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Kevin Browne CSsR
I was ordained in 1974 and spent the next eight years on the Redemptorist School Retreat Team, which was dedicated to you ministry in the 1970s and 1980s. This was followed by one year in (the now-closed) Saint Clement’s Retreat House in Belfast and then ten years preaching parish missions between Limerick, Dublin and Dundalk. After that I spent six years working in Clonard church (Belfast). Then I had a sabbatical year and a year working with asylum seekers in Limerick.
For four years I worked in a parish in Lagos (Nigeria) and in the Redemptorist seminary there. On returning to Ireland I worked in the Esker Retreat House for three years and since September 2008 I am back preaching parish missions, based in Clonard Redemptorist Community. In proclaiming the Gospel on parish missions, I have the opportunity to tell God's People of God's invitation to us to share in his life which is given and achieved in Jesus. This is of the utmost importance because it gives purpose and meaning to life and is, in my view, the goal of the human project. Parish missions also bring a renewal of belief in God's love for us all and they are an instrument to bring joy to people.
They are also an encouragement to people to be involved in the building of a faith community in their own areas which is essentially what Jesus meant by the ”Kingdom of God.”
Brendan Keane CSsR
I was ordained a Redemptorist priest in July 1972. In the past thirty-seven years I have worked as a parish missioner, given retreats in our retreat houses in Belfast and Esker (Athenry) and have been on the church ministry teams in our houses in Belfast (Clonard) and Limerick. I have also worked in various other ministries with married and engaged couples; on programmes for the bereaved and for people with addiction. I have also given retreats for religions and priests.
At present, I am a member of the Clonard Redemptorist Community and I work both on the mission team and in the church ministry. I also work in the other ministries mentioned above. Over the years, I have gradually deepened in awareness that the Word of God tells people at the deepest level who they are. It reminds them of their potential for goodness and influencing others and helps them leave the wounds of sin, hurt, and all that’s negative behind and face the present and future with solid confidence. The Word of God makes people aware that God is with them in times of suffering, failure and pain, and that through suffering they can grow, change, and come to new life.
The Word of God also helps people face the reality of death and breaks down barriers between peoples, races, and nations. I am also very convinced of two other things. First, that people can love God and let God’s love shine through them by being themselves and doing very ordinary things. Second, that people show God’s word of forgiveness, kindness, intimacy, justice, peace, and truth, more than they think. The word of God is within them and their experience.
Sean Moore CSsR
I took my religious vows as a Redemptorist in 1951 and was ordained in 1958, Since October 2008 I have been a member of the Belfast Mission Team and a member of the Clonard Redemptorist Community.
In the period 2003-2008 I was on the staff of (now-closed) St. Clement's Retreat House and before that I was for four years (1999-2003) Novice Master in Dundalk. Over the years in which I have preached parish missions and given retreats, I have profoundly believed in the power of the Word. Consequently the proclamation of the Word has been for me a labour of love. Realising the importance of both mission and maitenace, I think that our preaching today is as necessary as ever for those who come to our parish missions but also for those who do not come to church. How to contact and speak to the latter remains a problem and a pastoral challenge. There are three other apostolic works in which I am currently engaged: retreats to religious, Tres Dias (the ecumenical branch or offspring of Cursillo) and Kairos which is a prison apostolate and is also an offshoot of Tres Dias.
The two ecumenical apostolates take a lot of my time and energy. I regard the prison apostolate in particular as work for the abandoned and thus very much in the spirit of Saint Alphonsus.
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