Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites Nottingham Diocese
Nottingham and Lincoln Community Retreat 2024
In June the Nottingham (7 members) and Lincoln groups (9 members) met at Buckden Towers near St Neots in Cambridgeshire for their annual weekend retreat. The site (which can be visited) has a rich history spanning over 900 years and was the palace of the Bishops of Lincoln but is now a retreat centre run by the Claretian Missionaries and also includes the parish church of St Hugh. www.buckden-towers.org.uk
Arriving on Friday afternoon we had a full program of prayer both communal and private, talks, study, Mass and some social time as we met up with old friends and new members, and time to enjoy the beautiful grounds and gardens of the palace. Hospitality was excellent with beautiful bedrooms and meeting rooms in the old buildings and excellent meals provided by the chef, Chris.
During our retreat we used the YouTube talk by Dr Brant Pitre, an American biblical scholar and author of many books, on Christ as Bridegroom. The group, including 5 people relatively new to Carmel, found this very thought provoking and a great help in understanding our salvation story and our Jewish roots. We also watched Dr Pitre’s talk on Philippians 2: The Mind of Christ and the Secret of Joy Those unable to attend the retreat may like to watches these at home or read some of the suggested books below.
How many people today think of the Eucharist in this way, as “the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and the Bride”? Yet if love is defined as the gift of oneself to another person, then the Eucharist is the highest possible expression of Jesus’ spousal love for the Church. In the Eucharist Jesus not only tells the Church he loves her; he shows his love by really and truly giving himself to her, in both body and spirit, as the divine Bridegroom. Note well that this kind of self-gift is only really possible if the Eucharist is not just a symbol of Jesus—like a wedding ring, for example—but Jesus himself: his actual body, blood, soul, and divinity.
Brandt Pitre, Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
We are also planning to study further and make use of other books and videos by Dr Pitre on our next retreat. Some recommendations are:
Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist: Unlocking the Secrets of the Last Supper
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah
The Son of God, by becoming incarnate and giving his life, has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him.… The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1612, 1617)