From Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon, twenty-one Hispanic leaders from North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland made a silent weekend Ignatian retreat under the care of a team composed of Dr. Dora Tobar Cobo, and Frs. Cristián Sotomayor, SJ (of Chile), Frank Kaminski, SJ and me. It was held at the Loyola Retreat House in Faulkner, MD, beautifully set on the bank of the Potomac. For many, but not all, this was their first silent retreat. Participation in the retreat is by invitation, based on the recommendation of diocesan or parish officials who know them.
This is the third year we have offered this retreat, leading the participants in the early part of the Spiritual Exercises. The enthusiasm and goodness of the retreatants, combined with their generosity in entering into a deeper examination of their relationship with God and themselves, always seem to lead to an incredibly enriching experience for them, and for their directors, or acompañates.
This program offered by the Institute in collaboration with the Retreat House staff, is part of what we hope to be a series of graduated retreats to help Hispanic ministry leaders grow in their spiritual lives so they can be more effective, fruitful and happy in their service to the community.
Dr. Tobar, a theologian from Colombia who trained in Rome is truly the heart and soul of the program, having put in untold hours of work on the presentations (points for prayer) , prayer services and rituals which speak so powerfully to the young adults and helps prepare them for hours of silent prayer and reflection. We owe her a great debt of gratitude.
Bill Rickle, SJ
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