Spirituality of the Heart day of reflection in England

At the end of October thirty people from across England gathered in the beautiful and stately setting of Princethorpe College in Warwickshire for a day of reflection on Spirituality of the Heart. The day, entitled "Life's Healing Journey", was led by Fr. Charles Sweeney, msc.

This was the second such day this year organised by a small group of MSC and laity in England who have committed to providing days of reflection, sharing and input on various aspects of Spirituality of the Heart.

Fr. Charles began the day by showing a short DVD about the life of Fr. Jules Chevalier, the founder of the MSC, who died 100 years ago. It put the group in the right mood to examine the spirituality that inspired his life and which resonates with each person who had come to the day.

Fr. Charles Sweeney, msc

No one is without spirituality, so how to characterise in a few words the spirituality you live by yourself? The surest way to discover it is to look at the times of crisis and stress in our lives. How do we relate to God when life gets tough and what does it say about the image of God that is ours?

By means of a powerpoint presentation Father Charles reviewed five images of God, partly true but mostly untrue. All five are futile attempts to understand suffering, but suffering cannot be explained: it is a mystery to be lived. As Father Charles put it: “If you leave this day and you feel that you have all the answers, then I have failed. We simply do not know how God works.” Each of the five common images Fr Charles examined in some way obscures the true loving God.

Some of those who attended the day

Healing - Life’s Healing Journey was the theme of the day - only starts when we discover that the God beyond our grasp and control has given us a self-portrait in Jesus Christ. It is more than a self-portrait, it is a masterpiece. In Christ God is revealed as a loving, compassionate and forgiving presence, who never lets go of us.

Jules Chevalier discovered God’s unconditional love in the Sacred Heart and he allowed that love to transform his life. His own life became one great attempt to bring that love to others. In short that is what Sacred Heart Spirituality is all about.

Some of the participants

The day ended by celebrating that love in the Eucharist using the biblical image of the amazing landowner who goes out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16). The landowner acts in strange ways but it is a landowner who cares, a true image of God.