The weekend of 9-10 September was very cold and stormy in Auckland but inside Vaughan Park it was warm, gentle and calm as the Auckland Passionist Companions were holding their biennial retreat.

This year it was led by Pat McIndoe CP, our very own Kiwi Passionist priest, kindly shared by his parishioners in Blenheim to lead us in sessions on: “A Christian Vision for our Times”;       The Paschal Mystery in our Life;      &    “Pathways in Prayer “Sadly some of our group were unable to attend due to poor health but we were delighted to welcome Paul & Christine Geoghegan from Wellington, Gerard Daly from Melbourne and Penelope Van Der Lee [who dropped the average age of the attendees markedly..!]  Thanks Penelope for joining us – it’s so encouraging to have younger people join us and share their perspectives. We also enjoyed swapping & sharing ideas with Gerard around Companions groups and Passionist Institutes.  A huge thanks to George & Judy Quinney for organising yet another highly successful & enjoyable retreat. They were thanked for their leadership over the past 14 years, and to quote philosopher Lao Tzu ……..”when the best leader’s work is done….the people say we did it ourselves………..” So to George & Judy…heartfelt thanks from usall…..and May the Passion of Jesus Christ be Always in our Hearts.