MANGALURU, DEC 02: The first batch of the annual retreat for the priests of Mangalore diocese began on the evening of Sunday, November 28, 2021 at the Diocesan
Pastoral Centre, Shanthi Kiran, Bajjodi. A week’s retreat will conclude on Friday, December 3, 2021.
The second batch of the same will begin on Sunday, December 12, 2021 and will end on Friday, December 17, 2021.
Most Rev. Joseph Pamplany, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Tellichery is preaching the retreat for both the batches. The bishop is a well-known theologian and retreat preacher
Most Rev. Dr Peter Paul Saldanha writes in his message for November 2021 in Internos, “Participation in the Annual Retreat will nourish us to give our whole self in the Lord’s service. Against a practice that tends to empty man of everything that smacks of interiority, the priest must find God and himself by taking spiritual breaks in order to immerse himself in meditation and prayer. For this reason, Canon law stipulates that clerics “are obliged to make spiritual retreats, in accordance with the provision of particular law” (Can 276, § 2, 4°; cf. cann. 533, § 2; 550, § 3). It is necessary for days of recollection and especially annual retreats to be lived as times of prayer and not as updating courses in theology and pastoral work.
“This retreat has helped me to have a personal encounter with God through a balance of prayer, reflection, silence, solitude, engagement with the natural surroundings and grace. The rich experiences and reflections during this sacred time brought renewal, refreshment and nourishment for my body, mind and spirit,” said a retreatant priest.
