19th Dublin International Divine Mercy Conference 2010

Held on the weekend of the 20th and 21st of February 2010 Main Hall RDS. Ballsbridge, Dublin 4

The Theme for the Conference was:

"Go . . . make disciples of all the nations" Matthew 28:19

Fr Bob Faricy S.J. Robert Faricy, S.J. is a Jesuit priest and theologian who is an Emeritus Professor of Spirituality and lives at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is an Emeritus Professor of Spirituality of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Fr. Fancy has written over 30 books and several hundred articles, most of them translated into several languages. He frequently ministers in Italy, USA, Mexico, Ireland and other countries, speaking at conferences and conventions and giving talks and retreats.
First Talk	Second Talk
Fr Bob Faricy S.J. Audio 1	Fr Bob Faricy S.J. Audio 2

Joan Freeman, Pieta House Pieta House is a centre for the prevention of self-harm or suicide and is located in Lucan, Co. Dublin. Founded by Psychologist Joan Freeman, Pieta House is Ireland's first community-based centre and their service is available free of charge to those in need of it. Their specialist treatment programme offers a holistic solution and ground breaking approach involving daily, one to one counselling and they address the growing problems of hopelessness and despair in the community which for some may lead to attempting suicide.

Joan Freeman Audio

Fr Michael Maher S.M. Fr. Michael Maher is the National Director of the Marian Movement of Priests in Ireland and was responsible for introducing Fr. Cathal Price to the devotion of the Divine Mercy. He is the Spiritual Director of the team which produced the film “The Call to Fatima”. He is currently a member of the Marist community in Dundalk.

Fr Michael Maher S.M. Audio

Fr Ciaran O Carroll A priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, Fr Ciaran O'Carroll holds a doctorate in ecclesiastical history from the Gregorian University Rome. He has taught ecclesiastical history at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, and at Holy Cross College, Clonliffe, Dublin. He has contributed to a variety of works on the Catholic Church in Ireland in the 19th century, and his most recent publication is Paul Cardinal Cullen: Profile of a Practical Nationalist. He was recently named Vicar for Evangelisation in the Dublin Archdiocese, and is leading the Year of Evangelisation currently underway.

Fr Ciaran O Carroll Audio

Fr Liam Lawton - Eucharistic Healing Service Fr. Liam Lawton is an award winning multi-platinum singer songwriter. He received his theological training at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, was ordained in 1984 and is a priest of the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin based in Carlow. Discovered in 2004 by record giant EMI they signed him for a number of albums. He is a leading composer of liturgical music and his songs have consoled survivors of the Omagh bombing, the 9/11 attacks in New York and the victims of the tsunami in Asia. Fr. Liam has a great belief in the spiritual power of his music saying that “music has a great ability to heal and transcend barriers”. In his latest book “The Hope Prayer” Fr. Liam has created a book of over 30 new prayers along with stories from his life and song lyrics.

Fr Liam Lawton Audio

Heidi Gilroy Heidi is at present based in the Salesian community in St. Catherine's in Maynooth.

Heidi Gilroy Audio

Dr. Branca Paul Dr. Branca Paul was the personal physician and confidante of Sr. Lucia, one of the three shepherd children who saw an apparition of Our Lady in Fatima in 1917. She tours the world promoting the message of Fatima. Dr. Paul said Sr. Lucia never tired of talking about Fatima - Our Lady's message of reconciliation, reparation and prayer, particularly the rosary. “Live the 10 commandments” Sr. Lucia said “That's what's important” To this she added her 11th commandment “Do whatever God tells you. That is what Our Lady wants”. This message is relevant today as it was 90 years ago.

Dr. Branca Paul Audio

Fr. Cathal Price C.C. The Divine Mercy Conference Spiritual Director Fr. Cathal Price celebrated the Golden Jubilee of his ordination on 23rd May 2009. He is a curate in the parish of St. John the Evangelist in Kilbarrack / Raheny on the northside of Dublin. He has been involved in organising the Divine Mercy Conferences since they started in 1992 and is Spiritual Director for the Faustinum Programme. He is the celebrant at the Mass for Healing of the Generations celebrated every first Saturday in Glencree and usually every third Sunday in St. John the Evangelist, Kilbarrack.
Sacrament of Reconciliation	Eucharistic Holy Hour
Sacrament of Reconciliation Audio	Holy Hour Audio

Stations of the Cross Stations of the Cross led by Don Devaney

Stations of the Cross Audio

Homilies The Mass homilies for Saturday and Sunday
Saturday Homily	Sunday Homily
Mass homily for Saturday Audio	Mass homily for Sunday Audio

“Go.... make disciples of all the nations”

by Gerard Duff M.A.

