27 Mile March for Life

Please sponsor Stuart, Lorraine and Gabi as they take part in this year’s 7^th Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage. Gabi and Stuart, along with others, plan to walk the full 27 miles from Notting Hill to Beaconsfield. Grandmother of three, Lorraine will join them when they stop to pray outside the abortion centre in Ealing, where she prays regularly, and will walk the remaining 22 miles with them.

You can sponsor Stuart here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gkcwalk17

And you can sponsor Lorraine here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lorraine-coyne

To sponsor Gabi you will need to send a cheque payable to; The Guild Of Our Lady of Good Counsel, to, PO Box 46679, London, NW9 8ZT. All money raised will go to the Life Saving work of The Good Counsel Network (You can also send cheques for Lorraine and Stuart to the same address).

If you would like them to pray for anyone along the way, whether you sponsor them or not, please send an email to catholicgkcsociety@yahoo.co.uk

Details of the pilgrimage, which you are welcome to attend, and for copies of the GK Chesterton prayer in a number of languages, see www.catholicgkchestertonsociety.co.uk

The 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Pilgrimage is today, Better late than never!

The Delayed 2nd Annual GK Chesterton Walking Pilgrimage, is TODAY, Saturday 28th July.

After a disasterous false start a few weeks ago, Stuart is doing this as a sponsored walk and you can sponsor him here. He's only £40 away from raising his target funds of £750. Can you help him get there? Or would you like to join the pilgrimage?

The details of the pilgrimage are:

9am Meet outside St George's C of E Church, Aubrey Walk, London, W8 7JG where GKC was Baptised as a baby.
Walk to Uxbridge (14 miles approx), stopping for breakfast.

1.30pm Old Rite Mass in thanks giving for Chesterton's Conversion, which took place 90 years ago this month. This will be at Our Lady of Lourdes and St Michael Catholic Church, Osborn Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1UE, you are welcome to attend the Mass even if you are not doing the walk.

Walk on to Beaconsfield (10 miles approx) where Chesterton lived, converted, died and is buried.
Say the prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton at his graveside.
See here for more details about Chesterton. To financially support the sponsored walk see here . To join the pilgrimage on the day or to find out how it's progressing, follow Stuart's updates on Twitter day, @Stuart1927 .

Why not join Stuart in prayer, you can offer the Prayer for the Beatification of GK Chesterton (see below) for the conversion of those you love, since many people hold Chesterton responsible for their own conversions, it seems to be his particular gift.

God Our Father, Thou didst fill the life of Thy servant Gilbert Keith Chesterton with a sense of wonder and joy, and gave him a faith which was the foundation of his ceaseless work, a charity towards all men, particularly his opponents, and a hope which sprang from his lifelong gratitude for the gift of human life. May his innocence and his laughter, his constancy in fighting for the Christian faith in a world losing belief, his lifelong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and his love for all men, especially for the poor, bring cheerfulness to those in despair, conviction and warmth to lukewarm believers and the knowledge of God to those without faith. We beg Thee to grant the favours we ask through his intercession, the end of abortion in this Country [and especially for……] so that his holiness may be recognised by all and the Church may proclaim him Blessed. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

See here for copies of this prayer in Spanish, French and Italian and for printable prayercards

Good Counsel walk report & Photos

Today Good Counsel held a ten mile sponsored walk from Wandsworth to Wapping. About 20 people did the walk, God bless you all. Hats off to Conor, who organised the day and did the walk with his young daughter on his back. Also Rhos (@RhoslynThomas) who had a wild journey up from Wales and Clare & Delushka who were both late due to helping Good Counsel Mums this morning. Clare was then given the wrong directions and went off walking the wrong way! Fr Edwards of Wandsworth came on the walk and gave Benediction at the end in St Patrick's Wapping. Many thanks to Canon Samuels the PP of Wapping. Declan has asked us to credit his photos, the one of Belloc's house is one of his, I recognise his finger! Please do still sponsor these wonderful people.

"Right we're not moving until you show us the map, and tell us the name of that bridge!"

The house of Belloc, pointed out by Declan.

And now we can go home.

Fr Martin Edwards joins Good Counsel walk & two walkers are 'lost'!

Today Good Counsel is having our annual sponsored walk, which this year is from Wandsworth to Wapping. Fr Martin Edwards of Wandsworth is joining the walk. Two of the walkers are running late without a map! The walk is 10 miles long through central London mainly following the route alongside the River Thames. We have a number of brave people who have decided to take part in this event. It costs approximately £350 to save a life. Some of our walkers are getting close to raising this amount. Can you help them to save a life?

Below are some of the walkers pages, please read them and consider sponsoring them.

Clare McCullough http://www.justgiving.com/Clare-McCullough

Rhoslyn Thomas http://www.justgiving.com/Rhoslyn-Thomas​

Karisha Kimone George-Llewellyn http://www.justgiving.com/Karisha

Gaëlle Marie-Paule Hendrickx http://www.justgiving.com/GaelleMariePaule

Claire Wood http://www.justgiving.com/Claire-Wood79

Madeleine Carroll http://www.justgiving.com/Molly-Hope1

Hannah 'Peaz' Young http://www.justgiving.com/Hannah-Young0

Declan Carroll http://www.justgiving.com/Declan-Carroll

Follow @GoodCounselNet on Twitter and you may get an update from time to time!

