WEBSITE: www.goodshepherdsedibaretreat.co.za

Tel: (012) 259 1392 / Mobile Emergency: 082 752 7237 │ Bookings: goodshepherdsedibaretreat@gmail.com │ GPS Co-ordinates: -25.761455 ​27.902227

PO Box 15, Hartbeespoort, 0216, S.A. Portion 60 of Farm 482, Meerhof Hartbeespoort, N.W. Province, S.A., Off Findlay Avenue…Next to Good Shepherd Catholic ​Church

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Dear Friend of Good Shepherd

As winter engulfs the Southern Hemisphere and temperatures create the usual challenges around waking up early amidst the icy cold ​environs, we are called to adjust our minds and hearts as much as we have adapted our bodies to the frigid weather. We can find a bit more ​time to slow down and savour opportune moments with family and friends that present themselves. Winter certainly has its advantages.

We have also moved into the Ordinary Time of the Church’s Year of Worship and Prayer, after basking in the glow of the great feasts of ​Pentecost, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

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These wonderful celebrations were interspersed with other feast days of very significant Saints and Blesseds, including our beloved Founder, ​St Eugene de Mazenod OMI, and Blessed Joseph Gerard OMI, the Apostle to Lesotho. It was certainly a perfect time to reflect, pray and ​worship before the Eucharistic Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The soul who disposed itself to the Lord and responded to the invitation to ​worship and pray during these days, no doubt, received abundant grace. This was so noticeable during the retreat days here at Good ​Shepherd. Now, as believers, we gently settle into a time of reflection on the public life and ministry of Jesus.

The Retreat Centre also takes on its winter appearance and allows the visitor to these hallowed grounds the chance to appreciate a gentler ​rhythm with the Lord. The resilient winter foliage and the fresh clean air add their own nuance to the experience of praying and worshipping ​here. The breathtaking sunsets become opportunities of profound encounter with the Creator. How simple yet majestic is the silent ​communication of our God with the soul searching and yearning for His presence. And, from winter’s distinctive beauty, we delight in the ​knowledge that we too are fearfully and wonderfully made, as we celebrate our belonging to God.

How amazing to realise that God never stops reminding us how much He loves us and how deeply He desires to engage in an intimate ​dialogue within us.

For those of you who have not visited Good Shepherd Retreat Centre and would like to experience a retreat or who would just like to visit the ​centre for personal prayer, please email us and we will be happy to help with that. We will continue to keep all our patrons, suppliers, and ​associates in our prayers during these longer nights and shorter days.

LJC et MI