pathways, DECEMBER 2007
International visitors
Margaret Silf
Philip Endean SJ
Nourishment for the Journey
Christian Brothers reaffirm social justice mission commitment
Youthful Advent reflections
New at the UN
World Day of Social Justice
the International Year of Sanitation
International visitors
Two experts in the field of Ignatian spirituality will be among international visitors to Australia in 2008.
Centres of Ignatian Spirituality (CIS) around Australia have announced that Margaret Silf and Fr Philip Endean SJ, both from the United Kingdom will give retreats and seminars in Australia next year.
Margaret Silf is acclaimed as a dynamic and engaging writer on Ignatian spirituality and her retreats and workshops are praised for their originality, creativity and experiential approach. She is passionate about making Christian spirituality, and especially Ignatian spirituality, accessible to all.
Her best-selling books include Landmarks, Taste and See, Wayfaring, At Sea with God and Roots and Wings.
While in Australia, her programme will include
Melbourne - Campion CIS
January 21-25, Summer school, Ignatian Wisdom for a Post Modern World
Ignatian spirituality has a great deal to contribute to global soul-searching. How can it be communicated in fresh ways to people struggling to find their way through the dislocations, uncertainties and transitions that our 21st century world is facing?
January 27 - February 2, five day retreat, Living pathways
Participants will look at some practical spiritual tools to help turn passive believing into active discipleship, and random choices into wise and life-giving decisions.
February 3, God's unfinished story
An opportunity for participants to reflect on their human journey, both individual and collective, 'from a speck of stardust to a spark of God'.
Sydney - Canisius CIS
February 9 and 10, two day workshop, What is freedom? What is truth?
Wherever God is in all my lived experience, he is in the place where I really am, and not at any false reference points that so often dictate my choices and decisions. What does the concept of 'freedom' mean for me and can I hope to attain it? How do I live true to God's dream for me, and can that truth really set me free?
February 11-17, five day retreat, At sea with God
Using the metaphor of seafaring as a guide to the spiritual journey, participants will reflect on what the 'boat' of life is about, its uniqueness, what is on board, how to navigate the seas of life by a Christian compass, how to deal with the storms and shipwrecks and how to drop anchor while always continuing to move on, closer to the horizon of God's beckoning love.
Adelaide - Loyola CIS
February 28, one day workshop
Brisbane - Faber CIS
March 8 and 9, weekend retreat, Imagination and story in presenting the Spiritual Exercises
While in Australia, Mrs Silf will also give presentations in Tasmania, in Launceston (tbc) and Hobart (independent workshops on February 25 and 26 at MaryKnoll Retreat Centre, Blackmans Bay) and in Perth, WA (tbc)
Both Campion and Canisius are offering live in / live out packages for combining Melbourne's summer school and the five day retreat in either Melbourne or Sydney. Updates and further information are available
on the website.
Fr Endean is the editor of The Way. He will be in Australia in September.
Nourishment for the Journey
Details for Nourishment for the Journey, a ministry of the Sisters of St Joseph, conducted by Sr Moya Unthank RSJ, have been released for next year.
Nourishment for the Journey provides opportunities for adult faith education and spiritual development. These include:
A prayerful heart in a busy life (offered as a reflection day, a series of sessions or a weekend)
Developing a deeper relationship with God (a reflection day or a weekend)
Spirituality of everyday life (a reflection day or a weekend)
The Psalms: Songs of the human heart ( a series of sessions or a weekend)
The Mystics: Friends for our lives, using Clare of Assisi, Gertrude the Great, Hildegard of Bingen, Mechtild of Magdeburg, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton and Therese of Lisieux as friends and companions (single sessions, reflection days, weekends).
The presentations offer input, group participation and time for reflection. They are suitable for church, ecumenical or ministry groups and staffs, with times, dates and places open to negotiation with each group.
