Holy Week Retreat for Brothers in Compostela

Thirty Brothers from the Compostela Province gathered at the Marist Residence in Valladolid for the Holy Week Retreat 2023. Br. Lindley Sionosa, Assistant Director of the Secretariat of Brothers Today, facilitated the retreat, which focused on the Year of Marist Vocations and the theme “Caring for and Generating Marist Life.”

The retreat sessions began on Easter Monday, April 3, through Easter Sunday, April 9. Each day there were two presentations, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The rest of the time was devoted to personal reflection and reading the supplementary materials, which included references to the Rule of Life and the Constitutions.

One of the most important aspects of the retreat was that the brothers recalled, reflected on, and shared their respective vocation stories. It was reinforced by the simple gesture of remembering the significant persons who were part of those stories.

Deepening the experience of the spirituality of the heart also marked the retreat. Each morning, the brothers gathered in the chapel for a contemplative moment. Breakfast and lunch were eaten in silence to maintain the reflective atmosphere.

In addition, the brothers were fully immersed in celebrating the different liturgies of Holy Week. The Brothers of the Residence community joined in these celebrations.

The Brothers of the Champagnat Residence of Leon connected online during the conferences.

In the final session, Br. Lindley invited the Brothers to look beyond, to continue to care for and generate Marist life, and to always trust that the Good Mother “will not let the work she began in Marcellin perish”.