The congregation was sparse just before the start of our regular Marian devotions on November 13, then the church quickly filled up.

Our parish priest, Fr Stephen Doyle, welcomed Fr Roger Pascall and the boys from St Benedict's College, and the devotions began. It soon became clear that this year's devotions would be different, starting with the fact that the boys led us in the Divine Mercy Chaplet instead of the traditional rosary.

In his homily, Fr Roger drew our attention to the fact that St Benedict's College would celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2006. After giving a brief history of the institution, founded by Dr Dom Basil Matthews, he listed the names of all the Catholic boys' secondary schools in our country, and explained that these schools were about building character and strengthening Catholic values in young men.

He made a strident call for the Catholic community to regain the Catholic character of all its schools.

The Gospel reading was the parable of the talents, which, Fr Roger explained, was all about faithfulness. He bemoaned the fact that today there was a serious lack of faithfulness in friendships, in families, in the community, in the workplace and even in the Church.

He said too many Catholics preferred not to be identified as Catholic in public. But being proud of one's faith was the first step towards faithfulness, he added.

How, then, can we be faithful to Christ's Church?

1) We must be willing to pay the price of that faithfulness, since faithfulness brings its own crosses.

2) There must be no looking back - we must remain committed.

3) We must attend Mass and other Church services.

4) We must discuss Godly topics in and out of church, lovingly discouraging immorality among the members. In other words, we must help each other to walk straight.

5) We must imitate Christ , that is, think, feel and act like Him.

6) In order to be faithful we cannot act alone, but must work together.

Nkosi and Jason, two of the St Benedict's boys, did a mime which conveyed this last idea. It showed that all must pull together in the Church in order to achieve success, since those who tried to dominate simply made it their own show instead of Christ's, while those who did nothing hindered the move forward.

At the end of the homily, the boys of St Benedict's anointed each member of the congregation.

We strongly commend Fr Roger for his plain talk and his vivid demonstrations of “being faithful”.

To the boys of St Benedict's, we extend our heartfelt thanks. We saw in you a strong future Church. It makes the hearts of the adults glad to see the manner in which you so willingly and solemnly, but confidently, demonstrated that you will bear the mantle of faithfulness to God and His Church.

The schedule for the rest of the La Divina Marian Devotions is as follows:-

Sunday, December 11 – 3.00 p.m. - Fr A Pierre and St Mary's College students.

Sunday, January 8 , 2006 , 3.00 p.m.- Parish Priest of La Brea and students of Presentation College, San Fernando.

Sunday, February 12, 2006 , 3.00 p.m.- Fr Wilfred John and students of Presentation College, Chaguanas.

Sunday, March 12, 2006 , 3.00 p.m. - Fr Gregory Augustine and students of Fatima College.

Sunday, April 9, 2006 , 3.00 p.m. - Fr Alan Mohammed and students of Holy Cross College, Arima

Feast Day – Sunday, May 7, 2006 , 10.00 a.m. - His Grace, Archbishop

Edward Gilbert.