At the Waterhole

Waterholes depicted by Australian Indigenous artists are often shown as a series of concentric circles, lines radiating out, radiating in – connecting the water in the centre to the life around. The image of the waterhole reflects something of how Benedictus seeks to be – a place of refreshment and replenishment, an open sanctuary in the midst of our city. Everyone, from whatever background or tradition, is welcome to come sit awhile in the garden, join us for meditation or participate in gatherings that offer a chance to rest, reflect and be returned to daily life replenished.

Lenten studies with Nikolai Blaskow- What the Mystics Know

During Lent, Nikolai will be offering a study series based on Richard Rohr’s What The Mystics Know in conversation with the great 14th century mystic, Julian of Norwich and her Revelations of Divine Love.

Nikolai writes: When Julian is brought into conversation with Richard Rohr, a Franciscan contemplative, we discover what mystics know. For us living in times of great peril and a Climate Emergency, such wisdom is gold. Father Richard helps us to see that we are “part of the problem.”  He notes that, “I am a part of the tragic sense of life, and there is no perfect orthodoxy on which to stand.”
            In an age we could define as a “cosmic egg,” ‘there seems to be a breach in almost every wall.” We are in this human thing together, he says. “Contemplation… is the ability to meet Reality in its most simple and direct form.”

Come and join us as we learn together through contemplation how to negotiate this experience, we call Life. Starting in Lent and Advent 2024 continuing into Lent and Advent 2025 we walk with the mystics together.

This study meets on Zoom on Thursday evenings, 15, 22, 29 Feb & 7, 14, 21 March; 7-8.30pm.

The Zoom link is here.

Please register at info@benedictus.com.au

Film & Theology – ‘Calvary’

Our Lenten series on Atonement will culminate with the screening of ‘Calvary’ on the evening of Palm Sunday. Join us to share soup before the film and stay after for discussion if you would like to. This is an opportunity to lead into Holy Week with a powerful exploration of the Easter story in a contemporary setting.

About the Film: Calvary is a 2014 gritty Irish drama written and directed by John Michael McDonagh. Accepting confession from an unseen person, Father James hears how the man suffered regular childhood sexual abuse from a priest who has since died. Father James expresses his lament for the man’s pain, but the man boasts that he’s planning to murder James. Citing widespread indifference towards priest child abuse, the confessor claims the sacrifice of an innocent priest will draw a stronger outrage than punishment of a guilty one, despite said violence being as senseless and unjust as his own rape. The man gives James a week to set his affairs in order, intending to kill him. The story has powerful resonances with themes of Holy Week. ‘This is the kind of movie that galvanizes and discomfits while it’s on screen and is terrific fodder for conversation long after its credits roll’ (Roger Ebert). Calvary is Rated: R (Language|Brief Strong Violence|Sexual References|Some Drug Use) and could be triggering for those who have suffered trauma. For more information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_(2014_film)

When: Sunday 24 March (Palm Sunday); 5.00pm for Soup | Film starts at 6.00pm

Where: St Ninian’s Hall, 150 Brigalow St, Lyneham

Cost: Free

Please register at info@benedictus.com.au

Notorious Nietzsche and Religion (with Nikolai Blaskow)

Nikolai Blaskow, Benedictus’s very own Nietzsche scholar, is offering a series of lectures which seek to:

  • introduce Nietzsche in a fresh way to those readers familiar with his writings, those new to them but wanting to know more, and to scholars curious about a different way of reading him
  • dispel the misconceptions which perpetuate the myth
  • provide through his theology of suspicion, exciting ways of approaching religion and life into an AI dominated 21st and 22nd century

Lecture 1: The God Killer (held in November 2023)
Lecture 2: The Christ Denier (11 April 2024, 7pm on Zoom and in person)
Lecture 3: The Life Affirmer (date TBC)

Lecture 1, “The God Killer” materials can be found here.  For audio click here

Embodied Listening Retreat with Susanna Pain – Alice Springs 2024

SOLD OUT

Come, rest, meditate, play, and reflect in the expansiveness of the magnificent central desert, beside ancient red rocks, under giant river red gums, in the sand, and around open fires. We will be silent, listen, move, make art, sing and tell stories that connect us with ourselves, each other and the spirit of the land herself.

When: 8 – 13 September 2024, Sunday after lunch until Friday mid-morning

Where: Campfire in the Heart, Alice Springs

For information, please see the flyer  

To register: https://www.trybooking.com/CNYCS

Retreat in Daily Life – August 2024 (online and in-person)

Retreat in Daily Life this year will be held in August from 1 August to 1 September. As in previous years, the main part of the retreat is meeting with a spiritual director/companion weekly over the time of the retreat and trying to clear some spaces for prayer and reflection. The retreat will also include some lectures and reflections on Meister Eckhart by Mark Burrows on four Sunday mornings from 10 until 11.30am. Those doing the retreat will meet on 1 August 7pm to 8.30pm, for an introduction and allocation of spiritual directors, then at the end on 1 September 10-11.30am.

Cost is $250, which includes the lectures and paying an honorarium to our spiritual directors. This retreat is for you if you would like to go deeper in your relationship with God, if you would like to explore who you are, and what is meaningful for you. This retreat is for you if you lead a busy life or if you can’t get away for a retreat. It can be a life changing experience grounded in the every day.

For more information contact Susanna at susannapain63@gmail.com

Creative Arts Retreat

This retreat offers contemplative space for you to explore your particular creative pursuits and also to gain windows into new avenues for making art.

Savour silence, song, art, music, dance, poetry – whatever draws you – in the context of a retreat where a rhythm of shared meditation, input, and personal time for art making will form the rhythm.

The space will be held by singer songwriter John Coleman, and poet John Foulcher with a small team.
We gather on Friday afternoon at (5pm) and finish after lunch on Monday so we will have ample time to open to the creative spirit within us and between us.

When: Friday 1 November 5.00pm – Monday 4 November after lunch

Where: St Clements Retreat and Conference Centre, Galong, NSW              Ensuite Room: $600       Shared Bathroom: $520

Please note on booking a deposit of $300 is required, with the remaining monies due one month prior to the Retreat.  If cost is an issue, please speak to us, as we have some capacity for scholarships.

Bookings via TryBooking here