CLOSING OUR RETREAT

Here’s the truth about Easter:

For Jesus,
we have been worth dying for.

We have also been worth rising for.

And because of that,
he isn’t going to give up on us.
And neither should we!

Day in and day out,
he shows up by our side–
even if we don’t notice him,
even if we’re too busy to give him any attention,
even if we focus on all the things that are wrong
rather than what’s right in our lives,
or even if we get carried away
with our important lives
and actually begin to believe we don’t need him.

The Risen Lord is NOW HERE.
He will keep waiting for us,
hoping against hope,
that the day will come
when we will come to our senses
and finally decide to anchor ourselves
not on passing things,
but on things that matter,
things that last.

Maybe, if not for anything else,
this unexpected global disruption in our lives
is an opportunity for us to rethink
the way we’ve been living our lives
and the things that we’ve been living for.

As we close our Holy Week Retreat this year,
make this song your closing prayer.
It is called–aptly–“Miracles: Someone Special”
by Coldplay and Big Sean.

It mentions real-life heroes like Nelson Mandela,
, Cassius Clay (aka Mohammed Ali),
Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa among others.
It tells us exactly what our Risen Lord
is trying to tell us:

“Don’t be scared to be strong!”

Listen to it as if the Lord were speaking to you.

Feel free to linger here
in prayer before proceeding.

If you feel up to it,
share your prayer spontaneously below.

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59 replies on “CLOSING OUR RETREAT”

Thank you. I looked forward to this retreat and I’m glad that I completed it. Work has been heavier due to the current situation but I’m thankful that I belong to the fortunate ones. This retreat has allowed to slow down a bit and communicate with God. My work right now heightens my anxiety but I’ m glad to help countries address the pandemic in small ways. The Lord has always been my light and source of strength especially in dark moments like this. I love you, Lord!

Help me Lord for becoming special for Your purpose. Thank you for opening my tomb and guiding me the path I need to follow.

Praise God for this retreat. Bless up pins of light. You are heaven-sent to us!
May you continue to be His instrument of sharing hope, enlightenment and His love.
Thank you above all to our Almighty Father for making this platform possible and for everything. Oh I love you Lord.
Happy Easter to you and your family.

I have long longed to spend the Holy Week the way it should be. Thank you for the chance to do something spiritual amid the pandemic. God bless everyone!

Thank you for this retreat. Thank you Jesuits. Thank you everyone who participated in this retreat. Thank you Lord for your grace.

I am still scared and worried. But I will be strong through Christ who strengthens me.

Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for saving us and showing us the ways in this highways of life. Thank you for loving us – your Beloved.
I am Beloved Child, with Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
I am called and chosen to reflect God’s love to the world. I cannot do it alone.Lord Jesus Christ I trust in you, you are my way, my truth and my life.
Amen

To my fellow retreatants and Jesuit community, thank you for sharing God’s love. We are all Beloved Children of God the Father. As Holy Father said in his Asian Youth Day Homily “Each one of us has a unique place and context in this world where we are called to reflect God’s Love.” “Assured of God’s love. Go out to the world. ” Lord Jesus Christ is Risen, He is with us everyday. HAPPY EASTER!
Lord Jesus Christ, we trust in you. Amen

My heart sings with joy for the gift of Your Resurrection. You allowed me to go into the depth of my being to get in touch with my inner self, to face the darkness and light within me. You now offering me enough strength and courage to be an Easter person to share the Same Light that illumines in my tomb. As I rolled the stone that You unsealed for me gives me hope and assurance that You are with me, You are here now. Amen.

My Lord, You’re really something.

How could the thing I have offered for Lent be the same Easter message You’re telling me right now? Endless gratitude for allowing me to believe in myself once again and for reminding me that I am bound for greater things. I will never become any of those great people mentioned in the song, but I could always use whatever platform You will give me to manifest Your love and compassion for the world — all for Your greater glory.

Maraming salamat, Panginoon, for always making me worthy of Your love.

To Pins of Light staff and Fr. Johnny Go, SJ;

May the Father Almighty bless you 3,000 times more!

Thank you for being a part of my spiritual journey.

Don’t be scared to be strong. We are strong. We can be strong because we have a strong God. We can be strong because we are set on solid rock, on a firm foundation.

After this lockdown, most probably we will back to our normal lives. And yes, there might come again the time wherein we will think that the worldly matters we are working at is more important than to work and invest on things that truly matter, those will last permanently.

