Loyola Hall: Jesuit Spirituality Centre

Even without Brian O’Leary’s presence in the flesh the Loyola Hall Seminar — Foundational Values in the Spiritual Exercises — felt a great success. Ruth Holgate read Brian’s papers and they provided abundant material for individual and group reflection. And some good ideas for a subject for next year.

Meanwhile, Carol Ann Duffy, the Poet Laureate, catches the plane-free mood in a new poem: she can be heard reading “Silver Lining” in this clip from the Today programme.

Well just one volcano, the marvellously named Eyjafjallajökull.

The eruption in Iceland which has cleared the skies of Europe of all air traffic has had an effect here in Loyola Hall. Brian O’Leary, SJ, due to present our Seminar this weekend, has been unable to get here. Instead we have been working with the text of his talks which he was able to send us. There is a wealth of experience in the gathered group and so far the signs are good that the weekend will be a success — despite not having Brian on hand to answer questions and fill out his ideas.

Today, 13th April 2010, we took an important step towards a greener future at Loyola Hall. Two staff members of Groundwork Merseyside visited the house to begin a resource efficiency review.

Next week a third member of their team will be with us to do some thermal imaging of the building. There’s clearly tonnes for us to do, from the simple replacement of light bulbs, to the more costly insulation of cavity walls. Do ask us for a progress report when you next visit! (By the way, energy efficient light bulbs are on our wish-list…)

The review is being funded by ENWORKS, an organisation that coordinates environmental advice, training and support throughout the Northwest.

It’s been my first time and it’s been a true blessing! I enjoyed learning about Holy Week, what the liturgies stand for, and I loved being involved in the planning and in the actual liturgies

Marvellous! I’ve never experienced such a Holy Week before

We were a small group this year, sixteen plus the Loyola Hall team. Perhaps it was the smallness of the group and the fact that we scaled down the amount of liturgy preparation that we all undertook, keeping the liturgies simple, that gave this particular retreat a prayerful and peaceful quality.

There was no shortage of creativity. And there was plenty of time for the participants to deepen their appreciation of the great liturgies of Holy Week, with different team members running sessions on each day of the Triduum that helped us all explore what we would celebrate later in that day. Some one-to-one spiritual direction was offered to all who wanted it.

Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a wonderful celebration of our faith.

Ruth Holgate, director of Loyola Hall, is just back from a week long conference in Manresa, Spain–a place with historic importance in the story of St. Ignatius.

Fifty Jesuits and co-workers from 20 countries gathered to reflect on the way Ignatian Spirituality is being practised ‘at the frontiers’. The frontiers in question including the internet, politics, business, health care, urban life. and issues of morality and culture.

Ruth’s own presentation was on giving the Exercises to those who are not Roman Catholic — which, surprisingly, is a frontier issue in some parts of Europe still. Here at Loyola Hall we have a long tradition of giving the Spiritual Exercises to all-comers but it is not universally so across Europe.