Events @ New Norcia 2008
5 Jan - Annual Ecumenical Ceremony with Carols 
Afternoon Tea will be served before the Ceremony in the Monastery Parlour (left of the main gate) from 3.00pm. The Ecumenical Ceremony with Carols featuring The Georgian Singers begins at 5pm in the Abbey Church. 
There will be a collection during the ceremony to defray expenses. 
Enquiries: P. Claire, M. 0427 899991, E. info@newnorcia.com
8-10 Feb - Retreat: The Journey through Lent to Easter
Presenter: Benedictine Community

Join the monks for a weekend of reflection and discussion. Participants will explore the relationship between the ‘life of the liturgy’ and the ‘liturgy of life’, entering into the spirit of the liturgical season of Lent, through participation in the celebration of the Divine Office and the Conventual Mass of the monastic community.

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 8/2 – Lunch 10/2. 
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
22-24 Feb - Retreat: Spirituality in the Workplace 
Presenter: Rose Ingram 
Rose Ingram is keenly interested in Benedictine spirituality and its application in daily life. She has worked as a public servant for 22 years and has experience in management, occupational safety and health, recruitment and selection, training and development, and performance development. Rose is married to Mark, and a proud nonna. Interested in liturgy, she has been involved in various music ministries, currently at St Dominic's Catholic Church, Innaloo)

What do the Scriptures and the Rule of Saint Benedict have to say about work? How do we make the Monday connection in the workplace after church on Sunday? This weekend will explore how we approach our spirituality in the workplace, and how that spirituality can be integrated in our Christian living, vocation and ministry.

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 22/2 – Lunch 24/2. 
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
20-23 Mar - The Paschal Triduum 
Presenter: Benedictine Community
Timetable (more info coming soon….)

These days offer the unique monastic experience of entering more deeply into the liturgical celebration of Holy Week. Beginning with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, journeying through the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday, the emptiness of Holy Saturday, and ending with the joyful celebration of Easter, retreatants take up the Vatican II directive to celebrate the liturgy with “full, conscious and active participation”. 

Cost: TBC includes Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 20/3 – Lunch 23/3. 
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
4-6 April - Retreat: Julian of Norwich
Presenter: Stephanie Woods 
Stephanie Woods is a teacher and mother of three. Stephanie spent 18 years as a parish based catechist in sacramental preparation for children and adults, and has been involved in catechist training for the Archdiocese. She is currently a presenter for the Maranatha Institute for Adult Faith Formation, offering courses at the C.E.O., in parishes, and for the Christian Meditation Community in W.A. Stephanie recently retired after eight years as Chair of the Catholic Marriage Education Services/Natural Fertility Services Board.

Julian of Norwich, a 14th century English mystic, lived in turbulent times, not unlike our own. After a series of visions and years of prayerful reflections she recorded her insights and understandings on the nature of God's love, prayer, asceticism, the Trinity, the Motherhood of God, among many other things in "A Revelation of Divine Love ". Her positive and grounded writings will be explored, offering an avenue for reflecting on our own spiritual journey.


Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 4/4 – Lunch 6/4
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
2-4 May - Retreat: Christian Spirituality 
Presenter: Fr John Herbert OSB
Fr John Herbert OSB joined the monastic community at New Norcia in 1995. He is presently the parish priest and director of the spirituality programme in the Monastery Guesthouse.

During this weekend elements integral to spirituality will be explored by reflection on the nature and purpose of Christian Spirituality. Selections from the writings of John Cassian, Hugh of Balama and Teresa of Avila will be presented to assist in the understanding and appreciation of our spiritual tradition and the challenges they offer to us today. 

