Book Launch
Flyer – Son of an Unknown Father (EU)
Sr Maeve’s book will be launched on September 22nd at 14.30 in the Dominican Resource Centre Cabra.
Celebrating 25 years of a community – click to view .
Recently, one of our communities in Belfast celebrated 25 years – this is a short video showing their life and commitment over the last 25 years.
Lumen Dominican Centre Autumn 2023 brochure.
Please follow this link to view the brochure and for details on how to book.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v60P49d65pgXN04b95OsJaOLmJteVswn/view?usp=drive_link
Vessel of Colour used in our recent Congregation Gathering
The Vessel and its Gift of Colour

Events at Anam Ashram
![]() Autumn Retreats and Classes at Anam Ashram www.anamashram.com We hope you all had a wonderful summer break and we are delighted to be able to offer yoga, meditation and ashram day retreats this Autumn! Christianity & Yoga – Breaking Through to the Real “Glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6:20) We are excited to offer this one day retreat on September 3rd from 9.30am to 4pm. As committed Christians and trained yoga teachers, we invite you to explore with us the interconnectedness of these two ancient traditions. The day will be a mixture of input and gentle practice suitable for all levels, while leaving a generous space for discussion after each practice. For booking or enquiries please email mellettj@gmail.com
Cost: 50 euros. Concessions are available for unwaged etc. Please contact us.
![]() Facilitators: Jane Mellett is a qualified yoga and meditation teacher.
She has worked in pastoral ministry for over 12 years and is also a qualified Spiritual Director. Since 2016 Jane has lived at Anam Ashram in Tallaght, Dublin and is interested in the integration of Eastern spiritual practices within Christianity and sharing these practices with others.
![]() Saule Cameron is working in Clondalkin as a parish pastoral worker and has worked in pastoral ministry for the past decade. She is a qualified yoga teacher, Spiritual Director & Godly Play trainer. Saule lives in Athy with her husband and two grown up daughters.
Morning Meditation (online only) At Anam Ashram we resume our Monday morning meditations from 5th September at 7.30am – 8am. If you would like to join us online please email (details below). For those familiar with Korko Moses SJ ashram experiences in Ireland, this morning meditation follows in this style of Christ Centered Heart Meditation and is suitable for beginners. No previous experience is necessary and everyone is welcome. Ashram Retreat Days The dates for our monthly Ashram retreat days this Autumn are: Saturdays October 15th; November 12th and December 10th 2022. This days run from 9.30am – 4pm. We are happy to offer this day to online participants also via zoom for those who cannot attend in person. What is involved? An ashram retreat day is a day to nourish the body, calm the mind and get in touch with your true self, growing in awareness of the Divine within. The day comprises of spiritual practices from the Yogic path, a combination of gentle Hatha Yoga and various types of meditation and reflection, under guidance. Everyone is welcome and no experience necessary. The yogic path offers us practical ways of growing in spiritual awareness in a chaotic world, to open oneself to union with God (the Christ within), with people and with the natural world. A day retreat at Anam Ashram aims to help participants in the practice of the asanas (Hatha Yoga), contemplation in action (karma yoga), bhakti yoga (union through devotion) and jnana yoga (union through knowledge e.g. wisdom teachings from the mystics or scriptures). Facilitators: Saule Cameron & Jane Mellett (see bios above)
Cost? Attending in person there is a suggested donation of 50 euros with concession available for unwaged. Marjo Oosterhoff returns to Anam Ashram on October 8th and 9th 2022. We’ll be practising Open Awareness: a form of vipassana or mindfu Hatha Yoga – Monday Evenings Hatha Yoga classes resume on Monday 5th September from 7.30pm – 8.45pm. This is a gentle meditative practice which focuses on the chakra system and finishes with a 15 minute deep relaxation. This is a deeply nourishing class to calm the mind, nourish the body and spirit. Everyone is welcome, suitable for beginners. This class is offered as a hybrid – option of attending in person (10 euros per class) or online via zoom (7 euros per class). Facilitator: Jane Mellett (bio above) For enquiries about any of the above or to register please contact Jane by emailing mellettj@gmail.com Maranatha Yoga – Thursday Evenings We are delighted to be able to offer this new yoga class facilitated by Saule Cameron. “Maranatha Yoga is an enjoyable and playful means to unify us in body, mind and spirit, enaabling us to become the instrument through which we give back to God our eternal thanks and praise for all his goodness towards us” (Christine Pickering, Creator of Maranatha Yoga). Let’s meet on the mat! This class will take place every two weeks on Thursdays beginning on Thursday September 15th and continuing on September 29th, October 13th & 27th; November 10th. To register for this exciting new class please email saulecameron@gmail.com ![]() |
“The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” — Ram Dass
Namaste! Om Shanti Shanti Shanti! |
We assist all who ask us’ say Vocations Ireland

Vocations Ireland Executive
Heroic Callings during Troubled Times
Vocations Ireland is an association of vocation directors from religious orders, congregation and societies which provides training in ethical decision-making and assessment of candidates for religious life and priesthood.
Over the last number of years, the association has sought to address the reality of life in Ireland and give professional training for those in the vocations ministry.
On the topic of vocations, The Irish Catholic spoke to three board members of Vocations Ireland about their current initiatives, upcoming projects and how they are faring during the crisis.
The first to speak is Sr Fionnuala Quinn OP, chairperson of the Vocations Ireland executive committee and vocation director for the Dominican Sisters in Cabra, Dublin.
“Today, we seek to awaken a culture of vocation, in a wider context, that is characterised by inquiry, meaning, making, authenticity, while grounded in the search for the transcendent.
“There is a different consciousness now,” continues Sr Quinn, adding that “vocations are nurtured with creativity and authenticity”.
