A Song to Sing: A Story of Priesthood Renewal in the USA
As a child, Father Paddy O’Donovan wanted to be either a performer, a politician… or a priest.
His humour, charm, and conversational agility make it clear he could have been all 3. But behind the warmth is a spiritual depth and a profound love for people. Quoting Father Hans Urs Von Balthasar, he states he ultimately chose theodrama, than that of the ego. And a reflection on his years in ministry demonstrate how God is using him to tell His story.
This month he celebrates 50 years of ordination.
New Life and a Fresh Heart: A Letter From the UK
Divine Renovation UK undertook a mission last month that was unlike anything we had ever done before. Over two weeks, I travelled together with Matt Regitz (Divine Renovation Leadership Coach) the length and breadth of the UK, visiting parishes, meeting with priests and bishops, and hosting and speaking at events.
It is a trip we will remember forever.
A Sign of Hope: A Letter From the Netherlands Conference ‘22
I am not an event person and I tend to be cautious in my pronouncements, so when a friend asked me how the “Missionary Parish” conference went and I said, it was “fantastic!”
She looked at me, surprised, and said, “Really?”
Really.
It was, I told her, the most hopeful development I’ve seen in the Church in the Netherlands in the last twenty years: a thousand people from around the country and from Flanders, all eager bring on better days in their parish.
Too Wonderful to Keep In: A Story from the UK
Every Saturday morning you can spot Tom Storey on the streets of Richmond, UK with his chocolate brown dog. But he isn’t just taking Rory for a walk – he is part of a homeless ministry out of the Loretto Twickenham home. Walking in a group of 4-6 other believers he talks with men and women who are on the streets and brings them tea and sandwiches.
His involvement is motivated by his Catholic faith, that he feels is “the thing that’s central…the key thing in my life.”
10 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Father James: An Interview
To celebrate Father James Mallon’s 25th Ordination Anniversary our resident DR Storyteller took to Zoom to discover 10 things you may not know about the man so dedicated to moving parishes from maintenance to mission.
Growing the Garden: A Focus on Coaching
“Being a pastor is like being a gardener” relates Fr James Mallon. He continues, “a gardener glories in the beautiful flowers that grow in his garden. We are called to grow the garden…” But when the job is large and when the tool shed is empty and the workers few, what began in passion can move to burnout.
Happy Mother’s Day!
There is something about this day that seems like it is bathed in a glow of sunlight and the scent of flowers. Motherhood is one of the most beautiful callings. Those that nurture and raise the young: biologically, adoptively, or spiritually reflect part of the nature of God. At the last women’s ministries night we hosted…
Home Sweet Convent: A Story from the UK
Sister Mary Magdalen has COVID. In fact all the Sisters of Mary Morning Star at the convent in Lynton, UK, have COVID this week. And on the way back from the craft sale (where they picked up the virus) their car broke down.
Sister Mary Magdalen explains, this is “an extraordinary story of the providence of God.”
“Come Holy Spirit”: A Story from the UK
Once a week in the Parish of St. Peter and the Winchester Martyrs (SPWM) in the UK, Shana McDonough, Michaela Waterfield, and Allegra Mutanda do just that: they meet and they pray.
A few months ago, they didn’t even know one another. Now, they share their lives and grow together in faith as they pray with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
At the Door: A Story from New Zealand
Emily Sit would define herself as a door stop.
From the function of the pews to the beauty of the stained-glass windows, the church building is a metaphor for the diversity of the gifts of the people that make it up; the people who transform it from a building to the Church. Just as each support beam and every floorboard are needed for the building to be whole, so too, the Church: people individually gifted, collectively called.
And Emily is a door stop.
