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Retreat to the Father’s Will
By NATHAN FRANKART
Peace of Christ to you! I was looking through my photo album on my phone for something fun to attach to my article this month, and I know that I am probably going to end up regretting this decision, but I choose this one. I was really looking for a good photo of myself in the church before our enhancement project, but for whatever reason I went with my First Communion photo — enjoy.
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Since August has come yet again, my summer break is coming to close, but this year it will close in a different way than years prior. As I have already mentioned, I will be returning to Borromeo as an upcoming senior, and with that comes new responsibilities and ways to serve the seminary community. But in order to prepare and be ready to serve that community in the fall, myself and all the other Borromeo seniors will be packing our bags and making our way to a little town known as Alverno, which is right across the border in Pennsylvania. Here, with the generosity of the Franciscan Capuchin community, we will be not only bonding as a class, but taking a group retreat together to reflect and pray about how we are to serve the seminary and our brothers this year as leaders of the house. And you don’t need me to tell you about all the surprises and new challenges that my class must face together.
But this highlights the importance of prayer before undertaking a serious role of service and sacrifice. Jesus often would pray in solitude away from His disciples throughout His ministry, and then return to his disciples and to the people to perform miracles and works of healing. Jesus’s sacrifice in the Passion was first initiated at the Mount of Olives, where he intensely prayed for the will of the Father to be achieved. And thus, the Borromeo seniors and I will go out to do the same. We will gather together in this reflective time to understand how the Father wishes us to lead the house this year, and it will be an intense three-day experience. I humbly ask for your prayers throughout the week of the 28th. May the Holy Spirit guide our conversation and bond us closer together in Christian brotherhood and love.
