The Augustinian Friars in Britain
Our Hearts are Restless until they Rest in You, Lord
The Simple Life: Augustinian National Youth Gathering, June 2007
This year’s National Youth Gathering for young people aged 16+ took place from 29
June-1 July. Young people and Friars from Edinburgh, Southport, Birmingham, London
and Kent gathered at Clare Priory to explore the theme of the weekend, ‘The Simple
Life’, starting with evening prayer on Friday, workshops and discussions on Saturday,
finishing with Mass on the Sunday. It was also a chance to make new friends and enjoy
being in the country - even though the rain forced our barbecue on Saturday night
to move to a more sheltered location! Anita Le Tissier, 17, from Scotland, shares
her experience of the weekend:
The simple country life seen at Clare Priory, home of the Augustinians, was a convenient setting for the Augustinian National Youth Gathering 2007, which set its theme this year as ‘The Simple Life’.
But what is The Simple Life? Initially I thought we would be talking about ways in which we could live simply materially. However, the weekend happened to delve deeper into the faiths of all the young people who attended the weekend. With sessions forcing us to ask the following questions:
Do we live simply emotionally?
Do we live simply spiritually?
Do we help others live simply?
Unfortunately for me, the answer to all those questions prior to the weekend was no. I did not live simply emotionally or spiritually. That was until after the weekend, where Michela, Gianni and Aisling found fun, new and amusing ways to help us young Catholics explore new ways in which we can live simply while also sending out the message that we as Catholics are called to live as Jesus did, and like Jesus, we should strive to Live Simply. Since the weekend, I have realised that life is too short to make everything perfect, even in Jesus’ name, but Jesus is not asking too much of us, if anything at all, when He asks us to Live simply and help others to live simply: materially, emotionally and more importantly; spiritually.
What I learned from the weekend was to be simply exceptional and simply extravagant in our attempts to live and help others simply. It is not a sin to go beyond the norm, to do more for Jesus. And I think that we all will realise that, if everything we do is done for Jesus and in Jesus’ name, then it is not hard and it certainly is not impossible to live simply.
Anita LeTissier