 |
| Holy Cross Sanctuary |
So in the last post I talked a lot about food. Now I have to say this post will reflect on all the travelling I have done from YAV retreats, to all church retreats, to a trip to the monastery, and a fun time in Dublin. Travelling is one of the things I am excited to do in my time here and have been able to see some beautiful places thus far.
One of the first trips I was lucky enough to go on was one with the other YAV's to the Holy Cross Monastery. This was a little over an hour drive from where we live up into the Mourne mountains. It was a lovely trip with beautiful scenery. While at the monastery we were able to join the Benedictine Monks in their Eucharist and time of prayer. In between these services we were lucky enough to get to talk with Brother Thierry and hear about the reasons he became a monk, more about his life story, the way the monks live, his beliefs on many different topics like: reconciliation, ecumenical worship, and Christianity.
 |
Holy Cross Monastery
Monks center their lives on three main things : work, prayer and community. These things truly made me think about the way in which I have been living my life and how simple life can be. One of the things that Brother Thierry talked about that really stuck with me, was the idea that they treat everyone as Christ and seeing the good or Christ like parts that people bring into relationships. Relationships are key in community and are something that the Brothers take very seriously. One can not be self sufficient in their minds because that is when we stop learning from others. Another point that he talked about was hos self sufficiency is the death of the church. This truly hit home considering that to be able to grow in spirituality and as a body of Christ we have to interact with others and learn from those who are different. |
 |
| Brother Thierry |
Throughout the day the monks work to sustain their lifestyle. They make candles and cards and many different things to earn the money to live. During the day they are very adamant about breaking for prayer times.The Brothers have scheduled times throughout the day that prayer happens. Prayer is extremely important to the monks because it allows them to come back to God and allows them to confront the challenges they are facing. Prayer is also what they do to reach out to the community is pray for others and the problems that surround them.
Brother Thierry also expressed his views on reconciliation and how to go about building relationships, and diminishing the conflicts between the many different faiths. He stated that the main problem is not with the theology of the church but in learning to love one another and accepting others differences. It is only when this happens that we can open the dialogue of theology between the different faiths. This was profound and really stuck with me and made me think for the rest of the day. All in all it was an amazing way to get away from the hectic lives we live in Belfast and spend a day questioning our faith.
Another trip that I was lucky enough to go on was the all church retreat to Drumalis. This retreat was an overnight at a huge lovely home/ conference center that was run by nuns. It sat right on the water and had amazing scenery. We got there at tea time (dinner time) on Friday night had a meal and then had our first session. The next day we got up for a lovely breakfast and then had another session. After that Ellison (one of my house mates that joined me on this retreat) and I got to go for a walk around the grounds and then to the coast to see the beautiful scenery surrounding Drumalis. This was a time I really was happy to get away and be able to have time for reflection. When we came back we had a communion service. Next we had our tea and headed back home. This was a wonderful way for me to get to know some of the people in my church and was a lovely weekend away.
 |
| Regent Street Minister Allen. |
 |
| Ellison in part of the house. |
 |
| Beautiful walk on the grounds. |
 |
| View of the coast. |
 |
| Me by the the coast. |
 |
| Tower down by the coast. |
 |
Low tide at the coast, Ship docked.
|
Yet again I was planning on continuing and writing about the other trips that I went on thus far but it would be a huge post and there many more pictures I want to show with the other trips so I will save them for the next post. Thanks for your continued love and support. :)
