On
Saturday 27 April about 40 of our parishioners responded to the invitation
in the parish bulletin and enjoyed a day of celebration
at Princethorpe College near Rugby. They were joined by
parishioners from the five other English parishes served by MSC priests
of the Irish Province, together with those involved in special MSC ministries,
altogether about 400 people.
The programme
was varied and very well put together. After a welcome and introduction
in the lecture theatre we had a light lunch and then had a choice of activities
to enjoy. One highlight was a choral recital by the college choir
in Princethorpe's Pugin chapel. This consisted of five short choral works
culminating in the Gloria by Vivaldi. Two excellent talks exploring the spirituality of the Heart were given. The first was by Fr Mark McDonald, former head of the USA Province and now working in Issoudon, France. He spoke of the spiritual vision of the order's founder, Fr Jules Chevalier in establishing the order. The second talk was by Fr Patsy Kelly from Galway on the MSC spirituality in today's world.
There was an opportunity to view the new video commissioned to celebrate the province's golden jubilee and learn something about the current ministries. Workshops focusing on children's ministry and on music and prayer were also held, during which contributions for the evening Mass were prepared.
After the concelebrated Mass in the chapel the day concluded with a finger buffet in the refectory and a chance for more socialising before we departed to various parts of the country.