Annual Retreat of the Province of Colombia

Published by Harold Stiven Medina Castillo in Colombia · Saturday 03 Oct 2026 · 5 minutes
Tags: NU, COL, 1381

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PAIPA, BOYACÁ, Colombia - In our constant quest to be conformed to Christ and, in Christ, to Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom, we, the Montfort Missionaries of the Colombian Province, gathered from 23 to 28 August this year to undertake our annual spiritual exercises at the Villa Montfort retreat house in Cumaral, Meta, accompanied by Fr. Jesús Cucho, SMM, a member of the General Council, whom we thank for his valuable company and guidance during the retreat.

On this occasion, I had the great blessing of taking part in this ‘desert’ experience as a novice of the Colombian Province. With great affection, and having prayed and meditated before the Blessed Sacrament, I wish to share with you a brief account of what I learnt and experienced during the retreat.

Accompanied by Canticle 14, ‘THE TENDERNESS OF CHARITY TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOUR’, written by Saint Louis-Marie de Montfort, we began to immerse ourselves in a week marked by silence, prayer and contemplation. The starting point is to be aware that our life is a gift from God: ‘You are my son; today I have begotten you’ (Psalm 2:3). Feeling ourselves to be children of God, we are called to embrace our dignity as human beings, understanding the manifestation of love that the Creator has placed within our lives. If I am unable to conceive of myself as a child of God, I will also find it very difficult to understand my brother or sister; I will struggle to build community and fellowship; if I fail to be aware of my reality as a Christian and as a beloved child of God, I will hardly be able to see in the faces of others the very life and love of the One who created us, which is also manifested in them.

Every baptised person is called to deepen their understanding of their reality as a person loved by God. On this point, the *Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis* (*The Gift of the Priestly Vocation*) tells us in No. 11 that ‘ecclesial vocations are a manifestation of the immeasurable riches of Christ (cf. Eph 3:8) and, therefore, must be valued and nurtured with every pastoral care, so that they may flourish and mature’.

In addition to this paragraph, we also draw on paragraph 92 of the Ratio, which speaks of the importance of an integral formation, understood as a process that engages the whole person, with all that they are and possess; this in order to attain “inner strength, without divisions or dichotomies”; being able to unify one’s life story and emotions around Christ, by adopting a pedagogical model that collaborates with the action of the Holy Spirit.

So now we might ask ourselves: what must we do to embrace our history with love and faith? In light of this question, Father Jesús presented us with a topic of the utmost importance: he spoke to us of a ‘SPIRITUALITY OF HEALING’ – which is not the only way forward, but one that is important to understand—which consists of introducing the spiritual experience of Jesus into our lives in a lived way, beginning to recognise God as Jesus recognises him, that is, as ‘Abba’ (Mk 14:36a), a word which in Aramaic sounds like ‘Dad, Daddy’. Continuing with the text, it says: ‘All things are possible for you’ (Mk 14:36b). Jesus shows a sign of closeness and trust with the Father. This is the surrender to which we must arrive as true baptised believers: not forgetting that Jesus reveals himself to us as a way out, a light in our troubles, without accusing us or making us feel guilty for our wounds; for, for Jesus, what matters is to heal and bring relief to those who suffer (John 9:1–7).

We must realise that the healing process requires time and daily perseverance, entering into silent prayer and surrender to God; making the most of moments of solitude as a sign of God’s voice speaking to us amidst that silence, healing our lives and our past, every day; living with a grateful heart, recognising God’s actions as a sign of love towards us, humbling ourselves; like a small child who simply approaches their father to ask for something, allowing the positive response within us to fill us with wonder as we feel renewed and transformed by Him. Finally, to remember that, in order to undergo a true process of healing, we must let go—not only of material things, but also of the ego that can consume us and lead us to selfishness and greed; to let go of the guilt complexes that so often lead us to feel inferior to others, carrying burdens that are not ours to bear and forgetting that God loves us, that we are capable of growing and becoming better human beings every day. Detachment, properly understood, means freedom—inner freedom—and signifies a quest for inner purity.

We experienced many things during the Retreats, but this was what struck me most, and that is why I wanted to share it with you in simple terms.

Harold Stiven Medina Castillo

Montfortian Novice

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