A group of four young people from the vicariate of Ingwavuma have been undergoing training with the Jesuit Institute on Ignatian spirituality. These young people, attached to the St Lucia Retreat and Training Centre, recently led a 5-day retreat for a group of parishioners from Khula Village near Mtubatuba in the Vicariate of Ingwavuma (KZN). The retreat, called ‘Tsotsoletsa’ which means revival in SeSotho and designed by the Jesuit Institute, offers reflection on one’s faith history in the attempt to revive the spiritual journey of the retreatants.
The group who attended this life-giving experience for a week ranged from 21 years to over 50 years. One of the young people leading the retreat, Thamsanqa Vumase, 24, said “The retreat was also good and fruitful for me as I had time to engage with God.” Another leader of the retreat, Nontobeko Mhlongo, 29, said the experience of the retreat was humbling for her in the sense that the group understood concepts and principles that were presented to them which affirmed the working of the Holy Spirit amongst us.
Although many of the participants and those giving the retreat were nervous about this new experience of personal prayer, everyone eventually engaged enthusiastically in the process. Participants were able to share freely about their prayer lives as well as their faith journey.
This Ignatian Spirituality is more than spirituality, it is the way of life; a contemplative and reflective view of the world. The group is positive that the Ignatian Spirituality is going to spread in the Vicariate of Ingwavuma with the support of the Ursuline Sisters in the St Lucia Retreat and Training Centre and the parish priests.
By Siyabonga Mkhize
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