If you’ve been following world news lately, you know how desperately the world needs to know the value of human life. The National Prayer Vigil for Life is a beautiful opportunity for us to come together in prayer for the protection of the most vulnerable. Come, and bring your friends!
What? A 5 day Prayer Festival, packed with dynamic talks, live-band worship, powerful prayer times, fun social activities, creative workshops, in-depth discussions, evening entertainment and loads more. With top speakers from the USA and all over the UK. Look out for the programme coming soon!
When? 25th – 29st of August 2016 Registration opens at 4pm!
Where? The Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady, Walsingham, Norfolk, NR22 6ALIn this ancient and holy place we come with our Big Top and tents to create great festival atmosphere.
Who’s it for? Youth 2000 events are primarily for 16-35 year olds. If you are in this age range and looking for answers to the big questions in life, then this retreat is for you!
Families are also most welcome to join us for this festival, with activities for children aged 5-15 each day. This is a great chance for a holy holiday together.
If you are 35+ and keen to come, please register in advance as a volunteer. You will not only get to experience the incredible atmosphere of this festival but also live out our Christian calling to serve. Youth 2000 needs over 100 volunteers for this festival, so please get in touch: info@youth2000.org WE NEED YOU!!
Want to bring UNDER 16’S? Under 16’s are welcome to this retreat if they are coming with their family or with 2 guardians of the same gender nominated by their parents and are mature enough to engage with the retreat. Please see the special booking form below for under 16’s.
Cost:£100 per person. However we run on a donation-only policy, so if you cannot pay the full amount we ask you to give what you can, but not to let the money stop you coming. If you can give more, this will help towards a place for someone else.
What to bring:
WARM CLOTHES! – It may be August but boy does it get cold at night!!
Tent – If you don’t have one, why not find a friend who does and bring them with you!
Roll mat
Sleeping bag
Pillow & Blanket
Ear Plugs
Towel & Wash-kit
Cash for Tuck Shop & Merchandise
Torch
Notebook & Pen
Bible & Rosaries (If you have them.
More info here: http://www.youth2000.org/#!conquerors/b2675
A novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the healing of addictions
After each day’s reflection, pray the Novena Prayer (see bottom)
Day 1: The Annunciation
Mary, you were troubled and confused when the angel Gabriel proposed God’s plan to you, but you knew that whatever lay ahead, the trials would be nothing compared to the joys of living God’s will. With your “Yes,” you started a kind of novena yourself – a nine-month preparation to meet Jesus. Please walk with us and those we carry in our hearts over these nine days of prayer. Show us how to say “Yes” to whatever God wants to do in our lives.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 2: The Visitation
Mary, your unexpected pregnancy brought all sorts of difficulties: the societal danger of being with child before marriage and the whispers of relatives, friends and neighbours, in addition to the physical toll of the first trimester. But in the midst of all this you forgot about your own needs and went straight to the home of Elizabeth. Help me to overcome myself by opening my eyes to the needs of those around me, and to carry Jesus within me like you did, so that everyone who encounters me encounters Him.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 3: The Birth of Jesus
Mary, in that stable far from home, nothing felt right… until the moment when you came face to face with the Love of your life. When you held Jesus in your arms, there was nowhere else in the world you would rather have been. Love transforms everything! Please bring Jesus into each area of our lives that needs His healing touch, and lead us to interior freedom no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 4: The Flight into Egypt
Mary, even after the incredible joy of Jesus’ birth, God’s will for your family was full of difficult twists and turns. You had to escape to Egypt, always remembered by your people as the dreaded place of enslavement. But in God’s time, he brought your Holy Family home again. You feel the pain of everyone who lives in exile in the Egypt of addiction. You know how much they desire to be free. Please be the guiding star that leads them home.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 5: The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Mary, it must have been such an agony not to know where your Son was for three long days. Maybe you blamed yourself for not paying more attention. After one whole day and then another passed without any sign of Jesus, you had to fight off terrifying thoughts of what might have happened and you chose to hope in God’s goodness. Your motherly heart is anxious to bring us safely home too. Come and find us wherever we’ve wandered, and help us to watch and pray with determination and trust like yours for those who need your healing touch.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 6: The Wedding Feast at Cana
Mary, many of the guests at this wedding banquet would have looked into their empty goblets and announced, “I have no wine.” But you, as always, were more focused on the needs of others than your own. You felt the humiliation this shortage would cause the young couple, and you trusted Jesus to transform the situation, even before the appointed time. This gives us the courage to make a bold request: Please ask Jesus to break the addictions of all those we’re praying for even sooner than he plans to. His heart is always moved by your trust in him.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 7: The Agony in the Garden
Mary, as Jesus began to feel the agony of his Passion, maybe you knew in your heart that something was wrong and you started to pray. Maybe it was at your prayer that an angel was sent to comfort and strengthen him. We can often sense when something isn’t right with someone we love. Help us to be observant and available to support those in difficult situations, and send your angels to strengthen us in the battles we face.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 8: The Road to Calvary
Mary, you watched and prayed as your Son struggled with fading strength to carry his cross. Over and over his desire to carry it was frustrated by the weakness of his human body and he fell. Every time this happened, the soldiers tried to motivate Jesus with their whips, instead bringing him closer to death. Finally a moment of relief was on its way as Veronica pushed through the crowds. There was little she could do to ease his physical pain, but as she pressed her veil to the face of Jesus she warmed his heart and yours with her brave act of kindness. People with addictions carry a heavy cross. Help me never to approach them with cold condemnation, remembering the times I’ve experienced my own weakness. Let my heart be broken with compassion for what they suffer. Let them encounter the life-changing love of Jesus in me.
