STORY - "Sacred Spaces are inviting"

“Where are the sacred spaces?”

This question from a participant at a retreat day titled “Unlocking the Meaning: Story Telling, Story Listening” was answered by “Everywhere – Sr Val calls it all sacred spaces.” The Convent of Mercy Singleton’s “sacred spaces” play host to regular retreat days to which all are very welcome.

Participating on a beautiful autumn day, I soon realised that Sr Val O’Hara RSM is a born storyteller (and we learned later, poet). Her adroit use of stories echoes, but never overshadows, The Story – the gospel – and Our Story – the gospel each of us carries with us. There is another dimension to this generous offering, the story of the Sisters of Mercy, manifest in the spacious buildings and grounds of the Convent.

For participants whose story overlapped with the Mercy story, there was a sense of ‘coming home’. Lin Holz remembered that “the boarders marched like soldiers and sang like angels.” “Unlocking the Meaning” occurred on the (transferred) Feast of the Annunciation, the traditional day of entry for postulants, and the Sisters who took part were keenly aware of this.

For anyone without links to the Mercy story, you will have one once you visit! The Sacred Spaces days are gentle and prayerful, and there is an invitation to participate in whatever way is comfortable. Mercy Sisters Maree Haggerty, Rita Hassett, Liz Callen, Monica Sinclair and Marie Farrell are each leading a day, with Sr Val offering another day in May.

While each day has its own flavour, I suspect that Sr Val’s statement might hold true for participants each time: “We hear good stories; we hear them and they go…” Sacred Spaces issues an invitation to take time to sit with the stories: yours, others’, the church’s and Jesus’ story. As Val began, swathed in silk, she said, “This is my storytelling chair, so expect excitement!”

Stories from the scriptures are familiar and that can be an obstacle to hearing with fresh ears. Val, who obviously has a love of literature, offered a series of stories and poems as a ‘way in’ to the familiar; “The Word from the edges” she likes to call it. There was encouragement, but no pressure, to draw connections between the stories heard and the story being lived.

Sr Pauline Burg summed up “Unlocking the Meaning” by highlighting “the ease of people’s sharing and reflecting”. If you accept the Sisters of Mercy invitation I am confident that you will have a similar experience, in a sacred – and beautiful – place.

To learn more please P Sr Val O’Hara 4927 6238, E val.ohara@singmercy.org.au or visit www.sacredspaces.org.au

Tracey Edstein

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