Pilgrims Return – Front Page Reflection

Ignite Conference 2024

This weekend in Brisbane, and next weekend in Broken Bay Diocese Ignite Conference 24 will gather 2500 passionate Catholics from across our nation and internationally.  These Catholics are young people, young families and parishioners in leadership gathering to encounter Jesus and to be re-filled.  They gather to grasp hold of a vision of how dynamic, engaging and contagious following Jesus and our Catholic faith can be. Let me tell you, such an experience is life changing.  Our Parish is privileged to be sending 50 of our parishioners to the conference.

Next week we can expect to welcome back these people, many of them young people, who will be briming with enthusiasm.  Returning to the everyday after such a full experience can feel like “coming down the mountain”.  For them it can feel daunting to work out how they can continue to keep what they have received alive.

For some of those returning this may have been their first Ignite Conference, or the first experience of the Holy Spirit moving in their heart. Witnessing and experiencing the power and movement of the Holy Spirit is exciting, awe-inspiring and often overwhelming. Such powerful encounters are not a ‘one off’ but an invitation to the next step to grow deeper in relationship with Jesus, The Father and the Holy Spirit.

As the community that sent them out, we play an important part in receiving them back into our communities.  How can we encourage those returning to take what they have received to enrich us all? In preparation we might consider praying for our Ignite pilgrims, that they would receive everything that God has for them and that they would have the wisdom and courage to share that with us on their return.

As these pilgrims join us again, maybe you can seek one of them out and ask them to share their experience with you. We have an opportunity to greet them with openness to listen and be upbuilt by the enthusiasm and new ideas that they bring to our parish.

There is a beautiful phrase in Emmanuel Worships’ song “Everything I Am” (those who attend conference will be singing this song in worship over their time at the conference):

“Give me your eyes to see you in every season; Give me your ears to hear your every voice.”

As we welcome our pilgrims into a season of living out what they have received, we encourage you to pray these words as a prayer for them and for all of us so that we might grow and learn together as a vibrant community, actively accompanying people to encounter Jesus. If you want to check out Ignite conference some of the keynotes presentations, rallies, Friday night adoration and other parts of the Conference are available to watch on Shalom World – www.shalomworld.org and search “Ignite Conference 2024”.

Amelia Wilmer & Beth Davies