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Dear friends,
The end of June saw me on a retreat at the
Briery in Ilkley. It was led by Father Daniel O'Leary and the title was
"The Religious Mind or the Broken Heart". Daniel was focusing on how
we can observe our religious rituals to the limit, and feel we have got it
right, or we can accept our brokenness
and our need of God's continued help in our lives. It's one thing to look at
the Pharisees and say they got it wrong, but we too need to make sure we are
not letting self-reliance, and a sense of self-righteousness, creep in.
We find it hard to simply accept God's gifts to
us. We tend to want to do something to earn them, or to prove that we've
changed. To go on accepting makes us feel dependent, yet that is what we are,
and so it is best to humbly acknowledge that we are, instead of trying to earn
our way. When we can simply accept, we can let go of the burden of trying to
please, and begin to learn to be ourselves. That is what God wants of us, to be
the best we can be. God does not want me to be another John Wesley, another
Julian of Norwich or even another Pope Francis. He wants me to be the best
Christine that I can be, to discover my gifts and use them to serve him and
others, and in serving to grow in who I am, so that my service fulfils me as
well as those around me.
So I would like to invite you to the Circuit
Quiet Day on Saturday 19 August at Northcliffe. Come to be refreshed, to talk
to God and to listen to God, and to allow God to reassure you of his love which
is poured out upon you. Come and receive without pressure to give, to do, to
perform.
It's a chance to hear God and have enough space
to let his words settle in, and to enjoy his love, that asks nothing of you but
that you come as yourself and be who you are. Such meetings can change our
lives, if we come with open hearts. Will you?
With love
Christine
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