Today we spent most of our day in St Augustine's Secondary School, which was fantastic. We started the morning leading the assembly, this time it was Alfonso was spoke about being a witness and gave some of his testimony. He spoke very well and the students were engaged with what he was saying. After the assembly we were given the opportunity to visit some classes. We split up into two groups so we could visit both Year 7 classes and then for second period we were back together to speak to a Year 11 class. The students had some great questions to ask us and seemed to enjoy us being there. At first we're sure they thought we were a little crazy standing in their class talking about Jesus and how He loves us. We enjoyed the class visits and the chance to hear back from the students. In the assembly we can tell them quite a bit but there isn't that chance to answer their questions.
After we spoke to the Year 11 class it was back to St Peter's Church for adoration and Mass before we tucked into a lovely lunch in the Parish Centre. One thing we definitely have to say is that the food and hospitality in Scarborough is amazing, absolutely out of this world! Big thank you to all who looked after us and cooked for us!
In the afternoon we were back up at St Augustine's to visit some more classes. Again we separated into two groups so that we could visit more classes in the time that we had. At times during the assemblies we wondered how much the students were actually listening to us but when we visited the classes we realised that they had been listening and some of them had questions they wanted to ask us. Each of us enjoyed the class visits and look forward to doing more at St Augustine's on Friday.
We had a lovely supper today (seriously the food is great here!) and then packed up to go and see the Confirmation group. Tonight they were having two sessions, we were leading the second session. The first session they had was on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit and was a great session led by Sarah. Our session had the title 'Witness' and we began firstly by asking each of the Confirmation candidates to tell us their name and why they had chosen to be confirmed this year. There were a range of answers but the most popular seemed to be that their parents wanted them to get confirmed and some of their friends were doing it this year. Although at first it may not have been their choice to be confirmed this year we congratulated them on being there tonight and having in a way made the choice themselves. We spoke to them about what it means to be a witness and how we can be witnesses but we must choose to be. We divided them up into four groups and gave them a scenario where they had to decide what the correct thing to do was and which gifts of the Holy Spirit would help them to make that choice. They were a fantastic group and a very honest group. We will continue to pray for them and we would ask that you do the same please. At the end of the night we each lit a candle from the Paschal candle and prayed that we would receive the light of Christ, as we had done at Baptism. It was very beautiful and prayerful. We are loving our time here, what will the rest of the week have in store for us!?
Saint Patrick's Evangelisation School (SPES) - Hope in the heart of Soho
Showing posts with label Candles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Candles. Show all posts
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
Thursday, 28 February 2013
NightFever - another awesome evening!
Every time we have NightFever here at St Patrick's I am left in total amazement at how well it works. Looking at it and explaining it to others it just sounds so simple, but actually seeing how easily it draws people into the Church and the experiences they come away with, well let's just say it must be The Lord at work.
At the front of the Church in from of the Blessed Sacrament there is a prayer intention box for people to write down their prayers as well as space to light a candle and a basket of Scripture quotes that you may pick up. While all of this is happening there is beautiful music playing which can be heard outside. There are priests available to hear confessions or just to talk to.
Really there are not words to describe the evening, one must experience it for themselves. Listening to people as they leave the Church and thank you for giving them such a lovely evening is, well it's humbling, we don't really do anything other than invite someone in. Jesus does the work really. The evening finishes with Benediction at 10.30pm.  |
| Ambrose exhausted after an evening of evangelising |
Thursday, 13 December 2012
NightFever!
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| A view from the balcony |
No, this is not a case of John Bosco by day, John Travolta by night! ‘Nightfever’ is organised by young Christians whose faith is central in their lives and who seek to bridge between individuals, parishes and communities.
The night starts with Mass; this is followed by Eucharistic adoration when the church is illuminated by candle light, until Benediction at around 22.30.
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| Candles are lit for many different intentions |
During this time of Adoration we and other volunteers head out onto the streets surrounding St Patrick's with lanterns, candles and small information cards. It is a simple invitation to people to come into the Church to light a candle in front of the Blessed Sacrament for any intention they may have, (Or just for them to get out of the cold!).
It is very simple and very effective, confessions are heard throughout the night; also there is a great music team that comes and provides music throughout the evening inside the Church, which is also wired to play out the front of the Church which helps to draw more people inside.
We all enjoy Nightfever and all the fruit it bears, and we are all looking forward to the next one in the New Year!
