Fell from heaven like rain of blessings
On the 16th of May, after a 18 hour journey in a van, seven young people arrived from France where they’re spending one year of formation and discernment with the Chemin Neuf community. Antek from Poland, Chiara from Italy and Camille, Claire, Morgan, Louis-Meric and Manuel from France were sent to our Abbey for an Ignatian “experiment” to discover with enthusiasm our simple life in the countryside for seven wonderful sunny days of laughter, sharing, coastal hikes and, of course, to lend us a strong hand in the green Abbey.
God’s Providence…
… had allowed us to welcome a few days earlier four new mates in the garden, two cute and fluffy ducklings and a couple of Indian runner ducks. The young team made our dream come true by digging a big pond at the back of the garden for the welfare of our new friends. They also started to restore Mary’s shrine located just behind it. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for the gift they have been to us and their huge contribution to the life and the beauty of Sclerder Abbey.
The grace of fraternal life
From the beginning to the end, the presence of these seven young angels has been a blessing for our small community in which they found a second family. They were also a blessing for our volunteers who enjoyed the “youth camp atmosphere” (and the campfire with worship songs on Saturday night) and for the lovely young Dutch family who joined our community life just after Easter for a three month stay!
“It’s always nice to discover new houses of the community, but it’s the first one that I’m really sad to leave”_ said one of them during the final review.
“I really experienced something like a healing through nature in this place”_ shared another one.
The week ended with a joyful party where we played Empires, a perfect game for people aged from 6 to 60 and coming from six different countries! God’s providence assisted us until the end, as the game was won by the empire leaded by… King Charles III, of course!
