Jesuit centre hosts spirituality festival
Published in the Guelph Mercury on July 21, 2008
By Vik Kirsch
Gloria Nye took off her shoes yesterday and walked through a rain-drenched maze at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre.
"To me, it's an analogy for life," Nye, 70, of Rockwood, said of the maze pattern in the grass. "As you're walking, you realize the journey's as important as getting there."
"You trust you'll reach your goal -- and you do," added Nye, a volunteer with the Eramosa Eden retreat near Eden Mills.
The regional Ignatian Connection Exchange and Celebration organization, a collection of like-minded groups, organized the afternoon "Ignatian Fest" -- the centre's first Ignatian spirituality festival.
It allowed visitors to examine the sprawling Guelph Jesuit retreat and reflect on Ignatian spirituality, in which individuals examine their lives in relation to Jesus. Family events included children's games, swimming, volleyball and an ecumenical service.
ICEC member Andre Auger, a spiritual adviser from Guelph, wasn't thrilled with the rain during the launch of what's intended to become an annual event.
Asked if it was an act of God, he laughed.
His organization previously held a symposium on Ignatian spirituality, and yesterday's event was an effort to reach more people.
"We wanted to open it to the broader community."
Canadians are questioning their day-to-day lives, Auger said.
"I think people are beginning to realize that there's an emptiness to materialism and consumerism," Auger said.
Spirituality makes you available to God and helps you delve into your inner self, Auger said.
"I'm pretty curious about what happens here," Guelphite Melissa Newell said as she explored the Jesuit retreat with her three children and a couple of other youths.
Newell said she's intrigued by the spiritual life.
"I've been thinking about it for a while," said Newell, who home-schools her children.
She was drawn to the connection between spirituality and Mother Earth, nature and "the goodness of people," she said.
Nye didn't play down the importance of spirituality to her.
"It's the basis of my life," Nye said. "I believe we're spiritual beings."
That struck home with immense impact just after her father, Luis Nye, died in 1969 at age 84. Two weeks later, she felt his presence.
"He came back to me," she said, feeling his presence in an intense light that "poured into my body."
She gazed into his eyes and saw he had "the most incredible smile on his face."
She had been an atheist until that moment, Nye said.
"To me, it was a spiritual experience," Nye said.
It convinced her that death isn't the end of existence.
"We're immortal. We live forever," Nye said. People who despair "don't know that."
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