The Marist Community goes on “retreat”.

The work in Ranong is demanding enough. Spiritually it can be very demanding.

It is especially demanding for the core community who are trying to live their Christian commitment in a very Buddhist context. Questions are naturally arising day by day. What does “mission” mean in this context? What does it mean to be a Priest or a Seminarian or a Lay Missionary in a world that is deeply religious but is not at all Christian? How do we sustain a personal relationship with Jesus Christ when there is no external acknowledgement of his existence around us … a world that is not supportive of such a relationship? Humanly speaking, where does our spiritual nourishment come from?

So, the core Marist community took one week “off” to look at the heart of our mission from a spiritual point of view.

We went to a beautiful “retreat centre” in Hua Hin, near Bangkok.

We were assisted on our journey by a very experienced missionary who is an Irish Columban Sister – Sister Kathleen Geaney.

For five days we reflected, meditated and prayed together. Most of the time was in silence and Sister Kathleen accompanied us on our individual search. Sister Kathleen has faced all these questions in her own life and was able to guide us to deeper and more personal commitment.

It was a time of spiritual renewal and great encouragement.

Now we are back in Ranong – hopefully more committed and more focused after our intensive spiritual searching. Certainly we enjoyed the beauty of Hua Hin and proximity to the beautiful beach. Part of the spiritual journey was certainly a lot of very human relaxation, too!