(Novena Prayer)
Day 9: The Resurrection
Mary, since you shared in Jesus’ suffering and death to a greater extent than anyone else, no one rejoiced more than you did when after three long days he finally overcame death! Now, knowing that nothing is impossible, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that the addiction in each person I’ve been praying for would be broken, and I now entrust myself and my loved ones to your Immaculate Heart. Thank you for the chains you’re breaking now and for the healing that will be coming in the days ahead!
Novena Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
O Most Blessed Mother, heart of love, heart of mercy, ever listening, caring, consoling, hear our prayer. As your children, we implore your intercession with Jesus your Son. Receive with understanding and compassion the petitions we place before you today, especially …(special intention).
We are comforted in knowing your heart is ever open to those who ask for your prayer. We trust to your gentle care and intercession, those whom we love and who are sick or lonely or hurting. Help all of us, Holy Mother, to bear our burdens in this life until we may share eternal life and peace with God forever.
Amen.
Joseph absentmindedly brushed the fragments of wood from his hands as he thought, “There’s only one way out of this. I have to divorce her.”
This woman, an angel among mortals, was pregnant with another man’s child, and Joseph knew she could never be completely his. She was defiled. Nothing could undo what had been done to her. The very thought sickened him.
He sank into bed and steeled himself for the long sleepless night ahead. He didn’t notice his eyes growing heavy.
Darkness gathered and hung over Joseph’s motionless body hour after hour, but just before dawn he awoke with a start.
The light, the radiant messenger – it had all been a dream. But in the strange and impossible message about his betrothed, Joseph recognised something very familiar to his heart. It was the truth. He had to find her again.
A few months ago, I was teaching Year 9 English at a secondary school in Kent. The kids were working on journal entries they had written from the perspective of a WWI soldier. I sat down with one boy who had a lot of trouble expressing himself in writing. I looked over the document in progress on the computer. It was so laden with spelling mistakes and suffering from such a lack of punctuation that it was barely comprehensible.
As we went through and corrected the entire composition one word at a time, the boy’s ideas began to emerge. His journal entry described the inner torment of a soldier trying to adapt to life after the war, with such genuine anguish that it actually brought tears to my eyes.
This struck me as a metaphor for the inner beauty of every human being, so often obscured by the mud we pick up along the way. Some of this mud is splattered on us by others, and some we dive into of our own accord. The essential beauty and worth is still there, waiting to be revealed. All we have to do is let Jesus flood our hearts with Living Water. His hand is already on the tap.
A workshop taking us from creativity to contemplation…
Sarah de Nordwall’s selection of poems and stories prepare the ground to reflect on the connection between creativity and prayer. It was fascinating to see how small our horizons sometimes are… yet we live against an infinite horizon, but can forget what we are really waiting for and how we are waiting. Even more than this, I had never fully realised before that God is the One doing the waiting really – like a beggar knocking at the door – for me.
A participant last Monday said…
“A workshop evening spent in Sarah’s company is immensely fruitful; she inspires and encourages you to think about the important stuff of life, with drama, humour and a wealth of well researched material which will make you long for more” Judith Howard, Fundraiser for the Royal Ballet and mother of two.
We start at 7pm with packed supper (or a bit of bring and share) and then dive in…with faery tales and philosophy, spirituality and interactive exercises to get you thinking afresh!
A great way to prepare for Advent and also to introduce friends to the Gospel.
What does it cost?
£15 on the door or £10 concessions
Advent Workshops 17th nov and 24th Nov.
incarnation Workshops Dec 8th and 15th – incarnation – Who are we now?
The next Poetry show is 6th December. Do book soon because the last one sold out! It’s so great having a Manager. God bless Tom Kingsley Jones whom I met at Mart and Katherine’s wedding. Find it on Eventbrite under Sarah de Nordwall
Are you 18 – 29 and inspired by Nelson Mandela? Book a ticket for CAFOD’s free film event on December 11th at 7:00pm to commemorate Mandela: a screening of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, starring Idris Elba, followed by an exclusive Q&A with the film’s award-winning director Justin Chadwick. This screening will be held at The May Fair Hotel, Stratton Street, London W1J 8LT. It is free, but tickets must be booked in advance! Book at www.cafod.org.uk/Events/Remembering-Mandela
