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7th World Day of the Poor 2023

Sunday 19th November 2023 marks the 7thAnnual World Day of the Poor (WDP).

The theme for World Day of the Poor 2023 is from the Book of Tobit: “Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor.” (Tob 4:7). “When we encounter a poor person, we cannot look away, for that would prevent us from encountering the face of the Lord Jesus,” Pope Francis wrote.

In his message for the World Day of the Poor 2023 Pope Francis listed an array of cultural phenomena that prevent people from caring for the poor: greater pressure to live affluently, a tendency to disregard suffering, virtual reality overtaking real life and a sense of haste that prevents people from stopping to care for others. He offered the parable of the Good Samaritan, who stops to help a man in the street beaten by robbers, to counter the hangups many people have against helping the poor.

The parable “is not simply a story from the past; it continues to challenge each of us in the here and now of our daily lives,” he said. “It is easy to delegate charity to others, yet the calling of every Christian is to become personally involved.”

Pope Francis’ full message is available here from the Vatican website.

Activities:

  • To promote World Day of the Poor, download the 4 page flyer here for yourself or put in the church porch or a public/work place noticeboard.
    Download the 2023 4 page flyer (PDF)
  • For further information, download the 20-page Spiritan Resource.
    Download here

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An Tobar Spiritan Retreat Ardbraccan

Accommodation at An Tobar

We have 17 en-suite bedrooms 13 single and 4 twin rooms. We supply bedlinen and towels in all rooms and hair dryer and iron on request. Houses are non-smoking, but there is a designated smoking area.

The chapel at An Tobar Ardbraccan

Retreats & Workshops at An Tobar

Workshops at An Tobar focus on wellbeing (meditation, mindfulness, ecology and holistic living etc.). Retreats focus on spiritual accompaniment, school retreats, and prayer and spirituality.

The Navan Community

The Spiritan Community Ardbraccan, Navan

Every Sunday the Spiritan Community celebrate a reflective Eucharist at 10:30am - all are welcome. There are also ritual celebrations at key moments in the Liturgical year and in the cosmic cycle.

Nature's healing / Sustainable ecological living

An Tobar regularly offers ecology focused workshops and courses. As well as this, groups/individuals can expect to find welcome, hospitality and healing & hope in our beautiful woodlands & walkways.

An Tobar is the Retreat & Spirituality Centre of the Irish Spiritan Province. It is located in Ardbraccan near Navan where the novitiate for Spiritan Brothers was based in the 1950s / ’60s and where the Province maintained a working farm for many years. Today the grounds form a pleasant backdrop to the Centre which is overseen by a small Spiritan community and team.

The Centre, which has been operational since the 1980s, offers:

  • A way of life, open to the Spirit and centred on the Word of God with an established rhythm of prayer;
  • Reflective Sunday Eucharist to which all are welcome;
  • An opportunity to reflect on one’s faith journey in an environment that fosters justice, peace, sustainable living and care of the earth;
  • Celebrations at key moments in the Liturgical Year and in the cosmic cycle;
  • Welcome & a hospitable space for fellow pilgrims, healing & reconciliation, hope & unity;
  • A spiral of belonging – people participate in the community according to their particular calling, inclination and time.

Click here for full details on An Tobar