Thursday, 30 August 2012
SPES @ Medjugorje Youth Festival Part 3
On the Friday morning of the festival we rushed down to the morning programme so that we could get a good spot to see and support Magnus McFarlane-Barrow, who had been invited to speak from the main stage. Magnus is the founder and CEO of Mary’s Meals (www.marysmeals.org.uk) and his parents started the Craig Lodge House of Prayer (www.craiglodge.org) after visiting Medjugorje in 1983. The story of Mary’s Meals is inspiring, to think that such a simple idea can make such a big difference to so many children in the world.
Friday night after the Mass was the procession through the village. Many of the villagers had made small altars with statues and candles outside their homes. It was such a wonderful evening. While walking through the village we had the chance to meet and talk to other young people from different countries and to share our experiences with them. At the front of the processions there were representatives from each country carrying their country’s name, flag and torch. Unfortunately we had missed out on starting the procession but along with our sign we eventually made it to the front towards the end. We probably looked like quite a confused group of young people – we had our Scottish flag and sign but no torch, Deanna had an American flag in her hair and I had the Irish flag dripped on my shoulders. Being able to be so close to the Altar when Our Lord was exposed on the Altar was a real privilege. Earlier in the day Deanna had talked about possibly trying to get closer to the Altar during Adoration that night; well ‘ask and you will receive’, we couldn’t have gotten any closer!
In the afternoon Deanna had the opportunity to speak about SPES from the main stage. She done a great job of it, well done Deanna! It was lovely to speak about SPES to a few young people who approached us afterwards and even now we have had some emails from young people who heard Deanna speak at the festival.
It was a great opportunity to share with the young people what SPES is all about and the experiences that you can have in SPES.
Saturday evening was a very special evening for our group; we were invited to Ivan’s private apparition. It is difficult to describe the feeling of peace that we had during the time that Our Lady was appearing to Ivan. Even afterwards it was hard to believe that we had been there. What a way to spend our last evening in Medjugorje! Afterwards we made our way back to the Church for Mass and Adoration before then watching the musical show by Cenacolo; an awesome performance (although to be honest I didn’t watch it all since it was in Italian and I couldn’t cope with the crowds, but I’m sure it was all awesome).
On Sunday we had a few hours to chill out, buy the last of our souvenirs and say goodbye to Medjugorje as well as ensure we had an ice cream before leaving. Having waited many years before finally being able to go to Medjugorje I have to say it was well worth the wait. I had a fantastic time and have had many graces and blessings from my time there. Thank you to all those who made my trip possible and for all those who made it special, especially those who I was able to share the week with. May Our Lady continue to protect us all and guide us to her Son Jesus.
Friday night after the Mass was the procession through the village. Many of the villagers had made small altars with statues and candles outside their homes. It was such a wonderful evening. While walking through the village we had the chance to meet and talk to other young people from different countries and to share our experiences with them. At the front of the processions there were representatives from each country carrying their country’s name, flag and torch. Unfortunately we had missed out on starting the procession but along with our sign we eventually made it to the front towards the end. We probably looked like quite a confused group of young people – we had our Scottish flag and sign but no torch, Deanna had an American flag in her hair and I had the Irish flag dripped on my shoulders. Being able to be so close to the Altar when Our Lord was exposed on the Altar was a real privilege. Earlier in the day Deanna had talked about possibly trying to get closer to the Altar during Adoration that night; well ‘ask and you will receive’, we couldn’t have gotten any closer!
The testimonies on Saturday morning were by young people from the Cenacolo Community (http://www.comunitacenacolo.it/). It is fantastic to see how with the help of God and a good community someone can turn their life around again.
In the afternoon Deanna had the opportunity to speak about SPES from the main stage. She done a great job of it, well done Deanna! It was lovely to speak about SPES to a few young people who approached us afterwards and even now we have had some emails from young people who heard Deanna speak at the festival.
It was a great opportunity to share with the young people what SPES is all about and the experiences that you can have in SPES.
Saturday evening was a very special evening for our group; we were invited to Ivan’s private apparition. It is difficult to describe the feeling of peace that we had during the time that Our Lady was appearing to Ivan. Even afterwards it was hard to believe that we had been there. What a way to spend our last evening in Medjugorje! Afterwards we made our way back to the Church for Mass and Adoration before then watching the musical show by Cenacolo; an awesome performance (although to be honest I didn’t watch it all since it was in Italian and I couldn’t cope with the crowds, but I’m sure it was all awesome).
On Sunday we had a few hours to chill out, buy the last of our souvenirs and say goodbye to Medjugorje as well as ensure we had an ice cream before leaving. Having waited many years before finally being able to go to Medjugorje I have to say it was well worth the wait. I had a fantastic time and have had many graces and blessings from my time there. Thank you to all those who made my trip possible and for all those who made it special, especially those who I was able to share the week with. May Our Lady continue to protect us all and guide us to her Son Jesus.
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