Driving into Willow Park Christian Camp at Eastern Beach in early October brought back a flood of memories.

My first Joshua Men’s Retreat was held here in 1996. I remember walking into a room full of men roaring praise and worship and thinking, “I’ve come home”.

My search for Christian men’s fellowship had led me to Pentecostal church gatherings that were great, but I missed a Catholic flavour. No adoration, no morning prayer, no Reconciliation, no priests, no Mass. 

Here, Joshua offered it all. Willow Park has become an institution for Auckland Joshua men’s retreats. Founded in 1935 by Christian philanthropist Robert Laidlaw, Willow Park is now surrounded by multi-million dollar real estate. Parts of the camp reflect its longevity with gaps in the walls showing daylight.

In a way this suits the Joshua retreat. No hundred-thousand dollar sound systems and smoke machines here. Just ordinary men seeking a closer walk with Jesus. 

This year the retreat held a special attraction for me. The calibre of the advertised speakers was stellar with Fr Michael Gielen as keynote speaker and Bishop Emeritus Denis Browne and Michael Pervan both leading workshops. 

The weekend’s theme “Embrace God’s mercy and be empowered” was unpacked beautifully by Fr Gielen over a series of five talks. He told stories of when he both received and dispensed mercy. These underpinned his entreaty for us to soften up our hearts and receive God’s mercy. This in turn would lead us to become men of mercy ourselves. A merciful Church presents the most attractive face to a world wanting and needing to see a merciful God. 

We were told the heart-softening process is no picnic at the beach. It more resembles a war zone. Happiest people, said Fr Gielen, know how to keep friends. They do this by saying “sorry”, often.

We were encouraged to thank our wives when they point out a weakness. This was all part of the transition from being a “dead man walking” in a cave to becoming a man fully alive, walking in the light. 

Bishop Denis’s workshop was like a fireside chat with a wise and seasoned prophet. He led us into a discussion on Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), his exhortation on the family. Here was a place for mercy to be extended to those Catholics living in irregular relationships.

Yes, it is a minefield, but the Church is being called by Pope Francis to go dance in it anyway. Michael Pervan led a fascinating workshop on iconography, the re-emerging art form of the Church. He explained how God becoming incarnate in his son Jesus allowed the Church to depict him for the first time. The icon is always a depiction of the mystery of the Incarnation. 

The weekend finished with a celebration of 30 years since Joshua’s inaugural retreat in 1986. Fred Webb, a founding member, recollected how the fraternity came about with the meeting of two men previously unknown to each other, himself and Maurice Schischka. Maurice’s son David then spoke of his deceased Dad’s vision for Joshua and his legacy left to encourage us.

The retreat has left me pondering the closing words from Fr Gielen. Do I want to just exist or live, be a dead man walking or a man living an adventure? Mercy is inextricably tied up in my fiat, my yes to living the adventure. 

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Cardinal Dew will be attending the closing Mass for the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will be celebrated by Pope Francis, and will have with him  a special book containing the names of those who have taken part in Bible Society’s Poverty and Justice Bible campaign.

This is the second time Cardinal Dew has personally prayed for Kiwis in Rome. Last year he prayed specifically for those who had requested prayer at his titular church – Sant’Ippolito, where he is Cardinal-Priest.

The Bible Society of New Zealand has been collecting names and prayer requests throughout 2016.

And there is still time to participate. To submit a prayer request for Cardinal John Dew please visit www.povertyandjustice.nz and fill out the form.

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The question comes to mind now after someone pointed out that from the start he had liked the idea of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. But a while ago, almost five months into the
jubilee year, he realised that despite what he felt, what he was doing had actually changed very little.

But then, seemingly by accident, he learned something important.

At the Pope’s May 4 general audience, Francis recalled that the month of May is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he asked young people to pray the Rosary daily, and called upon the sick to turn to Mary.

Addressing Polish pilgrims, he said that “God gives to your nation, through the Virgin Mary, an admirable help and protection, so that, thanks to her intercession, the faith may enjoy continuing freedom and your homeland may develop in peace”.

Our friend pondering the Year of Mercy and his relative failure to date also commented on the Rosary, and how it had changed everything.

He had a particular need that had been on his heart for some time. It eventually occurred to him to bring it to prayer through a more concentrated focus on the Rosary. He said two remarkable things had since happened.

One was that the need that had been worrying him, although it had not disappeared, no longer nagged at him. It was as though a certainty had come that it would be taken care of. The second was that he quite quickly found he was able to be more at ease and merciful than he had been before.

The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy began on December 8 last year and runs to the Feast of Christ the King, November 20, this year. It is seen as a time for remission of sins and universal pardon focusing especially on God’s forgiveness and mercy. And it is called an extraordinary jubilee because it had not been predetermined long before; usually ordinary jubilees occur every 25 years.

For our friend, the insight that a change in his prayer habits had to accompany what he also felt about the Jubilee Year was significant. We are all different, and that may not be so for all of us, especially if we already have rich prayer lives.

When NZ Catholic attended the requiem Mass of Bishop Barry Jones of Christchurch at St Mary’s Procathedral in February this year, our representative was taken under the wing of parish council chairman Syd Kennedy.

When NZ Catholic’s seat in St Mary’s was taken over by others, Mr Kennedy found a better seat, at the front. On an exceptionally warm day, he took NZ Catholic to the cemetery for the interment, stopping at a dairy for rehydration on the way, then to the afternoon tea that
followed. Asked about getting to the airport, our rep. said “bus or taxi”, and Mr Kennedy nodded in affirmation. But he later delivered our person to the airport anyway.

Of course I do this, he said when thanked. It’s the Year of Mercy.

To get back to prayer; Scripture shows Our Lord more than once stressing the need for persistence in prayer. Our friend referred to above found peace and certainty through a significant change in prayer. But he found more; he also found change in himself. And if
he changes for the better, then he surely is influencing others for the better?

What a lesson for us all to take to heart.

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