On November 26-27, 2023, the friars of the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic conducted a day-long spiritual retreat at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Sorrows on Cvilín Hill near Krnov in the Czech Republic.
The participants were welcomed by Friar Sebastian GRUCA and experienced the first substantial snowfall of this year.
Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK, the Assistant General for the Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO), gave a meditation on God who is our Father. The Minister Provincial, Friar Piotr PAWLIK, presided over Mass. Friar Tomáš gave the homily. In it, he stressed how the faith and reliance of the poor widow of the Gospel should be an example for us all.
Later, the Minister Provincial conducted a session in which he reported on the life of the Province and various current issues.
In the afternoon, the friars gathered in the Shrine for Eucharistic Adoration and prayed for intercession for the Province, the friars, and for new vocations. To mark the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Later Rule, all of the friars renewed their religious vows.
At the end of common prayer, the Assistant General recited the invocation to the Holy Spirit and began his canonical visitation of the Province, in view of its Ordinary Provincial Chapter, which will be conducted next year.
Finally, the Minister Provincial imparted his blessing holding the relics of St. Agnes of Bohemia and the friars returned to their respective friaries.
Friar Stanisław GRYŃ