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 2/5 – Lunch 4/5
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
17 May - New Norcia Studies Day
Download brochure
Enquiries: Archivist, P. (08) 9654 8018, E. archives@newnorcia.wa.edu.au
6-8 June - Retreat: Christian Meditation and Mysticism 
Presenters: Anne Zevis & John Auer 
Anne is based in Fremantle having moved there from Melbourne about 15 years ago. She is a committed meditator and was introduced to the practice through an interest in Indian Philosophy. Anne has been married for over 35 years. Following a successful career in the air transportation industry she now works in special needs education. She has a particular interest in the communal aspects of our faith journeys and the spiritual interface between our interior and exterior lives. 
John Auer has recently returned to Australia after more than four decades in the USA and the UK. He is an experienced meditator and trained spiritual director who has served on the UK Christian Meditation Community National Council. John has led retreats, days of reflection and workshops on various themes including Contemplative and Ignatian spirituality. John and Anne are the new directors of the Christian Meditation Community of W.A.)

“God is breath, for the breath of the wind is shared by all, goes everywhere; nothing shuts it in, nothing holds it prisoner.” (Maximus the Confessor) At the present time it seems that mysticism and mystics are all around us! Yet our religious practices are for the most part anything but mystical. “Christianity is in the first place an Oriental religion and it is a mystical religion.” (Olivier Clement) We will explore the nature of mysticism and the mystical journey in a Christian tradition which stretches back over two thousand years as well as look at the place of Christian Meditation in that tradition. 

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 6/6 – Lunch 8/6
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
4-6 Jul - Retreat: Ancient Wisdom for a Modern World
Presenters: Benedictine Community

Benedictine spirituality is not distinctive for any one thing rather it is distinctive for its combination of aspects. This weekend will explore the order of monastic life - the essential rhythm and balance of prayer, work, spiritual reading, hospitality & community life as a sure guide for remaining focused in our search for God. We will also consider the character of monastic life - the spiritual values of obedience, humility, stability, patience, silence etc as ways of keeping our desire for God alive and active. There will be opportunities for the reading of texts (both ancient and modern), personal reflection, and the sharing of experience and insight. 

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 4/7 – Lunch 6/7
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
1-3 Aug - Retreat: The Monk and the Psychologist
Presenters: Fr John Herbert OSB & Dr Neil Preston 
Fr John Herbert OSB joined the monastic community at New Norcia in 1995. He is presently the parish priest and director of the spirituality programme in the monastery guesthouse.
Dr Neil Preston is presently Senior Research Psychologist at Fremantle Hospital and Health Services and Adjunct Research Fellow at the School of Psychology at Curtin University. Neil brings a certain lightness to the field of psychology, with particular emphasis on its relationship to the spiritual life. He is also a fine musician and songwriter, and has produced a number of CDs.


It is true that we live in a therapeutic rather than religious age. Despite this, therapeutic experiences can have elements of the spiritual within them. The Monk and the Psychologist Retreat explores the interface between modern psychology and Benedictine monasticism. This retreat will explore four themes, which invite participants to ask the question – what is the meaning of pain, presence, prayer, and play in helping us to understand God and ourselves? Taking the form of a dialogue between Fr John Herbert, Dr Neil Preston and the participants, the retreat will explore how these traditions of human and divine endeavour overlap.

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 1/8 – Lunch 3/8
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
5 Sep - New Norcia Library Lecture
Keynote Speaker: Giles Mandelbrote, Curator 15th-18th Century Collections, British Library
Enquiries: Sue, P (08) 9654 8060 Wed-Fri, E. library@newnorcia.wa.edu.au
21 Sep - Friends of New Norcia Picnic Day (more information coming soon...)
Enquiries: Joan, P (08) 9654 8167, Freecall 1800 882 235, E. friends@newnorcia.com
26-28 Sep - Retreat: Contemporary Woman Mystics
Presenter: Stephanie Woods 
Stephanie Woods spent 18 years as a parish based catechist in sacramental preparation for children and adults, and has been involved in catechist training for the Archdiocese. She is currently a presenter for the Maranatha Institute for Adult Faith Formation, offering courses at the C.E.O., in parishes, and for the Christian Meditation Community in W.A. Stephanie recently retired after eight years as Chair of the Catholic Marriage Education Services/Natural Fertility Services Board.

This weekend will look at the life and writings of three European women mystics, whose common experience of Jewish upbringing and the horrors of World War II impacted on their spiritual awareness. Edith Stein, Etty Hillesum and Simone Weil have much to teach about the self-revealing God in all life circumstances. Stephanie will guide us through a close reading of their writings to foster our own reflection.

