Trusting God, Saint Ia left Ireland to journey to Cornwall on a leaf-coracle which carried her across the ocean. Her incredible odyssey across the sea will offer beautiful material for your own creative writing, celebrating the journey with the wild elemental ocean, the wind and the sky. The Celtic seafarer Saint Brendan stepped out into his coracle and took to the waves in an act of surrendering… we will explore this through guided imaginative Ignatian prayer. Unknowingly landing on the back of a sea monster, they fled in terror, but eventually returned to celebrate resurrection. Can we open our eyes to what’s going on beneath the surface of ourselves and face our fears so the very place of fear becomes a place of resurrection? Saint Kevin and the Blackbird will be presented through storytelling and we’ll explore questions such as: What does this story show us about the relationship between prayer, contemplation and Creation? The retreat day will include various approaches such as discussion, music, creative writing, stillness, prayer etc.

Donna Worthington is an experienced retreat giver, spiritual director and labyrinth facilitator. She will be visiting the FCJ Spirituality House as part of her time in Ireland during September / October 2024, when she will be leading retreats in various places including Glendalough and Manresa, Dublin. Christian RetreatsRetreat Leader (christianretreats.live)