By Fr. Hector Franco, SDB
(Boyle Heights – Los Angeles) – On Saturday, December 2nd and Saturday, December 9nd, the parish communities of St. Mary and Santa Isabel in Los Angeles, held their end-of-year spiritual retreats, as part of the pastoral plan of the two churches.
Retreat at St. Mary’s Church
On December 2, the retreat at Saint Mary’s Church was held in the parish hall from 9am to 8pm, in which 43 lay people participated. This retreat was directed and animated by a group of committed collaborators, among them Mr. Mario Lopez, Mrs. Teresa Garcia and others, who, together with Sr. Estela Navarro of the Community of the Inmaculada Niña María (Immaculate Child Mary), Fr. Héctor Franco, SDB and parish staff carried out this great gathering of formation and spirituality. The objective of the retreat was to strengthen the integral life of the lay ministers/animators and parishioners to live a spirituality that is more committed to apostolic service through the celebration of the Eucharist and the experience of charity, reflections on Advent and Christmas, of which are topics of important relevance at this time of the liturgical year, as well as reflections on the continuing work to strengthen the Salesian youth parish. The participants had time and opportunity for prayer and contemplation, talks and formation, individual and group work, and importantly, the celebration of the Eucharist. St. Mary’s Church community is grateful for the commitment and enthusiasm of all the participants and collaborators and thanks them for their dedication and service. God bless you all.
Retreat at Santa Isabel Church
A week later, on December 9th, Santa Isabel Church, from 9am until 6pm, also hosted a spiritual retreat. 102 people participated during this gathering of prayer and formation, which included ministers, servers, collaborators, some parishioners, and almost 30 young altar servers. Congratulations to them for their contributions and participation. The objective, theme, prayer, individual and group reflection work were the same at both parish locations. Reflection topics were worked on in-depth in two separate groups: adults in one room and young people in another.
The Santa Isabel Church community is grateful for the excellent work of the retreat coordinators, retreat animators, young adults José Flórez and Lisandro Albor Jr., Sr. Estela Navarro, Mrs. Yolanda, Juan, Ezequiel and all the collaborators and staff of the parish for their valuable contributions.
