'The harvest of righteousness shall be sown in peaced by those who make peace' (James)

FRIENDS OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF JOY

an ecumenical foundation of Prayer, Peace and Reconciliation.

Newsletter no 12

Autumn 2009

My dear Friends

I am writing to you from Ferns, County Wexford, in the Republic of Ireland, where I am on a retreat cum holiday. I have been visiting my dear friend Sister Christina, who used to live in Cambridge with her community, The Sisters of Adoration. Now, high up in the countryside, 45 minutes drive from Wexford, they continue to pray in a special way for others and for reconciliation in a troubled world.

Wexford has had a traumatic history, with the massacre of Catholics by Cromwell in the 17th century: the memories linger on, although there are now peacemaking groups dedicated to healing those memories of conflict in both Southern and Northern Ireland. But apparently Wexford has a beautiful opera house and I intend to make a visit in the coming week.

Speaking of reconciliation, on July 26th, The Little Sisters of Joy hosted a talk called 'Jewish Christian reconciliation in the post war period.' The talk was given by an Orthodox Jewish friend of mine, Jonathan Gorsky. Jonathan has a wealth of experience in Jewish-Christian relations, having worked for the Council of Christians and Jews for many years. He is now a lecturer at Heythrop College in the University of London and has helped to devise a unique undergraduate degree in the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The talk was both a brief overview of the conflictual relations between Jews and Christians over the centuries and a summary of the very real progress since the Second World War. Vatican II, the Council of the Catholic Church which reformed many things, published a document called Nostra Aetate (In our Age) in which the Church officially refuted the position that the Jews were collectively responsible for the Crucifixion. It also laid down guidelines for better relations between Catholics and Jews, emphasising that the Old Testament is the valid matrix of the New.

By the time you read this, three of the great Jewish Festivals will have been celebrated, Rosh Hashanah, the New year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. It is a time of great rejoicing, as well as a time of deep reflection on our lives as well as the state of our world. A special time to reflect on the eternal and not simply the temporal and a time when the individual and communal prayer and atonement of a whole people moves the the whole world on to a different plane where we are nearer our heavenly home.

Which is exactly what they are doing here in Ferns in Ireland. Snug in my little cosy hermitage in the grounds of the monastery, I also wander up to the beautiful chapel, where there is an opportunity for peace and prayer almost 24 hours a day.Or pop to one of the many local pubs for the best Guiness I have ever tasted and then take a walk in the countryside.

If you fancy doing the same, ring or fax Sister Christina at St Aidans Monastery on

00353539366634 staidansferns@eircom.net http://www.staidans-ferns.org/

May you be inscribed in the Book of Life

for a sweet and Happy New Year, Shalom

Sister Gila