FIN Retreat
Batulao, the Philippines, 22 April 2017 -- On this Saturday morning of the Easter Octave, the third and last batch of confreres of the FIN Province ended their Annual Spiritual Retreat with the Solemn Mass presided by Fr. Paul Bicomong, SDB, the FIN Provincial Superior. The series of retreats this year began last April 2, the week before Holy Week with the first batch. The second batch was during the Holy Week. And the last batch was during the Octave of Easter.
Fr. Provincial opened his homily to the confreres with these words: “We have come to the end of the Annual Retreat, which is a refreshing way of going back to the roots: as our dear confrere-preacher Fr. Peter Varengo guided us into looking at our state as 'A Radical Life.' It is a revisiting of elements of our Salesian life that matter the most: our identity and mission, God’s call for us and our response, healing trust, relationship, and discipleship. Our annual retreat this year brought us closer to our radix—our root that is, the Sacred Scripture, which we ponder like Mary in our hearts.”
Indeed, this healthy weeklong time out with the Lord once a year is the best opportunity to go back to the source of one’s being a Salesian – our being called by God to be his disciples to the youth most especially.
The FIN Province expresses its sincere gratitude to Fr. Peter Varengo, SDB for guiding the confreres through his talks that were centered on the Word of God and the Salesian Constitutions. The FIN Province wish to thank the Province of Australia-Pacific (AUL) for allowing Fr. Varengo to guide the confreres for these past three grace-filled weeks of intimate encounter with the gracious and merciful Lord.
