Lenten Group Testimonial

Earlier this year, Neville Fernandez invited me to join his Lenten Study Group with the enticing words,
“We’re all of a certain age.”

Once we started, I realised that I knew about half the group, but I now also have a new group of friends, some of whom are new to the parish, and some who have been members of the parish but whom I had not met before. One of the advantages of joining a new group is meeting new friends, with a different range of understandings and experiences. Of course, one of the big advantages of being “of a certain age,” is that we all had a much larger range of life experiences on which to reflect.

We have been meeting each week on Tuesday mornings in the Parish Centre for a scrumptious morning tea follow by the Lenten Program of the Wollongong Diocese

The Scripture readings of the Lenten season relate to powerful stories, either events in the life of Jesus, or parables which he used to illustrate his message. Far from being stories which “We’ve all heard a thousand times before”, or “Why do you Catholics worry about what happened 2,000 years ago?”, the Lenten study groups pray with the Scriptures of the following Sunday, read or listen to, then discuss, reflections from notable theologians, and apply those reflections to our life, sometimes opening our eyes to past events in our lives, or throwing a new light on problems, questions or events of today. It is a way of allowing the Scriptures, written 2000 years ago, to show us the way God is calling us to live and act today.

It is a beautiful way to prepare our hearts and minds as we move towards Easter, reflecting on what meaning the death and resurrection of Christ has in our lives. After Easter we met for a shared meal.

Our group will continue to meet after Easter and our program is the Metanoia Series presented by the Franciscan Missionaries of New York State. If you would like to join our group or need more information, contact Neville on 0431 778 476

Lyn Beatty