Tuesday 23 January 2007

Study Day


Today we've got the day off to work on our essays. We are doing the Maryvale course on the Catechism which means writing 6 essays during the year on different aspects of the Catechism, this time on Sacraments. Our teacher is Fr. Francis Selman, who comes in from Allen Hall seminary 3 days a week to give us lectures. He's a great teacher, and isn't perturbed by any question we might throw at him, however strange!

Tonight we will be taking part in SOS prayerline and Open House in St. Patrick's. SOS prayerline is a telephone prayer service which takes place in a tiny chapel in the bell tower of St. Patrick's. Two volunteers take the calls, and pray for and with the caller in front of the Blessed Sacrament which is exposed. It is amazing and humbling to pray with these callers, some of whom call regularly and whose trust in God is awe-inspiring. Open House is an outreach to the homeless, providing them with a meal, company, and prayer every Tuesday evening. 40 or 50 homeless come each week, and two of us volunteer along with other helpers in the parish to serve them and talk with them. It is a wonderful time for us to learn charity through service to others, and often we receive as much as or more than we give.

No comments: