All Ireland Youth Retreat Network Annual Gathering 2010

The All Ireland Youth Retreat Network is a collection of Retreat Teams from all over Ireland, who meet together twice a year to support one another through resource sharing, friendship and prayer. This year one of our fellow Lasallian teams was hosting the event in their Pastoral Centre in Castletown, Co. Laois. The theme of this year's gathering was "Seeing God in Everything and Everything in God."

The teams represented this year were:
Benildus De La Salle Pastoral Centre, Kilmacud, Dublin
Castletown De La Salle Pastoral Centre, Castletown (Hosting)
Clonard Youth Ministry Team, Belfast
Cloyne Diocesan Youth Ministry, Cork
De La Salle Pastoral Centre, Belfast (Us)
I.O.S.A.S. Centre, Donegal
Mount Sion, Waterford
Parmenie De La Salle Pastoral Centre, Downpatrick
Ruah Retreat Team, Dublin

Our team and the Clonard team led the opening prayer. We listened to a reading from Scripture Philippians 1:3-11. We reflected on all the people who helped to form us in our faith and all the people that we thank God for in our lives. We wrote their names on little cards which we tied to the arch. The arch remained in situ for the duration of the gathering.

The Benildus Team led us in our morning prayer on Tuesday. The theme was "Today You Have Time." And it was lovely to have time, especially at this particularly busy time of year!

Afterwards Sr. Anne Hartnett C.P. shared some of her thoughts with us on the new cosmology and the emergent universe. She emphasised the connectedness of all living things and the complexity of our interdependence and what this means for us as Christians.

Afterwards we went out to the beautiful Slieve Blooms to immerse ourselves in the beauty of God's creation. This was organised by the Castletown Team, who placed little reflections all along the way to remind us to pause and be aware of the earth under our feet, of the soil and the microbes and insects which help to create it, of the flowers and the plants, of the rock, of the birds and animals, of the water, of our ancestors who lived on the land before us.

Each person walked through this beautiful forest alone!

We kept our eyes open for the little reflections tied to trees and bushes along the way

We gave ourselves the time to appreciate the beauty all around us.

When we arrived at the summit there was a beautiful waterfall waiting for us.

We took time to journal and then we walked back together as a group.

This dog accompanied us on our journey and was looking forward to the picnic as much as we were.

It was lovely after our walk to share some food together and have a bit of craic.

Later on that evening we played a few games, like charades.

We had a bit of a sing song too.

The next morning we gathered for a morning prayer led by the Parmenie Team. Afterwards we went into the conference room for a talk from Mrs. Vera McHugh who has worked in Youth Ministry, Journalism and Chaplaincy.

The three days had flown in. We were organising our September meeting and looking at the dates for the next May meeting.

Hopefully our friends from, Ballintubber Abbey, Connect Retreats Ireland, Esker Retreat Centre Athenry, Galway Youth Retreats and Scala Cork will be able to attend the next gathering. A big shout out to all of ye! We missed you and hope you are all well.

Our gathering drew to a close with a celebration of the Eucharist. We brought the arch into the chapel so that all the people we were remembering in prayer over the three days were represented. It was a grace-filled time.

Thank you to the Castletown team, who went above and beyond the call of duty in the welcome and hospitality they extended to us, abundantly. Thank you to everyone who was there.

"I thank my God each time I think of you, and when I pray for you, I pray with joy!"

Philippians 1:3-4