Goodbye and Welcome - Chaplain

After two years as our Chaplain, Fr Michael Manning, O.Carm will be leaving for pastures new to assist in Aylesford Priory (our sister shrine). We are very pleased to welcome Fr Brendan Grady, O.Carm as his successor. Thank you Fr Michael for all your work with the National Shrine of Saint Jude, and welcome to Fr Brendan who we are looking forward to working with.

Later this month, we will introduce Fr Brendan on our blog, but first, Fr Michael wanted to say some final words:

"Well, the Summer Celebration is over for another year and this year I was not a part of it; except through prayer. I hope that everyone had a good Summer Celebration with Fr. Damian.

As is usual with religious orders I was asked if I would take up another appointment and I agreed to this and left Faversham on the 16th May.  I shall miss the Shrine of Saint Jude, the pilgrims and visitors, and the gardens.  But I will also miss the team of which I was a part: Matt, Rachael and Kevin.  I think we gelled as a team and got on well as friends; something you cannot always guarantee.  

My new appointment is at The Friars, Aylesford.  Not far away; only 35 minutes down the M2 so once I have settled in I hope to come down and visit now and again.

One of the things I did especially enjoy was the writing of letters to all the people who had asked for advice or wanted a little support with a difficult situation.  I hope that those who received letters from me found them to be helpful and a comfort in times of pain.  Here in Aylesford we also have a Blog called A Prayer in Stone and I will be taking up the writing of entries for that again, now that I am in Aylesford.  The photo below is the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption, the patron of the Carmelite Province which graces the shrine at Aylesford.

Thank you for all your support and prayers.  God Bless you and I’ll keep the Shrine and the Guild of Saint Jude in my prayers."

Thank you, Fr Michael. Saint Jude, pray for us.

Photo of the Month - June 2016

The National Shrine of Saint Jude repository has started to receive a bit of freshening up. Last week, we replaced the old boards with new display boards on the Repository wall. Each display board is full of information on the Shrine, our three societies, the Guild of Saint Jude, and much more. 

This is only phase one of the changes in the Repository, please watch this space for more...

If you would to donate towards our work at the Shrine, please visit our on-line donation site. Thank you.

Appeal from the Catholic Association Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Appeal from the Catholic Association Pilgrimage to Lourdes

The Catholic Association (CA) Pilgrimage to Lourdes has over a hundred years’ experience of bringing pilgrims to the shrine each August. At the heart of the CA are the volunteer helpers (medical and non-medical) making sure that the assisted pilgrims (sick and disabled) have the best possible week in Lourdes. The volunteer helpers and the assisted pilgrims are at the forefront of the CA’s mission in Lourdes, making sure everyone has a good and holy week.

This month, the CA has initiated a campaign to seek potential volunteer-helpers (non-medical and medical), and assisted pilgrims (the sick and disabled) who may be interested in coming on Pilgrimage to the shrine. Our Pilgrimage takes place on 19 – 26 August 2016. Possible funding is available to new volunteer helpers and assisted pilgrims. Our volunteer helpers do not have to be medically trained – the CA needs lots of non-medical volunteers to help too.

Bishop Paul Hendricks, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark and chairman of the Catholic Association, stated "..each year, it is important to provide as many opportunities for new volunteers and new assisted pilgrims to come on our pilgrimage to Lourdes, and we welcome anyone interested in joining us on pilgrimage to the beautiful shrine of Our Lady.”

All volunteers are invited to a preparation day before the pilgrimage to prepare each of them for the work in August. There are also many working opportunities available as a volunteer helper: working in the mixed teams; working in the dining room; or on ceremonies; and so much more.

If you would like to come on pilgrimage with the Catholic Association in August, please note that the deadline for sending in your application form has been extended to 15 June. Please visit our website www.catholicassociation.co.uk, or visit http://tinyurl.com/CAPilgrimage2016 to download forms, or alternatively please contact Tangney Tours on 01732 886666 for more information.

Summer Celebration photos

The photos below are from the Summer Celebration Mass, which was celebrated by Fr. Piet Wijngaard, O.Carm. The Homily was given by Fr. Damian Cassidy, O.Carm, Prior at Aylesford.

Thank you to all the friends of Saint Jude who visited us yesterday. Thank you too to the Faversham community, Fr. Damian for joining us, our volunteers and music group for all their help, and the Shrine Office team for all their work before, during and after.

 Saint Jude, pray for us.

Prayer for unity of Christians

Today, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury (our neighbour) and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster were live on Facebook talking about prayer, unity and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. They have shared this wonderful prayer. Why not pray for the unity of Christians today?

Happy Feast of St Augustine

Augustine of Canterbury (first third of the 6th century – probably 26 May 604) was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the "Apostle to the English" and a founder of the English Church.

Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Æthelberht and his Kingdom of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was probably chosen because Æthelberht had married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Charibert I the King of Paris, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband. Before reaching Kent, the missionaries had considered turning back, but Gregory urged them on, and in 597, Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Æthelberht's main town of Canterbury.

King Æthelberht converted to Christianity and allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them land to found a monastery outside the city walls. Augustine was consecrated as a bishop and converted many of the king's subjects, including thousands during a mass baptism on Christmas Day in 597. Pope Gregory sent more missionaries in 601, along with encouraging letters and gifts for the churches, although attempts to persuade the native Celtic bishops to submit to Augustine's authority failed. Roman bishops were established at London and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. Augustine also arranged the consecration of his successor, Laurence of Canterbury. The archbishop probably died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint.

Not far from our Shrine in Faversham is the lovely Shrine to St Augustine in Ramsgate, which the team visited earlier this week. It's a Pugin church and is stunning.

St Augustine, pray for us.

Novena for the Feast of the Sacred Heart

Statue of the Sacred Heart, National Shrine of Saint Jude

The following novena was recently published in Carmelite News and is from the National Shrine of Saint Jude. Our novena to the Sacred Heart is for nine days.

You can pray the novena in private, with your friends or family, or in a group. The novena starts on 26 May 2016 and continues until 3 June 2016. 

Merciful God,

we rejoice in the gifts of love

we have received from the

heart of Jesus, your Son.

Open our hearts to share his life

and continue to bless us with his love.

We ask this through

our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Make your special request now 

Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be...