The Sacrament of the Encounter

“But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Luke 14:13-14

Meeting one another and entering into relationship are at the heart of the history of God and humanity, beginning with the story of Adam and Eve. Encounter and relationship are also at the heart of the experience of L’Arche.

In the Gospels Jesus tells us that when we sit down at table with the poor the crippled, the lame… when we welcome “the little ones” and “the stranger”, we are welcoming Him. An encounter with another person is a spiritual experience, but we do not always see it, or understand what is happening. We can feel vulnerable and afraid of difference, afraid of those who do not look and think as we do. And yet, an encounter is the first step toward unity rather than segregation, welcome rather than rejection, peace rather than conflict in our world.

During the retreat we will look at encounters in the Bible, in the life of Jesus and in our own lives; at how meeting one another is the path towards transformation, asking the Lord to show us where in our life He is asking us to encounter Him today.

This retreat will be offered online over a period of seven days, and will comprise :

• Five inspirational talks of 45 mins by George Durner by video link (sent in advance) for five days of the retreat, including the first and last one
• Two prayer-sheets with introduction by video clip to guide you during two days of the retreat so that you can enjoy your own personal time of prayer and reflection
• Two days where you are invited to join a small group sharing for a time of reflection and exchange with other retreatants in your time zone for a period of approximately an hour, if you so wish