Juniors Day Out - Saturday 17th September 2005

With Fr. Paul Newton

Fun, Food & Faith

Fun, Food & Faith

The Juniors’ Day Out at Magnificat House on Saturday, 17^th September lived up to its promise of “Fun, Food and Faith”.  Featuring Father Paul Newton, the day began with Opening Prayers of the Legion and Rosary.  The children joined in all the prayers beautifully.  Then followed a talk on prayer, a Trivia Quiz in which the youth showed their knowledge of the Catholic Faith, as well as how much more they still have to know.  A couple of trick questions like “How many animals did Moses take on the Ark?” had everyone stumped, including the adults.  (The answer, of course, is “none” – it was Noah.)

This was followed by games and a magic show put on by Fr. Paul.  By this time the children had worked up a hearty appetite for lunch.  One little boy came up to me just as we were to start eating and said, “This is Heaven!”  He was obviously enjoying himself and by the looks on all those young faces so was everybody else.

After lunch it was time for Father Paul to leave, but the children wouldn’t let him get away without having their photo taken first.  They were sorry to see him go – and so was I!  What were we going to do for the rest of the afternoon?  Well, Our Lady was certainly smiling upon us as Roisin Chiller a junior legionary from Sale gave us a beautiful reflection on her recent pilgrimage to Italy and Germany for World Youth Day.  This young girl was an inspiration to us all with her love of Jesus and Mary and her Catholic Faith which came through so clearly in her talk. 

An unexpected blessing for the day was the presence of Father Joachim O’Brien.  We asked Father if he would like to say a few words to the children at the end of the day.  He spoke about Pope John Paul II and his special love for the youth and Our Blessed Mother.  The children sat quietly and attentively through his talk.  Then there was an opportunity to ask questions.  They were quite fascinated by the Franciscan habit which Father wore and he explained the meaning of the three knots on the cord tied around his waist – poverty, chastity and obedience.  Father Joachim led us in the Concluding Prayers and then it was time to go home – but nobody wanted to leave.

We still had ice creams and show bags to give out. “ Showbags, oh no I didn’t bring any money!” exclaimed one little voice.  “Don’t worry, today everything’s free”, I replied.  But the best gift of all was the many graces that Our Lady no doubt poured out on all these young souls.

Lucy Sgro