We experienced a very prayerful St. Ignatius Day weekeend. Six tertians came to the Newport Beach villa for some relaxation after a couple of days of sharing about our recent apostolic endeavors. Newport Beach is on a bluff that overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The tertians are amazed that in the middle of winter folks are swimming and surfing. We took a walk along the beach before we returned to the house for Mass.
Villa was relaxing as our Thai tertian cooked Pad Thai for dinner while our Chinese tertian made some pork dumplings. After we had Mass, several of us watched the movie "Precious," which was not uplifting but was disturbingly moving. After dinner we watched "Shutter Island."
I cooked some eggs and pancakes and then I led prayer on the Feast of St. Ignatius. We had more sharing, though nicely brief. We all realize we only have three weeks left of our program together. Afterwards we went to Palm Beach and climbed the bluff to reach the lighthouse.
We returned to Pymble to help set up for the gathering of Sydney Jesuits who would celebrate the day with us.
On Sunday, I said Mass at Rose Bay in the Vacluese section of town. It was a lovely 19th century French chapel at a school run by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. It was quite an elite school and my homily focuses upon the futility of holding onto our possessions and the virtue of giving away what one has.
Another Jesuit and I walked along a trail that was at South Head. It forms the southern entrance to Sydney Harbour. I wish I brought my camera. The sky was so sunny and temperatures were around 20 degrees Celsius so people were swimming and sunbathing. This is mid-winter. Daylight is increasing and people are feeling just a little freer as they are outside more often.
It was a lovely weekend.
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