Sarah Bachelard will lead a contemplative retreat in Balally beginning next Sunday, 02 April 2023. Sarah is an Anglican priest and theologian based in Canberra, Australia. Click here to read a recent talk on ‘Becoming One with Divine Love‘
The theme of the retreat will be ‘Looking Forward in Joy to Easter‘. Each session will include a talk and a period of silent meditation. Her first talk will be from 4 -5:30 p.m. on Sunday, 02 April 2023. This will be followed by three further sessions from 7-8 p.m. on Monday 03, Tuesday 04 and Wednesday 05 April. Click here for directions to Balally.
WCCM 30th Anniversary Spring Appeal
John Main died 40 years ago: at the time it felt it was an end, a devastating loss. It was, but also a beginning. Ten years later, in a true Pentecost moment, we named the World Community for Christian Meditation (which was already growing strongly around the world) as a ‘community of love’ as Fr. John had predicted.
On the 30th anniversary of WCCM, Fr Laurence Freeman has launched a Spring Appeal, asking members of the community to consider making a donation to help keep the work of WCCM going into the future. You may make a once-off donation or commit to a regular contribution – to find out more, click here.
The Cork Region of Christian Meditation Ireland will hold a contemplative retreat day with Bro. Richard Hendrick, a Capuchin priest-friar working in Dublin, who promotes contemplative practice as a way of life. The event will take place in the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Hall on Western Road, Cork on Saturday 29 April 2023, from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. The day which will comprise a number of short talks interspersed with periods of meditation. Participants bring their own lunch and the organisers will provide tea, coffee and biscuits. A donation of €10 is suggested.
Bro. Richard’s most recent book is ‘Still Points: A Guide to living the Mindful Meditative Way‘ published by Hachette Books. Structured around the cycle of the natural seasons, the author tries to draw his readers into a deeper contemplation of the spiritual nature of the way we understand life.
Have you checked out our reflections page recently? We regularly add articles on various aspects of contemplation. We recently add Noel Keatings talk’Meditation Awakens the Heart’ and Caroline Stratton’s talk ‘Journey through the Eye of a Needle: The Contemplative Path’. Click the image below to see them.
Young Adult Series: Young meditators (16-45) are invited to join the ongoing, free online series of workshops ‘Fully alive: Making Contact with Our Own Centre‘ – the next session is on 15 April on the theme ‘Meditation and Vulnerability‘. Click here to find out more.
Palm Sunday
by Malcolm Guite
Now to the gate of my Jerusalem,
The seething holy city of my heart,
The Saviour comes. But will I welcome him?
Oh crowds of easy feelings make a start;
They raise their hands, get caught up in the singing,
And think the battle won. Too soon they’ll find
The challenge, the reversal he is bringing
Changes their tune. I know what lies behind
The surface flourish that so quickly fades;
Self-interest, and fearful guardedness,
The hardness of the heart, its barricades,
And at the core, the dreadful emptiness
Of a perverted temple. Jesus, come
Break my resistance and make me your home.
from Sounding the Seasons: 70 Sonnets for the Christian Year . Canterbury Press Norwich.
This month we have added a range of very useful video countdown timers to our website. Each of the new timers displays a flickering candle with the word ‘Maranatha’ shown beneath and a countdown timer to the right.
These new timers allow you to time your meditation session anywhere and set a calm ambience. They can be used in meditation groups through a tablet or iPad if your venue has wifi or you can download the video timer of our choice to your device. Click here to see the timers and to try them out.
Our Annual Forum and AGM will take place in Balally on Saturday 13 May 2023 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. followed by a light lunch. All meditators from all parts of the country are invited to attend. Dr Noel Keating will open the meeting with a reflection on the John Main Prayer.
Our next Annual Retreat Day will take place on Saturday 23 September 2023 in Balally Parish Church. The speaker will be Fr. Donagh O’Shea. Put the date in your diary now! We expect the event will run from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Further details will follow in due course.
Rowena O'Sullivan: A Short Appreciation
Online Meditation at 7:30 p.m. on every Thursday & Sunday evening, Irish time.
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