Celebrating the Gifts of the Breath of Christ A Pentecost Retreat
The Belfast Jesuit Centre is delighted to host this Pentecost Retreat from Friday 17th- Sunday 19th May.
Tom Cashman an Ignatian Spiritual Director from Tucson, Arizona, returns to us again this year to present this retreat in six sessions, supported by his wife Rosemary and the BJC team. It begins on Friday evening and concludes with Mass on Sunday at 12noon.
Friday 17th May – 7.30pm – 9.00pm
Saturday 18th May – 9.30am – 5.00pm (Lunch included)
Sunday 19th May – 9.30am concluding with Mass of Pentecost at 12noon.
Pentecost Sunday brings to a close the 50-day season between Jesus’ Resurrection and the empowering descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples which marked the birth of the Church.
In this non-residential, contemplative prayer retreat, we consider key moments in Jesus’ earthly ministry and his post Resurrection encounters with his followers. In so doing, we will deepen our awareness of our own gifts of the Holy Spirit, embracing them in gratitude and renewing our will to use them in the service of Christ.
Through guided prayer, reflection on pieces of art, private contemplative prayer exercises and journaling, we will gain insight into how to use these gifts within our families, communities, and the world.
Pilgrims of Hope: A Year of Ignatian Prayer
Beginning September 2024
Pilgrims of Hope: A Year of Ignatian Prayer is an innovative programme, pioneered by the Belfast Jesuit Centre, as a preparation for living out Pope Francis’s Jubilee Year 2025.
Broadly following the text of Austen Ivereigh’s book First Belong to God: On Retreat with Pope Francis, the programme will be an introduction to Ignatian Spirituality, with the insights of Pope Francis, through his major publications.
Participants will learn the discipline, practice and experience of Ignatian prayer, which is rooted in a deep personal relationship with God, discernment, finding God in all things and active participation in the world.
Participants will commit to personal prayer and will be supported by members of the Jesuit team and by their fellow ‘pilgrims’, through mutual encouragement and spiritual conversation in small groups.
The term “Ignatian” refers to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, a Spanish nobleman of the 1500s, whose personal, spiritual journey compelled him to help souls to find God in the ordinary everyday circumstances of their lives. He distilled this wisdom into the Spiritual Exercises, which have helped people to draw nearer to God for hundreds of years. He founded the Society of Jesus, or “The Jesuits”, whose members work with lay partners worldwide, for the greater glory of God. As a Jesuit himself, Pope Francis was formed in, and remains steeped in this Ignatian tradition.
If you would like to deepen your relationship with God, this programme would be the perfect place begin, or continue, your pilgrim journey.
