“The best day ever”, and “ I feel liberated “were two of the many supportive comments passed by the 45 members who attended the formation day on Saturday 28th May. This was to be no ordinary formation day, instead many of us set off into new territory to explore the universe and our part within it under the watchful and spiritfilled guidance of Fr Brian Traynor from the Passionist Monastery in Melbourne. The importance of getting up to date with science ,theology and scripture was highlighted and how they relate to our faith experience explained. “We must seek within ourselves a sense of awe and reverence for the divine creating presence within and around us –everywhere” said Fr Brian.
We were also reminded that we don’t go to church, but rather ” we are church”.Our worship comes out of our belonging .Some people have come to see that cooking a casserole for someone in need is truly putting faith into practice ,and that all the prayers and externals must be backed by such practical action. Holiness is to be found in the ordinary, and this is where the Passionist Family Group members demonstrate so well that they are living out their faith.
The Day was a great success and our hope is that the development of such new and innovative programmes by the Professed Passionists that both educate ,challenge and inspire us within a nurturing environment to reflect more deeply on our spirituality with continue ,and become the way of the future.
John and Rosie Crawford Auckland Directors