For many people, hearing mention of St Beuno’s will bring back fond memories of a time spent away on a peaceful retreat away from the bustle of daily life. This is certainly the case for me. My first visit was as part of a small group of JRS staff spent a few days on a course introducing us to Ignatian spirituality and I have since returned on a silent retreat. From my own experience, I know St Beuno’s to be a beautiful place for prayer and reflection, something that draws many I have met back to the place time and time again.
So it was a great joy when the idea of a social media collaboration between the Jesuit Refugee Service and St Beuno’s was raised. As two of the works of the Jesuits in Britain, it seems very apt that we should share our work with one another and our supporters. Whilst our work at JRS is part of the social justice mission of the Jesuits in Britain, our ways of working are very much inspired by the Ignatian spirituality and approach that St Beuno’s helps people experience and grow in.
In the past few weeks leading up to Refugee Week (which is celebrated next week), St Beuno’s have been sharing posts to their social media followers encouraging them to pray for JRS UK and especially for our refugee friends. There have been a range of posts but three each week have focused on a different issue that affects our refugee friends; explaining what the issue is before sharing one of our friends short testimonies on their experience of it, followed by a prayer or short reflection from one of the St Beuno’s team. For many of our refugee friends, faith plays a big part of their life. Often, knowing that there are people praying for them is a great source of consolation and support, so we are very grateful to the St Beuno’s community for their month of prayer.
We hope this collaboration has been fruitful for those who have been keeping up with the posts. That those who have been to St Beuno’s might have had chance to reflect on the lives of our refugee friends and how Ignatian spirituality inspires action in the world around us, and for our supporters that they may have had the chance to find out more about the spirituality that inspires the work of the Jesuits and JRS.
If you would like to witness how Ignatian spirituality can inspire social action, you can follow St Beuno’s month of prayer with JRS UK on Facebook and Twitter
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