DROMANTINE, WARRENPOINT, G8 MEETING, KORCE.

MONDAY 17 JUNE 2013 BELFAST DROMANTINE, WARRENPOINT, G8 MEETING KORCE. Last evening I returned from DROMANTINE! Sisters Rita and Dympna really loved the week, just as I did. It was great to see how Dromantine coped with a large group. We were up to 80 persons - 65 on our retreat, 10 on directed plus the team. The house is ideal and has 350 acres of grounds and farmland. The retreat itself was very different and delighted the group. Very creatively, a day was given to each of six well-researched modern Christian mystics. These were - Teilhard de Chardin, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Adrienne Von Speyr, Dorothy Day, Pedro Aruppe and Jean Vanier. ( was fortunate to make a retreat in Maynooth with Jean Vanier as Director and years later, was invited to join a group here at the University in Derry, where he gave a week to an invited group, mainly from his own communities. DROMANTINE is the chosen venue for our 2014 Good Shepherd Chapter. We travelled to Warrenpoint from Dromantine to visit Sister Joan Boyle, sister of our Chaplain, Sister Rita Doyle was pleased when Joan recognised her and we had a lovely visit. We then went to the seashore for an hour. However, we returned to Belfast early as we had heard road closures were planned to facilitate the World Presidents arrival for the G* Meeting in Fermanagh. At the moment, media presence and security personnel dominate the scene. BELFAST will stand still for an hour to welcome President Barak Obama and his family to the Waterfront, where he will address 2,000 people, mainly school children. On re-connecting my laptop yesterday evening, within minutes there was a sKYPE call from Albania. Antonio, in KORCE wanted to make sure that the week of prayer had not upset plans for work with the blind people that we have planned to undertake, please God, in July and August! Let us pray these next few days will be peaceful here in Northern Ireland and that holiday weather will prevail for the coming weeks!

UPDATE!

9 JUNE 2013 FEAST OF SAINT COLMCILLE,BELFAST. PRE-RETREAT UPDATE We have heard so much about Saint Colmcille over the past few days. Derry is City of Culture for 2013 and the Organiser of the London Olympic Opening Ceremony, has just organised a Festival focused on Saint Colmcille in Derry. This Saint, born in 563 A.D. and exiled to Iona in Scotland during his life, has made a return from there this weekend to great rejoicing and celebration on the River Foyle. Here in our Parish Church of the GOOD SHEPHERD, we were honoured today to celebrate the 90 Anniversary of the APOSTOLIC SOCIETY in our Diocese. The Bishop came this afternoon to celebrate a Mass of THANKSGIVING. This was to commemorate all the good work done in our 88 Parishes and I was delighted to go along as a beneficiary of that Society. Sister Daniela will remember my arriving back as she was visiting in Korce. I saw her amazement as I recounted the generosity I had experienced. I was so happy to receive most beautiful Sacred Vessels for both Korce and the villages near Tirana where Sisters Amira and Mirjam are involved in pastoral ministry with the Jesuits and Franciscans. Today, the President of the Society invited me to the Celebration Meal at Le Mons Hotel. A huge crowd attended and I had another commitment just then. Tomorrow afternoon, I go, with two Sisters from our community to DROMANTINE for Annual Retreat. I have chosen the theme - "REFLECTIONS ON THE MYSTICS". This will be led by a Jesuit, Rev. Brendan Comerford. So, with a promise to pray for readers each day, I will close, requesting that you pray for me too please. Till again, every blessing and continue to enjoy the beautiful weather as long as it lasts!