The Journey – Coming down from the Mountain

Nov 01, 2024

By Kristen Priya Krishnan
In line with the recent Parish Pastoral Assembly’s focus on Church and Society, the Formation Ministry of the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, Brickfields, in collaboration with the PPC and PCC, led by Fr Andrew Manickam, OFM Cap, organised their first countryside retreat for 2024.

The retreat was held from October 12 to 13 at the Mercy Centre of the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Kampar. With the theme Teach Us to Pray under the Spiritual Oasis: Year of Prayer initiative, a total of 84 retreatants took part in this inspiring and memorable experience, preparing spiritually for the upcoming Jubilee Year of Hope 2025.

It was completely an experience with God and an opportunity for us, humankind to sit back and reflect on the Word of God; while journeying with our Lord Jesus Christ through encouragement and fellowship.

The heart of any retreat is the silence and the time spent with God through prayer, adoration, holy hour, Eucharistic celebration, conferences and pilgrimages. The entire retreat was about going up the mountain remaining there and then coming down the mountain as a changed and much revived person spiritually.

The focus of the retreat was on The Journey – Coming down from the Mountain, just as how Jesus journeyed with his disciples from the top of part of Israel down to Jerusalem as outlined in Mark, chapters 9 and 10. These physical journeys up and down mountains mirror our spiritual walk closely. To be upon the mountain of the Lord is to be close to God. And, this requires great effort and determination. It is a time to talk about spiritual experiences, share encounters with God and evaluating high points in our life towards a moment of transformation. It was definitely a good place to get away from the hustling-bustling city life to retreat in calmness and silence of nature nurtured in love, humility and prayer.