By Br. Rodrigo Treviño FSC
After a stormy trek on the decision-making processes’ determining my participation in the EAPI’s Sabbatical, I arrived in Manila in the morning of August 4th, the very first day of the program. Jet-legged and after throwing unto the bed my luggage, I proceeded to the “Terrace” to face around 60 faces seemingly from all over the world, much more than the 20 to 25 that I was expecting according to the brochure of the sabbatical program. This was the first signal that something was caught wrong in my mind. I learned, on that Orientation session, that some parts of the program will be together with participants of another program the PRD. God started His beautiful writing in my crooked heart.
After a heavy rain of names of people and countries (just few remained in my mind at that time), and some information about the program, the facilities and organization, three days of generalities and a TRIDUUM (you know, three days) of semi-retreat, we were kind of equipped for what resulted on 17 weeks of a wandering and wonderful program.
I can risk to say that our “8 days silence retreat” (exactly in the middle of the program, in a town called Tagaytay, was the navel of the program for me! The retreat was preceded by weekly modules on relearning to learn, spirituality and psychology, digital prophecy (which led me to the practical discovering of ChatGPT and other tools), discernment and aesthetics of self-care (which helped me to rediscover that during the process of the creation of my wonderful self I skipped a visit to the art & creativity department!) With the converging ideas of both Ignatian and Lasallian spirituality on God’s immanence, the practice of the Ignatian Exam and the Lasallian habit of the hourly inner recollection of the presence of God, helped me a lot to go deeper into the concept of “long, loving, look to the real” promoted through William McNamara and which have been a pivotal axis in my personal annual plan. The retreat was followed for a week-long break, resumed by modules on perspectives on self-guarding, ecological conversion, affective maturity and others that consolidated the beautiful God’s hand-writing on my somehow crooked heart.
It be a “crime against humanity” if I do not recognize that God’s handwriting quite frequently comes through some or many of His clerks. God’s hand writing through the passion, enthusiasm, devotion and dedication, courage and commitment, joy, smiles and laughter of the participants pierced through my crooked heart coloring it into a canvas titled: GRATITUDE.
Of course, we know that in a pluralistic group as ours, diversity and unity without uniformity is a formidable challenge which, by the way, we were able to face and to overcome graciously. Just putting all the crayons in the same box doesn’t make a rainbow, but we manage to make a rather beautiful panoramic mural. That’s a reason why in my heart the word GRATITUDE resounds loudly.
I want to extend my gratitude to the District and to the Japan Sector Brothers who encouraged me and facilitated my participation in this four months Sabbatical Program on EAPI of Ateneo de Manila. Now, going back to Hakodate to try to continue serving God to the best of my capabilities. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!
