Fr. Peter has had an amazing impact on the Parishes in England and Wales in which he inspired the setting up of Family Groups. His easy and at times ‘unholy style’ of communication set aside barriers of British reserve in Church. He raised awareness for the need of friendship, support and love in the Parish. Through his wealth of stories and anecdotes he enkindled a new desire for love and belonging.
Sunday, afternoon 30th October 2011 will forever live in the memory. In the cycle of nature winter had begun, however in St. Wilfrid’s Parish Northwich it felt like the beginning of a new springtime. One hundred and twenty people had gathered for the launch of family groups. Among them was Eric who was grieving the death of his wife Mary; a few weeks earlier they celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of their marriage. He came along with his survival kit, a…
On the weekend (31st May – 2nd June) I was in Melbourne for the annual Australian Directors Gathering of the Passionist Family Group Movement (PPFM) by kind invitation of the Provincial Fr. Tom McDonough CP. Whatever misgivings I may have had in accepting the invitation to travel such a great distance and spend a weekend with people I had never met, they soon dissipated with the warmth of welcome I received. It was in keeping with the Motto of the Movement, a ‘Family for All.’
Occasionally you meet someone with a dynamic personality whose memory lives through what they can inspire, when the dream becomes the reality.
Such a person is Fr. Peter McGrath, an Australian Priest, who has had an amazing impact in St. Wilfrid’s School and Parish recently. Rarely have I experienced so much spontaneous joy and laughter, especially in the Church, shedding new light on aspects of God’s love, and raising our awareness for the need of friendship, support and love in tparish. Through his wealth of stories and anecdotes he enkindled a new desire for love and belonging.
The Passionist Family Group Movement May Have the Answer
In April 2011 the Office of National Statistics will ask the UK population to rate their own well-being in the first official Happiness Index. David Cameron’s £2 million plan to measure the nation’s happiness makes good an election pledge which promised a significant coalition investment in the quality of life as well as in economic growth. Speaking at the Google Zeitgeist Europe conference last year the Prime Minister said, “It’s time we admitted that there’s more to life than money and it’s time we focused not just on GDP but on GWP – general well being.”