Rejoice - Rebirth - Renew

Thirty Salesians gathered at Bethany Center in Lutz, Florida from last week for their annual retreat. And being among that number- surrounded by my fellow Salesian brothers was a blessing through and through.  The Bethany Center, owned by the Diocese of St. Petersburg, is home to 200 acres of protected wildlife and game.  Toward the end of our retreat, an alligator, which grew curious about us, hunkered down just thirty feet from our cottage. This brought an entirely literal meaning to communing with nature.

The preacher for our retreat, Fr. Manuel Camilleri, SDB chose the theme to be, “Rejoice-Rebirth-Renew”. This theme sought to remind and recommit us to our callings as Salesians during the Bicentennial of St. John Bosco’s birth. Early on in the retreat, Fr. Manuel pointed out the need for balancing what had occurred in our lives over the last year with conversion. Through this process that leads us to be more accepting of our daily crosses, we were called to think of Jesus and his example of steadfast faith even in the face of trials.  Conversion, in turn, opens us up to an attitude of renewal so that we can listen attentively to The Word and place God as a protected sanctuary of our lives.

Conversion also takes us from one way of looking at life to look at life in another way. That is to say, we move from being focused inward and on the self, to looking outwardly and seeing our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Through conversion we are also moved to open hearts and embrace positivity in place of the negativity that is sometimes all around us.  Luke the evangelist identifies how Martha was moved from negative to positive energy by looking at life through the lens of contemplation (10: 38-42).  For Martha, conversion became the way to take in the Lord’s presence in her life, and then take His presence to others. 

I walked away from the retreat experience with a deeper understanding of how I can use my own conversion to find moments to rejoice in my vocation each day. Though we all may accept and carry our daily crosses in all that we do, like Don Bosco we must remember that true joy lies in the love of God and doing the ordinary extraordinarily well.