CBCP NEWS - MANILA, June 5, 2010—A retreat that called for inner transformation and self renewal [I heard this once...in a seminar about the..Enneagram! New Age stuff! Bad!] was held last May 26-28, 2010 at the Lay Formation Center in Guaset, Bonuan Dagupan, Pangasinan.
Dubbed as Arnold Janssen Spirituality Retreat, the activity was organized and participated by the staff of the Divine Word College, Urdaneta.
The retreat focused on the spirituality of St. Arnold Janssen which are Trinitarian, missionary and Gospel-centered.
Fr. Oscar Alunday, Executive Secretary of CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) and Teresita Azurin, Biblical Apostolate of the Diocese of Legaspi, were the facilitators.
Alunday said the “retreat has looked at the realities of life that are life-giving and death dealing.”[So far so good.]
“In this approach the person discovered his/her inner self as a responsible person for the transformation and development of our environment,” he said. [What! You go to a retreat to make you closer to the Lord! not for the environment! You discover yourself in how the Lord sees you! Is GreenPeace the sponsor of this retreat?]
The retreat particularly intended for the transformative and “new reality” to fortify one’s relationship with God and his neighbors. It is a motivation to face every challenge in one’s life. [But...but...what about the environment!]
St. Arnold Janssen is the founder of SSPs or the Blue Sisters; SVD and the SSPs AP also known as the Pink Sisters. (Kate Laceda)
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Was the World Wide Fund for Nature or Green Peace sponsoring this retreat?
Dubbed as Arnold Janssen Spirituality Retreat, the activity was organized and participated by the staff of the Divine Word College, Urdaneta.
The retreat focused on the spirituality of St. Arnold Janssen which are Trinitarian, missionary and Gospel-centered.
Fr. Oscar Alunday, Executive Secretary of CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) and Teresita Azurin, Biblical Apostolate of the Diocese of Legaspi, were the facilitators.
Alunday said the “retreat has looked at the realities of life that are life-giving and death dealing.”[So far so good.]
“In this approach the person discovered his/her inner self as a responsible person for the transformation and development of our environment,” he said. [What! You go to a retreat to make you closer to the Lord! not for the environment! You discover yourself in how the Lord sees you! Is GreenPeace the sponsor of this retreat?]
The retreat particularly intended for the transformative and “new reality” to fortify one’s relationship with God and his neighbors. It is a motivation to face every challenge in one’s life. [But...but...what about the environment!]
St. Arnold Janssen is the founder of SSPs or the Blue Sisters; SVD and the SSPs AP also known as the Pink Sisters. (Kate Laceda)
***
Was the World Wide Fund for Nature or Green Peace sponsoring this retreat?
Themed retreats are not new. You have retreats for married couples to reaffirm their marriages. Why not a retreat to reaffirm our role as caretakers of God's creation?
ReplyDeleteRetreats which focus on the spirituality of Francis of Assisi will definitely bring you closer to the Lord, the God of Nature.
Greetings. There is a website provided by the Catholic Conservation Center that provides an extensive collection of writings about the environment and Catholic Church that you may be interested in. http://conservation.catholic.org I'm not familiar with the retreat you mentioned, but in general there are some very positive Catholic initiatives addressing the environment, and then there are those that stray into new age and neo-pagan beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I am weary about Bill. Most of the religious who give talks about the environment here sway more towards Wiccan worship. I once attended an Advent Mass where the "Advent World" instead of an Advent Wreath. This is in a convent's chapel. And to my horror, the nuns who made the wreath, prayed to God the Mother.
ReplyDeleteQuite not surprising though since once theology school frequented by these nuns teaches Eco-Spirituality.