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Good morning Just last weekend I was on a church family retreat, deep in the Irish countryside. We stayed in an old Manor House in County Westmeath, a group of 50 or so with time to spare to listen to God and to each other. What a gift! We were a happy bunch – although on the face of it, not a group you might expect to work well together. A successful accountant rubbed shoulders with an unemployed young person and a recently widowed young mother. Teachers, full-time mums and students, mingled with pensioners, a youth worker and a noisy gaggle of teens. You couldn’t make it up. But then, you couldn’t make up the idea of church either, if you tried. 
On the Saturday afternoon after a cup of tea someone suggested some party games because it was raining outside, a not uncommon occurrence in Co. Westmeath. The hoots of delight of the whole group echoed through the corridors and halls of the old house. It was a moment of innocent fun, of love and grace and peace - of family. In the words of Van Morrison, wouldn’t it be great if it was like this all the time? 
But of course the rest of the week beckons with its challenges which stubbornly await us. But after our weekend together, we know that we are not entirely alone as we face the world again. Now there is a child who will pray for us, a friend who will phone us, and a God who will show his love through his unlikely people. Prayer. Lord God, may it be that if the time is right, we can find a way to re-connect with people who will naturally love and support us, and that it will do us good. 
Amen.