Friday, July 12, 2013

On the coast of Kent...

...in the charming harbour town of Whitstable, the Catholic diocese of Southwark has established its Vocations Centre, under the direction of Father Stephen Langridge. And he and his team gave a wonderful welcome to members of the Association of Catholic Women and the Ladies Ordinariate Group when we arrived today on pilgrimage.

Mass in the beautiful chapel, the young men leading the singing of  the psalms and the  Kyrie , Sanctus and  Agnus Dei...a delicious lunch - pasta and salmon, wine -  in the pleasant refectory... an excellent talk from Fr Stephen with a thoughtful and positive message on  assisting people to follow God's call for their lives...the Rosary in the sunlit garden around a statue of Our Lady...a walk by the sea and exploration of the harbour...

It is heartening to see positive things happening in the Church, and the enthusiasm of  men giving themselves in service to God.

Around the sanctuary of the recently refurbushed chapel are the words, written in gold "Duc in altum..." spelling out Christ's command to put out into the deep and lower the nets for a catch. It all resonates here. Down by the sea, the fishermen were just bringing in their latest catch - Whitstable is of course famous for its fish and especially its oysters. The New Evangelisation involves putting out into the deep. Watch the good things coming from Whitstable over the next years.

1 comment:

Tony Flavin said...

How amazing is thatplace, I was there when the words were being painted in the chapel. Fr Stephen is a blessing to behold (which reminds me, I must email him)