France Ars Retreat Update 10/2/09 The Last Day

This is the last day of my retreat here at Ars. Tomorrow early in the morning I will be flying back to the States. This morning Cardinal Schonborn spoke first about all the priests who were taking photos during the foot washing; it was suppose to be a very prayerful moment to be enjoyed. He didn't personally mind it' but it saddens him that many of us priests like the rest of the people live in the virtual world--Facebook, MySpace, Internet, and TV where we don't focus on here and now but rather on the virtual reality. Well, the cardinal was really speaking to me.

But that wasn't the main topic. The topic was 'Sent out to Proclaim the Gospel.' It was timely to speak about the missionary spirit with the relic of St. Therese present with us. Although she was a cloistered nun whose world was limited to the convent in Lisieux, she predicted while she was alive that after she dies she'll be a great missionary. She has certainly achieved that by being named a Doctor of the Church and for being spiritual companions to the religious and lay to help proclaim the Gospel.

He recounted one of his own experience where he was riding a train from Innsbruck to Vienna. He was praying his breviary when at one of the train stops around 20 high school students who just graduated filed into the train. He tried to focus on his prayers, but the students, after recognizing him, tried to get his attention. He ignored them at first, but went as far as throwing them a smile. All the students got off at a station which connected them to Turkey. There these young people can enjoy drinking, partying, and sex without worry about their parents or the law. After they left, he was convicted. 'What if I spent just 20 minutes with them, to listen to them, to be a positive influence on them. And they would have said, 'Here is our Cardinal who cares about teenagers like us.' He was convicted that he did not proclaim the Gospel. God asks of us, 'Whom shall I send?' It's often us whom God sends to proclaim the Good News. Do we say to God, 'Here send me!'

One of the sisters belonging to the Coomunity of Beatitude then gave us a presentation about what they do for the youth in France. During summer they go out to the French beach near dance clubs and to reach out to the youth. It can be daunting at first, but the youth are more curious about the religious sisters wearing habit. They have lots of questions for them. The sisters learn that these youth want to be heard, and they want to know about the hunger that was burning within them but no amount of alcohol, drugs, or dance parties satisfy. Her story convicted me as well as many priests who were present. We could much more for our youth...

What am I taking away from this retreat? A desire to have a heart of a shepherd, specifically a heart of Jesus as lived out by examples such as St. Jean Vianney and St. Therese of Lisieux. I hope all of us 1200 priests can take that heart back home.

Fr Paul