Tomorrow, Thursday 25th May, is the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord (and a public holiday in Luxembourg. Mass will be celebrated in English at 11:00. Please note there is no vigil Mass in English this evening. Mass in French at St Alphonse is at 18:00.

Fr Ed

Most of the time I post here to announce events, to remind of what will be happening in our community, or to share news of what is happening in the wider church; this post is more of a report. As part of the Octave, our community was due to lead a liturgy in the cathedral on the theme of exile, migration, and being forced to seek refuge; I couldn’t be present (on retreat in a monastery in Belgium), but thankfully modern retreat houses have WiFi so I was able to follow the liturgy online.

Watching the service, I was deeply moved, and on reflection I understand that this was on several levels: our parish can function beautifully without its priest (the liturgy was clear, well presented, well directed, the music superb, even though (perhaps because?) I was far away. Many thanks to all concerned.

The liturgy reflected several aspects of our community that we should (and already do) celebrate: the deep involvement of our parishioners in what we do, the attention we give to preparation and nourishment of ministries, excellence in our music ministry, and our inclusion of other linguistic communities. We can never underestimate the power of these factors in our mission. The Octave is at the heart of the identity of the church here in Luxembourg, and we were at the heart of the Octave.

Many thanks to everyone from our community who contributed: I mention a few (update me with names I have omitted — after all, I’m in a monastery far from the heart of the action!) John, Caren, Susan, Aindrias, Toni, Lorna, Peter, Kristine and all the music group and everyone.

I felt this was not just an event, but an important moment of growth for our community.

Many thanks, sincerely,

Fr Ed

Here is a link to the video of Toni’s testimony, and below are screen-shots from the video feed.

Tomorrow, Wednesday 17th May, our parish community will be hosting a liturgy at the cathedral as part of the annual Octave in honour of Our Lady, Consoler of the Afflicted.

A rosary procession will leave St Michel at 20:00, and when the procession arrives at the cathedral, our community will lead a liturgy of Evening Prayer entitled ‘Mindful of Exile’, focused on the worldwide phenomenon and tragedy of displacement and exile. The short service will begin at approximately 20:30.

All are warmly invited.

Thank you,

Fr Ed

Messe du Peuple de Dieu

Many thanks to John Coughlan for organising our participation in the Mass last Sunday, and to all who helped in any way, organising servers, FHC children, those who served, those who joined the choir. Our procession from St Alphonse was led by Matthew playing the bagpipes; he was accompanied by 10 of our altar servers and most of our First Holy Communion children and many others from our community. Both the procession and the Mass itself were joyful and inspiring. Apologies if you came to church to find that the usual Mass had been cancelled — we did try to warn you!

Links to 2 short videos can be found here and here.

Enjoy! Fr Ed

Vokalensemble Vox — an acapella concert by members of the Slovakian Catholic community in Luxembourg, today, 14th May here in St Alphonse church at 15:00. See the flyer

St Alphonse, Sunday 14th May, 15:00

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