The five days of retreat at the Talavera House of Prayer became a shared inner journey: a pilgrimage of silence, communion, and renewal for brothers who wish to serve the Church from the Augustinian Recollect charism.
These were simple days, marked by prayer, listening, and fraternity. Each day led us to rediscover what sustains our vocation and gives shape to our consecrated life.
1. Recollection, the center of our identity
Around silence and interiority, we returned to the essential: recognizing the presence of God who dwells in the depths and allowing ourselves to be shaped by Him.
Recollection appeared again as more than a spiritual method: it is a way of being.
An inner heart, attentive, available. A life centered on what is truly necessary. A path where prayer is a source of mission and remaining in Christ renews the mind and heart.
2. A path of conversion
We were invited to “return to the heart,” to gather our scattered thoughts before God and allow Him to lead us towards an authentic metanoia. It was not about changing circumstances, but about letting ourselves be changed by Him.
3. Communion, a gift that sustains us
In these days we discovered, once again, that no one makes a pilgrimage alone. Hope is walked in community. Listening, supporting, understanding, and reconciling with each other was the ground where grace sprang up again and unity was strengthened.
4. Synodality: discerning and walking together
As Pilgrims of Hope, we remember that the Church calls us today to move forward together, to discern together, and to renew our mission from contemplation that becomes service. Synodality is not a program: it is a lifestyle that is born from the Gospel.
5. Daily fidelity, source of renewal
True renewal does not usually come between great events, but in that silent “yes” that we give each day: yes to service, yes to forgiveness, yes to patience, yes to love.
A return home
The retreat was, in many ways, a return home: to the heart of God and to the root of our vocation.
In the silence, in the fraternal sharing, in the listening to the Word, in the Eucharist, in the simple joy of being together… there the Lord spoke.
He reminded us who we are: men consecrated for his mission, disciples called to walk with humility, pilgrims custodians of hope. Each teaching, each prayer, each pause became an invitation to begin again, to drink from the sources of grace, to let the Holy Spirit renew what is tired, and to open space for Christ to dwell more deeply.
We do not return only rested: we return recollected, more rooted in God, more united as a community, and more available for the mission entrusted to each one.
Thanksgiving
To the Lord, who gathered us, spoke to our hearts, and renewed our spirit.
To our retreat master, whose wisdom and serenity helped us to deepen our identity as Augustinian Recollects and Pilgrims of Hope.
To the community of the Talavera House of Prayer, for its silent hospitality and its atmosphere of prayer.
To each brother, for the openness of heart, the sincerity in sharing, and the fraternity that made these days a true time of grace.
May we carry with us a renewed spirit when we return to our missions: more collected, more humble, more interior, more full of hope.
May the fruits of these five days impel us to serve the People of God with greater compassion, unity, and dedication.
