Monday 19 March 2012
By Fiona Basile, Kairos Catholic Journal
More than 100 women from across Victoria attended the 8th Anima Lenten Retreat held on Saturday 17 March at Nazareth House in Camberwell. The theme of this year’s retreat—Contemplating the Face of Christ—was taken from the upcoming Year of Grace. The retreat director for the day was Fr Paschal Corby OFM Conv.
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Anima convenor Anna Krohn said, “The motto of Anima is nurturing the heart of women. The idea is to create a space where we can enable women to find a quiet reflective place during Lent to contemplate life, and in this case, also the face of Christ.
“Quite often women are too busy to stop and that’s certainly what I had been hearing from the women I spoke to in the early days. I don’t think much has changed. In fact, there’s probably an even greater need for women to have a space to stop, be in each other’s presence and to reflect on their lives, and on God.
“Mind you, behind the scenes it resembles My Kitchen Rules, but the rest of the space is very contemplative.”
Robyn Fahy from Camberwell was at the retreat. She recounted a beautiful conversation she had in the morning: “One of the lovely League ladies from Ballarat, Gertie Mangan, was saying that the reason why this place—Nazareth House—has a spiritual feel, is not just because of the beautiful Chapel, it’s because this whole place is ‘heaven’s gate’. Which it really is! The atmosphere and the charism of the Sisters of Nazareth, the work that they do here—that’s why it’s so peaceful and spiritual here—it is heaven’s gate.”
Anima Women’s Network hosts two conferences a year, and one Lenten Retreat. Anima aims to enrich the lives of women by addressing the issues that women face in their faith, families, relationships, workplaces and society and helps women to connect, find mutual support, encouragement and have fun together.
For more information and upcoming events see http://www.cwl-vic-ww.org/Anima-Education/Anima-Women-s-Network/Anima-Women-s-Network.html
Photos copyright 2012: Fiona Basile, Kairos Catholic Journal (Communications Office, Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne).