Scottish Catholic Observer

When members of the Craig Lodge House of Prayer community visited Turnbull High School, Bishopbriggs, in September 2009 they left more than a lasting impression.

At that time, senior pupil at the school Mairi-Claire McGeady could not have imagined that, less than a year later, she would be carrying on their mission, speaking to young Catholics about living their Faith.

Youth inspiring youth

The Dalmally-based house of prayer was established in the early 1980s when a Highland family’s visit to Medjugorje in Bosnia inspired them to turn their guesthouse into a house of prayer—a retreat centre. Soon afterwards, a group of young people—inspired by the messages of Our Lady Queen of Peace—formed a community at Craig Lodge.

Mairi-Claire was in her fifth year at the Bishopbriggs secondary school when the team from Craig Lodge visited Turnbull High.

She admitted to being very sceptical ahead of the visit.

Faced with many difficulties and in the midst of her teenage years, Mairi-Claire had drifted away from her Faith and ‘was blaming Jesus for whatever was going on in my life at that time.’

Such was the impact the visit had on her, however, in particular the testimony of Christina Lynas—now Sr Giovanna CFR, based in New York—that Mairi-Claire went on to spend a year with the Craig Lodge community, and is currently working as an assistant to Denise Roberts, Argyll and the Isles diocesan youth officer.

Reaching out

A moment as simple as hearing the song, Everything by the band Lifehouse and watching the Craig Lodge community perform a drama was enough to make Mairi-Claire aware that God was always with her in difficult times.

“I think most young people have the view that ‘nobody understands me and nobody understands what I am going through,’” she said. “To see that people care is a big thing. As soon as I saw the drama it hit me straight away: Jesus was with me when I was struggling.

“I really paid attention to the drama and it was amazing as it showed me all the things that I had been struggling with.”

Mairi-Claire recalled that she did not immediately feel comfortable again with her Faith but knew something had sparked inside of her that day, and she felt compelled to visit Craig Lodge and discover more about the community.

Later that year, and much to the surprise of some of her friends, Mairi-Claire enrolled for the Craig Lodge Advent retreat, a weekend programme of events providing young Catholics with the opportunity to share their Faith experiences together.

“I was totally blown away,” Mairi-Claire recalled. “Not only because Craig Lodge was such a beautiful place but the welcome from the community was amazing. To see so many young people praying and celebrating their Faith really opened my eyes.”

Joining the community

The following summer, having completed her fifth year at school and higher exams, Mairi-Claire became the youngest ever member of the Craig Lodge community.

Having made her consecration—a promise to God that you will stay with the community for a year—Mairi-Claire had the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to Medjugorje, a visit, she revealed, ‘that touched my heart.’

The main reason Mairi-Claire felt she had been drawn to the Craig Lodge community, however, was to speak to her fellow young people and share the Faith with them.

“My favourite part of the year with Craig Lodge was going into schools,” she said. “Because Craig Lodge had come into my school, I always wanted to go out and tell other young people the message that I had received, because it made me so happy.”

Little did Mairi-Claire realise at this point, however, that within 12 months of first encountering the Craig Lodge community at Turnbull High, she would be back at her former school speaking about the Catholic Faith.

“I was on such a high,” she said. “I could never have believed when I went to the Craig Lodge meeting at school that I would be in front of pupils at Turnbull High within a year telling them that Jesus loves them.”

Commitment

After completing her first year at the Craig Lodge community last summer, Mairi-Claire decided to defer the place she had gained to study at university and stay with the team for another year as she ‘wanted to become even more disciplined in prayer.’

She has spent the majority of this time based at Dalmally working with Ms Roberts and the young people of Argyll and the Isles Diocese.

This work has involved speaking at parishes, visiting schools, leading missions and organising youth retreats to the Craig Lodge house of prayer.

“It is amazing working with Denise,” she said. “It is such a joy.”

Although Mairi-Claire has earned a university place to study mathematics, she has a clear understanding of who she wants to help in future years and believes her experiences working with the Craig Lodge community can help her achieve this aim.

“All I really want to do is work with young people,” she said. “I know how lost a young person can feel and can be so far from God. I just don’t want that for anybody and if there is anything I can say, even just sharing my testimony with them, talking to them, then that is what I try to do.”

—http://www.craiglodge.org

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