Holy Week retreat at Pantasaph, N. Wales
Pantasaph retreat 0308 - 04 , originally uploaded by bro_james . Most years us English De La Mennais Brothers go on retreat together during Holy Week. This year we went to the Franciscan retreat centre at Pantasaph, up in the Halkyn "mountains" in the middle of the rugged N. Wales countryside. This is an area I know well from cycling through this area many a time with my club, Birkenhead North End. I was able to ride out there from Liverpool and got a few more rides in during the week, including a suitably tough 60 mile ride on Good Friday afternoon in hail and snow. Good extra miles in preparation for my next sponsored ride at the end of May (8 days, 900 miles). But obviously the main reason for such a retreat is to have the opportunity to take a step back from the daily routines of teaching and community life to reflect, pray, listen, be silent, read... In other words to take away for a few days many of the distractions that can come between me and God and revitalise...