Retreats » Auckland

Auckland

FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

It was with great excitement and anticipation that Brenda and I, together with approximately 300 other ladies,  set out for this year’s Dove retreat at Carey park, Henderson. Having experienced two retreats already, we couldn’t wait to have this time of fellowship with our sisters in Christ and to receive refreshment and renewal from the Lord. Our hotel was booked, the dear ladies from the Dove National and local teams had taken care of all our needs and there was the promise of an amazing international speaker, Terry Modica.

We were not disappointed. Despite the rain, our spirits could not be dampened. From the moment that we arrived at the camp, we were surrounded by the Lords joy and Loving Presence radiating out through the ministering of the leadership teams. The weekend started with a beautiful time of worship and praise as we invited the Holy Spirit to be present amongst us. As His Spirit descended we were able to let go of all our cares, troubles, home responsibilities and focus on the Lord and the message He had for each one of us.

Our inspiring speaker Terry Modica, whose motto is “Keep your eyes on Jesus “, had flown in from Florida, USA to be with us. She based her five talks on the four Mysteries of the Holy Rosary and gently led us into a deeper understanding of how each Mystery helps us to connect our lives with the life of Jesus. She explained how we can use every decade of each Mystery to identify with Jesus and so bring all our hurts and crosses, our joys, hopes and thanksgiving to Him. It is here in the Rosary that we can, with Him, birth new ideas.

Terry used a very powerful visual aid to deepen our understanding of each Mystery and how it connects to our life. The Joyful Mysteries were represented by a “sprout”, a tree ready to become all that it has been created to be. Each new Mystery was represented visually by the tree as it matured, bearing fruit, being pruned, the falling of its fruit to fertilize the ground and produce more trees etc. It was very powerful to visualise ourselves as the tree and helped me to accept each stage as a very necessary part of my journey with the Lord. The final Glorious Mysteries were represented by a beautiful mature tree whose blossoms, in full bloom, radiated a delicate fragrance to all. This for me was the most important message of the weekend. We too are called to be that fragrance, the fragrance of Christ throughout the world, the fullness of Jesus to all who we meet.

Terry shared with us the following prayer by Blessed John Henry Newman:-

RADIATING CHRIST

Dear Jesus,

Help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere that I go. Flood my soul with Your Spirit and Life. Penetrate and posses my whole being, so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come into contact with may feel Your Presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus! Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, so as to shine as to be a light to others. The light O Jesus will be all from You; none of it will be mine; it will be You shining on others through me. Let me thus praise You in the way you love best; by shining on those around me. Let me preach you without preaching, not by words, but by example, by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do, the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for You. Amen.

We were given so many opportunities to experience the fragrance of Christ throughout the weekend; the leadership team who lead us in Worship and Prayer, the ladies who prepared the most beautiful prayer room where we could sit in Adoration of our Lord at any time during the weekend, the ladies and two brothers from Joshua, who took care of our practical needs during the weekend and continually prayed for us during the retreat. Our Chaplin for the retreat was Father Neil Vaney from St Joseph’s Discipleship College, Takapuna, who ministered to us with such love and humility. Our weekend concluded with Mass led by our National Chaplain, Bishop Pat; an awesome finish to an amazing weekend.

As we reluctantly departed from our mountain top experience and journeyed home, the fragrance of the weekend stayed within each of our hearts. And as we spend time with Jesus, pondering the Mysteries of the Rosary, Our Blessed Mother encourages us to be His Fragrance everywhere we go.

Helen Kehoe