Dear brothers and sisters,
As we prepare for our first Silent Retreat for College Students in Colorado, Bro. Francis (“Bro. Fro,” as baptized by the students) gave a great talk on Thursday about the interior dispositions for making a retreat. These virtues are essential before starting a retreat, but they really apply to our whole spiritual lives.
Bro. Fro talked about humility, magnanimity, and trust. Before starting a retreat, we need humility to see the truth: who we are and who the Lord is. Humility to acknowledge that we need help and the mercy of the Lord; we still have lots of work to do in our journey. Humility to be open to the work of the Lord during the retreat.
Magnanimity, comes from the latin “magna anima,” big soul. It is a disposition of generosity to do great things for the Lord. The Holy Spirit will probably challenge us during the retreat to make some changes for good. The virtue of magnanimity enables us to be open to whatever the Lord is going to ask.
Finally, Bro. Francis talked about trust. While with humility, we see our nothingness, our weakness, with the virtue of trust, we look at God, who is almighty and loves us. He is able and willing to help us in our spiritual life. With him, we can do all things.
In this bulletin edition, Maddie Lawrence has written a moving account of her first experience at the SEEK conference. Her account has many thought-inspiring insights. I hope you find them helpful, too.
May our Lady of Guadalupe keep you in the crossing of her arms.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Richard, MC