Florida Catholic | Retreat In Mexico To Create ‘Formation Of The Heart’

Retreat in Mexico to create ‘formation of the heart’

Development of ‘spiritual qualities’ will be the focus of a retreat for Catholic charitable leaders from throughout the Americas.

BOB REDDY | FLORIDA CATHOLIC VENICE BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 05.23.08

VENICE | Leaders of local Catholic charitable agencies from North and South America – including the head of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Venice – have been invited to participate in a regional retreat in Guadalajara, Mexico, in early June.

The retreat is planned in response to the exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI, in the encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” – “God is Love” – that there be a “formation of the heart” for all people working and volunteering in Catholic charitable organizations.

The idea for this retreat was developed through the work of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. The council is the Office of the Holy See that is charged with concrete realization of the charitable intentions of the pope.

Bishop Frank J. Dewane is a member of the council and attended a February meeting in Rome at which the focus of the retreat was discussed.

“There is a greater need to develop the human and spiritual qualities of those who work in Catholic charitable organizations,” Bishop Dewane said. “It is important that formation elevates charitable work and brings it to the center and heart of the church.”

Pope Benedict told the members of the council: “It is important that those who work in the church’s charitable organizations have that formation of heart, the intimate and spiritual formation that, through the meeting with Christ, ignites within the soul a complete knowledge and satisfaction of the longing and needs of the human person.”

This is exactly what enables the acquisition of the very sentiments of merciful love that God has for each individual, he added. He said he prays the retreat will serve to “fully recuperate the human and Christian dimension … and I hope that in the future this initiative can be extended to other regions of the world, too.”

The reason for this view is that those who work in the multiple forms of the church’s charitable activity cannot limit themselves to a technical presentation or to resolving material problems and difficulties.

“The aid that is offered can never be reduced to a philanthropic gesture, but must be a tangible expression of evangelical love,” Pope Benedict added. “Those, then, who work in favor of the human person in parish, diocesan and international organizations do so in the name of the church and are called to make shine through their activity and authentic experience of the church.”

Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the council, notified those going to the retreat that it will serve as a time of “spiritual nourishment for those who spend their energy in service of the poor; (the retreat activities) can also be for this commitment to service – so greatly valued by society and the political world – a sign of the biblical foundation of the Church’s diakonia (service).”

Peter Roustis-Arroyo, the CEO of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Venice Inc., will represent the diocese at the retreat and bring what he learns back to Venice.

““It is an honor for me to represent Bishop Dewane and our diocese at this conference,” Roustis-Aroyo said. “I think that this is a great opportunity for our Catholic Charities leadership because it will enhance our appreciation for Catholic Charities around the world, and especially in our hemisphere.”

The retreat will be led by Capuchin Franciscan Father Raniero Cantalamessa, who is the homilist to the papal household.

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Retreat in Mexico to create ‘formation of the heart’

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