In the days since Covid 19 pandemic, when our daily lives were fraught with enforced isolation and social distancing, many of us have found that our securities have been destabilised. There is much that we can learn from and practice with the Benedictine charism of hospitality. Our society has made hospitality a huge industry which comprises a sizable part of our economy, yet hospitality is so much more than that.

There is an invitation in these uncertain times to go deeper, a call to a deeper contemplative living. Living in the unconditionally hospitable embrace of God we are more enabled to embrace ourselves with unconditional hospitality and there is a natural flow which extends to the embrace of others – as our very self. From this perspective, in this retreat we are invited creatively to explore some ways in which this versatile charism can nourish, sustain and stabilise us in a deeper security that is rooted in faith, in hope and in love.

The retreat explores the nature of hospitality which is so much a part of the teachings in the Scriptures, both Old and New.   It is also an intrinsic part of the Benedictine way of prayer and living.  The retreat is divided loosely into three parts which are both a reflection of and a reflection on the most important commandment of all:

“Which commandment is the most important of all?”  Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ’You shall love your neighbour as your self.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

• to embrace the invitation and opportunity to go deeper within, that has been offered by the current pandemic;
• to abide in the hospitable and unconditionally loving Divinity within;
• to practice abiding in the presence of the indwelling God through daily reflection and meditation;
• to explore hospitality as taught in the Scriptures, especially in the teaching of Jesus, in poetry and in the writings and teachings of the mystics;
• To open to flow of the Spirit breathing within you and extending out into each moment of your day;