Sr Moya who leads the Nourishment for the Journey sessions has ministered in primary schools in Victoria and then in adult education with the Catholic Pastoral Formation Centre in Melbourne. Recently, she has been part of the co-ordinating staff at St Joseph's House of Spirituality in Sydney. Sr Moya now is based in Melbourne.
Christian Brothers reaffirm social justice mission commitment
The Christian Brothers of the new Oceania Province have reaffirmed their mission commitment to social justice as their way forward. Their educational mission now is the responsibility of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA).
Forty Christian Brother delegates from Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand (pictured above) gathering for the first time under the new Oceania Province banner, met recently over seven days at their new headquarters in Brisbane.
Discussion ranged over many topics and was based around reflection and prayer for the future of the new Province.
The delegates began by examining the identity of a Christian Brother and exploring the attractions of the vocation for new members today, recognising the blessing of increasing numbers of temporary professed Brothers in developing nations.
They explored new formations of communities, such as those in New Zealand, where members of the Edmund Rice Network live in community with Christian Brothers.
In discussion in large and small groups they looked at the growing work of the Christian Brothers in conjunction with the Edmund Rice Network, especially the outreach to indigenous and neighbouring cultures.
The whole process of moving forward with the Edmund Rice Network was part of articulating a cutting edge vision for the mission of Oceania Province.
According to the organiser of the gathering, Br Bob Wallace CFC, the enthusiasm generated from the gathering for the new Province and social justice mission was invigorating.
"We all see this as a chance to energise our lives as we take on a new direction and bring members of the Edmund Rice Network along on the journey with us," Br Wallace said.
The gathering began with the commissioning of Br Vince Duggan CFC as Oceania Province Leader (pictured third from right with other members of the leadership team) by Br Philip Pinto CFC, leader of the worldwide Congregation of Christian Brothers, and ended with the election of 10 delegates to the Congregation Chapter in India in March 2008.
The Oceania Province and EREA began officially on October 1. Official launches for EREA will be held around Australia early in the new year.
Youthful Advent reflections
A number of people from various parts of Australia are helping the pilgrims following the MAGiS way to Sydney and World Youth Day to reflect more deeply about the meaning behind this time of year.
Maria Bongiorno IBVM, Libbey Byrne RSC, Linda Ferrington RSC, Elisabeth Doherty, Robin Koning SJ, Richard Leonard SJ, Christopher Gleeson SJ, Norbert Olsen SJ, Andrew Hamilton SJ and Thomas Renshaw SJ have written reflections based on the structure of the Irish website, Sacred Space.
Click on a date behind
this link to access that day's reflection.
MAGiS partners are the Jesuits, the Society of the Sacred Heart, the Loreto Sisters Australia, Faithful Companions of Jesus and Sisters of Charity of Australia. The effort is also being supported by Centres of Ignatian Spirituality,
Province Express, Eureka Street and
Faith Doing Justice.
New at the UN
Beginning in 2009, the United Nations will observe a World Day of Social Justice on February 20, to recognise the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as extreme poverty, exclusion and unemployment.
The day will be used to encourage, at national levels, a variety of activities that support the goals and objectives of the World Summit for Social Development which was held in Copenhagen in 1995. The three core aims of the Summit are: poverty eradication, the goal of full employment and social integration and inclusion of those at the margins of society. The UN World Day of Social Justice will be a call for nations to put people rather than profit back at the centre of development.
And Wednesday, November 21, saw the launch of the International Year of Sanitation.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that access to sanitation was one of the most overlooked of human needs. International efforts to deliver on this basic right had been lacklustre.
More than two billion people around the world lack access to basic sanitation services. Some 90 per cent of sewage in developing countries is discharged into water courses without treatment, often polluting the usable water supply. An estimated 42,000 people die every week from diseases related to low water quality and an absence of adequate sanitation. This situation is unacceptable.
Mr Ban said that investments in sanitation were inmportant: for every dollar spent on improving sanitation it is estimated that at least nine dollars are saved in costs related to health, education, and social and economic development.
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