Life-saving walk along the Thames

As you may have seen on this blog, in October David Aron walked 184 miles to raise funds for The Good Counsel Network. Here follows an article he wrote for Dowry the Magazine of the FSSP, which you can read it online here.

During the summer months I felt the need to practically support a pro-life charity. So, I decided to fundraise for The Good Counsel Network, a Catholic pro-life charity that helps women in the most difficult and desperate situations with financial, moral and spiritual support. I decided to walk The Thames Path Way (184 miles - 296kms) solo, averaging 23 miles per day, whilst carrying all my kit (tent, food and provisions), weighing approximately 32 lbs (14.5kgs), for eight days (Friday 7 October 2011 – Friday 14 October 2011).

On the morning of the pilgrimage (Friday 7 October 2011) I served at the Traditional Latin Mass at St Dominic‟s (Dursley, Gloucestershire), which was celebrated by Father Redman. It was a beautiful way to start this pilgrimage, especially on the Feast of the Holy Rosary.

The Thames Path Way was an incredibly scenic walk where I followed the river from the source in the rural Cotswolds going though tranquil meadows, past willows trees, with rowers and swans as fleeting companions. It was enjoyable to walk next to peaceful water meadows, through historic towns and cities (Oxford, Reading, Windsor and Hampton Court) before cutting through the heart of London and then finishing at the Thames Barrier. I was absolutely blessed with the weather because throughout the week it only rained once for a couple of hours and the rest of the time it was pleasant sunshine with a cooling breeze. There were periods that I didn‟t see anybody for hours, which was slightly surprising because I expected the route would be bustling with people. At times it was very exhausting walking for 12 – 15 hours a day and most days it involved a dark 5.30am start!

Being separated from the daily commotions of the modern life style was liberating. It was nice to enjoy the silence and therefore to be given the opportunity to focus on God. This enabled me to reflect, meditate and form a closer relationship with God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. During the eight days I had plenty of time to think about the aspects of suffering. In the times of intense physical hardship and exhaustion, this forced me to pray deeper than before and to draw on the intercession of Our Lady, the Saints and Angels. Each day I offered my sufferings for specific intentions. For example, for the end of abortion; for the women that carry the pain and sorrow of having an abortion and that Our Lady may comfort them; for the Holy Souls in Purgatory; and for other private intentions. Also, suffering is a powerful process of purification preparing us for Heaven and it reminded me that we live in a fallen world.

After each day I thanked God for the suffering I endured because it helped me develop a tender heart toward others who are in pain, reflect on my weaknesses and it has strengthened and deepened my love for God and for the beauty of the Catholic Faith. Each day I thanked God for watching over me with an incomparable love, every moment bestowing favours and for the benefits which I have received from him, particularly for that day.

On my last day of walking (Friday 14 October 2011) I prayed at the Good Counsel Vigil at the Whitfield Street Abortuary in the morning. Afterwards I then carried on my walk to my final destination – The Thames Barrier! Arriving at the Thames Barrier I took a moment to reflect on the journey that I had just accomplished and endured – it was an incredible feeling of achievement. Then I looked at the map and realised that I had another mile to walk to the nearest London Overground! To mark the end of this long pilgrimage I arrived at Covent Garden (Central London) where I assisted at the Traditional Latin Mass at Corpus Christi in the evening, which the Latin Mass Society organises for the work of the Good Counsel Network [http://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk/].

Everyone's prayers kept me strong and the thought of saving lives helped me to keep going through the long strenuous days. I would like to thank everyone for their prayers, messages of support and generous donations in saving lives.

Overall, it was a fantastic pilgrimage that hopefully will save the lives of babies and help the souls of their mothers. This walk has been an incredible experience at different levels for me that I will hopefully cherish in years to come and whilst on my journey I deepened my love for God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was a truly humbling experience.

(David has so far raised £1,466.00 for Good Counsel, see here to support his walk.)

David is on the right in the photo

More on David Aron's Walk

Above, David on the right at the Good Counsel Stall at Hyde Park during the Papal Visit last year


Left, David Aron after attending Good Counsel's Mass in London on Friday, after his 184 mile Thames PathWalk for Good Counsel. He also attended the Good Counsel Vigil at the Whitfield St Abortuary that morning!

The Reluctant Sinner has a nice post about David Aron's walk and his arrival in London last night. Well done David and we hope you have got your feet up tonight!
It was a long, hard, often lonely walk and we really appreciate the hard work and the funds raised.

It's not too late to help David reach his sponsorship target. Please click here to donate.

David Aron 184 Mile Sponsored Walk for Good Counsel Finishes Today

David Aron aims to complete his 184 mile along the Thames Path Walk to raise money for the work of the Good Counsel Network today.

David began his walk on Friday 7th October. He plans to attend the Old Rite mass for the Good Counsel Network this evening at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane in Central London.

