19th Annotation Parish Retreat
March 18 was the date for the 19th Annotation Parish Retreat, organized by Formation Ministry head Joey Galvez for the CTK lectors and commentators, for other ministries and organizations, as well as parishioners who got to read the announcements. The mini-retreat, also known as the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, was two hours long, from 10 am to 12 nn. The retreat leader was Fr. Bobby Buenconsejo SJ who talked on the topic ‘Principle and Foundation’. The intent is that this would the be the first in a four-part retreat series.
The 19th annotation – sometimes called An Ignatian Retreat in Daily Life – is a version of the Spiritual Exercises designed for busy people who cannot be away for 30 days to do the Exercises as they were practiced originally. Often, the 19th is done in small groups which meet weekly or every other week to receive new material from the leader, discuss how the Exercises are going for them, and do some prayer practices, readings, and meditations together. The 19th annotation has caught on in parishes because it applies all the material from Ignatius’s Spiritual Exercises but does it over time, for working people.
Under ‘Principle and Foundation’, the first week is dedicated to the theme of ‘sinfulness, mercy and redemption’. The second week will follow Jesus from birth to his life of teaching and healing. The to his life of teaching and healing. The third week focuses on Jesus’ death, while the fourth week of the Spiritual Exercises dwells on his resurrection. The objective is to recognize God’s goodness as it permeates through all creation – and to express gratitude for this goodness.
Ignatius had been a sinner but upon his ‘conversion’, he became the embodiment of gratitude. So guided by the 19th annotation, we strive to give thanks – for all the things on earth that had been created for us; for a world created out of love; for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The gratitude is best expressed by the prayer of the grateful heart:
“Take Lord and receive all I have and possess You have given all to me; To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; Do with it what you will”
The end state is when our deepest desire becomes – to praise, reverence, and serve God. When everything we do is for God’s greater glory, or what Ateneans would say ‘Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam’ (the Jesuits’ Latin motto), then we become ready to give up everything for the greater glory of God. We become indifferent, without any attachment, whether to people, things, and even human conditions such as good health, wealth, long life, etc. The concept of trust was also brought up by Fr. Bobby. When we surrender our life to the Lord, then we automatically trust God’s will for us.
Finally, Fr. Bobby suggested this exercise – write down the gifts that God has given each one of us; then identify the one gift we are most grateful for; then use that one gift as springboard for our praise and thanks. As a Sfinal note, he asked everyone to reflect on Psalm 116: what return shall I make for all the good he has done for me?
