 |
| Guess where the events of this post take place? |
Hey
y’all! So I decided to have a whole post over the school we just finished in
London just because it was absolutely incredible.
So we
all pulled up to the school, and I think I speak for my whole team when I say
that our jaws dropped. It’s such a nice school… just the grounds and buildings
and everything were so beautiful that we were all impressed. Our contact
person, Paula, came out and greeted us and we had a whole building for our
retreats! Based on other retreats we’d done with just small rooms, it’s nice when
we can go outside and separate a few groups. It helps with the noise level.
The day
continued and we had our next important segment: lunch. The food at that school
was SO GOOD! Each day a few students took us down to the dining hall to where
we would be eating. We had mac-n-cheese, roast, curry, and sausages among other
foods and all of it was SO GOOD! Like so many of us just talked to the students
about their food. They probably thought it was a bit odd, but that’s ok.
One of
the coolest things about the school itself was, well, the school itself. It was
founded in the 16th century when it was illegal to be Catholic in
England. So they went to France and founded the school as a seminary for
priests to go to and to be formed in a place that would be safe. Yet when it
was done, they would go back to this hostile environment, and many of them were
killed upon arrival. Then entrance of the school has the names of 30 plus
priests who were martyred, and many are now Blesseds and Saints in the Church!!
Then the school returned to England when things had cooled down, but France
started its anti-Catholic revolution. As a missionary, it’s really cool to see
how many people have come through this school with a zeal for the mission even
though it was pretty much a death sentence. Like at St. Edmund’s in France and
the British Seminary in Rome, graduating priests would sing funeral hymns
during graduation because they knew going back home could certainly mean death.
Yet they did it anyway. That courage inspires me, and I know still inspires the
school today. They proudly wear this Catholic heritage, from relics in the
chapel to images of martyrs on the stained glass windows on the chapel.
 |
| Half of the alumni martyrs at this school... at least the beatified/canonized ones |
It’s
very interesting to see the students at a strongly rooted Catholic school in
the midst of secular England. The entire team was impressed with the Catholic
atmosphere of the school; many of us have attended Catholic schools that have
not really remained true to their Catholic identity. Yet St. Edmund’s has… they
even had an explanation for why Catholics don’t eat meat on Friday on their
wall! Then the students were incredible. Whenever I started small group in
prayer, all of them did the sign of the cross immediately even though I know
many were not Catholic. They also were very good at taking initiative and
opening small group in prayer when I asked them to. Every single small group
that week was great, and honestly more than I was expecting. Please continue to,
pray for them and for everything they have experienced just to grow!
St.
Edmund’s puts on NET retreats for the students from their first year to the
year before the last, so five different grade levels got retreats. Sometimes we
can think about how these teens are getting the same retreat each year, which
yes there’s definitely similar elements to each retreat. We have similar dramas
and games. But I think it’s like lighting a candle. Sometimes it’ll take a few
tries to actually ignite the candle, but it’s worth it each and every time we
try.
Again,
thank y’all for reading! As always, continue to pray for me and the teens we’re
impacting! If you haven’t done so already, partner with me! Everything I do is
made possible by generosity of people all over the world. I have the link
posted at the bottom of this page, so go down there and join me this year! Next
post will be about a series of retreats we’re doing in a very different area
than any we’ve experienced so far. Let’s just say it’s been… TUFF……… For more
details look on the NET Ireland Road Team Facebook page.
 |
| The small figures right above the tabernacle |
No comments:
Post a Comment