Catholicism Course

Last night we held our first session of the Catholicism Course, which appears to have been a successful night.  The evening began with a short social time and a chance to grab some soup and snacks before the actual presentation began at 7pm.  After a hymn and prayer we started the DVD of Fr Robert Barron.  In this session it was looking at 'the revelation of God become man.'  Fr Robert Barron focused on and explained the conviction of the Catholic Faith that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah.  He showed how Jesus fulfils the four tasks of the Messiah and how it is proclaimed by the Church.  Once we had watched the DVD we broke off into smaller groups where we could discuss the contents of the DVD, how it spoke to each of us where we are in our lives and work together on answering some questions, including the question that Jesus Himself asked His disciples - 'Who do you say that I am?'  We were joined by Bishop Peter Elliott, Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in Australia.  Bishop Elliott and Fr Alexander took some time at the end of the night to answer questions that had arose during the group discussions.

Bishop Elliott answering some questions

Although we have completed the first session of the course we are still allowing others to register.  So if you are interested or know someone who is please email Ciara at spes@stpatricksoho.org

Open House Christmas Dinner

It's Christmas time!

Still smiling after all that cooking

There was no rest after the Advent Mission weekend for that Monday night was our all important Open House Christmas Dinner! While we had been busy evangelising over the weekend some of our amazing Open House cooks, volunteers and friends were slaving away cooking and preparing the community centre for a Christmas party to remember.





Loads of presents

After days of preparation the day finally arrived and the community centre looked great. A real Christmas tree with loads of decorations and underneath a mountain of presents for our guests. Each guest who joined us was given a present at the end of the night consisting of some of the necessities that we all need such as hats, gloves, scarf, toiletries and some sweets or chocolate. Our guests were delighted with their presents and very thankful.

While our guests enjoyed their traditional Christmas dinner they were entertained with some beautiful Christmas carols and some chitchat with the volunteers. It was lovely to see everyone in such good spirits. I think a great night was had by all.

A community weekend of fun...or not?

After our last week of lectures a weekend of fun was planned before we all headed off for our Christmas break. We all enjoyed our last week of lectures, a whole week dedicated to the Gospel of St John and given by Fr Thomas from the Community of St Jean. But we were all very much looking forward to our weekend of fun and treats.

It all started off well. We got up early Saturday morning, packed our picnic, wrapped ourselves up warmly and headed off Mass at Brompton Oratory. After Mass we went in the direction of the Natural History Museum. But we weren't looking to visit the actual museum, instead we were ready for some ice-skating!! For some it was their first time, for others they wished it was there last, lol. Surprisingly some who were not so keen took to it quite quickly and for first timers they were doing well. Others, well one in particular, hung tightly to the sides of the ice-rink before quickly exiting half way through the session. Oh well, I do believe they still had some fun. Amazingly not one of us fell! Well not physically; this is the point in the weekend where one by one the students began to drop!

Firstly Ola left us after ice-skating to go home to bed feeling and, sorry to say it, looking sick. The rest of us had our picnic and then went for a look around Science Museum. There were some nice and interesting displays there. In the evening we went back to St Patrick's to play on the Wii. This is where student number 2 dropped. Terry began to not feel so great. After some Adoration and street evangelisation we all headed off home.

Saturday had been Fr Alex's birthday but since we had not seen him we celebrated his birthday on the Sunday. It was a nice day and we were joined by a few others;except our two sick students. Although now that number was increasing Alfonso didn't feel so good and had to have some sleep. That left just Ben standing - but not for long! By the end of the day Ben was also not so good. In the evening we went to see The Hobbit. Ben and Alfonso were just about fit to go. Laurie, Ciara and the two Australian seminarians joined them. The film was good, although a little dragged out at the beginning.

Since now all the students were sick the plans for Monday were cancelled and instead Laurie took those who were well enough down to the National Gallery to look at some art work associated with The Birth of Jesus.

After this it was pack up and get ready for our Christmas break, and hopefully recover from all the sickness!!

Advent Mission

Our Advent Mission took place over the weekend of Friday 7th - Sunday 9th December.  There was a lot of preparation beforehand but it was all well worth it. 

Praying before the Blessed Sacrament for all those we had met

On the Friday night we went out into the streets to speak to people and to remind them what Advent is all about.  While we were out evangelising others were in the Church praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament for us and those we would speak to.  At the end of the evening we all prayed for those we had met and their intentions before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.

