Our first retreat event since the start of the pandemic draws closer. We are very much looking forward to our evening with Father Laurence Freeman OSB. He will lead lead an evening of meditation and reflections from 7 – 9 p.m. on Tuesday 13 September 2022.
The event will take place in the Church of the Ascension in Balally Parish on Cedar Road, Balally, Dublin, D16 E032 and will be followed by refreshments in the Parish Centre. The theme for the event is ‘Meditation & Growth in Consciousness‘. Fr Laurence will address the basics of meditation practice and will describe how it gives rise to a deepening of consciousness as we begin to discern our true nature.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions and to view a range of books and CDs on Christian meditation.
For directions by car and LUAS and information on parking, click here.
While the event is free, we ask that you register your intention through Eventbrite by clicking here – click on TICKETS and then REGISTER, adding your name and email. This will help us to plan for the event and ensure adequate arrangements and refreshments! Those attending will have an opportunity to make an anonymous voluntary donation in the course of the evening. Book your free place now!
Thanks to those who generously made donations over the summer months. We raised sufficient funds for a major update of our Christian Meditation Ireland website and that work is currently being undertaken.
We hope to launch it in early September 2022 and we think you will be very pleased with the result. It will have a very contemporary feel and is designed to look good and be readily accessible on any device, including mobile phones, and to make accessing all of our resources straightforward and easy. The new site will enable booking of events directly through our own website and will make available a range of additional resources for meditators and meditation groups.
Our online meditation sessions continue each Thurs and Sun evening at 7:30 p.m. The sessions are open to all. Just click on the image to join any time after 7:15 p.m
Imaginary Conversation
by Linda Pastan
You tell me to live each day
as if it were my last. This is in the kitchen
where before coffee I complain
of the day ahead—that obstacle race
of minutes and hours,
grocery stores and doctors.
But why the last? I ask. Why not
live each day as if it were the first—
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning,
the sun coming up
like an ingénue in the east?
You grind the coffee
with the small roar of a mind
trying to clear itself. I set
the table, glance out the window
where dew has baptized every
living surface.
This poem reflects Kirsti Nelson’s simple but profound saying :
Life is imperfect. People are imperfect.
Love is the perfect response.
It is true that life has a way of throwing us off balance and we are all prone to making mistakes. But rather than giving up or giving in to frustration, we can choose to respond with an open and compassionate heart. When we do, the path to healing, mutual understanding and new opportunities opens up before our eyes.
Love can keep us connected even when we disagree. Love helps us to see that we too are imperfect just like everybody else. Genuine love can inoculate us against bitterness and cynicism; when our life feels like a burden, love can lighten the load and help us to see the possible in the impossible. The poet, Stuart Kestenbaum, captures this truth beautifully in his poem ‘Holding the Light’.
Meditation kindles the flame of love in our hearts, providing light, hope and direction, helping us to navigate our imperfect world. It helps us to pay attention to what is and to see how ultimately everything is already stitched together.
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