship and make sacrifices, their deep spirituality and peaceful ways, and above all the warmth of their hospitality. I began my visit to India in Kottayam in Kerala by attending the Christening of the son of an Indian couple who are friend’s of mine in Dublin. They gave me a great welcome, and conferred a rare honour on me – they called the boy Patrick! I was struck by the people’s deep faith in Kerala and their fidelity to the practice of their faith. Their fervour was particularly evident at the great shrines: the Shrine of Sr. Alphonsa and the National Shrine of Our Lady of Ransom, commonly known as Vallarpadam Church. I also saw some of the beautiful scenery of Kerala – I was particularly impressed by a boat trip on the famous Backwater. After Kerala, I went on to Tamil Nadu. I spent three weeks living among the poor in our parish in Olaikuda, Rameswaram – they took me to their hearts and made me feel so much at home. Materially poor, they were rich in faith, family values and hospitality. Fr. Ernest and Fr. Peter are showing them that the Church cares about them, and are giving them leadership, hope and a voice which they did not have before the SSS came there – they are deeply appreciative of what the Fathers are doing there. Fr. Ernest and Fr. Peter looked after me so well, and were so sensitive and responsive to anything I needed. I look forward to going back there again. My visits to the Mount of St. Thomas, where the great Apostle shed his blood for Christ, and the Shrine of the great martyr St. John de Britto, were graced and sacred moments to be forever cherished. My visits to the Hindu temples brought home to me the deep and ancient spirituality of the Indian people, a spirituality that is steeped in their culture. One does not truly experience a country, unless one experiences a family in their own home – I had that privilege when I received a truly warm and emotional welcome to the home of the family of Fr. Ravi Bosco, whom we know well in my province. The other highlights of my time in India were my visits to the other SSS communities. I was impressed by the work being done for the poor in the parishes of Manurpet and Kamarajapuram, especially the education of the young. Some of the most significant events of my time in India were my visits to the houses of formation – the Postulancy in Chennai, the Novitiate in Agashi and the Scholasticate in Pune, where I received overwhelming welcomes. The participation of these zealous young men in the Celebration of the Eucharist, their sharing...

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Maurice Rouleau, SSS, 79

Posted by on Aug 28, 2009 in Community, Congregation, NEWS, Province | 4 comments

We have been stunned and saddened by the death early on 28th August of our beloved Fr. Maurice Rouleau. He had been ill for less than three weeks, and following hospital admission, he eventually succumbed to massive infection, secondary to abdominal Lymphoma. His death was peaceful and prayerful. His life is changed, not ended. Born in Gardner City, Massachusetts in 1929, he joined our Minor Seminary at Suffern, New York in 1943 and our Novitiate in Barre, Mass. in 1949 making his First Profession of Vows on 8 September 1951. Following completion of his studies, he was ordained on 22 September 1956 at our New York church of St. Jean Baptiste. We fondly remember the celebration of his Golden Jubilee in 2006. In the intervening years he had served in our houses in Cleveland (Ohio), and Hyde Park (New York) before his assignment to Leicester (England) in 1968. He alternated between Leicester and Dublin until 1988, when he returned to Dublin, and happily for us, has remained here ever since. He has served our Congregation as Director of Novices, as Librarian (held a Master’s degree in Library Science), Provincial Treasurer, Vocations Director, and Local Superior. To all of these tasks he brought not only his exceptional and wide-ranging ability, but a cheerful willingness and attitude of caring that truly reflected the Eucharistic Lord he strove to emulate. His work in spreading the Eucharistic message of St. Peter Julian Eymard was not limited to his specific duties in our Communities or our Shrines. His extraordinary level of compassion kept him constantly on the trail of those who were sick at home, or those confined to Hospital or Nursing Home care. If there was need or hardship that he could alleviate, he always made himself available in total selflessness. In recent months, he was Chaplain to a nursing home for elderly religious. Having for several years served as Spiritual Director to a Member of our Secular Institute Servitium Christi, he undertook in the late 1980s to foster further vocations to this way of life, and it is thanks to his efforts in fostering and sustaining these vocations that the Institute has grown in this area. We know that he is very dear to all the Servitium Christi Members, and that they feel his loss very deeply indeed. In the short time since his final illness and hospitalisation, as we prayed for his recovery, and struggled to face the reality of his situation, the impression of him most frequently articulated was that he brought comfort wherever he went. It was not just his total reliability, and constant availability, but also his cheerful disposition which clearly conveyed his loving, caring nature, generously laced with wit and mischievousness. We are indebted to the Mater Hospital staff (especially in the Intensive Care Unit) who brought him comfort in his final days. Fr. Maurice’s passing has left an aching void in our Community, as he was a father-figure to us all, having, in many cases, been the Director of novices who steered us through our early years of formation in St. Peter Julian’s Eucharistic family. He has been an example and an inspiration to us all, and we will miss him terribly. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his brother Marcel and his sisters Rita and Jeanne whose loss in unspeakable. It has been a great comfort to us to have Marcel and Rita here with us through the final days of Fr. Maurice’s illness, and since his death. We hope that they in turn are comforted by the knowledge that Fr. Maurice was so deeply...

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A Gift for your Parish?

Posted by on Mar 23, 2009 in Province | 0 comments

We would like to draw your attention to the availability of our Life In The Eucharist Team to present the Life In The Eucharist Programme of Eucharistic evangelization under the direction of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers, in collaboration with lay Team Members, and assists people to explore more fully the great gift that is the Eucharist, and to make It the Centre of their lives. The Programme can be presented over a week-end, or in another format suited to the needs of your parish or group. Further details available at our Mass Office.

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