Free Hot Chocolate and Mince Pies

Saturday was a long day but we all very much enjoyed it.  In the afternoon we had Adoration in the Church with beautiful music (thanks to the NightFever crew) while outside we set up two tables, one for the all important hot chocolate and mince pies and the other with some interesting and informative flyers and a box in which people could write their prayer intentions if they wished.  We had prepared some small gift bags to give to those we met and spoke to.  The gift bags have a Scripture quote, miraculous medal with explanation and a sweet.



Any prayers?









Some of the Gift Bags we give out



Saturday night was our latest NightFever, an absolutely brilliant night as always!  For nore info see our previous post :)

Sunday afternoon ran pretty much the same as Saturday except we were based at Notre Dame de France, the French Church at Leicester Square.  There we had lovely music on the steps of the Church.  Then at 6pm we were back at St Patrick's for the International Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  This is a Mass that brings together the different communities who celebrate Mass at St Patrick's every week.  After the Mass we processed from St Patrick's to Notre Dame de France with a beautiful statue of Our Lady while we also sang and prayed.



Where have we been? What have we been doing?

Well in answer to the blog post title we have been plenty of places and doing plenty of things - except updating our blog!  Oops, sorry about that.  Now we shall fix that and bring you up to speed with all our goings on.  Hopefully over the next week we will get you all updated and back on track. 

Before Christmas we had our Advent Mission, the Open House Christmas Dinner, some community days out and a bit of fun.  We were off for 2 weeks over Christmas, much needed time for rest and relaxation.  We came back after Christmas refreshed and ready to go again - which is good since we haven't stopped since!!

Since Christmas we have had our Parish Christmas dinner, cookathon, our second assignment, and now a retreat.  Busy busy.  In the next few posts we will update about some of these events with some pictures also.

NightFever!

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.

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!

Two Ambroses

St Ambrose

In the Catholic Church the 7th December is an important day, it is the day we remember the first Doctor of the Church, St Ambrose.  He was born between 337 and 340 AD in Trier, Germany.  In the year 374 St Ambrose was unexpectically made Bishop of Milan.  After being made Bishop, St Ambrose gave up all his wealth to the poor.  According to legend, St Ambrose immediately and forcefully stopped Arianism in Milan.  He was a great preacher and teacher; helping to convert St Augustine.  It was St Ambrose who baptised St Augustine into the Catholic faith.  He died on 4th April 397.  St Ambrose is patron of bee keepers; bees; candle makers; domestic animals; French Commissariat; learning; Milan; students; and wax refiners. 






Our Ambrose, looking quite 'saintly' and innocent

Speaking of domestic animals, there is one domestic animal in particular who shares his name with the famous Bishop of Milan, our own Ambrose here in St Patrick's.  For those of you who don't know, Ambrose is Fr Alex's King Charles Spaniel and a very important part of the Parish.  Ambrose joined the Parish 5 years ago this month and has been a popular member since.


I'm not sure if there are many similarities between St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, and our Ambrose, who at times seems to think he is Bishop of Soho!  (so much so that right now he has decided that the best place for him to lie is on my lap while I now try to type one handed since he thinks my other arm is there is rest his head on!).  The two Ambroses do, I think, share a few characteristics.  The Doctors of the Catholic Church website states that in 'sketches of him [St Ambrose], his face is thin with big eyes set deep within a long, gaunt face.'  Our Ambrose has amazing big eyes that would melt any heart, so they share big eyes :)  St Ambrose had great presence and was one of the most influential men of the fourth  century; well our Ambrose most definitely has great presence here at St Patrick's and dare I say it he is surely one of the most influential here, if not the most influential!  St Ambrose is well known for evangelising St Augustine; on many a Friday night you will find our Ambrose out on the streets of Soho 'evangelisng' potential saints. 

Some Adoration to begin the morning

Prayer That We May Seek God and Find Him

Lord, teach me to seek you, and reveal yourself to me when I seek you. For I cannot seek you unless you first teach me, nor find you unless you first reveal yourself to me. Let me seek you in longing and long for you in seeking. Let me find you in love, and love you in finding.

~ St Ambrose of Milan, Bishop, Writer, Doctor
 

It's that time again - Advent Mission Preparations!!

The preparations are well under way for our Annual Advent Mission which is taking place in just a few days time!  The Advent Mission is a weekend of Adoration, Prayer, Music, Evangelisation (with Hot Chocolate and Mince Pies) to prepare for the coming of Our Lord at Christmas. It is a great opportunity to remind ourselves and others that Advent is a time to prepare and to wait on the Lord's coming.

It all kicks off on Friday evening with Adoration, prayer and music in the Church.  During this time some of us will head out into the streets of Soho to chat to people in the area about life, God and Christmas.

