Small reflection by the vocation director Father Kevin

Small reflection by the vocation director Father Kevin

As we pray Vigils at 4 AM each morning there are prayers that accompany the psalms at dark vigils which can prompt a deeper thought and through the day are a point for reflection. Recently we heard these words before hearing psalm 2 proclaimed:…
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Father Stephen
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Clothed as a novice, and clothed in the mercy of God

A reflection by Fr. Stephen on receiving the novice habit For me, it’s all about mercy. Jesus has shown me great mercy, and I hope to more and more become a vessel of his mercy to others. Therefore, when in the ceremony of being clothed…
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God's Way is Ongoing Discovery
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God’s Way is Ongoing Discovery

Vocation Director Reflection by Fr. Kevin Walsh There is a prayer offered by Saint Bernardt hat can be of great help to us: "O Wisdom, reaching mightily from end to end and arranging all things sweetly by enriching the affections and setting…
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Embarking on 2024
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Embarking on 2024

Vocation Director Reflection By Fr. Kevin Walsh As 2024 opens out before us and we reflect on the gift of time offered us by God who is both timeless and infinite, we pause to wonder at the relationship of love that brings God to give…
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Through Him, with Him and in Him
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Through Him, with Him and in Him

Reflection from Vocation Director Fr. Kevin Walsh Christ is present - with you, in you, through you - and at the same time with me, in me, and through me. Pondering this truth of God always with and within us takes us into an understanding…
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We carry God's presence in us into the world
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We carry God’s presence in us into the world

The generosity of God is without measure. When is God not loving us. To respond to God’s love with deliberate attention, making the consistent choice to be God aware, is an effort, but what else is our freedom for?  We are made for…
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Advent calls those with a vocation to believe
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Advent calls those with a vocation to believe

The God who wants to be with us is bewildering for quite a number of people. Yet the incarnation is for us who grasp it, a richness, the fullness of which we never fully comprehend, but grow to reverently pray with and reflect on, slowly…
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Advent teaches about saying yes to God
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Advent teaches about saying yes to God

Saying yes to a call from God brings us to enter upon offering a radical trust because God is taking us beyond what we had imagined or could conceive. Far from a business contract where we tell God what we are willing to give or list…
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Unity in the Eucharist
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Unity in the Eucharist

The wider church is being called to reflect on vocations in the context of a renewed appreciation for the Eucharist. Having the richness of the Cistercian authors as a resource I felt drawn to look for references to a Cistercian appreciation…
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Thoughts from the Vocation Director
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Thoughts from the Vocation Director

Recently I have been re-reading the Jesuit, Father Karl Rahner’s Theological Investigations and in Volume III page 77 my attention was drawn to: “But will man be able to bear this ecstasis of his being, this waiting to see whether God…
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Always mindful of God
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Always mindful of God

by Fr. Kevin Walsh, Vocations Director, Mepkin Abbey Each day we come to together seven times to pray. At each of the hours except Vigils we begin with the words: “O God come to my assistance, Lord make haste to help me.” These words…
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Christmas 2021 Reflection
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Christmas 2021 Reflection

On the threshold of Christmas, the faith of the Advent figures speaks to us of what happens when we cooperate with God. Answering our call, our vocation, is daring to believe as did John the Baptist, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Joseph and Mary.…
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From Thomas Merton:
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From Thomas Merton:

Lord, it is nearly midnight, and I am waiting for You in the darkness and the great silence. I am sorry for all my sins. Do not let me ask any more than to sit in the darkness and light no lights of my own and be crowded with no crowds of…
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Moving forward under God’s guidance
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Moving forward under God’s guidance

There has been an effort at the monastery to ask what is the newness to which God is drawing us as we live our monastic call? For when we live in Christ we are being drawn by the resurrection into new life. Monastic living has always meant…
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Who Are the Monks and Nuns of Tomorrow?
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Who Are the Monks and Nuns of Tomorrow?

by Fr. Kevin Walsh, Vocations Director, Mepkin Abbey This question is asked in every age.  And the answer is the same.  Those who accept God’s invitation to live selflessly in ceaseless prayer, offering praise to God and interceding…
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Thoughts from the Vocation Director
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Thoughts from the Vocation Director

Awareness of God comes as we allow ourselves to be surprised by the interdependence of everything around us, including us in that larger portrait, and follow that back asking from where did this all come. How does this exist? This false sense…
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Vocations Discernment Article
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Vocation discernment by Fr. Kevin Walsh, Mepkin’s Vocation Director

The attentive ear, receptive heart and open mind of a believer are essential to discover that God is calling someone to a particular path or vocation.  God calls each of us by name in baptism.  Each of us has a share in building up the…
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Recognizing a Vocations Call
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Recognizing a Vocations Call

Recognizing a Call A close friend once told me that her vocation to vowed religious life was like an itch that wouldn't go away until she scratched it. Interestingly, I would never describe my call in that way. And I believe it’s important…
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Mepkin Lecture
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When we think about God’s call in our lives

As Mepkin has been featured in an article in the New York Times recently and even more recently been contacted by a film company interested in doing a brief video on our life, a number of thoughts have been stirred up as to how people think…
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