Susan Gately
‘Enthusiastic’ and ‘committed’ were some of the words chosen to sum up the feelings of delegates at the end of a diocesan training day on the Amoris ‘Let’s Talk Family – let’s be family’ course. Over one hundred representatives of parishes in the Kildare and Leighlin diocese attended the day at St Patricks’, Carlow College on January 27.
Early in the day, representatives shared with each other the initiatives that had already been undertaken in their parishes in view of WMOF18 from displaying the icon and candles, to blessings of pets, cars, families and – in rural areas – farm machinery.
But for many, concerns remained. “Is Pope Francis coming?” was a frequent question. Some voiced the concern that the lead up to the WMOF would only impact “the usual suspects” and concerns over the challenge of involving young people. A priest spoke of being led by the Holy Spirit to begin Eucharistic Adoration in his parish and how 30 people had immediately signed up for it.
In the afternoon, Fr John Cummins and Anne Marie Grant acted out a typical session of the Amoris programme for the delegates – playing the DVD clips, facilitating buzz and discussion sessions and taking down feedback. Afterwards delegates expressed their new enthusiasm and sense of empowerment to deliver the ‘conversations’ at parish level.