Conducting a Clergy Retreat

I just came back from Cebu after conducting the annual retreat for the clergy of the Dipolog diocese, 52 priests and their bishop attended. The theme of the 4 day retreat was: "A Renewed Clergy for a Renewed Church."

The retreat was meant to enable the priests to review their life and ministry using as a framework a theology of ministry based on the Second Vatical Council and the Plenary Council of the Philippines. This framework emphasizes that ordained ministry has four dimensions: pastoral ministry, prophetic ministry, sacramental/liturgical ministry and social ministry. The retreat has 3 important components: 1)the presentations/talks given by me (the director), 2) the individual reflection/meditation, 3) the small group sharing (vicariate level and by peer group).


Day 1 Monday
arrival
6:30 pm - Dinner
8:00 - Opening Eucharist/Orientation

Day 2 Tuesday
7:00 am - Breakfast
8:15 Morning Prayer
8:30 Presentation 1: Pastoral Ministry (Ministry of Pastoral Leadership: Forming and Leading the Christian Community/ Basic Ecclesial Communities)
9:45 Individual Reflection/Meditation
11:00 Small group sharing (by vicariate)
12:00 lunch break
3:00 pm Presentation 2: Prophetic Ministry (Ministry of the Word: Forming and Leading a Prophetic, Evangelizing and Witnessing Community)
4:15 Individual Reflection/Meditation
5:30 Eucharist
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Holy Hour
8:30 Peer Group Gathering/Conversation (by age groupings)

Day 3 - Wednesday
7:00 am Breakfast
8:15 Morning Prayer
8:30 Presentation 3: Sacramental/Liturgical Ministry (Forming and Leading a Priestly/Worshipping Community)
9:45 Individual Reflection/Meditation
11:00 Small Group Sharing (vicariate level)
12:00 lunch break
3:00 Presentation 4: Social Ministry (Forming and Leading a Servant Community - that works for justice, peace and the integrity of creation, and for social trasformation)
4:15 Individual Reflection/Meditation
5:30 Eucharist
6:30 Dinner
7:30 Holy Hour
8:30 Peer Group Gathering/Conversation

Day 4: Thursday
7:00 Breakfast
8:15 Morning Prayer
8:30 Presentation 5: Celibacy and Ministry (Appreciating the Value of Celibacy and Living it More Meaningfully and Authentically)
10:00 Film Showing: The Crime of Padre Amaro
12:00 Lunch break
3:00 Presentation 6: Facing the Dark Side and the Responding to the call for to Ongoing Conversion.
4:30 Communal Penitential Celebration/Confession
5:30 Closing Eucharist
6:30 Dinner