Thursday, 1st June 2023
Divine Will Silent Retreat
by James Parker
A group of 38 retreatants from across Australia, aged from their early-20s to late-80s, gathered in New Norcia in mid-May to engage in five days of silent retreat.
The focus of the retreat was living in God’s Will, based upon the Book of Heaven – 36 volumes of writings by the Servant of God, Luisa Piccarreta.
The retreat master was Tony Hickey, a Catholic layman from the UK, who has over three decades’ experience of leading retreats globally. Unusually, and yet most successfully, Tony Hickey led the retreat from his home in England by broadcasting via WhatsApp on a phone connected to a loudspeaker – thereby reaching the retreatants in New Norcia.
As is true for any retreat, its fruitfulness can depend significantly on the setting and ambience. With comfortable beds offered in a variety of single rooms (twin rooms for the married couples), and with a large selection of peaceful places – both internal and external – in which to be still, to reflect, to pray and to contemplate, New Norcia offered the perfect setting for us to engage with God’s gifts of creation, redemption and sanctification.
The incredibly warm welcome and hospitality from all the staff, the quality and quantity of food provided, along with the prayerful and warm support of the monks, were all conducive to making every aspect of this silent retreat very comfortable and most memorable.
There is little wonder that the retreatants repeatedly request the desire to return to New Norcia whenever another such silent retreat is mooted. We certainly hope to return for as long as the Benedictine community will permit us to do so.