I come from Brazil South America, and came to Ireland to improve my English, I have been here six months. When I thought about Easter I went searching for a meaningful way to celebrate with people of my age and came across Magis Ireland through their brochure.  I really enjoyed the time, which was spent reflecting in a creative way with other young adults and then moving to the parish’s services. Everyone was very welcoming and I made many new friends.

To me the most special moment was after the Holy Thursday’s mass, when after the Mass the community walked to the local church garden and sang and pray the rosary. The deep meaning of each moment, using symbols of white ribbons, stones, silver, fire and  rose petals, made it very real and the scripture  reading of  “for where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them ” was brought to life. People from all walks of life praying together make me think that God is much bigger than the time, the distance and culture,  it doesn’t matter if the person is Irish, Brazilian or Polish, old or young, rich or poor, speaks English or Portuguese: God is the same to everybody and all the differences among us are irrelevant.

I remembered my Christian community in Brazil, in spite of the many cultural differences, it is the same Spirit, and the same God bring us together to worship. This was one of the moments that stood out for me as we gathered to pray.  Other thoughts that came to me was the  resistance of Christianity I sense, I believe many young people need to experiences a positive sense of Christian community, mass attendance once a week is not enough to provide spiritual energy to resist to the strong and constant pressure from everywhere that affirms a materialistic and secularized culture.  We need to create communities that invite young people to reflect and this is what I experienced in Magis Ireland. Through this, I believe I can as an individual support building on our Christian community and inviting many to be involved. I look forward to the next retreat.

André

On the Saturday morning of the Magis retreat, Debbie (MI staff) softly spoke the words of Isaiah 40:31.

'Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired. They will walk and not get weary'. She also said 'God is closer to you then you are to yourself.

Recently I have felt somewhat weary, tired and frightened. How that Isaiah quote appealed to me- spoke to my very core. And God knowing me - understanding me, getting all my oddities, my pains, my joys, my hopes, my doubts, my leaps of faith, my anger, my desolation and my fears? How comforting! And the simple message that all I have to do is wait for God to gain this new strength.

Out of seemingly nowhere over the weekend I remembered a haunting, fragile song I heard a long time ago: 'Jesus love never failed me yet'. I sang this to myself several times over the weekend and just checked it up on YouTube on my return, to find that the song is actually 'Jesus blood never failed me yet'. I think the meaning is more or less the same but I find it bizarre to realise that I swapped 'blood' to 'love' as I am alive today having had successful treatment for leukaemia – a disorder of the blood - 8 years ago – a time I welcomed God, Jesus, Mary, Matt Talbot, Oliver Plunkett and Little Flower back into my life. I welcomed prayer, hymns and religious symbols back into my life and opened up to meditation, Buddha and mantras as well!

I've just spent a short weekend, in directed silence retreat, with the presence of other young adults – a small community - also in silence, interspersed with the gentle spoken prayers and songs led by Debbie and Noelle. Through silence and deliberate speech and song, I stopped to recognise the Divine, the Numinous, God and the o so very human within myself and within others.

Did I answer all my searching questions? Definitely not.

Am I glad I went? Yes. Did I find some peace? Yes. Did I feel humanity, love and gentleness? Yes. Was there a Presence? Yes. Can God mean different things to different people at different times over the course of our lives; and can God be accessed in a million thousand different ways? I believe so. It seems that the believers that I shared this retreat space with really believe God is always there, ready and waiting to receive and hear us - A simple message that can carry me if I let it.

If your thinking of maybe doing a retreat with Magis Ireland, whic I understand is taking place May 25-27th 2012, I say go for it!

Elaine

'Breaking Dawn'-Easter Retreat 

Holy week had 10 young adults participant in the Magis Ireland Easter retreat. What made it different this year was their collaboration with SXF parish in Gardiner Street. One young adult reflects on their experiences and shares some thoughts. Follow the link below and to read Easter Retreat experience

“Breaking Dawn”- Easter Retreat Reflection

For more information contact: Debbie email: debbie.moore@magisireland.com

Tel. 00353 (0) 1 8943165 Mob: 00353 (0)86 232176

Directed Silent Retreat (DSR)

May: Fri 25th  - Sun 27th 2012

 At times our life can be full of clutter and chaos as we race through our day, sometimes we are unaware of our ‘drooping spirit, tired minds and bodies.  It is important to feed and care for your spirit the same way as you would exercise and care for your body, therefore  Life, Work, Balances is what you require, that is why you  need to take responsibility for Life, Work Balances  and MAKE time!

The Indian Jesuit Anthony de Mello said 'we keep silent not to stop talking but to open our ears'! To be silent these days is not the easiest thing - there's always an ipod, iphone, laptop, radio, billboard and a million thoughts and preoccupations to distract us!

The 3 day Directed Silent Retreat which takes place on  weekends ( see dates below ) seek to lull you into a silent space, where you can meet yourself and your God 'be still and know.....you will have the option to meet with a trained spiritual guide daily so you can chat then!! 

Go on, take the plunge and trust the God of surprises! 

For more information contact Debbie Tel 00353 1 8943165 e-mail: debbie.moore@magisireland.com

Download application form here

Dates for you diary: 

May: Fri 25th  - Sun 27th 2012

Venue: Manresa House, Dollymount, Dublin 3

Click here to read an account of the DSR

"Breaking Dawn" Easter Retreat 2012

Ballintubber Pilgrimage Easter Retreat 

Driving for Mayo on the Thursday morning, I’d been thinking, “what have I let myself in for?”. It had been wet and cold and I had been feeling like not going. But I stayed with what I was feeling and did some prayer and eventually we got there. As I entered the Abbey, I got a great sense of peace. My mind was at ease and I was happy to be there.

Such a great a group of people to share this experience with! I enjoyed very much the simplicity of our prayer, the humble way of living and the simple way that the retreat was led.
We walked for 12 miles on the Friday, which was very enjoyable. I mostly enjoyed listening to others and talking to them. We talked about our lives and fears and how we can find God in day-to-day life. No matter how hard life may seem, when we open our eyes and look, we find that God is always with us. It was great to see the faith in God and the church that we, as young people, have considering the current circumstances.

We had a beautiful day for the walk to Croagh Patrick on the Saturday and we had covered 12 miles before approaching the mountain. The parts I enjoyed most were the silence and prayer with God. It was great to reflect on what Jesus had done for us and how he suffered to give us what we had. He has taught me how to listen and serve others.
I was very thankful to have gone on the retreat and what I brought with me from it was the realisation that sometimes in our own suffering can bring us closer to God.

Mary