ANNUAL RETREAT

The closed retreat FOR 2009 will be held in Wahn Tihng from SEPT 30 (7:30 PM) to OCTOBER 3 (5:00 pm). It will be in Cantonese. Please confirm your attendance by phone or send us an email.

We include some personal testimonies of people who have benefitted a lot from doing a retreat.

"... among the traditional ascetical means in the Church, a special place is held by retreats. Leaving aside the concerns of daily life, one dedicates oneself to thinking about God and one’s own spiritual progress." (Bishop Javier Echeverria, Prelate of Opus Dei)

In 2001 a friend of mine invited me to a retreat in Wickenden Manor, I went, and I thought “Oh my God, I’ve wasted my life!” Not everybody has that reaction at a retreat, but I did. After that I attended days of recollection regularly, at Ashwell House University students hall of residence in London and I took all my friends because it was so good. At the time, I was a member of a band, I sang in the band and I had a very active social life, everything anyone could want, but there was unrest in my soul. It’s difficult to express, but head and heart told me God wanted more of me, and I had to give more. Friends said how do you do it? You party so much yet you don’t neglect your religion, you have good judgement, you’re always so cheerful… Opus Dei helped me to get the balance right. I got myself a spiritual director – a lay person in Opus Dei – who helped me get it all together.You party so much yet you don't neglect your religion" (Ekene Ogbechie is a pharmacist by profession, and a former singer in a band.)

“I rediscovered that I could have a personal relationship with God”
I was born into a Catholic family and though I got to know about Opus Dei when I was young, it never really interested me. I was already working when, thanks to one of my brothers, I attended a retreat. I began to attend Christian doctrine classes and rediscovered that I could have a personal relationship with God. Particularly strong at the time was the thought that God had given me so much and I just had to respond. (James Burfitt comes from Sydney, Australia).

NIGERIA...here we come!

This month, our International Night series will feature Nigeria. Get to know more about this fascinating African country by joining us on November 29 from 4:30-7:30 PM. We will have a simple cooking demonstration, followed by a cultural get-together and dinner.

Please give us a call if you can make it...and do invite your friends to come along! The more, the merrier!

Sept and October activities

Its been some time now since we've had the last International Night. Two months ago we had Philippines' International Night where we learned to make simple dishes like Adobo, Green Mango Salad, Pancit Palabok and Leche Flan. The dining room was decked with multi-colored flaglets that added to the festive mood. It was quite a cozy gathering though with only about 10 of us. Nonetheless, it was fun like always with so much time to exchange stories among all of us in a relaxed setting...