On March 5-11, 2023, the friars of the Delegation in Chile conducted their annual spiritual retreat at the Nuestra Señora de Quilvo Monastery in Curicó, Chile, run by the Trappist Sisters.
The retreat began with the recitation of Evening Prayer II of the second Sunday of Lent. The theme of the retreat was: “I Know Him in Whom I Have Believed” (2Tim 1:12). Father Larry YÉVENES, SJ, led the retreat and developed the theme along the following points: 1) Our consecration: adult friendship with God and service to God’s people; 2) Celibate chastity: our tendency to lack tenderness and exclusivity, the woman in our lives, true friendships and emotional crises; 3) Evangelical poverty: priestly charity, lifestyle and solidarity with the poor, justice; 4) Obedience: the good news, the search for God’s will or the tendency to lead one’s life as one pleases; 5) Living in hope: all the previous points are lived out within the Church and religious communities. They play out between successes and failures, between pain, fear and joy. Finally, Father Larry invited the friars to live in hope, trusting in God, because He alone is their security and the true source of their joy. Living in hope is like signing a blank check and handing it over to God.
The retreat concluded on Friday evening, March 10, 2023. At that time, each friar shared his personal life plan for the year 2023.
On Saturday, March 11, the friars met to examine and reflect on the life of the Delegation. Some guidelines were drawn up for the 2023-2025 Plan of the Delegation. The friars also discussed various topics, namely, their two confreres in Italy; various youth ministry initiatives like the summer youth mission and the urban colony; Delegation finances; community commitments; the Assembly of the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC); and the visit from the Assistant General, Friar Rogério PEREIRA XAVIER.
All of the participants appreciated the importance of spending this time together in silence, meditation, prayer, and sharing in a fraternal spirit.
Friar Jack GINTING