Welcome to the 19th annual Divine Mercy Conference the theme this year is taken from, Mt.28:19 “Go. . . . . make disciples of all nations”.

No one looking back at the past year could fail to lament the state of our country and Church. If both country and the Church are to have any future we must ask what kind of vision of Church and country do we have? I would like to suggest that we revisit the Mission of the Church in order to rediscover the Father who is rich in the spirit of Mercy. That will provide us with a renewed vision that will revitalise both the Church and our country.

The vision that God wants us to have is that of His tender love for us which is an ‘inexhaustible source of conversion.’ Conversion is of course not just a single act or a momentary thing, but a continuous life long process, it is an attitude, a permanent state of mind. Conversion is not just a matter of turning toward God, it is also a turning away from sin to embrace with open arms the tender love that God wants us to have: A love that is shown to us through the example of the passion, death and resurrection, of Jesus, a love that is poured out through the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that carries this love draws from it the balm of mercy and forgiveness, raising humanity both personally and collectively to a new dignity. Discipleship is about entering into the reality of the vision of God's love, in order through grace to be clothed in the new dignity, bestowed on us through the merits of Jesus' saving death and resurrection.

The new dignity that humanity receives is not stored away from us or hidden in some dark unreachable place waiting to be discovered. God's love comes to us through the drama of salvation played out on the human stage. In our broken fragility God draws near to man to become man and in so doing shows us what it is like to be truly human. The qualities of this new dignity can be summed in one word integrity. In other words Jesus was a man who understood all our human qualities and weakness, but did not sin. Christian discipleship is about living out of the vision of God's love in order to imitate by example: ‘What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon, and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life- for that life was made visible...’ (1 John 1:1-4).

Christian discipleship is a calling to change one's life and follow the pattern of Christ's life. We know this will involve the would-be disciple in exercising choices that make Christ present in all the circumstances of our lives and in the lives of others if we are to stand any hope of making disciples out of anyone else. This will involve sometimes personal sacrifice and cross bearing. Make no mistake about it discipleship is not easy. The best disciples seem to be those who fail a lot and later rise and learn from their mistakes. Remember Peter who betrayed his master and Thomas who refused to believe. Our fragility is known to God whose mercy is never exhausted. Through His Son Jesus Christ the Church is founded and guaranteed by Him. The Church exercises its ministry of mercy to God's people through its sacramental life and the gifts of Baptism, Reconciliation and Eucharist as well as the other sacraments that are administered through its priests and ministers.

In order to remind us of the vision of God's love Jesus revealed to Saint Faustina three ways of exercising mercy. Speaking the word of mercy reminds us of the vision of love that God has for all of us and of our own fragility and that of others. The prayer of mercy intercedes with God for mercy and that we ourselves may be merciful and the deed is the fruit of the first two. This little formula is the essence of mercy underpinning it is an attitude of trust. For the disciple wishing to advance in a holy life, prayer, action and good intention are in a sense inseparable.

In this way we learn forbearance and forgiveness, we should be always willing to cultivate an attitude of forgiveness. However, forgiveness does not cancel out the requirements of justice. Neither mercy nor forgiveness means indulgence toward evil. People must always be given what is their due and if they are deprived of it by injury, insult or scandal reparation must be made to them. In the story of the Prodigal Son remember the way the son sought forgiveness from his father, his was an attitude of repentance “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son treat me as you would one of your hired workers.” (Lk. 15:18-19) Notice how the son offers to restore to the father what is his due - the restoration of his good name, the property he squandered, by becoming a hired man. However, the father did not demand from his son what was his due but through an act of unconditional love (mercy if you like), he forgave him and restored his dignity and did not reduce him to the rank of a servant demanding he pay back all he had taken. Mercy confers a new content on justice “which is expressed most simply and fully in forgiveness.”

It follows from what I have said that the disciple who opens himself or herself up to the vision of God's love by nurturing it through the sacraments, prayer and action will be imbued with the spirit of mercy. Men and women such as these will have true fellowship with Christ His Church with each other. The Church understood in this way will be the true people of God in service to Him and to each other. However, there are no easy roads to following Christ if we truly wish to make disciples of others we must begin with ourselves. If we are to have new dignity and integrity, then we must keep the vision of God's love alive in our hearts, in order that we might continually check our values and moral compass, so as to be in tune with God's will for us. We must as disciples go about this in a spirit of deep humility remembering our own fragility and those of others. In this way our counsel when it is asked for, will correct, encourage and restore others in the manner of the Prodigal Son. In the words of Pope John Paul II “True mercy is to speak the most profound source of justice.”

Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul © 1987 Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, Stockbridge, MA 01263. www.thedivinemercy.org Used with permission and gratitude.