From September 7th to 10th, the Redemptorist Missionaries of the Europe South Province held their annual spiritual exercises in the two areas of the Province: in Ciorani for the Italian region and at the El Espino Monastery for the Spanish region. As every year, this event represented a privileged moment to pause, renew their relationship with the Lord, and allow themselves to be challenged anew by the missionary call they have received.
In the Italian region, in the context of the Gerard Year and the celebrations for the third centenary of the birth of Saint Gerard Majella, the exercises were preached by moral theologian Filomena Sacco. The program, developed around the theme “Loved, Called, Sent: The Evangelical Folly That Changes the World,” guided participants through a spiritual journey that intertwined the Word of God and the spirituality of Saints Alphonsus and Gerard. The various meditations offered an opportunity to reflect on the love that underpins every vocation, on the call received, on mercy as a missionary style, on the peace born of abandonment to God’s will, and on the sending forth that leads the missionary to joyfully share the Gospel.
In the Spanish region, the retreat was led by Father Piotr Chyla, coordinator of the Redemptorist Conference of Europe. Through a contemporary reinterpretation of the figure of Saint Gerard Majella, the Redemptorist Missionaries explored some of the most significant aspects of his witness: total trust in God’s will, evangelical poverty, attention to the simplest people, apostolic zeal, and profound union with Christ. Saint Gerard’s life once again proved to be a source of concrete inspiration for consecrated life and the Redemptorist mission in today’s world.
In addition to moments of personal prayer, listening, and silence, the retreats were also a precious time of fellowship and sharing. In a simple and family-like atmosphere, these days fostered the strengthening of the fraternal bonds that sustain our shared journey.
On the tercentenary of the birth of Saint Gerard Majella, the experience in Ciorani and El Espino reminded everyone that mission is born from an encounter with Christ the Redeemer and is nourished by fraternal life, prayer, and daily fidelity to the Gospel. The Redemptorist Missionaries of the Southern Europe Province thus return to their communities renewed in their desire to continue proclaiming the abundant redemption with hope.
St. Francis of Lorenzo