Adoration last year with the Nativity scene below

On Saturday we will set up our table of refreshments, you can't beat a nice cup of hot chocolate on a cold December day.  There will be Adoration and music in the Church.  It will be a place where we can invite people to come for a moment of peace and quiet away from the crazy shopping streets here in the West End.  A chance to speak to people about the real meaning of Christmas and why it is that we celebrate this time of the year.

Enjoying a mince pie, hot chocolate and a nice chat last year

Saturday night sees the return of NightFever, a very popular and powerful event here at St Patrick's.  Seriously if you have not experienced NightFever and you are in London this weekend there is only one place you should be - St Patrick's!

Sunday afternoon is quite similar to Saturday afternoon but we head down to Notre Dame de France in Leicester Square.  Again there will be a good supply of hot chocolate, mince pies and some music on the steps of the Church.  Sunday evening we gather back at St Patrick's for Solemn Mass with our international communities who are based here.  After Mass to celebrate the Immaculate Conception we will process with Our Lady from St patrick's through the streets of Soho to Notre Dame de France singing and praying.  The Marian Procession is always a beautiful event.

Check out our flyer for more information about the different events happening over the weekend along with times and locations.

Our Relaxing Retreat

The lovely Chapel at the
Vocations Centre

Recently we returned to the Southwark Vocations Centre in Whitstable for a short retreat. Once again Fr. Stephen made us all very welcome. The main theme of the retreat was to prepare us for this time of Advent we are just about to begin, particularly with our upcoming Advent Mission!!

Since our last visit the centre has come along well, new sofas downstairs, new and improved pillows on the beds, but still the odd armchair in the downstairs toilet.

Keeping watch out at the beach

The retreat itself was great, we had plenty of time for recollection, to look back on our first couple of months together and to see how we are going to approach the rest of the time here. We had plenty of prayer and meditation led by Fr. Stephen, providing us with some great talks on Advent, Mass and other such things.

A bit of piano to entertain us

We also had the pleasure of being joined by two Australian seminarians, Marcus and Trevor, who are staying at St Patrick's through ‘till just after Christmas, so they provided plenty of hymns and chants for our prayer, as well as chocolate cake to accompany regular tea sessions.

The singing nuns
that have a 'habit'
of moving around the place

We are all back now, refreshed and excited to begin the Advent mission. (More info to come)

 

Refreshed and ready to go again :)

We've had an amazingly relaxing week!  It began with a lovely retreat out in Whitstable with Fr Stephen.  He gave us some inspiring talks to help us prepare for Advent and we took advantage of the beautiful surroundings to go for walks.  Trevor and Marcus, the two Australian seminarians, joined us on retreat and we showed them a little of the English seaside – a bit colder than what they are used to.  We will update a little more about the retreat and some pictures in a couple of days.

Wednesday we were back at St Patrick’s for a long but most enjoyable day.  Trevor and Marcus gave us some music lessons, teaching us some beautiful chants, which hopefully we can put into practice during this year.  Wednesday evening saw a lot of cleaning taking place – not only did we have our monthly Church cleaning but Ambrose also had a bath!  Thankfully Thursday was another relaxing day with a trip out to Greenwich Park where we had a lovely walk and a picnic before having a look around the Maritime museum.

Last night (Friday) we took part in our first LumiNations night.  LumiNations is an event which SPES helps to co-ordinate and takes place at Notre Dame de France, the French Church in Leicester Square.  There is Adoration in the Church and some beautiful music on the steps outside the Church.  Notre Dame de France, like St Patrick's, is located in a busy area of Central London.  With all the noise, bright lights and craziness of a Friday night in Central London we try to be that gentle light to the nations and invite people into the quiet of the Church to meet Jesus.  There's also  an opportunity to offer some tea, coffee or biscuits to the passers-by or those who stop to listen to the music.  We all had a good night and are looking forward to the next one.

Next week will be a quiet week with regards to lectures but there will be lots of work done to prepare for next weekend, which is our Advent Mission weekend– a weekend of Adoration, Prayer, Music, Evangelisation with Hot Chocolate and Mince Pies to prepare for the coming of Our Lord at Christmas. It will be a great opportunity to remind ourselves and others that Advent is a time to prepare and to wait on the Lord's coming.  Please keep it in your prayer.  More information and details will be uploaded to our blog tomorrow (I hope).  On Tuesday we will take a break from the preparations to join Joanna Bogle on another of her Catholic History Walks around London.  If you would like to join us we will be leaving from St Patrick's at 1.30pm.  There is Mass before at 12.45pm.