Oblate News

Friends of Saint Eugene Crewe: FoSE During Lent

With Anne Walker, FoSE Crewe

My name is Anne Walker, I am a member of the Friends of St Eugene here in Crewe. 

We are very privileged to have the Oblate Retreat Centre near to us so that we are able to meet there.  It is a great blessing for us. 

The FoSE were formed here in 2012 by Angela Walker, who had had connections with the hall for a long time.  She has since gone into gods care, and as a group we owe an awful lot to her.  

We made our first profession in our parish church, St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Crewe. Last October some of us renewed our profession along with new members with the support of the provincial Father Oliver Barry, Father Lorcan and Father Nick Kern, our Parish Priest. The years in between have gone so fast.  We had support from Mary Tyrell and now Kirk. 

FoSE Crewe

My faith is important to me. Not only am I am a member of the FoSE but I am also a member of Mothers Prayers an international prayer group for mothers, some of you will be aware of this group, I can highly recommend it to you! 

At St Mary’s we have stations of the cross every Friday evening during Lent.  We have many groups in our parish and some of them take responsibility to lead one of the weeks. 

On Friday, 8th March, FoSE and Mothers Prayers led the stations of the cross.  We used the stations that focused on Our Lady following Our Lord during his passion. Some of us read the stations, others carried the candles and someone carried the crucifix. Father Nick Supported us by following the stations with us. Next year, we are planning to use the stations reflecting on St. Eugene. We are a strong group, having a wide range of responsibilities in the parish, we pride ourselves in being members of FoSE, and what it means to us. 

The stations of the Cross that we used is so beautifully written.  It takes us through Our Lady’s journey with her beloved son, on the way to cavalry We as mothers have in our lives have experienced some of the feelings and fears that our blessed mother must have felt. The question is, why?  Have we looked at our children through Our blessed mother’s eyes and thought how has it come to this?  Why has it come to this? I have asked these questions many times about my children.  

All we want as mothers is the best for our children and for them to live their lives through their own faith and also to be aware of the faith of their parents and grandparents.  That I believe is so important and certainly helped my two children deal with what they were going through. Those words that were spoken to Our Lady at the Presentation of Our Lord that her heart will be pierced can be felt by any mother who loves her children. 

Our Lady, during the stations, had to watch her beloved son be ridiculed and shown no respect for his person.  This touched me, especially when my children were younger, by being bullied and shown no respect.  I asked myself during the stations, what else could Our Lady have done? What else could I have done?  The feeling of being helpless is a lonely experience when you are in such a volatile situation. It must have been comforting for Jesus to see his mother follow all the way to Calvary, knowing full well that he was loved and would not be alone at the end. That, I believe, is one message that we, as mothers, should give to our children; that no matter what, we will always be there for them. 

Although my children are now nearly 45 and 42, and are living their own lives, along with my grandson, other than my faith and involvement within the parish, the three of them are the most important people in my life. They call me the lioness, like my mother, and my father I am always there for them. My grandson tells everyone that I’m crazy, that’s fine, he’s right in a way.  I love living my life the best way I can and for others also by having fun when I can. 

Motherhood is a blessing. I always pray for protection for my children and grandchildren, asking Our Lady to wrap her mantle around them. I share my experience of the FoSE with them, they take an interest in it, they know it’s an important part of my life.

As a group, we have started to show our presence more in the parish by joining the cafe crew after each Sunday morning mass. We are very excited that in May, the weekend after the feast of
St. Eugene, Kirk is coming to Crewe for the weekend, with Father Nick’s hospitality, to talk to the parishioners about St. Eugene and the FoSE. We also plan to go for a meal together with Kirk and Father Nick. 

I believe it will be a very important weekend for us. Hopefully, we can look forward to it again next year.  
Anne Walker