“Amid a noisy world, Christians called to rediscover the heart of the faith” is the headline in an article in a recent edition of ‘Catholic World News’, the magazine of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
The article, written by Fr Johnston Z. Miambo from the Archdiocese of Harare, reports on a Day of Recollection held at the Monastery of Christ the Word in Macheke, Zimbabwe, the monastery founded from Ampleforth Abbey in 1996 and home to five Ampleforth monks.
The Day of Recollection for lay and religious was led by the prior of the community, Fr Barnabas, who invited participants to step back from the noise and distractions of modern life and reflect deeply on the uniqueness of the Christian journey.
He challenged participants to ask a fundamental question: What makes Christianity distinct? Fr Barnabas outlined four key characteristics that distinguish the Christian faith from other religious traditions and spiritual movements: A personal God; A God who seeks humanity; A religion of grace, not Karma; and, The mystery of the Incarnation. “The Word became flesh”, Fr Barnabas said. “Our God is not one who waits for us to go to Him – He comes to us and becomes like us”.
Fr Miambo ended his article noting how the participants found the Day of Recollection a meaningful and spiritually enriching experience, offering a moment of pause, reflection, and renewal.
“The gathering at Machekle”, he wrote, “stood as reminder that the Christian journey is ultimately about relationship – with a God who is personal, who seeks humanity, who saves by grace, and who comes to dwell among His people. For those who attended it was indeed a day well spent – one that rekindled the call to live the Christian faith with clarity, conviction, and renewed purpose”.
