Sensing the realities – and share them
Dear friends,
The CJ English province group is currently in Wales, staying in the beautiful Loreto retreat centre in Llandudno. About 20 miles up the road is the town of Holywell, where the shrine of St. Winifred’s Well has been a place of pilgrimage in Britain since the 7th century.
It always makes me smile when I see a notice at the entry of the town which says ‘Holywell – the Lourdes of Wales’. In fact Lourdes is the Holywell of France, but that’s another matter…
Given that I have a strong sense of companionship with Winifred Wigmore (we have very similar characters, I suspect) and also given that I am of Welsh origin myself, I always go to bathe in her well whenever I am in this part of the world. Also my faith sharing group for this time of online discernment is named after Winifred Bedingfield…
I have had huge graces and answers to prayer from this place over many years.
Sadly Covid prevents bathing now, but I went on pilgrimage all the same, to ask God’s blessing on our present Mary Ward ‘pilgrimage’ and to ask for the special prayers of the great saint of Wales after whom two of our great predecessors were named.
Love & prayers
Gemma cj
