A two hour Mass. You can’t be serious! In one respect you are absolutely right. Some of the most wonderful celebrations of the Eucharist are to be found in Lourdes during the annual Irish Pilgrimage Trust / HCPT week in Lourdes. It really about celebrating faith and community in an atmosphere that’s almost impossible to describe. (more…)
It’s getting nearer and the excitement is building! It’s less than four months to WYD 2013 and we’re all getting ready for our trip to Rio. It was hoped that there would be over 3,000,000 people in attendance, but now it’s going to be at least 3,000,001. Pope Francis gave special emphasis to importance of young people in our Church during his recent Palm Sunday homily. He invited young people from all around the world to stand together, celebrate their faith and grow in love. So far Pope Francis has stressed the role of all young people in building up the future of the Church. He clearest message was made, not with words, but with actions, when he washed the feet of some young people in juvenile detention centre of Casal del Marmo, Rome. This symbolic gesture is a key part of the Holy Thursday celebration, echoing Jesus’ challenge for each of his followers to serve those in need. (more…)
‘The Africa Bug’
Last weekend saw the first gathering of our lay missionary volunteers in Sacred Heart Community, Western Road. It was an opportunity for the four people who are preparing to journey to South Africa for three months to meet up and get to know one another. As part of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Volunteer Programme ( MSCVP ) they are going to spend the summer working with the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and the team in the Holy Family Centre in Ofcolaco. The Centre is home to around seventy children, ranging from babies to teenagers, who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and TB. (more…)
If you are looking for an altogether different experience this summer you can find yourself on The Way. For the first time we are organising a pilgrimage for young adults between the ages of 18 and 35 to walk along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela or the Way of St. James this June. It’s an outward and inward spiritual journey, where we take the time to walk together, reflect and enjoy an unforgettable experience that continues to draw people from all around the world.
Our Camino pilgrimage will take place from the 18th to the 25th of June. We should have people coming from both the UK and Ireland, so the plan is that we’ll meet in Biarritz airport in the afternoon of the 18th. Flights from Dublin and London with Ryanair both arrive around 3:00pm. From there we’ll journey by train to St. Jean Pied de Port where we’ll have dinner together and then start our journey the following morning.
On our first day we’ll walk through a wooded pass in the Pyrenees, crossing over from France to Spain. Then we’ll descend into the beautiful Navarra region of Northern Spain. Over the following six days we’ll journey along the ancient route that has been followed by pilgrims for well over a thousand years, as it winds its way through towns, forests, countryside.
It’s an opportunity to take time out from a busy world and to walk in a relaxed manner. Each morning as the sun rises we will start with a simple prayer and reflection. Then shouldering our packs we set off for the horizon, meeting people along the way or perhaps walking in solitude, depending on what you feel like at the time. In the evening there’s an opportunity for Mass if you wish and then a meal with a glass of wine as the sun sets.
This first week of the Camino will finish in the ancient Roman town of Logroño, capital of the La Rioja region. For those who are planning to continue we’ve arranged the dates of this pilgrimage so that they should reach Santiago in time for the feast of St. James on the 25th of July. We plan to walk the next week of the Camino in the summer of 2014 and continue each year until we arrive at Santiago de Compostella.
The cost of the pilgrimage is pretty reasonable. People will arrange their own flights and transfers to Biarritz and back home. Accommodation along the Camino is in Albergues or dedicated pilgrimage hostels. They cost around €10 / £8.50 a night. Then you need to account for food. The towns where we will stay offer pilgrim menus for around €12 / £10 for a simple three course meal. You can pick up other basics during the day in the many small stores along the route. Excluding flights and transfers about €40 / £35 a day should be more than adequate.
If you’d like some insight into the Camino check out the film The Way released in 2010, starring Martin Sheen. It gives a good flavour of what you can expect.
If you’re considering it and are not sure feel free to email me or give me a call on (075) 26764236 (UK) or (086) 7857955 (Irl). People may be concerned about the level of fitness necessary. You don’t need to super fit, but a moderate level of fitness is desirable. We are planning to meet before the actual in pilgrimage for a walk to get to know one another and help us to get started.
It promises to be an incredible experience. Find yourself on The Way.
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As the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina addressed the massive crowd in front of St. Peter’s as Pope Francis I he asked the people, “Before I give you a blessing, I ask you for a favor — I want you to bless me.” But he wasn’t speaking just to the people in Rome. He was addressing Catholics in every country around the world, all 1.3 billion of us.
Today is a day of celebration for all of us, but especially for the people of South America. Pope Francis is the first Pope from Latin America. Whether his name is taken to honour the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi or St. Francis Xavier it symbolises passion for our faith, humility in the service of others and above all a love of God and all His family.
Let us pray today for the man who takes on the role of our Pope, known also as the Servant of the Servants of God.
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Last week I was at a talk in Dublin on the work of the VSO and the future of overseas volunteering after 2015. All in all an interesting morning with good contributions from representative of the UN, the European Parliment and academia. They also invited Fr. Fachtna O’Driscoll, the Provincial of the SMA Fathers, to address the group about the missionary legacy of the Church and its future. In the course of his talk he revealed a startling statistic. By adding up the number of years that missionary brothers, sisters and priests worked all around the world he estimated that their commitment added up to more than 200,000 years altogether.
Fr. Tom O’Brien MSC working in Venezuela
It was an astonishing figure. When he said it the reaction of the people in the room was interesting. There was admiration, a little indifference, but above all surprise. There is something to be proud of when we think of all those people who had the courage to follow their vocation; to go out to the whole world and to proclaim the good news. (more…)