The Augustinian Friars in Britain
Our Hearts are Restless until they Rest in You, Lord
From Sheep to Shepherds - Augustinian National Youth Gathering
On 21-23 November 2008 young people and friars met in Clare for the Augustinian Youth Gathering. The theme was 'From Sheep to Shepherds'. David Shorten and Irene Gatt wrote the following article on their experiences:
With his face lit by the blazing bonfire, Fr Gianni, started Mass under a cloudless sky with the stars twinkling above him. Although the air was crisp we all braved the cold to honour and thank God for such an amazing weekend. Afterwards we sat around the fire and shared stories, wine, crisps and yummy toasted marshmallows, a very welcome first for some. Bonded by the love of God and the beginnings of brand new friendships.
It all started just 24 hours before, as 24 young Christians came together to share and grow in their faith and knowledge of The Way. With the amazement of all the young people there, we were encouraged by Rosalind and Anna to trust only our ears and hands to find one another in the dark whilst making strange animal noises…a very interesting and enjoyable experience…it certainly managed to break the ice!
Saturday was spent learning about how we can be good shepherds in our everyday lives, while20still remembering that we are all God's sheep. In the morning, Fr Gianni lead us through an in-depth reading of the Sunday Gospel passage, Christ the King. Following that, Patrick amused us before lunch with his well thought-out and original anecdotes about the sheep to shepherd theme of the youth weekend. In the afternoon we learnt the about the Millennium Development Goals initiative that various countries, including the UK, have signed up to. After learning about the goals we lovingly created vibrant and personal postcards, of varying degrees of artistic ability that are to be sent to some of our MPs, to gently remind them of their commitments to this scheme.
Sunday we were met by a heavenly gift. As the sleepy-heads of the group awoke,=2 0they were greeted with the sight of snow descending from the sky outside their windows and settling gently on the green grass below. The Clare parishioners watched with weary eyes as youths and young children ran about, snowballs in hand, as they made their way to church. The group met one last time, to recap and give thanks for fruitful and enriching weekend. Games were played, photos were taken and a final meal was shared. We then went our separate ways, parting as friends and promising to stay in touch whatever the world threw at us. We got in the car and unexpectedly (most certainly divinely!!) greeted by "Jesus Christ Superstar" blasting out of the car speakers on Radio 2 and the sun shining on the snow-lined roads ahead.
The weekend was amazing because of the hospitality we received from the lovely warm people who ru n Clare Priory, the organisers of the weekend and most importantly the participants who came from all corners of the UK to celebrate our lives in Christ.
So to close, perhaps as we try to figure out how to be good shepherd, we should remember that a life with Jesus is a life full of mercy and love, faith and charity.
David Shorten & Irene Gatt