November 29-30, 2024
To register, click on this link.
Bruce and Carolyn Hindmarsh will invite us to pray with Mary of Bethany.
When we think of Jesus and his disciples, we usually think of the twelve who travelled with him in his public ministry and who were uniquely called by him and designated his apostles.
However, we might also think of the three who were his friends and whose home he visited on at least three occasions. When we first encounter them, it is with the words, “Martha opened her home to him” (Luke 10: 38). We meet Martha and her sister Mary and (later) their brother Lazarus. We might think of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus therefore as the domestic disciples.
In our retreat together, we would like to help you to set aside for the moment your roles and responsibilities to “open your home” to the Lord Jesus Christ and to consider what it might mean to invite him into this most intimate space. What does it mean to be befriended by Jesus Christ and beloved by him in the most interior way? It is at home, behind closed doors, where we dare to voice our greatest hopes and fears, where we experience our deepest joys and sorrows. In the Gospels, the Lord Jesus chose to visit Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in their ordinary home and to enter fully into their messy lives. On all three occasions, his presence made all the difference. We will consider all three domestic disciples at home in the village of Bethany, but we will focus the spotlight especially on Mary and invite you to follow her in her response to Jesus. By placing yourself there with Mary at the feet of Jesus, you can pray with Mary of Bethany and make her wholehearted response your own.
The retreat will consist of times of teaching with some times of quiet prayer and reflection. Some simple aids will be provided.
Mixed media collage by Suzi Dennis. If only You had been here... (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/...)
