Understanding teenage grief and loss amid COVID-19
May 12, 2020
About Retrouvaille
May 12, 2020

‘The Journey Today’ retreat experience

The Journey Today was a look at spirituality for families for our time through an experience of life. It was a retreat experience yet one which touched both the spiritual and human elements as we seek to grow and become the persons and families that God invites us to be.

It was held on Monday, May 4 from 2 to 4 p.m. on Zoom. Fifty persons were present, including representatives from parish Family Life Units, and facilitators of the Joy Filled Marriage Preparation programme. It was facilitated by Fr Matthew Ragbir, Spiritual Advisor, Archdiocesan Family Life Commission.

Questions:

What was the experience at the beginning of The Journey Today  and what faith lead you to? What did you find most helpful about The Journey Today?

Responses:

It was new and hopeful, [and] although short, there was depth, allowing us to be transformed to a more positive stage or phase of our faith journey. Overall, it was captivating. The music played while we did the activities jolted our spirit in contributing from deep within.

It was a novel approach how Fr Ragbir applied the principles of Lectio to a non-scriptural look at peace using Khalil Gibran’s poem and Psalm 40. The way the poem by participants was constructed during the session, was indeed inspirational.

—C&C Quamina

The Journey Today was a reminder for me because I was journeying with something for two years now and the message in that has always been to wait and I am not a patient person.

So, when the Psalm 40 came on and the song, I had a good laugh at myself because it was a reminder, and God certainly has a sense of humour.

As well, what Roger and I took from it was it was a little unusual to have a retreat on a Monday, so it set us on a different path for the week.

For me, the impact was also the questions ‘I experience myself/I see myself’… I didn’t think of it like that before so it  forced a reflection where you really had to pause and think of how you would answer, what you are experiencing especially now with the coronavirus where they are telling you how you should feel and it’s ok to be depressed, anxious etc. This was a different way to slant it and it really  gave you pause so now I have two new questions when I am doing my meditations at how to look at myself.

—A&R Williams

For me, each day in the time of COVID-19 is different. One day I can feel so at peace with myself and with God, another day I feel so disconnected and so far away from God and that God is so far away from me.

Yesterday was one of those days. My faith has led me to understand and to believe that God wants me to let go of all my fears and anxieties, that desire to know what’s next, so I can recognise Him in the present and experience His Love. It helped a lot to come to that understanding that God wants me to bring all that I am to Him in prayer even when I feel that He is not there.

—A Rudolfo