“We are about consciousness awakening, becoming present to our spiritual depths, to nurturing an awareness of the Divine presence within.”
Although Sr Quinn admits there is a “crisis of vocation”, she explains it is about “public perception of the institutional Church” and “a crisis of Faith in relation to God”.
“What Faith provides for people is a lens through which to look at life,” she says. “Faith gives a person a way of relating to the universe, other people, oneself and the divine.
“Searchers today are often at a loss as to where to begin looking for purpose and meaning from a Faith perspective.
“We are at a time of kairos,” says Sr Quinn, “a turning point and a time of opportunity to look at what really matters in life.
“What really matters are our relationships, with our families, our neighbours and our world.”
On the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, she feels there is “opportunity to withdraw” from the “business of our minds” and to “sink down to where the indwelling of God is present and to nurture our relationship with the transcendent one”.
“This is an ideal time for discerning what is the meaning of life for all of us and to be open to the promptings of the Spirit,” Sr Quinn says.
“As a woman religious for the past 50 years, I can honestly say the search for God, for meaning in life has never grown old for me and the search for meaning now is even more urgent that ever.”
The next board member to discuss present and future directives is Fr Alan Neville MSC of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
“There are two things really,” he says when asked what the challenges are concerning vocations in this country. “The first is the membership to vocations in Ireland where we will be looking at how vocations are matching up to reality.
“The second is getting ourselves proactive in getting the numbers entering vocations to go up as opposed to being reactive, which is being discussed among ourselves.”
He continues: “There’s stuff going on and a lot of it is ‘up in the air’ as we have been ‘caught on the hop’ due to this pandemic, but we hope we can get people to be proactive during hard times to do vocations.
“What we are hoping is that we can get them together and say ‘this is where we are’ and go from there.”
Fr Neville feels the Church has had to “get up to speed” with things like social media and streaming services online during the crisis, and “break into places” where it “wouldn’t normally have gone”.
“We have seen churches go out to their communities and offer their services, which something I wouldn’t have seen previously,” he says on the Church reaching out.
“There is a real sense in this crisis of being able to find ourselves,” says Fr Neville of his hope for more vocations. “People, while they remain very strong, will be feeling that absence of being able to come to churches and celebrate the sacraments.
“There will be signs of new life and new opportunities out of this crisis, it’s the engagement that creates a new line of outreach.”
Sr Carmel Ryan DC of the Daughters of Charity, another board member, says most of the association’s initiatives are currently online as the pandemic disrupts the usual way of meeting people face-to-face.
“I keep contact with people through email, phone and Whatsapp,” she explains. “I have been involved in a little spiritual direction through talking to the individual on the phone as we cannot meet and it helps them to have the opportunity to keep regular contact through these strange times. Another initiative has been to update and create resources that may be used into the future on social media platforms and in more traditional ways as well.
“Many people are using these platforms to access places of prayer and reflection during these times and we keep our media presence updated with some pieces for people to use for prayer and reflection.”
One of the upcoming projects Sr Ryan says she will be involved in is the development of appropriate resources for online publication. “It was said recently that ‘young people live online’ and it is where we meet young people. I will be putting more time and energy into providing space for reflection and prayer online.
“There is time for greater reflection, solitude and prayer,” says Sr Ryan of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
“It has given me the opportunity to discern what is most valuable in life. I am thankful for the space and opportunity to enjoy life at a slightly slower pace and I value the freedoms that I have always taken for granted until now.”
Vocation, according to Sr Ryan, is “a call to live life in a particular way” and adds that now is an ideal time to “re-evaluate” our lives for going forward.
“Many of us have the opportunity during this time of pandemic to question, ponder and reflect on what our calling in life is.
“We have during these times the opportunity to value our relationships; our relationship with God, other people and oneself.
“Perhaps this may prompt some people to re-evaluate how they live their lives and we, as vocation directors, will assist all who ask us,” she says.
THE COSMIC WALK IN VICTORIA, ARGENTINA
On Sunday 23rd February 2020, late in the evening of a beautiful sunny day, some 60 friends gathered for the launch of the Cosmic Walk in the garden where we have been shaping a space for contemplation and peace. Outside the entrance, a wooden sign puts before the visitor the three aspects of this venture: Nature, art and contemplation.
Nature as seen in the evolution of the universe as we know it, by walking slowly on a path marked out with signs that indicate how many billions of years ago such an event as the formation of galaxies, for example, happened.
Art as seen in the marvelous murals painted by Alejo Diaz.And the mandala based on the number twelve which was painted by Vanina. Miguel Conde´s creation of the water fountain as well as aspects of the garden are also works of art.
Contemplation will be the focus of all visits inviting people to dig deeper into the soul and imagination for better connection with all of life, to widen their vision, to seek peace. The ombu at the end of the pathway will be a gathering spot for a short guided meditation.
How did this project begin? The congregation has prioritized for many years the care for the earth, and our centre in Wicklow offers a text for a cosmic walk. Fr Martin Hunter asked me more than a year ago to translate this text into Spanish as he was keen to make a walk in the garden where he lives in the Capital –Buenos Aires. As I translated I was captivated by the story enshrined in the text and at once thought I would love to shape a walk somewhere. The Benedictines were not too eager to allow this to happen on their ground so when Veronica Banchero offered her meditation centre garden it seemed the ideal answer.Veronica will continue the good work when I am gone! A seed come to fruition at last. And Laudato Si to back it up!
Another source of inspiration was the book written by a Chilean: David Molyneaux. Title: “In the beginning was the dream”. We formed a small reading group to read this book together. Several videos by Barbara Hubbard Marx which Sister Matilde researched for us as well as Brian Cox gave us a lot of light.
Sr. Veronica Rafferty OP