WELCOME

It is so good to have you here. Lent can be difficult. It can be difficult to stay focused for the six weeks and to keep Christ in our sights through our day to day life.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 16:24 that in order to be followers of His we must “take up our cross and follow him”. What does this mean for us? What is it that He is asking us to do with our lives? Where are we with out relationship with Christ? These questions of course take a lifetime to answer, however the Church, in her wisdom has given us this season of Lent every year to concentrate on these questions and to come closer to Christ. Accompanying him on the road to Calvary.

Our modern lives are noisy. We need silence if we are to hear His voice.
In the Gospel of Mark on the first Sunday of Lent this year, we are told that Jesus went into the desert for forty days to pray before he started his mission. Every year at this time we are invited to go into the desert with Him. Perhaps it is not a real desert, most of us do not have the ability to just drop our commitments and our lives to go away and live like a hermit. However, we do need to carve out time in our distracted and noisy lives to find the silence, the stillness, that we need. We need this quietness of spirit to pray, to reflect, to make the decisions that are in line with God’s will. We need the stillness to make sure we are doing that “definite purpose”, as St John Henry Newman so beautifully put it, that we were created for.

We hope this online retreat can help you find this time. We hope that it helps you and encourages you to find this time even when Lent is over. We aren’t meant to go back to who we were after Lent is over. Lent is meant to change us. A mini conversion. We hope that we can provide some prompts for  you to look at what it is that Christ is calling you to change. We hope that you become closer to Christ because of it.

 “Be still and know that I am God” Ps 46:11

Lenten Retreat

Below you will find the link to each of  the reflections that we have prepared. Each of the links will be activated on the Saturday night before the date indicated. Included in each day will be:

• An audio link to the Gospel of the Day
• A video with a reflection on the Gospel
• A downloadable reflection sheet with the Gospel and reflection questions based on the video.
• Links to books,  articles, blog posts or prayers that we feel would be useful at this time.
• A Youtube playlist with Lenten music to help with keeping the season in mind through your week.

Please click here to sign up to receive emails when each week gets posted. Remember that the emails might go into your promotions or junk folders. You might have to set them up to go to your inbox so that you see them each week.

You can do this retreat how you wish in whatever order you wish.  You might want to have a journal to write in, however that is not necessary.

We thank those who have been involved in creating this for you, especially those who have given their time to write and film their reflections. We have asked each person to give us their favourite scripture passage.

First Sunday of Lent – 18th February

Our first video reflection this Lent is given by Fr Daniel McCaughan.
Fr Daniel is a priest from the Archdiocese of Sydney and was was ordained in 2013.

 Isaiah 41 “Do not be afraid I am with you, I have called you by name and you are Mine” 

Second Sunday of Lent- 25th FebRUARY

Our second video reflection is given by Anne Maree Quinn. Anne-Maree Quinn is a graduate of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Melbourne Campus with a Masters in Bioethics. She also has Pontifical Licentiate in Moral Philosophy from Milltown Institute in Ireland.
Anne-Maree currently works in the healthcare profession in Melbourne and also for the international online platform CitizenGO that aims to defend values in relation to life, family and religious freedom.

Philippians 4: 6-8 “There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God which is so much greater than we can understand will guard your hearts and your thought.” 

Third Sunday of Lent – 4th March

Our third reflection this week is given to us by Fr John Walshe. Fr Walshe is a priest of the Archdiocese of Melbourne and has been a priest for over 30 years and has been a wonderful support for so many in this time.

Psalm 115 “How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name” 

Fourth Sunday of Lent – 11th March

Our fourth reflection this week is given to us by Monica Russell. Monica is married with two children and another due on Easter Sunday (Prayer for her!) She helps run the Anima website and these online retreats.

1 John 4:8 ” God is Love.” 

Fifth Sunday of Lent – 18th March

Our fifth reflection this week is given to us by Sr Mary Helen OP. Sr is a “Nashville” Dominican who lives in Sydney but originally hails from Melbourne. She works as a teacher and also in the Sydney University Chaplaincy.

Palm Sunday – 25th March

Our final and sixth reflection is given to us by Archbishop Julian Porteous, the Archbishop of Hobart.

Acknowledgments.

We just wanted to thank the people who helped us behind the scenes to bring this idea to life, especially:
Anna Krohn
Natasha Marsh
Sarah McDonald
Fr Nicholas Dillon
Fr Robert Krishna
Mary Clare Meney