A message from Fr John

Dear Friends

Good morning - although they are getting darker

The last day of our retreat

St Ignatius in his instructions to retreatants offers the following prayer at the end of the Spiritual Exercises. I think it is one of the most simple but profound prayers in the whole canon of spiritual writing. He calls it the Contemplation to Attain the Love of God

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to thy will. Give me thy love and thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.

His explication of the prayer is also important:

This is to reflect how God dwells in creatures: in the elements giving them existence, in the plants giving them life, in the animals conferring upon them sensation, in man bestowing understanding. So He dwells in me and gives me being, life, sensation, intelligence; and makes a temple of me, since I am created in the likeness and image of the Divine Majesty.

And, for sure, this is enough

Thank you for accompanying each other on our little retreat.

Please pray for Olivia whose funeral we celebrate to today and especially for Annie Wilson who was one of the rocks of Our Lady and Lancashire Martyrs - remember her family too

St Joseph, pray for us

Every blessing

Fr John