April 27-28, 2019 – The Pastoral Community at Notre Dame University-Louaize went on a Spiritual Retreat to Our Savior Monastery in Dlebta, where 20 Pastoral members, comprised of alumni and students, gathered to participate. The Pastoral Committee members arrived at the site on April 26th, one day prior to the retreat, to make necessary preparations. The retreat’s theme, “It Has Been Spoken”, was inspired by C.S. Lewis’s acclaimed book The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, highlighting the Christian allegory contained within its pages.
During the retreat, every member was provided with a pen and booklet to take notes as they followed the program. Several topics were discussed, including a detailed explanation of The Last Supper (type of bread, preparations and customs). There was an opportunity to learn the alphabet of Jesus’ original language, Aramaic, with Father Jules. There was also a session to learn Sign Language to improve communication. As a result, the Pastoral members were able to form phrases and Easter hymns. Bible Study was conducted with an emphasis on Catholic interpretations. In addition to that, the Pastoral members had the chance to hear Testimony of one of their own.
On Saturday night, the Pastoral members participated in a two-hour-Adoration, over the course of which they performed several Biblical Easter stories, followed by a team bonding exercise. The retreat concluded on Sunday afternoon with a Holy Mass. All Pastoral members agreed that it was an excellent and blessed retreat.