Footprints of Hope

After ten years of planning and three months of building, a new path called the ‘Footprints of Hope’ was officially opened on 31 May 2024 at the Shrine of Saint Jude in Faversham, Kent.  It was opened by the Mayor of Faversham, Cllr Josh Rowlands with the Prior Provincial of the British Carmelites, Fr. Brendan Grady, O.Carm. The ‘Footprints of Hope’ path is made from individual bricks donated by the friends of the Shrine and the Carmelites with a message on each one. Over eighty friends of the Shrine who had donated for their own special brick attended the ceremony. One pilgrim said: “Thank you for a lovely celebration on Friday. It was such a nice way to open that footpath. Even with the rain it was still enjoyable. Thank you for all the planning and effort that went into making it all possible." After the opening, each supporter either sought out their special brick or bricks or enjoyed some of the refreshments.

Thank you to the Mayor of Faversham, the team at the Shrine Office, our volunteers, the Faversham Community, the Reading Community, the Prior Provincial, John Toryusen, Mick May, and all the friends of Saint Jude.

 

The 'Footprints of Hope' are situated outside the Welcome Centre/Shrine Information Centre and lead to the 'Garden of Hope'. 

You can donate towards the 'Footprints' project, which will go towards the building of all the paths and the refurbishment of the Welcome Centre into a new community hub.

Thank you to all friends of Saint Jude for supporting this initiative.

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."

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