Spiritual exercises are meant to “recharge your batteries,” not “wellness vacations.”

The introduction he wrote was broadcast by Vatican media Pope Francisco for him The journalist's last book Austin Avery“First Belongs to God: In Retreat with Pope Francis,” published by Messenger Publications and Loyola Press. In his text, the Pope condemns “deterioration Our common home Mass movements of people are symptoms of the “crisis of man’s lack of belonging” to God.

Facing self-sufficiency

“When we make room for May God save us from self-sufficiencyWe open ourselves to all creation and every creature, and become channels of the Father's life and love. Only then do we realize that life is as it is: A gift from the Father “He who loves us deeply and wants us to be for himself and for others,” the Pope explains from the experience of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. For Saint Francis, despite this conviction of faith, “we are still tempted to close ourselves off to that grace, For worldly livingIn the illusion of sovereignty and self-sufficiency.

Bergoglio believes that “all the deadly crises that afflict us in the world, from the environmental crisis to wars, and injustice against the poor and the weak, They are rooted in this rejection of our belonging to God And to others.” Given this, the Pope defends the Church's teachings as “channels of grace” to “receive the gifts that the Father desires to pour upon us” such as the spiritual exercises promoted by the Loyola saint as a way to “recharge our batteries.”

“Christian retreat They are very different from “wellness” vacations.. The center of attention is not us, but God, the Good Shepherd, who instead of treating us like machines, responds to our deepest needs as His children whom He loves. “Love and service: they are the two focuses of spiritual exercise. He pointed out: “Jesus comes out to welcome us, and breaks our chains so that we can walk with him, like his disciples and companions.” “This is not the time to hunker down and lock ourselves in. I clearly see that the Lord is calling us to come out of ourselves, to get up and walk. He is asking us not to turn away from the pain and cries of our time, but to enter into them, and open the channels of His grace.