General Curia Retreat

Assisi. As they do each year, the members of the Capuchin General Curia in Rome took time for an annual retreat. This year Assisi was chosen, and surely no better choice could be made, for here one is close to the Poverello and here everything speaks of him. It is the ideal place for listening and prayer for every Franciscan.

Here, in Assisi, at the Domus Lætitiæ, which is a spiritual center of the Capuchin friars of Umbria, the total renovation of which has been recently completed, twenty-five friars from the Curia spent some days of retreat from March 17 to 22. Br. Gaetano La Speme, Provincial Minister of Syracuse and expert in Biblical Theology, animated the retreat. He carried out this task with depth and competence, as well as with his elegant style and clear and tranquil voice. The meditations he offered daily followed the teachings of the Gospel, sticking close to the pages of Sacred Scripture and always giving a wise, original, and up-to-date reading.

The guiding theme of the meditations was the style of Jesus: listening to his word and certain passages of the gospels in particular.

Topics included on the journey with Jesus on the streets of humanity, Jesus and the other: the other encountered by him in a way that is perhaps sporadic, the other that meets him more often and the other still who becomes his brother in the everyday, prayer: the prayer of Jesus, the prayer of Francis, our prayer, Jesus meeting the suffering: sickness as part of human life, our life, the life of the friars, those dear to us, and our friends, Jesus and his relationship with the poor: what he said about the poor and how he related himself to them, Jesus and conflict: various people in conflict, including in the gospels themselves (Martha and Mary, for example) and the causes of conflict (jealousy primarily), the experience of Francis in a rereading of certain of his texts.

These titles of the reflections are enough to understand and appreciate the beauty of this time of retreat, which the participants will remember for a long time.

Making the time of retreat even more special, there was a chance to visit the places most dear and meaningful for Francis: The hermitage of the Carceri, Rivotorto, Our Lady of the Angels, San Damiano, the basilicas of St. Francis, Mary Major, etc. Each place with what it recalls and the richness of its spiritual treasures made a counterpoint with the daily meditations.

The stay at the Domus Lætitiæ was truly a time of joy and peace, especially in the enchanting beauty of the area, which above all is a marvel and leads one to praise the Lord with St. Francis – Laudato si’ mi Signore!  Beyond this there was the personnel of the house and their extraordinary kindness which put everyone at ease. To them go the sincere and fraternal thanks of all the participants.