Join us in prayer as we prepare for World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow!
In the run up to these events in July, we are producing a series of reflections based on the theme of 'identity'.

Music: Heartstrings by Daniel Berkman, from Heartstrings. Copyright © Magnatune. Used with permission.

World Youth Day 2016

John Ogilvie SJ was born of noble Calvinist parents in 1579 at Drumna-Keith in Banffshire, Scotland. As a boy he was sent to the continent to further his education. With the help of Father Cornelius van den Steen (also known as Cornelius a Lapide) he was received into the Catholic Church, and was a student at the Scots College in Louvain and at other centres of learning. He entered the Society of Jesus on November 5 1599, and after insistent pleading, he was allowed to return to his native country where his ministry was cut short by his betrayal and capture in Glasgow. After extreme suffering he was hanged on March 10, 1615. The principal cause of his martyrdom was his insistence on the primacy of the Pope in spiritual matters, a primacy he affirmed with great constancy to the very end. He was enrolled among the saints by Blessed Pope Paul VI on October 17, 1976.

The following letter written secretly in prison a short time before his death and addressed to Father Claude Acquaviva, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, reveals the courage and humility with which St John faced martyrdom:

Dearest and wisest of veterans, after Christ and his angels and saints the most tender love of my heart. 

My sufferings are terrible, the tortures severe. Your Paternity’s charity will ensure that you pray for me, that I may die with great generosity for the ever victorious Jesus. May Christ long protect you, the most expert leader of his chosen and tested soldiers as the bulwark of his Church. 

Your Very Reverend Paternity’s little servant in Christ, and most unworthy child,

John Ogilvie SJ

Last Letter Of St John Ogilvie SJ

St Nicholas Owen was born in 1562 in Oxford into a devout recusant family, and trained as a carpenter and joiner.  Very little is known of his ministry as a Jesuit, other than he put his training as a carpenter to work constructing priest holes. The only written account of him comes from what others have written about him, and we've collected these together in this audio. Read the transcript of this recording on the Jesuits in Britain Ignatian Insight blog: https://www.jesuit.org.uk/node/2519

St Nicholas Owen SJ - Biography and Last Confession

1. What's your name?

Today’s reading is from the Book of Genesis 
Your life and your name are intertwined with each other. You received life and you received a name regardless of your will. Your name is something precious. It is your most important piece of personal information. When you tell someone your name, you permanently give them access to yourself. How does this make you feel? Uncomfortable? Indifferent? Or perhaps safe…secure that you are known by someone?

What is the meaning of your name? What blessings does it bring to others?

What is your name? What does it mean for you? What emotions awake in you when you hear your own name?


Music: I'll Wait for You by Salt of the Sound, from Meditations Vol. 1. Copyright © Salt of the Sound. Used with Permission.

World Youth Day 2016 - Session 1

2. Where are you from?

Today’s reading is from the Book of Exodus 
The Israelites lived in Egypt for many years. They took root there. They became part of the landscape there. It’s similar in our case: we live in some part of the world, which also becomes an important part of us. The continent, the country, the city or town as well as the family that we come from says a lot about us. Take a moment to reflect on your own roots, your own beginnings. What or where do you identify with?

We can understand our origins as a blessing: good memories from home, friendly and beautiful local traditions. Sometimes, however, our roots for us are like the army of Egypt, which are chasing us, and we are trying to escape them by every means. What is your situation like at the moment? Are you trying to escape from something?

Where do you come from? What is your starting point on your pilgrimage of life? Are you ready for God to lead you through the Red Sea, to your very own personal promised land?

Music: Heartstrings by Daniel Berkman, from Heartstrings. Copyright © Magnatune. Used with permission.

World Youth Day 2016 - Session 2

3. What did you want to tell me?

Today’s reading is from the Book of Exodus 
Imagine that you met with Pope Francis. He already asked you what your name is and where you’re from; and now he wants to hear something more from you. What would you like to say to him? And when it’s your turn, what do you want to ask him?

Can you talk to God in the same way you spoke to Pope Francis? If you were to meet God face to face right now, what would you share?

A dialogue is a conversation. Listen to your heart now. It’s in it that God wants to speak to you. Can you open your heart to God now?


Music: Should My Soul by Steven Faux, from Do Not Be Not Far. Copyright © Steven Faux. Used with permission. 

World Youth Day 2016 - Session 3

4. What gives you life?

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of John

Some events, meetings and activities particularly inspire us. They give us deeper, inner joy. That’s when the better and nobler part of us begins to develop. Can you reflect on an event like this that happened in your life?

Joy, which is from God leads us to the fullness of life. It doesn’t leave anyone spent and dry.  Can you ask God now for the grace to know how to recognise and accept this joy?

What are the things, places or people that you draw life from? Thank God now for all they do and will continue to do in your life.


Music: Ukuthula by The University of Johannesburg Choir, from Ukuthula. Copyright © University of Johannesburg Choir. Used with permission

World Youth Day 2016 - Session 4

5. What takes life away from you?

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke

Situations related to sin cause pain and sadness in us. We often feel aversion to others, to God and to ourselves. Our hearts – trying to cope with this aversion – often become harder and harder. Can you think of moments where you have felt this aversion? How did you try to cope with it?

“Indeed, God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Jesus comes closer to a person touched by sin. He does not throw anyone away, even if Jesus Himself is completely thrown away. Even if things are bad for you, do you try to come closer to Jesus, or do you run away from Him instead?

What takes life away from you? What opinions, judgements, situations and actions take you away from God? Talk to God about these in your own words.


Music: Be Near Me Still by Jodi Penner, from Tree in a Storm. Copyright © Jodi Penner. Used with permission. 

World Youth Day 2016 - Session 5

In the Spiritual Exercises, St Ignatius gives us the idea of meeting sacred scripture with one's own life, mediated through Imaginative Contemplation. The aim of these reflections is to do this in tandem with pieces of art. Each month therefore, we will offer a painting in the hope that it will enable you to reflect more deeply on a particular passage of scripture. The idea is that you can return to the painting and scripture and discover more depth throughout the month.

Introduction to Praying with Art

“Walking with the Risen Christ – New Creation Retreat”, which offers daily scripture, reflections and music. This retreat is part of a developing ministry to promote and support young adults in their journey as missionary disciples, whose discipleship is formed and shaped by the central ideas of integral ecology as outlined in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’.

Music: 'Light of the Heart' by Suzanne Teng, from 'Enchanted Wind'. (Licensed under a by-nc-sa license from Magnatune: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/legalcode)

Enchanted Wind

Light of the Heart

Music

Walking with the Risen Christ - New Creation retreat Introduction

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World Youth Day 2016 - Session 1

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