Led by the Carmelites of Australia and East Timor, a group of 29 people participated in the Annual 40 km pilgrimage in the beautiful Yarra Valley.
The pilgrimage took place over three days and is the sixth Pilgrimage organized by The Carmelite Centre Melbourne. Pilgrims find the experience one of friendship, openness and warmth.
I appreciated the opportunity to walk alongside other pilgrims along the trail and share experiences. I found out about their faith journeys and wondered at how God is at work in all our lives.
After being commissioned in a special liturgy at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Middle Park on Sunday 8 November, the group left in two buses supplied by Whitefriars College, Donvale and Bethlehem - Sacred Heart Mission, on Friday 13 November at 8am. The group travelled to Lilydale and walked to Mt Evelyn along the Warburton trail. As has become the custom, the pilgrims were joined at Mt Evelyn by Fr Ken Peterson and Sr Kathleen Murphy from the Sancta Sophia Meditation Community in Warburton. Here the pilgrims were welcomed to the Yarra Valley and shared prayer and reflection on finding God in the environment and using walking as a technique for meditation and focus. The pilgrims were encouraged to remain open to how this experience may change them over the coming weeks and months as they continued to reflect on and absorb the pilgrimage experience.
The pilgrims were blessed with perfect cool to warm walking weather during the weekend and were transported to and from walking tracks via bus from accommodation at Pallotti College, Millgrove.
On the first evening Fr Ken Petersen invited pilgrims to reflect on Carmelite Spirituality and how the Carmelites have embraced the concept of a Carmelite Family including lay people, friars, religious and nuns. The Order is committed to working on structures and ways to facilitate the expression of this family.
The Carmelites desire the formation of contemplative communities in the midst of the people. It is contemplation which is the dynamic element which unifies the charisms of prayer, fraternity and service.
The inner process which leads to the development of the contemplative dimension promotes in us an open attitude to God’s presence in life, teaches us to see the world with the eyes of the Divine, and inspires us to seek, recognise, love and serve God in those around us.
On the second evening Irene Hayes & Damien Peile shared their recent experience of a pilgrimage ‘Celebrating 500 years of St Teresa - A Carmelite Journey Through Spain’. Irene & Damien showed pictures and related stories of places they had visited including 9 cities where Teresa had founded convents. A clear highlight was being in Avila at the time of Teresa’s feast day. Many pilgrims expressed interest in discovering more about Teresa of Avila.
The 3-day walk was broken into three sections where pilgrims respectively travelled 16km, 18km and 6km. The final walk from Pallotti College to the Sancta Sophia Meditation Community was followed by a Mass of Thanksgiving, celebrated by Fr Ken. A delicious BBQ kindly prepared by members of the Sancta Sophia community was then enjoyed by all prior to returning home.
Feedback from participants indicates it was a special time of solidarity and contemplation that is difficult to find in the hectic pace of day to day living. Pilgrims also commented on the peacefulness of the stunning scenery and the support of being with like-minded people.
The Carmelite Centre Melbourne will have other opportunities for reflective experiences in 2016 and ‘The Carmelite Way’ Pilgrimage will be held again from 11-13 November 2016.
Please contact the Centre with your expression of interest: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.thecarmelitecentremelbourne.org
