Reflection on the Passionist Family Formation Day
Pentecost Sunday 15th May 2016
Held at St Thomas More Napier
Lead by Paul Traynor
What a wonderful way to spend Pentecost Sunday! About sixty people from Passionist Family Groups in Hawkes Bay gathered after Mass for the formation day lead by Paul Traynor. The theme was the teachings of Pope Francis in the modern world
Beginning with prayer we contemplated the changes in the world in our lifetime and the effect they have had. The world today with the rise of Islamism which is very different to the Islam faith and its effects were discussed.
We also looked at the changes in the Catholic Church and how Pope Francis is dealing with the modern day issues including the role of women and families in the church and how clericalism in influencing the rate of change.
All sessions were interactive with a lot of humour and laughter which made it easier to think about the serious stuff.
Paul attributed the content to Fr Brian and while he may have written it Pauls presentation skills made it come alive.
Food of course is important in any Passionist Family gathering and we were treated to exceptional morning tea and shared lunch.
The final session was a time of reflection which was beautiful. You could have heard a pin drop. We ended the day in a circle joined together.
Paul paid tribute to Lynn Hill the National Coordinator who is retiring from the role in June. We were delighted to hear Linda and Paul Darbyshire who have been our Diocesan coordinators will be sharing the role from the end of June.
The immediate feedback received from participants was very positive and feeling very peaceful in the Spirit we went out to carry on the aims of the Passionist Family Movement