Please download a copy of the current calendar by clicking here (PDF) - Download Now

Nominations for Exco - Letter - Criteria & Duties - Form
The Prayer of Examen (PDF)

Reviews of events held in 2007

Retreat at Anglecrest by Michael McGann

Over the weekend Nov 9th-11th, we had our annual retreat at Anglesea. Despite following fresh upon the heels of two Paul Vaz retreats, the turn out this year was as good as ever, with about twenty five people coming along for the two days. As many of you will know, Anglecrest is idyllically perched over the Great Ocean Rd at Anglesea, with expansive ocean vistas. And this year we were treated to two blissful days of sunshine, the ocean sunrises a harmonious backdrop for meditation and contemplation.

            Trish and Mary Nolan led two wonderful sessions reflecting on the third and fourth weeks of the exercises, from the passion and suffering of Christ, to the joy of resurrection and our giftedness. It’s fair to say that everybody got a lot out of these reflections, and the small group meetings that ensued. Indeed, a number of people commented upon the fact that it was refreshing to have reflections on the spiritual exercises led by CLCers that offered another perspective to the vision offered by the Jesuits.

            Perhaps the highlight of the weekend, however, was the visit of Sacha and Matt to talk to us about the upcoming MAGIS 08 programme, and the MAGIS mission in general. For those of you who’ve been away from the grapevine for a while, the MAGIS programme is an Ignation spirituality for young adults (18-30) that has been started recently in Australia. MAGIS bears much resemblance to CLC’s model of lay spirituality, and some would go so far as to say that it is, in effect, CLC for young people. MAGIS 08, on the other hand, is an initiative to bring young people from all over the world to Australia for World Youth Day and to participate in “experiments” for a week beforehand, where they will be meet people from multiple nations and share their spiritual journeys together and be introduced to Ignation spirituality.

            Sacha and Matt’s visit ignited a spark in the hearts of many on the retreat and many felt a call to participate in someway in both the MAGIS and MAGIS 08 programmes. Indeed, a group got together over the retreat to work on getting a two or three CLC sponsored and run experiments off the ground. For the younger members of CLC, such as myself, MAGIS is an opportunity both to bring CLC to a younger generation and to fill the spiritual void that many young people feel, especially those in their 20s. I’m pretty sure you’ll be hearing a lot more about MAGIS and MAGIS 08 in the coming months. 
 
            Although, for me at least, learning about MAGIS was the highlight of the retreat, a very close second was the barbecue and socialising on the Saturday night, particularly Anna Munari’s various games and quizzes. Anna had us all up dancing like the Wiggles, she had me impersonating a monkey, and Tony perplexed as he never was before trying to guess the name of the CLCer written on his crown! I even managed to win an angel decoration for the Christmas tree during the quiz, though Anna-Marie trumped me, winning a fluffy purple pencil that she gave to one of her more highly self-opinionated students, much to his horror and embarrassment

            All in all, the retreat was a fantastic weekend away at a beautiful spot, with wonderful people. There was a great sense of community and sociability; nobody needed to be asked to do anything, and everybody pitched in at meal times, and with the cleaning. I think everybody got a lot out of the weekend and many of us came away with lots of enthusiasm, energy, and vision for the future life of CLC and our role in the wider community.

Read More

EAST MEETS WEST RETREAT – led by Paul Vaz SJ.
Nov. 3-5, 2007

I attended the “East Meets West Retreat” led by Paul Vaz after being given a brochure by a friend.  I didn’t know anyone else who was attending and wondered whether I would feel ‘conspicuously alone’.  However, after reading the brochure, something told me that it was an opportunity not to be missed.  I put fear aside and decided to enter the experience wholeheartedly.  What a great decision that was!

When I walked in the front door of the Amberley Retreat Centre at Lower Plenty, I received such a warm welcome that I immediately felt at home.  My room was lovely and even had its own ensuite bathroom!  Ah, such luxury!  The surroundings were beautiful and there was an air of peace and tranquility.

After the first session with Paul, I knew without doubt that I had made the right choice in attending.  His message was simple: “Let go.  Relax.  Surrender.”  He encouraged us to “surrender to the silence”, assuring us that the silence would be a revelation to us.  It would open us up to our gifts and would reveal to us things we did not know.  Through the many meditations, Paul led us to relax our bodies, to live in the present moment and to be aware of our senses.  He pointed out that when we were not relaxed, we remained unaware of our senses and so the sights, the sounds, the scents, the feelings went unnoticed before us.  He encouraged us to “come alive to the present”.

Paul led us through a variety of different types of meditation – full body relaxation, breathing techniques, different forms of slow, deliberate movement, dance (luckily with our eyes closed so that no-one would laugh!), visual, auditory and kinaesthetic exercises to make us more attentive to our different senses, ‘power meditations’ where we were guided through a series of images and personal memories.  This was followed by an exercise where we drew pictures of particular images which came to mind, using our non-dominant hand.  This was fascinating!  Because we were drawing with our non-dominant hand, there was no pressure to produce a ‘work of art’.  We shared our drawings and insights in small groups and it was amazing the trust that was shared and the degree of vulnerability risked.  It was a time of attentive listening to one another. 

On our last day, Paul led us in an “Earth Meditation” where we went outside and spent just over an hour out in the elements, quietly observing all that was around us in nature – trees, animals, insects, wind, water, clouds, plants, flowers, air.  We were told to relax, watch and listen and our “spirit-friend” would emerge.   We then had questions to ask ourselves in relation to our spirit-friend and our response.  It was a calming, restful way to finish our retreat.  We also shared a daily Eucharist.

Throughout the retreat, Paul encouraged us to move from our minds to our hearts – to concentrate on sensing and feeling rather than thinking.  One of his favourite sayings was:

The conscious knows.
The unconscious knows better.
The Spirit knows best!
 
Paul Vaz is a gifted and deeply spiritual person who led us gently through the weekend to a calmer and more tranquil place.  It is now one month on and I am still feeling the benefits of the weekend.  If Paul is ever in Melbourne again, I’ll be the first to sign up for his retreat!  My thanks to the CLC group for organizing the weekend and for making me so welcome.

Rose Dennis.

© 2007 CLC Melbourne - All rights reserved - Website powered by Rathdowne IT