The 6th and 7th of February were once again a time of reflection, prayer and recreation at the Salvatorian Community House in Currambine. Having attended several of these reflection days, I have come to appreciate the benefit this time has had on my own spiritual life.
Often, I do neglect prayer and trust in God – this leads to sin, perhaps even discouragement and eventually further sin as you fail to recognize your failure and move onwards.
The various forms of prayer we engage in during our time together, which include the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Mass have all helped to strengthen my faith in God over time. Removing myself from the world for this short time helps to disrupt this “cycle” of sin and replace it with something good, like prayer.
I think it is important to find a type of prayer that you can relate to and implement in your life. Sometimes we may lead ourselves into a false sense of security by neglecting our prayer life. The reality is that by putting our trust in God, and following Him despite the challenges of life (easier said than done, I know), we will slowly grow in all tenets of our faith – things like our virtues, ability to persevere and pray. With a strong prayer life, we can better find God’s pathway for us and then find a place we can fit it in our society, whether as a Priest, Brother, Lay person or even “just” a regular Catholic person.
So then, the purpose of this weekend, I feel, is fostering a strong life of prayer now, so we can better find our own pathways in life.
This time of reflection is also about meeting others that share enthusiasm for the Catholic faith, mingling and getting to understand people at a more personal level.
Our periods of recreation, like the ever-popular bowling games and table-tennis matches, are ways of getting to know others in a light-hearted environment. It is important to have some social time, not only to get to know others who share your faith – but to also build relationships that you can trust in if you need someone’s company or guidance. As Christians, we are called to proclaim the Gospel, so having personal connections with others is a very important step in carrying out this commandment.
This reflection weekend, we were joined by several other Priests, one of whom gave us a presentation on the Salvatorian Society, and the many pathways there are for us to take. We also used this time as an opportunity to introduce ourselves to one-another.
To close, I must also comment on the hospitality and friendliness of our Salvatorian Fathers. I live in a remote part of Western Australia and have previously flown to Perth for this weekend of reflection, usually arriving a day prior to and the day after the reflection. Everyone in the community house in Currambine have always worked to make me feel very welcome, and have even spent several hours discussing the Catholic faith with me. I must thank all the Salvatorian community for their kindness and outreach to youth such as myself who must travel to attend this event.
A big thanks goes to Father Greg for arranging this time for youth such as myself, who are contemplating where they will take their life. The time remains for me a very important part of my spiritual life, and my suggestion for youth who are unsure of their vocation to consider joining us for a time of prayer, reflection and recreation.