Nat’l Retreat for Priests: Speaker stresses need to ‘re-evangelize’ Catholics

An Irish nun who led a retreat for more than 2,000 Filipino priests has emphasized the need to ‘re-evangelize’ those who often take the sacraments for granted.

Poor Clare Sr. Briege McKenna, whose healing ministry is totally centered on the Eucharist, said that “one of the great needs” of today is evangelization, especially to those who have fallen out of the practice of their faith.

“The reason is because they don’t know. It’s like having a fridge of food and starving to death… you don’t know what you have,” McKenna said in a press briefing.

“In many parts of the world, Catholics need re-evangelizing. They need to rediscover the treasures of the sacraments,” she said.

For many decades now, the nun has ministered hope and healing to countless people all over the world for many decades.

In her sixth visit to the Philippines, she was one of the speakers of the National Retreat for Priests held at the IEC Convention Center in Cebu City from Nov. 7 to 9.

More than 2,600 priests from across the country attended the spiritual event, the largest clergy gathering since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020.

With the theme “Priesthood: A Call to Holiness,” the three-day retreat was organized by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Clergy and the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Along with McKenna was her ministry partner, Fr. Escriva de Romani, who said that while the sacrament is love in itself, “how are you going to love what you don’t know?”

He asked Catholics to discover the beauty of the sacraments and the strength it provides for the Christian life.

“So you have two options: Get bored for the rest of your life, or start searching,” said De Romani, a missionary priest from the Archdiocese of Madrid. (CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published by CBCP News.