Celebrations...Our Lady's Yes and a 21st Birthday

We started this week off in prayer with Fr. Angelus Houle and Kate Moir inviting the Holy Spirit into our hearts to become a more active person in our lives. We have been learning about the different Sacraments starting with a lecture on Reconciliation given by Fr. John Edward, another one on Priesthood by Fr. Terence McGuckin, and the last Sacrament we took a closer look at was The Eucharist by Fr. Patrick Doyle. They were not only enjoyable, but also very insightful. We also went to the final profession of Sister Camilla COLW. It was very beautiful and encouraging to see such a young women commit her whole life to the Lord surrendering to His will. Thursday was not only the Feast of the Annunciation where Our Lady gave her yes to the will of God, but also Aisling's 21st birthday. We celebrated together in thanksgiving of Our Lady's Fiat, but also for Aisling being such a huge blessing to our community here at SPES!!! The workshop we had about Catholic Art and learning Gregorian Chant put on by the Association of Catholic Women was very interesting and a lot of fun!

This week will be a very busy one with it being Holy week and and preparing for the Lord's passion. Tuesday will be the Chrism Mass at Westminster Cathedral, Maundy Thursday will be the celebration of the Lord's Super, and Good Friday we will be processing through the streets of Soho doing the Stations of the Cross. The work around the church is well on it's way. Please keep us in your prayers while were in this time of transition and be sure to know you are in ours! God bless and have a wonderful week everyone!!!

Full of Fun

This week we have been learning about the actions of the Holy Spirit. James Parker has given wonderful testimony on same-sex attraction and the God-given purpose of human sexuality. This is a very important topic that we look forward to being able to share with our confused world. Fr Mike Gwinnell offered Mass for the healing of our deceased family members, and Fr Angelus Houle and Camillo (of the Shalom Community) have spoken about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and how we can be more open to allowing His love into our hearts. We enjoyed dinner at Allen Hall seminary (where many past SPES students lived), meeting the brave men studying to serve us as priests. We will certainly keep them in our prayers.

This week, we will enjoy lectures on the Sacraments; and the final profession of Sister Camilla COLW, praying for her as she dedicates her whole life to the Lord’s service. We also benefitted from a workshop on Gregorian Chant, which is “specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, Vatican II). We look forward to enriching our prayers in this way.

All Yours, Mary

We have recently been visited by Ruth from the Totus 2us website. This is an exciting new website that takes its title from John Paul II's episcopal and papal motto. It means 'all yours', reflecting his dedication of his life to Our Lady. The website is full of great resources, particularly podcasts, on the Christian life. If you look closely you will find reflections from our own Fr Alexander on Our Lady of Lourdes, and Fr Francis on Lent, as well as short testimonies from some of our students. The podcasts can be downloaded via iTunes, or heard straight from the website. Do check it out.

above: John Paul II's coat of arms, inlaid marble in St Peter's Basilica