20 – 25 July 2025. 

Fr. Bernard McGrath, Benedictine monk, will be returning to Central Australia next year…

The landscape in which Alice Springs and Campfire in the Heart are set, with the various Gaps: Simpsons, Emily, Jessie, Honeymoon…and Pine Gap! The gaps in our knowing and the ‘gaps’ in our location offer us a wonderful opportunity to reflect more deeply on what really matters, when it come to the past, the present & the future of humanity.

Practicing Christian Meditation is a way which takes both space and time. It means creating gaps, separating our imaginings, thinking, planning from our being. In the words of John Main “we let go of them because we know we must enter into total silence.” The silence, too, is a gap for “at first it seems an emptiness and an absence.”

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are God’s judgments and how inscrutable the Lord’s ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord? (Romans 11)

In meditation we stand back from all our questions and, in that very process, we discover a harmony and an integration that become the basis of all our subsequent use of the great human gifts we have been given. The peace, the stillness and the harmony that we experience in meditation becomes the basis for all our action. All our judgments are now illumined, inspired by love because we know that that love is the very ground of our being.” (The Way of Unknowing).

You are invited to join our retreat conscious of the importance of our search for God, our setting is the evocative landscape of Central Australia, including an excursion into the East MacDonnell Ranges. The days will be marked by a rhythm of prayer, meditation and silence, with input from Fr Bernard supported by Susan Sullivan, a long-time member of our meditation community www.wccm.org, reflecting on the day and sharing around the campfire in the evenings, with an opportunity to share in the Eucharist, and to walk the labyrinth, as well as an introduction to dadirri and other contemplative practices.

Cost: Packages from $450 – $1,095

From Sunday late afternoon 20th July until Friday lunchtime 25th July.

There will be 3 levels of accommodation offered, numbers are limited in each level, all-inclusive prices for the 5 nights are

* Private room $1,095 per person

* Shared room $775 per person

* Swag camping $635 per person

* It’s possible to come daily (non-residential) $450 for all sessions and meals

Free accommodation (in a caravan) is reserved for one volunteer, in exchange for their assistance throughout the event, ideally arriving a few days before the retreat and staying on afterward to assist with clean-up and preparing for the next guests. Minimum 2-week volunteering stay. More information about volunteering here.

NO. OF PARTICIPANTS Around 15

ENQUIRIES

Rebecca Smith bec@mvpwellbeing.com

Bernard Leslie McGrath OSB bmcgrath1048@gmail.com

To enquire about possible scholarship assistance taylor.judi@outlook.com