Priests in Retreat

To retreat is to surrender and to surrender is to accept defeat. Every second week of November the clergy of the Archdiocese of Davao enter into a retreat. They go into a deep spiritual experience to contemplate complete surrender, to undergo an oftentimes cathartic re-learning of the meaning of defeat in their lives as shepherds and pastors of the flock. This retreat is at the very core of the church’s life as it determines the health of her ministers and, consequently, the living faith of her sons and daughters.

Why do the clergy need this retreat?

Firstly, our priests need spiritual rest. The pastoral ministry is very much different from other professions. As the world slowly comes out of the devastation and fear borne by the Covid pandemic, our priests cannot fake spiritual health for long. As pastors, our priests have been demanded to constantly and continually pour themselves into the lives of others through their preaching duties, pastoral care, apostolates and counseling among other responsibilities. They therefore must always give from the depths of their own soul, one not totally devoid of torment and suffering; and for them to be able to give from within and continue to effectively shepherd others, the first must be filled. To take a few days off, in retreat, therefore means restoration, re-emptying and re-filling. The clergy in retreat is the clergy in spiritual rest.

Secondly, our priests often find themselves moving from one crisis to the next so that it is easy to lose sight of what is most important — prayer and the ministry of the Word. Our priests therefore need some time off for serious reflective planning. Working IN the church must not be confused with working FOR the church, both go hand in hand. And only carefully planned strategies borne out of prayerful reflection and discernment can effectively marry the priests’ role as both worker In and For the vineyard of faith.

Thirdly, our clergy need to reinvigorate themselves through continued learning, studying and growing – life-long endeavors integral to being an effective minister of Christ. By going into a retreat, our priests are filled with new insights, strengthened by knowledge and validated and affirmed by peers. They are filled anew, renewed, revived and refreshed.

Finally, our priests need to enjoy. They need to enjoy the presence of the lover of their soul, the very source of their vocation — God. A retreat provides focus and clarity on the Divine for what else is there to do than pray, reflect, contemplate, discern, and call out to the Giver of Life? Solitude is an invitation to personally talk and walk with God away from the chaos and troubles of the ministry. In effect, God “kidnaps” our priests to be with Him and Him alone so that when He returns them back to His people, they in return will “kidnap” them for Him and Him alone.

To retreat to God is to surrender to Him. To be defeated by His love. That is why the Davao clergy is in retreat.