He has walked about 25 miles a day to complete the walk and has had to carry his sleeping bag, tent etc.
Please sponsor David, and help us to protect more babies by giving support, friendship, food and housing to more expectant Mothers by clicking on to his JustGiving page.

Offering up 72 Miles of pain to save lives

Hi everyone,

I am going on The Chartres Pilgrimage over the Pentecost weekend. It is my first time doing this Pilgrimage and I am really looking forward to completing it. It is a Pilgrimage in the true sense of a Pilgrimage. We leave London very early on Friday 10th June having had Mass at Westminster Cathedral. We then travel to Paris by coach, staying one night in a hotel in the outskirts.

On Saturday we get up really early and have our last proper meal for three days. Mass is said in Notre Dame Cathedral and then the Pilgrimage starts. Over the next three days we will walk 72 miles to Chartres, praying, singing and generally giving glory to God. We will have Mass every day and survive on bread water, and whatever we can carry. Each night we camp out in large tents which I am told are bitterly cold (even though we are in the middle of Summer).

Finally at about 3pm on Monday we arrive at Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres where we have Mass and finally a rest.

I am hoping that you will sponsor me for my efforts with all the money raised going to The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel which is a Catholic Pro-life Charity who give support to expectant Mothers who are in the most difficult and desperate circumstances before, during and after the birth of their child. For more information about their work please see www.goodcounselnetwork.com or to donate.

This is from Gaelle's Just Giving page, I'm pleased to say that she made it. You can still donate.

Stuart McCullough

Canal Walkers - You can still sponsor them.

Above. L-R: Pio Hendrickx seeing off Gaelle Hendrickx, Charis Willey, Michael & Johanna Hendrickx, Lorenzo, Anuli, Maria Burne, Julian, Rose Burne as they set off on their sponsored walk

for Good Counsel.

Left: Johanna and Gaelle, the organisers of the walk demonstrate the art of being a bridesmaid...you've obviously been out in the sun a bit too long ladies if you think that's how to hold a bouquet!

Last weekend, Saturday 21st August, some of our supporters successfully completed a sponsored 20 mile walk along the Grand Union Canal. They were aiming for £4,000 in sponsorship. So far they have brought in around £2,000.

Let's all congratulate them upon their efforts.

It is still not too late to sponsor them. The easiest way to sponsor them is to go to www.justgiving.com/gaelle-hendrickx who was the leader on the day. But if you prefer to post them you can send cheques and postal orders made payable to The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel, To: 15 Maple Grove, London, NW9 8RD. Many thanks in advance if you can sponsor them.

Conor Carroll

Here are Gaelle and Johanna's comments on the walk:

On the 21st August, nine merry troopers set out for a brisk 20 mile walk along the Grand Union Canal, to raise funds for the Good Counsel Network. We started from Watford Metropolitian Line Tube Station and walked into the park. We got a good pace going and marched with our heads held high. We skillfully dodged a near constant stream of walkers, bikers and joggers. It must be said that by 12.30 we had all sped up, enticed by the prospect of food - a yummy lunch of J20's and rather squashed sandwiches!

Our route back seemed ever reaching and never ending. Our despondency, however, was lifted by a recitation of the Rosary, and an energetic performance of the group's collective repertoire of Christian songs. This lively recital enabled us to take our minds off our feet, and march on homewards, towards the promise of pizza and rest!

At 5 o' clock the whole group of tired and no doubt smelly walkers stumbled into Cassiobury Park, grateful we'd made it alive, yet thankful for the opportunity to have done it. Knowing that our hard work enabled us to raise money to help save the lives of countless unborn babies made the pain and suffering we experienced completely worth it.

Gaelle and Johanna Hendrickx

Fancy A Nice Summer Walk Along the Canal?

Johanna (left) and Gaelle Hendrickx

Two young pro-lifers will be doing their bit to raise funds for The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel this month and we invite you to support them if you can Gaelle and Johanna Hendrickx will be doing a sponsored walk along part of the Grand Union Canal on Saturday 21st August. As well as sponsorship, they welcome anyone who would like to do the walk with them and also get sponsorship from their own friends and families.

If you can sponsor them please go to the links at the bottom of this blog.

If you are interested in doing the walk, and raising sponsorship yourself, please get in touch with Conor Carroll on 020 7723 1740. Gaelle Says:

We are going to walk from Cassiobury Park (close to Watford Metropolitan line tube station) to Hemel Hempstead and back, along the Grand Union Canal. This is 20 miles in total. We will be doing this to raise money for The Guild of Our Lady of Good Counsel who are a Catholic Pro-life organisation who support The Good Counsel Network. This is a really great charity who have helped to save thousands of unborn lives. If you want to find out more about them look at http://www.goodcounselnetwork.com/ (which is their new website) or call 0207 7231740. Please sponsor us if you can as we would really like to raise as much money as possible for this great cause. You can donate to support our fundraising effort by visiting our JustGiving page. www.justgiving.com/Gaelle-Hendrickx or www.justgiving.com/Johanna-Hendrickx