On the feast of St. Claude de la Colombière SJ

Greetings from Gardiner St. on the feast of St. Claude de la Colombière SJ. More about him later!

FYI from now on I will be sending this monthly email from this [email protected] email account rather than my own personal account. This makes it easier for people to sign up to it and for you to unsubscribe if you want to. Just click the link at the bottom. As per usual, here are a few things that might be of interest to you.

Novena of Grace

The Novena of Grace is an annual novena in honour of St. Francis Xavier SJ, from 4th to 12th March. It is always a big occasion here at Gardiner St. but Jesuits are often invited to other parishes to preach the novena. You can read about it here. 

Celebrating Claude

St. Claude de la Colombière was a French Jesuit who lived in the 17th Century. Here is a link to a short video about his life. He was sent to Paray-le-Monial to be the spiritual director of a Visitation convent. He vouched for the authenticity of the private revelations which Jesus gave to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Claude was therefore a key figure in the birth and spread of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart is still part of the Society of Jesus’s mission today.Last summer I made my annual retreat in Paray-le-Monial. It’s definitely worth a visit. 

Jesuit novices coming to Dublin

An important part of the noviciate is the “experiments.” This is Jesuit lingo for an apostolic placement or work experience where the novices leave the noviciate house for some weeks or months get a taste of Jesuit life. From 5th March to Easter Sunday, two Jesuit novices will be here in our parish for one of their experiments. Their stay will begin with the Novena of Grace to St. Francis Xavier and it will end with the Easter Triduum. If you would like to meet with with Eamonn and Pavel in person or on Zoom, just let me know.  

Son of Ignatius, the movie

Forget Top Gun II, I’ve just commissioned a film about the Jesuit vocation! I’ll keep you posted.  

PRAYER TIP 

Ask for the grace of freedom: “Jesus, please give me true freedom, the freedom to do your will, whatever that may be.”

And, as always, please feel free to reach out in person if you want to.

Blessings,
Fr. Niall