Dear Retreatant from the Marist Community:

God- Good online teachers concern themselves with engagement of their students. This is also true with
centered speakers of online spiritual activities. If you look at the bigger picture though, more than engagement,
there is a loftier goal in our retreat: an experience, a spiritual conversion for each of you as you once
more bring back God at the center of your life.

I pray that you share with me this premise, whether you are a new or not-so-new Marist personnel
Encounter
(admin staff, teacher, former teacher), participating in this year’s retreat: You want to meet Christ
with Christ
more especially in the next two days our Marist community has dedicated for it. You plan to use all
the means within your reach for that to happen. You will take advantage of all the offered activities
not because the attendance will be checked, but since you understand completely well that God
wants to tell you something on a personal note in each of them, and you want to listen exclusively to His
voice this time.

So that the resonance of God’s voice, the Holy Spirit’s whispers, be loud and clear, I advise that you
Noting use all your energies to pay attention. As we go through considerations in every session of guided
down the prayer which is called, a ‘meditation’1, be ready with your materials to jot down the resolutions,
Holy affections, inspirations, or any idea that strike you. Reread what you noted down at the end of the
Spirit’s day and answer these questions: what did God tell me today and now? What did he point out to me
motions in improving my relationship with Him, with my family with the people I work with? What
dispositions, attitudes and habits should I change? How could I concretize them?

The path through which we encounter Jesus is through our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph. Our
Our
theme is Through Mary, With Joseph and In Jesus. Apart from our community’s praying of the Rosary
Theme
in which we beg our Lady for our personal conversion, the Beatitude-centered Examination of
Conscience will make several allusions to the virtues of our Blessed Mother and her spouse. In this
Year of St Joseph, our meditations will also feature the protagonism of our father and lord.

As you go through the retreat, it his highly probable that you encounter an obvious dilemma:
Some tips
distraction. You will be tempted to while away and scatter your attention. You could easily connect to
for a
other web sites and social media platforms. You could also readily zone out as you tire yourself in
fruitful
listening. Aside from the proactive stance in note-taking (which I earlier recommended), enough
retreat
sleep, a decisive ‘social media detox’, informing your family and friends about your two-day-retreat
in relative silence could all together do the trick. Repeating our premise several times could also put
you back on track in case you get lost. Once in a while, as you experience screen fatigue, you may opt
to merely listen. Don’t worry if in the end at one point you ever fall asleep, we will provide the materials
which you may have missed. Same goes if all of a sudden, internet connection falters.

Go To maintain focus, the meditations that I will preach in audio will be accompanied by a visual: a live-
sacramental! streamed exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. All the activities are online, but I recommend that you
try to visit the church near you to physically be drawn to our Eucharistic Lord. If possible, go and ask

1
A meditation is simply a guided prayer. I lead it by mentioning some point of consideration which you could use
to talk to God. I learned this way of praying from St Josemaria, founder of Opus Dei. Indebted to the latter’s
spirituality, it is inevitable that I once in a while talk about him or his writings. You may get to know more in
stjosemaria.org.
pardon sacramentally as well2. Likewise plan your physical attendance of the mass. All our activities
broadcasted via the internet are devotional (even an online mass is such!) and for meetings with Christ,
nothing beats the sacramental encounter!

I will definitely pray for each of you Through Mary, with Joseph and In Jesus.

In Christ,

Rev Fr Dean Johnpaul Menchavez

2
You may take advantage of this confession hub: Chaplaincy Advisory: Confessions at PSB | UA&P (uap.asia)