The John Main Seminar is an annual event which is organised annually by the World Community for Christian Meditation. It has not been held in Europe for quite a while. ( the last time was in Cork (UCC) about 10 years ago).   This year it will be in Bruges, Belgium, from Thursday 20 to Sunday 23 September 2018 and the theme will be

A Contemplative Response to the Crisis of Change

The line up of speakers is interesting to say the least and there is a pre seminar retreat and tour of Bruges followed by the Seminar and afterwards a pilgrimage to Flanders Fields and Ypres.  One can choose to participate in all or just some of these trips.

For more information please click on the link below.

JM_Seminar_2018_Bruges_leaflet

The Conference Saint-Yves is hosting a Conference on the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. This event, at St Alphonse, is on Wednesday 30th May at 19:00. For further details, see here.

On 7 May 2018, Fr Ed marked the 30th anniversary of his priestly ordination. We did not celebrate it at the time as his mother was in her final hours, but we made up for it this Pentecost Sunday morning, 20 May 2018, with a presentation of gifts and crémant after Mass.

The gifts were a personal offering from our community. We wanted to keep it secret, so we did not make a public appeal, but the catechists, coffee organisers, Eucharistic ministers, musicians, pastoral council, readers and other volunteers all chipped in.

The first gift was an antique icon. According to tradition, the image of Our Lady of Iverskaja was first written by the Evangelist Luke. The version we presented to Fr Ed, which we located at the Monastery of Chevetogne in Belgium, was written in Russia between 1840 and 1850.

The second gift was a monetary one, for Fr Ed to enjoy as he pleases.

Fr Ed is at the heart of our community and we give thanks for his vocation and service both to our community and throughout his priestly ministry.

As you may know from announcements in church over the past couple of weeks, I have been in Ireland at my parents’ home. With my dad, mum’s sister Mary, my sisters and their families, I was privileged to be with my mum for her final hours, her passing, her resting in the house, and her funeral and burial.

Mum’s passing (which none of us were looking forward to, for obvious reasons), was beautiful; we prayed, sang hymns, played music, then prayed some more; when mum breathed her last, we were all holding her. Then we all experienced a feeling of peace—and joy: a feeling which was evident in the days that followed, and which has remained with us.

In my absence, Fr Rodrigo celebrated our Masses and did so much more: sincere thanks to him; deep thanks also to all members of our parish who stepped in for organise, chauffeur, re-arrange events etc whilst I was away. It was a great comfort to me to know that our community can organise itself to such a degree, and that people can be so generous with their time and energy when needed.

I am now happily back in Luxembourg, trying to catch up with everything, and normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

Thank you for your support and your prayers during this time.

Fr Ed

Next Sunday, 27th May, there is a concert at St Alphonse given by the Elysian Singers of London (Patron: Sir James McMillan). The programme features Magnificat Motets with Renaissance Reflections.

The concert is at 20:00, entry free (with freewill collection). Flyer here and further information at mom.sarumlux.net

The Elysian Singers will also be singing during the Mass at 19:00