| The student experience |
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As one of the students who graduated this year from the school, I can attest to the excellence and effectiveness of this course. Undeniably young people nowadays are being besieged by an increasingly secularised Ireland and it can be very difficult for us to stand up and say, ‘This is what I believe in’, never mind actually allowing this belief transform every aspect of our lives. See, this time last year I found myself at a major crossroads in life and on the verge of coming into my faith in a big way; I had a strong desire to live a Christian life and to deepen my relationship with God. However, the chances of my desire surviving the onslaught of secular Ireland were very slim; I needed to be empowered to live this kind of life. When I heard of O.L.S.E. in the Summer of last year, it sounded like just the kind of thing I was looking for. I found myself very attracted to its four aspects: Prayer, Academic Study, Community Living and Outreach to Young people (the latter involving giving day-retreats to secondary school students). Learning more about what these aspects meant assured me that the school advocated a thorough personal development of its students, not solely focusing on intellectual formation, but also on its vital integration with the spiritual and emotional aspects of the human person. In the midst of my searching for God, and certainly after I became a student there, I found myself coming to a deeper awareness of what being a Christian means: its not just about having knowledge, its a way of life. After all, there is little point in having a wide expanse of knowledge it you’re not actually living the Gospel message and incorporating its values into your everyday life. I was thus very attracted to community living enriched and sustained by prayer; to me it facilitated the necessary integration of the intellectual, emotional and spiritual; this way I could more effectively allow my faith transform my entire life. Through lectures spanning the wide and rich spectrum of the Catholic faith I was attaining the necessary knowledge, but through community living I was being empowered to actually live what I was learning, something which often tends to be neglected. Was I disappointed? Absolutely not – hand on heart I can say it surpassed all my expectations; the year for me was an amazing time of healing, renewal and growth. Being put out of your comfort zone a little can reap major benefits as I discovered being a team leader in a weekend residential retreat for 12-15year olds run by the Elijah Fellowship in Dublin. Here I had one of my most powerful experiences of what being a Christian means; here I was challenged to forget about myself and what I wanted so that I could serve the young people under my care: it wasn’t about me; it wasn’t about what I wanted; it was about showing them the beauty of a relationship with Christ – my relationship with them was intended to be a reflection of what a relationship with Him is like, so no matter how tired I was, or fed-up or no matter how much I wanted time to myself, I couldn’t let that effect how I spoke to them and related to them; I couldn’t allow myself to be overcome by my feelings. I learned many methods of evangelisation through doing this course – testimonies, drama, music, art, specially designed talks and workshops – but of all these the most powerful is personal witness, how I actually live my faith, how I treat those around me, especially when I’m not in the best of form – the greatest lesson in this was the retreat mentioned above. I also learned that by simply staying true to myself, the person God has created and called me to be, I can achieve more for God than words ever can, as illustrated by a famous quote of St. Irenaeus, a 2nd century Saint, ‘The glory of God is man fully alive’. God is calling each of us to let our light shine through living in him, thus spreading that light to all whom we meet. We discover that light by discovering our own giftedness as well as our limitations; for the more we discover the gifts given to us by God the more alive and fulfilled we become, and the more joy we radiate to those we meet. O.L.S.E. strongly promotes bringing out and cultivating the giftedness of both its students and staff because it sees this as necessary for true empowerment; everyone has something powerful to give, otherwise we simply would not be here! So I emerge from O.L.S.E. having learned and experienced a lot: many fears and misconceptions were challenged; many beauties were discovered; many lessons were learned. The important thing is I’m no longer so afraid to stand up and say, ‘This is what I believe in’. I now want to live in truth, and for me that’s inseparable from a relationship with God. Being a student in O.L.S.E. made this outlook more possible, and I’m extremely grateful! We even availed of a pilgrimage to Rome after Easter, which was a very rewarding and educational experience, not only because of our presence in a city steeped in beauty, majesty and history, but also because of the amazing witness given to us by the Incarnate Word Community with whom we stayed during our trip. It served as a very fitting finale to an amazing year. Like I did this time last year consider giving a year to O.L.S.E., where you can deepen your relationship with God, learn how you can spread your faith to others, discover your own giftedness, experience the immeasurable benefits of community-living, and ultimately experience true empowerment! Students this year also have the option of attaining a Certificate or Diploma in Evanglisation and Ministry from Maryvale Institute in Birmingham via distance learning, an option also open to anybody interested in doing this course on a non-residential basis from the local area. For more information on this and on what O.L.S.E. has to offer, check out the school’s website, www.olseknock.com .
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Our Lady’s School of Evangelisation (O.L.S.E.), situated in Knock, Co.Mayo, will very shortly be heading into its 5th year of existence, and is currently looking for prospective students to herald in the academic year, 2010-2011.This school, the first of its kind in Ireland, is a lay organisation which provides a nine-month residential course for young people between the ages of 18 and 36years. Empowering young people for life and mission is at the core of what this school stands for.