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Colorina Eurocamp 2010
Eurocamp 20101 took place in Northern Italy. From our hotel2 we had a wonderful view of the Italian Alps, Switzerland not being too far from us. As I have previously described the nature and experience of the Eurocamps I have been to in 2001 and 20043, I would like this time to limit myself to the insights which this year’s Eurocamp stirred within me.
Monday
When I came to Eurocamp this year, it was with this question “Is it possible to be a happy follower of Christ in a world that is often indifferent or even hostile to Christianity?” I came conscious of the growing impact of secularism on daily Christian life. Our theme this day was “remember and thank”4. We stopped to remember and thank God for all his gifts to us. I must admit that at first I was forgetful of God’s providence towards me, so this was a very worthwhile spiritual exercise and my memory was stirred. A reading of the day struck a chord with me, taken from the book of Nehemiah:
“Do not be sad, and do not weep"-for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10 He said further: "Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks, and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared; for today is holy to our LORD. Do not be saddened this day, for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength!"
This became a kind of motif for me during the week. The road may be daunting, but we, who are conscious of Christ with us, ought to be full of joy.
Tuesday
Our theme this day was to “listen”. I was moved by the passage in Kings, where Elijah says “I alone am left, and they seek to take my life”, yet in the midst of his desperation he is led to seek God in the silence, not in dramatic things like earthquakes or fire. It made me think that the most important thing in life should be quietness before God. Our Catechesis focused on the story of the miracle of the feeding of the 5000. In it, I reflected on a key powerful idea that the 5 loaves and 2 fish were enough because they were given out of love. I was struck by these words “One needs love. If not, every choice, every decision will quickly show its limitation and lack of consistency… because we will soon find ways to run away, not to miss anything and to keep anyhow our position and privilege.” I was left thinking and reflecting on these words, which I gradually distilled down to 3 words: “Love is consistent”. These were words which never occurred to me so clearly before. Is this a principle I can rely on? Is this the mark of true love? It felt to me like a very compelling reason why a Christian must be consistent.
Wednesday
This was the day we spent visiting Val Di Mello, a beautiful Alpine landscape several miles from Colorina. Our theme this day was to “look up to the sky”. There were several places where we stopped to reflect on what creation has to say to us about the Creator. We were all awestruck by the grandeur of the beauty around us: the water, the mountains, the sun and the rocks. Before the immensity of what lay before us, we could easily feel so small, but the words of reflection reminded us “Whoever is loved by God has an enormous value”. Again, I was reminded of the consistency of love – God, who maintains these massive mountains in place over millions of years, loves us, loves me, consistently. There were some reflections on trees and what they symbolise for us. A piece of crystal was given to each to remind us of the “transparency” we need as Christians and toughness too! We need to grow a tough skin like the bark of a tree.
Thursday
We entered the theme of “descend” on this day instead of on Friday, appropriately as some bad weather had descended on us. We read John’s account of the washing of the disciples’ feet. We had a very interesting exploration of this text through Lectio Divino in our linguistic groups. Again, I underlined the words which read “he loved those who were his own till the end”. There was a lot of discussion on the status of the master and servant relationship. In the age of equality, it was difficult to comprehend a time when inequality was a given and the norm. In the English linguistic group, we each wrote a summary of our thoughts in verse to the tune of “Amazing Grace”. We were all quite pleased with the results!5
Friday
We reflected on the theme of “purify heart and mind”. For the Desert Day, I chose to climb the mountain behind the house in Colorina. It was a challenging climb and gave me time to reflect on the story of the prodigal son. The words “hired servant” in the text led me to consider: am I like the hired servant, whose heart was not in the job, or am I about my Father’s business? This day was an opportunity to explore where in my life I hadn’t put my full heart into. How do I treat others? Am I a nice person to be around or not? Going further up the hill, I was amazed at how much effort it took to climb 1000m by foot and yet when I sit in a plane I ascend so easily in just a few seconds, and it made me consider how much we rely on God to make the ultimate ascent.
Saturday
Our theme was “to inhabit history”. The history I was conscious of inhabiting was a modern secular society that had tended to abandon its Christian roots. The words in the Gospel that meant a lot to me were “Do you also want to leave?” It was as if, Jesus were saying, “Many of your friends have stopped going to Church and no longer follow me – do you also want to leave?” I was conscious of the beautiful freedom of being a Christian. Jesus wasn’t ever going to block our exit, if we chose it. The prodigal son’s father didn’t run after his son, pleading with him to come back. We are free to come or go. Is it possible to maintain our happiness, when the people around us abandon their faith? The answer for me was undoubtedly “yes”, to be a Christian is to discover how to love in freedom and consistency. In the end, it is about putting “your hopes, your dreams, your family and your relationships with others in God’s hands because ... It depends on the hands in which one finds it.”
NOTES
1 An explanation of Eurocamp is available www.blessedsacramentuki.org follow the links in Eucharistic groups
2 Villa dei Tigli www.villatigli.it
3 You can read this at www.en.ssseu.net go to the English site follow links to Eurocamp
4 Texts (and photo’s) can be accessed at www.eurocampo.net
5 Amazing Love that washed their feet….5 verses.
AMAZING LOVE
Amazing love that washed their feet
He loved them to the end.
He took the Towel around his waist
and washed the disciples feet.
But Peter failed to understand
The gesture Jesus made.
Jesus explained what needs be done
Self-giving love made real.
I ask myself what can this mean
The words that Jesus said
Would I the “Master” rather be
Of “humble slave” instead,
He asks of us no lesser love,
A love that changes all,
A love for those who are in need
Brings blessings yet untold.
Amazing love that washes feet.
He love us to the end.
Our love for those who have no friends
will prove we are his friend. |
