Ten young men aged between 17 and 32 attended the second ‘Grace and Silence’ retreat day at the Schoenstatt Shrine in Mt Richon on June 29.
A majority of them came to experience a retreat day of silence for the first time. The day began with a morning tea and participants leisurely talked over warm drinks and freshly baked cake.
A short input followed, including the personal vocation story of 27-year-old Guilherme Dias, who, along with his wife Barbara, recently moved to Perth from Brazil.
The time of prayerful silence was introduced by Sr Rebecca Sampang, who encouraged the young men to bring to prayer the important life decision of a vocation, challenging them to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit speaking in our hearts and to seek God’s will above all else.
The remainder of the day unfolded in silent prayer in nature or before the Blessed Sacrament in the Shrine. After the experience, one of the participants said: “I find it’s good for me to spend this time alone with God”.
A total of 20 young men have now participated in the event since March this year.
The Grace and Silence team, consisting of Schoenstatt young adults, caterers and a number who pray for those who attend the events, help to facilitate the day.
It is encouraging for the team to see young men reserve time from their otherwise busy schedules to pray and contemplate their future vocations.
“When the Grace and Silence events for young women began last year, young men began to express an interest in attending such an event too. Then young women began to recommend it to other young men they knew,” Sr Rebecca said.
The next two Grace and Silence events for young women will be held on July 6 and August 3. To register, visit www.schoenstattwa.org.au.