Journeying with Jesus

Welcome to ‘Journeying with Jesus’ Sacred Space retreat. A retreat is a time out from the normal whirl of events to look back on what has happened, take stock of where you are, and make any necessary changes for a better future.

Introduction

God is always working with us, gently urging, communicating and seeking contact, and our job is to give time to try and respond – however that may be. A time of retreat is a time of prayer; and a time of prayer is a time when we can be open and honest with God, simply spending time with God, and trying to work out how best to respond.

Saint Ignatius reminds us that God is in our deepest desires. Listening to the desires of our hearts means becoming quiet within, taking a step back, allowing things to surface, and listening to God’s voice. To hear the voice of God, it’s important to dedicate time to the retreat. Work out a schedule that best works for your way of life, a period of time which best suits the rhythm of your day. Try to be faithful to it.

Our Theme: Journeying with Jesus

We do not have one evangelist to escort us through retreat; instead, half of our Gospels are narrated by Matthew, the other half by John. Peter Edmonds SJ explains how hearers of this series of readings follow Jesus from the desert to the tomb – a journey that begins just after Jesus’s baptism… A desert, a mountain, a well, a pool, a tomb, a place of execution and a garden: these are the settings for the Gospel stories that will guide our journey. As we make these Gospel texts our own through personal reading, prayer and meditation, they can be a means to help us renew these promises with understanding, enthusiasm and conviction. They offer an itinerary which we can travel on our pilgrimage.
In this retreat, we want to allow space to encounter the living Word of God in a deeper way. Therefore, we have provided a supplementary session to accompany this retreat using the spiritual exercise/practice of ‘Lectio Divina’. The recommendation is that after reading the scripture passage for each session, we will invite you to pause and practice Lectio Divina either using the supplementary session, or in your own way if you have learnt this practice previously…