REDEMPTORISTS WORK: BEING A CO-REDEMPTORIST

HENRIETTA'S STORY

The following is an extract from the newspaper: The Cork Examiner" and was written by Jo Kerrigan. It is a personal profile of a woman whose experimentation in pastoral work led to her "vocation-in-life."

It would be ten years ago now that, a busy young wife and mother of four was invited to become more involved in the pastoral work of her home parish of Ballinhassig, Co. Cork. She could hardly have envisaged where it would lead. Today, Henrietta O'Meara is a full-time lay member of the Scala Community, a youth ministry run by the Redemptorists from Bessboro in Cork. She travels all over the country, organising retreats, school visits and the Meitheal Programme, which trains secondary school students in youth leadership. She has visited the United States and is helping in the adaptation o US programmes to suit Irish circumstances. And she spends two days each week studying for a postgraduate diploma in parish planning and administration in Carlow. The Redemptorists set up the Scala Youth Ministry in Cork by invitation in 1988 and immediately became involved in helping parishes to involve young people more. In each parish, lay people are encouraged to become local facilitators and leaders, which is how Henrietta became involved. Soon she discovered she had found her true vocation and when Scala advertised the post of lay worker, she decided to apply. She was concerned at the effect it might have on her family, but her husband and children encouraged her. "I'd always told them that you don't fail if you at least try your best. The failure is in not trying. They just repeated my own philosophy back at me, so I had to go for it." What exactly does she do? "I'm involved in all stages of planning each project. It's a real partnership between Redemptorists and lay people. You wouldn't think it, but for a week's mission there's 10 months or more of planning in advance." And it doesn't all happen in a church either. A typical mission might be like that held in Kinsale last October. It started with a pilgrimage around historical and religious sites and continued with a street carnival and an art exhibition. There were house meetings as well as a week of services in the two churches. "Sometimes I would lead the congregation in prayer and song and I would share reflections on the Gospels. The whole thing ended with a parish dance". Presumably the Redemptorists didn't take part. "Indeed they did. They're very competent dancers." "Leading" and "sharing" are words she uses often. The emphasis is very much on moving with people rather than dictating standards. The most important thing, Henrietta feels, is never to be judgmental. "The Celtic Tiger has left many struggling to rediscover a sense of belonging and community. That's what we try to help them to find." In her meetings with young people, she comes across situations that are not always in keeping with traditional standards. How would she advise them in matters of sex? "We would always promote Catholic values, but at the same time be non-judgmental. You often find young people who may not, for example, attend church regularly, but they are good and thoughtful human beings." She is anxious to emphasise today's youth are not just shaped by the glitzy world of pop and sport. "When I ask them who has most influenced them, they always speak of a thoughtful parent, a neighbour coping well with a problem, a youth leader in the community. It just shows that every single one of us can do something to improve the world. It's up to us to model the values that we would like our children to inherit." Henrietta supports the ordination of women, but doesn't see it as something she would herself strive towards. "There is no need for me to be ordained. I'm in my vocation."

REDEMPTORIST WORK