Provincial Annual Retreat (Dec 4 – 9, 2016)
by cmf
It was another moment of silent and attentive listening to the voice of the Lord, as the missionaries converged at the Claretian Institute of Philosophy Maryland Nekede, for the 2016 annual retreat. The 2016 annual retreat was well attended by the confreres who came from different mission posts for this spiritual exercise. In his opening words, the retreat moderator Fr. Thaddeus Dim, OCD, charged all the participants in this intense time of prayer and encounter with God to dispose themselves to pray and to help others to pray. To achieve this, he proposed the following dispositions which guided the attitude of the participants during the entire period:
(1) Ardent desire for God – to foster an encounter with God, one must consciously desire the communion; one must make out time for God. This is an invitation to pray and to pray more intensely. (2) Courage and Generosity – each time one encounters God, he does not remain the same. God challenges the person and courage is required in order to respond to the challenge. Similarly, generosity is also needed for one to give what God would request of the person (3) Silence – Inner silence is a major disposition for an encounter with the Divine. One must learn to overcome the trick that the mind plays on us especially when we resolve to maintain inner silence. Outward silence on the other hand is also an essential ingredient for a good retreat, hence the control of the use of the phone and other communication gadgets. With these dispositions, all set out for the six day journey of intense encounter with God and oneself. It was indeed a moment of renewal.
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