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 26/9 – Lunch 28/9
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
3-5 Oct - Retreat: A Retreat for Walkers 
Presenter: Di Challen 
Di Challen has a long history of working and playing in the Australian outdoors, having spent much of her childhood in the bush with her father, a National Park Ranger. For the past nine years she has been involved in guiding and facilitating outdoor activities for corporate groups, schools, the public and, more recently, for people with mental health problems. Bush walking is her passion, and she has trekked extensively throughout Australia. She has a Bachelor of Science in Physical and Health Education and is currently studying for a Masters Degree in Theology. In her spare time, Di loves to retire to our beautiful Australian outdoors for some quiet reflection and contemplation.)

A weekend offering guided walks through some of the virgin bush of New Norcia and local nature reserves. Retreatants will consider the spiritual values of silence, solitude, the stewardship of beauty, communing with God through nature and community life. 

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 3/10 – Lunch 5/10
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
31 Oct – 2 Nov - ‘Relationships in the Rule of St Benedict’
Sr Margaret Malone SGS & Fr John Herbert OSB

An important part of Benedict's Rule is the way he speaks about relationships in community. There is much to learn from this for us in our time, about the way we should relate to one another. During this weekend we
will explore how Benedict’s teaching on monastic values such as humility, mutual obedience and stability can make a contribution to better and more meaningful relationships.

Sr Margaret Malone SGS In the earlier part of religious life, Sr Margaret was a teacher, both primary and secondary. After study at Catholic University in Washington DC, she was a member of the formation team and responsible for on-going formation programmes within her community. She has taught at the Canberra
campus of ACU and Notre Dame University Australia in the areas of sacraments, liturgy, social justice and women’s studies. She now lives in a community in Perth and is involved in organizing and administering study
programmes on the Rule of Benedict and its sources.
 

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 7/11 – Lunch 9/11
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
21-23 Nov - Retreat: How Can I Keep from Singing?
Presenter: Gabrielle Mercer 
Gabrielle Mercer studied piano and voice in Melbourne and London, graduating with an honours degree. She worked initially in music therapy, performance and education before beginning studies in pipe organ and theology, and devoting herself to parish music in Melbourne. After a long affinity with monastic life Gabrielle came to live at New Norcia in December 2005 and works for the monks as the community’s Organist and Liturgy Co-ordinator. 


A Pastoral weekend for Music Ministers - open to instrumentalists and singers from all Christian traditions. An Opportunity to:
· Be renewed in the faith and love that inspires our song
· Make music together and contribute to the worship on the feast of Christ the King
· Reflect on our ministry
· Make connections with other faith filled musicians
· Participate in the Divine Office

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 21/11 – Lunch 23/11
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
5-7 Dec - Retreat: Growing in the Reverence of God
Presenter: Mark Ingram 
Mark Ingram has had over twenty years experience in pastoral care roles including aged care chaplaincy and working with youth with Mission Australia. He is married to Rose, has four adult children and is a proud grandfather. 

On more than one occasion in the Wisdom literature we read: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." What does it mean to have a sense of the awe of God? Why is it important and how can a sense of awe and reverence for God be cultivated in everyday living? Isaiah prophesied of Christ that the fear of the Lord was his delight. If reverence or awe of God was the distinguishing mark of Christ's life then surely it would be true of all his followers. Come and explore this exciting theme during this Advent season.

Cost: $200/person (for those who can afford it) includes Retreat, Accommodation and Meals from Dinner 5/12 – Lunch 7/12
Enquiries: Bernadette, P (08) 9654 8002, F(08) 9654 8097, E. guesthouse@newnorcia.com
NEW NORCIA GUESTHOUSE Spirituality Programme 2008

NEW NORCIA GUESTHOUSE Spirituality Programme 2009

Christmas Timetable
Let us organise a unique experience of New Norcia for your work, parish, social or school group. 
Call Bec on 9654 8107 or Email. marketing@newnorcia.com