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The annual men's weekend retreat was held
at the Holy Ghost Father's retreat facility on Gaspar Grande island in
January 2005.
Fr John Theodore conducted the retreat
and the central theme was PRAYER. Fr Theodore spoke about always
seeking to be in the presence of God, since His plan for us, is for us to
live in His presence. The fullness of life is to be wrapped up
in God, since the secret to life is through closeness, communion and
companionship with Him. The secret to loving God is to have a burning
desire for Him. We should constantly talk to God, especially through
the scriptures.
In seeking Jesus, we should enlist the
help of His Mother, Mary. Since we first seek Jesus through prayer,
and since the less sinful a person, the stronger that person's prayer, it is
logical to ask Mary to pray for us, since she is without sin. Some
situations require stronger prayer, and we should not hesitate to seek her
help because Jesus always hears her prayers. It was noted that Mary is
in turn asking us to pray the rosary constantly, wherever she has appeared
on earth in recent times, especially because of the increasing darkness into
which the world is descending. The rosary, she reminds us, can cripple
Satan, save families, countries and ultimately, the world.
We were reminded that the Mass is by far
the strongest form of prayer in the world. All the power of Calvary is
in the Mass. Countless blessings flow from heaven during the Mass, so
it is the greatest place to worship God.
We were advised further of the importance
of spending time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. It is
through our spending time with the Blessed Sacrament that many souls are
saved. Jesus' blessings overflow in the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament, and it is here that we should also pray for others.
We were also educated on the importance
of going to confession. If we all went to confession once per month,
there would be peace on earth.
Mass was celebrated on Saturday evening
at the Chapel on the compound..
Apart from the teachings, a grand time
was had by all - swimming, snorkeling and fishing were done whenever free
time was available. The Saturday evening barbeque dinner was
entertaining, while the diversity and varying intensity of snoring sounds at
night, provided further entertainment.
(Doon Ramsaroop)
Photos...........
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