This week has certainly been a busy one for us here at the House, especially with our fearless leader, Molly, off in the states as she conducts interviews alongside Fr. Martin and Sr. Mary for the applicants for the House of Brigid. The parish (sombrely) celebrated the Way of the Cross for the first time on Tuesday night, and I had the great pleasure of taking point on it. Concerned about having everyone scattered across the main Church, the parish team decided to move the Stations this year into the day chapel, a decision that now provides the parishioners with a more intimate setting for their prayer. By the end of the night, the congregation was singing loudly and confidently, and saying most of the prayers together; affirmations of the changes made.
The highlight of Tuesday night was the first of a three-part series of talks by Fr. Billy Swan from Enniscorthy. Having studied in Rome and done much research on the Church Fathers and the early Church, Fr. Swan had agreed to talk about the Creed and what it means for us as Catholics, especially in light of the Year of Faith. It was a great blessing to see a church full of parishioners listening to a theologian talk about theology, and to hear him do so in a full, yet practical and meaningful way. By the end of the night, people were bringing up their own struggles to understand their faith and different parts of the creed, which Fr. Billy responded to with understanding, wisdom, and a bit of humour. I would not be surprised to see the number of people at his talks double between last week and next.
The other Lenten event we had this week was Kennedy Park’s First Confession. While the House didn’t have any real involvement with the service besides technical support in the form of a power-point, it was great to be able to relax and watch Fr. Martin, the 2nd class teachers, and the students and their families do their thing, and it was everything you would expect it to be. The children were adorable and the priests were smiling and inviting the children up to the different confessional areas in the sanctuary. One practice that I had never encountered before, but found to be very positive, was that the parents were invited to escort their child up to the priest, introduce him or her, and then step back down into to the foot of the sanctuary and wait for their child to finish making their confession. It was a great sacramental moment not only for the child, but for the entire family, and helped to illustrate that their faith isn’t just private, but should be familial and public as well.
Beyond that, Passion play rehearsals continue to progress under the directorship of Emily, we’re expecting Molly’s return to us next Tuesday, and this weekend we will have the Rite of Election for our RCIA catechumen, so stay tuned for more updates from the weekend on the other side!
