✨ Advent Invitation for Young Adults (18–35) ✨
Step away from the busyness of December and join us at the Belfast Jesuit Centre for a gentle, contemplative journey through Advent.
📖 Over three Thursday evenings, we’ll gather to reflect on the Gospel reading of the week; opening ourselves to sacred stillness, quiet listening, and shared conversation.
🎬 On the fourth evening, we’ll enjoy a special movie night together.
☕ Refreshments will be served after every session; time to connect, share, and simply be.
🗓 Thursdays in Advent from 7-9pm
📍 Belfast Jesuit Centre
👥 Ages 18–35
Come as you are, bring a friend, and discover the gift of Advent in community.
Waiting in Wonder: Lectio and Visio Divina for Advent
Join us in the Belfast Jesuit Centre for a gentle, contemplative journey through Advent. Over four Tuesday evenings, we’ll gather to reflect on the Gospel reading for the coming Sunday, accompanied by a carefully chosen poem and a piece of visual art.
Each session invites us into the ancient practices of Lectio Divina and Visio Divina—ways of praying with scripture and image that open us to sacred stillness, quiet listening, and shared conversation.
Session Dates:
- Nov 25 – “Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming.”
- Dec 2 – “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.”
- Dec 9 – “A greater than John the Baptist has never been seen.”
- Dec 16 – “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel.”
Time: Tuesdays, 7:00–9:00pm
Location: Belfast Jesuit Centre, 193–195 Donegall Street
Refreshments: Tea and coffee provided
Donation: Small donation suggested
Introduction to the Enneagram
If you missed this wonderful workshop the first time because it was oversubscribed, you’re in luck as Nuala Prince will return to the Belfast Jesuit Centre in January to run it again.
This gentle and insightful workshop offers an introduction to a rich system of nine personality types that blend traditional wisdom with modern psychology. The sessions will explore how the Enneagram can deepen self-understanding, strengthen relationships, and support spiritual and emotional wellbeing.
Whether you’re new to the Enneagram or returning with fresh questions, all are welcome. The workshop is also ideal for teams and groups seeking to grow in mutual understanding.
Times:
Friday 23rd Jan: 7–9.30pm
Saturday 24th Jan: 10am–4pm
Participants must be able to attend both sessions.
Suggested donation: £35–£50 (includes refreshments; bring a packed lunch on the Saturday)
Venue: Belfast Jesuit Centre, 193–195 Donegall Street, BT1 2FL
Enneagram Subtypes Workshop
Already familiar with your Enneagram type? This one-day workshop at the Belfast Jesuit Centre offers a deeper dive into the instinctual subtypes; self-preservation, social, and one-to-one; that shape how each personality type is expressed.
Led by Nuala Prince, the day will explore how these instinctual drives influence behaviour, relationships, and stress responses, offering practical tools for growth, balance, and compassion.
Ideal for individuals, spiritual directors, educators, and teams seeking to enhance communication, navigate conflict, and deepen self-awareness.
Suggested donation: £35–£50 (includes refreshments; bring a packed lunch)
Venue: Belfast Jesuit Centre, 193–195 Donegall Street, BT1 2FL
Learning From Matthew's Church with Fr Kieran O'Mahony
The Gospel of Matthew is unique; it is the only Gospel to use the word “church.” Written in the later first century, Matthew offers a vivid window into a community navigating identity, conflict, and mission. Struggling as a kind of orphan from Judaism, Matthew’s church forged structures for ministry and teaching that continue to inspire us today.
Guided by Kieran O’Mahony OSA, of Tarsus Scripture School (tarsus.ie); renowned biblical scholar and great friend of the Belfast Jesuit Centre, this course invites you to journey with Matthew’s community, discovering lessons for our own time through scripture, prayer, and reflection.
Together we will explore:
- 3rd February: Emerging Churches: placing Matthew in the later first century
- 10th February: Matthew’s church: challenges and emerging structures
- 17th February: Jesus as Moses in the Gospel according to Matthew
- 24th February: The Lord’s prayer and the place forgiveness across the Gospel
- 3rd March: The parables of the end of time (Matthew 24-25)
- 10th March: Mission in Matthew’s church: the Mission Discourse (9:35-11:1) closing tableau (28:16-20)
Join us as we learn from Matthew’s church; a community of faith that speaks powerfully to the challenges and hopes of today.
Places are limited and registration is essential.
Hearts on Fire: A Programme for Young People
Aged 18-35? Join us for a six-week journey into Ignatian Spirituality—a practical, down-to-earth approach to prayer, discernment, and finding God in all things. Whether you’re curious about faith, seeking deeper meaning, or just need space to breathe, this course offers tools to navigate life with purpose and clarity.
No experience needed. Just bring your questions, your story, and an open heart.
📅 Starts 9th October 🕒 7pm 📍 UU Chaplaincy Lounge (BA-02-003)
A Year of Ignatian Prayer: 2025-26
After the success of our programme: A Year of Ignatian Prayer, 2024-2025 the Belfast Jesuit Centre is delighted to be able to run the programme again from October 2025 to June 2026. The aim of the programme is to give participants an immersive Ignatian experience of prayer and reflective living, so that whether you are already familiar with Ignatian spirituality, or are coming to it for the first time, you can deepen your relationship with God, find clarity in your life’s purpose, and cultivate a more mindful, spiritually-enriched way of living.
Topics covered will include:
- Introduction to St Ignatius: a man for our times
- Images of God
- Approaches to prayer – praying with scripture – imaginative contemplation – praying the Examen – journalling
- Finding God in all things – paying attention to feelings
- Consolation – Desolation – Discernment
- Communal Discernment and Synodality
- God calls me
- What next?
This list is intended to give a broad flavour of the programme but it is by no means exhaustive.
The emphasis throughout the programme will be on the practice, experience, application and integration of Ignatian spirituality into everyday life, rather than theoretical learning.
The programme will draw on a wide range of Ignatian resources, and sessions will have a mixture of input from the BJC team, experience and practice of prayer, small group sharing, and experience of guided prayer, as well as optional movie screenings each month.
Fourteen Mondays (approximately 2 a month) from 7.00pm – 9.30pm
Four Saturdays from 10.00am to 4.00pm between September 2025 and June 2026.
See flyer for dates.
A donation of between £180-£250 is suggested to defray costs and a number of bursaries are available for those unable to pay the suggested donation.