Anna Byrne DC, one of the Catholic representatives on the ECI committee sent us her report on this event:
A retreat over three weeks on a Monday morning was held in Guardian Angels Parish Centre to celebrate the Season of Creation – starting on Sept 1st. The themes of Wonder and Awe, The Pain of Creation and Seeds of Hope, were selected to raise awareness for one another and for our ‘Common Home’.
Each session was underpinned by the Spirituality of Laudato Si’ – and the synodal approach to conversation. Images, from Ireland for the most part, with quotations from Laudato Si’, were used to reflect on each of the themes. Following the slides and a short time of silence two groups were formed and were given two questions as a stimulus for conversation. This proved sufficient to encourage the groups to share on how the images touched into their experience of life today.
The energy in the room was palpable. To maintain the momentum over the three weeks of retreat some ‘homework’ was given! This took the form of paragraphs for mediation and reflection-taken from Laudato Si’ and Trócaire resources.
Anna also wrote the article below for the St Ciarán and All Saints Family of Parishes newsletter.
