The 2025 course offered by CEAR Costa Rica has filled its participants with smiles of gratitude. There are many testimonials of personal growth and transformation that, once again, have given meaning to the efforts of the team responsible for this Augustinian Recollect center, which has been operating for almost 15 years, with its main headquarters at the Saint Ezekiel Moreno House in Pozos de Santa Ana (San José).
Divided into two semesters, some of its workshops have become iconic, benchmarks throughout the region. “Know Yourself, Accept Yourself, Overcome Your Limits”, “Enneagram” and “Healing the Inner Child” reflect well-established spaces for introspection, self-knowledge, and healing. They have already reached hundreds of people and continue to attract new participants.
Each year the course begins with the “Thanatology Workshop.” In 2025, due to its success, a volunteer group was formed to welcome people who have experienced loss every two weeks. These trained volunteers offer them a safe space for listening, support, and solidarity in their grief. In addition, a group of volunteer psychologists facilitates activities focused on personal development, emotional learning, and bodywork and healing.
Also from the beginnings of CEAR comes a beautiful workshop in which the act of weaving in a group accompanies the possibility of dialogue, building life, attending to their emotions, increasing joys and managing sadness: “Embroidering feelings”.
In the spiritual realm, there are all kinds of offerings, varying in length and intensity. These include Augustinian Prayer Workshops and Bible Workshops, along with two-day or one-morning Silent retreats —oases where one can silence the noise of daily life.
This year some activities have been new and especially intense, such as the joint pilgrimage retreat of CEAR and the Augustinian Recollect Secular Fraternity, which took place in Mexico. For four days, the participants prayed and received formation at the House of Recollection in Cuernavaca (Morelos, Mexico) and were embraced by the warmth of the Virgin Mary at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Other impactful workshops have included the one called “God, why don’t you hear me?”, very appropriate for those who feel distant or doubt their faith, or the Marian spirituality promoter “Getting to Know Mary of Nazareth”, both of which were well received.
In the second half of the year, and for two consecutive years, a group called Casiciaco, made up of couples, held a workshop on the “Confessions of Saint Augustine”. This is one of the new features that will continue in the program in the future.
CEAR Costa Rica helps people discover their inner Master. It invites them to find within themselves the path of Christ-man to reach Christ-God. Augustinian spirituality, centuries later, allows us to transform lives and transform today’s society.
CEAR Costa Rica resonates in the land of “Pura Vida – Pure Life”; the programming, experiences, and opportunities offered by CEAR reflect this quintessentially Costa Rican expression. May it continue serving people in 2026 with its offerings, all aimed at fostering a sense of hope and a joyful “pura vida.”
