Franciscans of Mary live annual retreat at the Metropolitan Seminary of Concepción

The Franciscans of Mary They lived their annual retreat on the morning of Saturday, December 3 at the Metropolitan Seminary of Concepción.

The meeting, in which people from Santiago, Talca, Los Angeles, Concepción and Ranco participated, began at 09:30 am with a Eucharist, which was presided over by the Auxiliary Bishop of Concepción, Monsignor Bernardo Alvarez. The Holy Mass ended with the singing of the hymn of the group, which was accompanied by the seminarians Felipe Giacaman and Fabián Fernández.

Then, Monsignor Bernardo led two meditation themes and later each of the participants recounted how they came to the Franciscans of Mary, whose mission is to live and spread the spirituality of gratitude. Subsequently, the more than 30 people who participated in the retreat shared a fraternal lunch.

Cecilia Alamoswho is in charge of the Franciscans of Mary in Concepción and its surroundings, stated that it was a very nice meeting and stressed that “with the pandemic we have grown a lot”, since the founder of this movement -the Father Santiago Martin– in the homilies of his masses, which were broadcast on Magnificat TV, he always invited people to participate, and thus “many little schools of gratitude began to form.”

Franciscans of Mary

Cecilia Álamos pointed out that the spirituality of the Franciscans of Mary is based on Saint Francis of Assisi and the Virgin Mary. In this context, he explained that “when San Francisco was in the Porziuncola he saw that there were many people, but everyone was just going to ask, no one was going to give thanks. That is why that phrase from San Francisco “Love is not loved”, because everyone asks, but nobody thanks”. Regarding the Virgin Mary, he commented that “we have a special course in the fifth year, where we deal with 52 topics only on how to imitate Mary, imitate her in her trust in God, in her faith despite all adversity, in her humility, in Mary’s yes to the will of God, not complaining or rebelling or asking for explanations of why things happen, but abandoning herself in the will of God”.

In addition, he explained that they form Gratitude Schools, “so there is very good training. The topics are sent by Father Santiago Martín and there is always a catechist at the head, who is the one who guides the meeting, which should not last more than an hour.

The reason why it is called a school is that each topic that is discussed carries a purpose that must be worked on at home during the week. And the following week, people tell how they did with that task, which has to be a “purpose in action”, not thoughts around this purpose, but really living the Gospel, “that’s why they are called Schools, because we go to school to learn.”

Likewise, Cecilia Álamos indicated that the Franciscans of Mary address seven points: “Love for religious reasons: “All for You, Jesus”, Love with works, Love everyone, Love your neighbor, Start over, Forgive and ask for forgiveness, and Put yourself in the place of the other”.

In this regard, he explained that “our spirituality is gratitude, it is a religiously motivated love. We always say this motivation: «For You, Lord», «For You we do all things». But we not only stay in that, but also love with works “.

In this context, he stressed the importance of loving everyone, as Jesus himself did, who gave his life for all of us. And always love first, “because God had that initiative of love. He first loved us and we must do the same if we want to be like Him.”

“The other important thing is to start over, because God is very merciful with us, with all our sins, he always forgets the past once we confess. But we always have to start over with the confession, never stay with not being able to have that availability to confess and start over ”, he added.

Finally, he emphasized the importance of forgiving and being able to ask for forgiveness, of putting oneself in another’s place and “becoming one with one’s neighbor.”

If you want to know more about the Franciscans of Mary, we invite you to visit their website Magnificat TV.