In October 2018, we arrived in Dublin with a great desire in our hearts: to offer our lives for the evangelization of this country. As time went by, we began to feel the challenges of inculturation: the difficulty with the language, the different way of celebrating the faith. However, in the face of everything, what made our hearts move was love, love for these people. From that love, we stopped to hear from God which way to reach the heart of the Irish, where we would take the first steps to start evangelization, especially for young people.
The following month, in November, we were pleasantly surprised by the visit of our sister Jeovana Freitas (responsible for Human Promotion) who came to spend a few days here. On that occasion we had the opportunity to share and pray for our mission in these Irish lands. In this prayer God told us that it was through our hidden and simple offering that we would attract many.
Assuming the voice of God, we decided to take steps in this new time. We visited some places, including a Catholic university called USD University College Dublin. We saw it as a great opportunity to be able to get closer to young people.
We set up a meeting with the priest to introduce ourselves, however, before the meeting we went to a church called Holy Cross to pray and prepare for that meeting, in that prayer the Lord gave us a word that on that day He inaugurated a new time. Soon afterwards we participated in the mass in that same church, the celebration was a great consolation from God. We were welcomed, it was like being at home and we realized that in that parish there was a different movement inside and outside us.
We talked to the priest, we introduced ourselves as missionaries, and he soon introduced us to the pastoral coordinator who asked us for help with the evangelization of young people, as there were many young people around the parish, but she did not know how to attract them. However, as we were involved with evangelism at the university, we did not want to lose focus.
The next day, we went to talk to the university priest, and he said that we were welcome in the university chapel to participate in the activities, but that we could not express ourselves as a charisma because there was already a community that was already doing missionary work there. With that, we realized that God was sending us to inaugurate the new time in Holy Cross Parish. The priest of this parish was a great sign of God for us. He opened the doors of his heart and the doors of the church so that we could stay there, with the expression of our missionary work of evangelization. From then on, we started to insert ourselves in the various expressions of evangelization in the parish: in the choir, minister of the Eucharist, service in the church cafeteria … Anyway, we were there first to serve those people in whatever they needed.
God, in the face of all this process, has been widening our hearts more and more out of a great love for the Irish. In this way, we were able to learn more about their culture through living together, being able to be more and more present in their lives
In May 2019 we had another milestone of this time, our renewal of promises. In the celebration the priest used a special chalice (it belonged to the first priest of that parish, Don Columba, who is in the process of being beatified). This chalice that was used by him was of great significance for us, because in the priest’s homily he told us that God made us another chalice. On this day (Corpus Christi solemnity), we can testify that God made us food for these people.
With a heart full of gratitude, we are living a time of great grace here in Dublin. In July 2019 we welcomed the third missionary: Mariana, who came to Emerald Island on a mission to offer her life here.
Today we continue to serve in the parish, and we are also living a simple life. Knowing the culture, learning the language, and becoming more and more part of the life of the Irish and they of ours … That is the essence of our evangelization! We have a prayer group on the job with 22 young people that takes place every Saturday at 7 pm online at Zoom. These young people are engaged in herding, music and intercession services. In that time, we are performing all of our actions online because we are in Lockdown.
We are living supported by the providence of God, knowing that it never lacks us, and sustaining us more and more in the intercession of the virgin of silence, who loves us, who welcomes us and who increasingly inserts us on this path of Holiness.
God blesses! God Bless You!
Shalom!