by Premila Lewis
KUWAIT, APRIL 17, 2019: Around 120 children of class eight, preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation from St. Therese of the Child Jesus Church in Salmiya, Kuwait attended a spiritual retreat on April 12.
Father Francisco Pereira, the Catechetical Director of the Apostolic Vicariate of Northern Arabia, conducted the retreat. He began by explaining the sequence of activities planned for the day – prayer, Bible, Holy Eucharist, and Vine and the branches.
Father Pereira explained the importance of prayer in one’s life, how and why we need to pray, and the different types of prayer. The children were asked to write their own prayer. Father explained in detail the meaning of the six important statements from The Lord’s Prayer – the Our Father. They were also taught simple ways to pray and what they should keep in mind while praying. A handout was distributed on a variety of techniques of simple prayer.
Then, Father Pereira pointed out the importance of reading the Holy Bible daily. The faithful reading of the Holy Bible will lead to one's formation which will bring about a transformation in one’s life. The three R’s that will result from daily Bible study is Revelation: of God’s word; Revolution: change in one’s life, Resolution: determination to follow the change.
On the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, Father Pereira emphasised that the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian Life. He highlighted three points that are essential to maintain a fruitful experience of the Holy Eucharist. The first is preparation which involves fasting one hour before Holy Mass, dressing modestly, reading the Holy Mass readings at home, and arriving in Church at least five minutes before Holy Mass begins.
The second is participation. We are not called to be spectators but are required to participate actively in the prayers, responses, and singing. The third is mission. At the end of Holy Mass, all receive a mission, as they are sent out as representatives of Christ to love and serve God in the community.
“The retreat got me close to God, and deepened my faith in the Holy Eucharist as it was a very enriching experience of our Christian faith,” Kevin Ralph Crasta, one of the participants said.
The final session by Francis Sam, the catechetical coordinator, was on the Vine and branches. He began by emphasising our need to be connected to Christ who is the Vine. As a branch, we need to remain connected to the Vine through an intimate and personal relationship with Him. God will prune us in various ways through the Sacraments, sufferings, etc in order to transform us.
Sam explained the three important steps of abiding in Christ: being connected, being dependent, and most importantly, the continuance which is the main characteristic of abiding in the Vine. Candidates were then given cutouts of leaves and fruits to pin to the branches of the Vine as a sign of always being connected to it.
“It was amazing as I found the retreat very informative. I felt a sense of personal union with Christ while pinning the leaves and fruits on the vine branches,” Deon Jacqueline D’souza, a participant said.
“I feel truly blessed for having attended this retreat as this will help me to share what I have learned and experienced to the children in a better way,” Ruth Veigas, a catechist said.
A copy of the novena to the Holy Spirit and prayer cards were distributed to the candidates at the end of the retreat exhorting them to pray the novena in preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Retreat concluded with the final blessing by Father Francisco Pereira.