Dear Jesus, grant me the grace to remember the fruits of this Holy Week Retreat and to work on my resolutions, step by step. Amen.

Don’t be afraid to be strong in the right way. He’s our savior in our life. He’s everywhere and anytime to guide and protect us with our faith.

Lord thank you for all the Blessings, big and small! Thank you for everything! Please always touch me for the time of my negative actions. So as my new foud friend to be honest to me.And always protect my love ones.

Thank you, Lord! Thanks, Fr. Johnny!
This year, we have seen a different celebration of Lent. No sacraments, no traditions, but technology has got out back. With God’s grace, truly nothing is impossible. We continue to pray for our brothers who are fighting for their lives and those who are with them. Like Jesus, we will rise again. We’ll turn it on!

Lord thankyou for creating the bridge, thak you for holding my hand even for how many times i want to let go. Thank you for not making even a single space between us even if i distance myself from You far enough that i feel ashamed of going back. You make me special, for making me worthy even the world looked at me as un worthy of anything. You let me live in a place which I thought will make me feel worthy, You are just there beside me waiting for my return. Lord you know my weaknesses more than i know myself please i beg dont allow me to remain in the tomb i want to be free i wNt to see the world in the eyes of a person who has nothing to fear about to rely on the passage of Isaiah that You are calling me by my name I am yours

Thank you for this Father J and your crew.

In all honesty, I have been grappling with my faith for a while now… It has been hard living in NYC, the epicenter of the US pandemic, away from loved ones and detached from a loving community with shared values and goals.

Nonetheless, I always go back to Pins of Light , my connection to my Jesuit community, because the times I felt the safest, most loved and most connected to my spirituality was when I worked at a Jesuit school.

Thank you for holding space for me…

I still have a lot of worries and puzzles, but I am holding on…

Thank you for reaching people lie\ke me all over the world. I truly appreciate the love, care, effort and expertise you keep briging to our retreats.

Have a blessed Saturday and almost Easter from NYC.

Once again, THANK YOU! Thank you, Lord for making this retreat an instrument of clearer and more intimate communication to You. Thank you for these people who initiated this retreat, and for making it open to everyone. Thank you to all our frontliners. Thank you for all Your graces, Lord. May we never forget to thank You and others for everything.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for these special moments. I felt many things over the past few days but if there’s one thing that will linger for the next few months and years is that your reassurance and presence have always been there. I love you Jesus.

Thank you Jesus for dying for us and for rising for us!
By your death and resurrection, please grant us the grace not to be scared but to be strong because we know you have already redeemed us.
I LOVE YOU LORD JESUS?

Thank you Lord for your understanding. Be with me always. Be with my family always. Be with us always. I know. I love you so much. I love being with you. You set the stage, probe our inner self, console us and then trust us. Amen. Alleluiah.

AMEN LORD JESUS CHRIST. MAY I RISE WITH YOU ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE LIKE IT IS EASTER EACH DAY. No matter the hell I am going through, I’ll trust in You.

This retreat was extraordinarily nourishing for me. There Were moments of deep consolation I am thankful for, particularly the chance to be honest to myself, to feel a longing to be close to Jesus, and to actually feel that closeness. I have never thought of Easter as an invitation to get out of the tombs in my life. I found that immensely powerful. Thank you. Looking forward to the next one.

Thank you, Lord, for reminding me that I am worth dying for and that I am worth rising for, for making me feel that I am special to you in spite of my sinfulness. Thank you for not giving up on me when I often doubt my capacity to be kind and loving. I want to give birth to that kind and loving person that lies within me.

You open your eyes and see. Work harder to open them up. You maybe caught up with the past with regret or hopeless with the future. These might blund you. Look now, here and now and what do you see. Take a picture. Is there special? How do you know your special if you don’t know what special is? Who is special to you? Can you see and strive to be special?

May He send you people to help you. My daughter is like you. She tells me “it’s not worth it”, “i fall down, i get up, i fall down again, i get up, i’m tired”. Her brain constantly tells her she os not good enough. She has been medicated for about 8yrs. However, she had been isolating more. It was only recently that I really prayed that He send people to help us. That same week, I got introduced to people who were able to give me new insights and help. I talked to her and told her that I will never give up. And that all I want is for her to be happy on her own terms. That even if she does not graduate from college, that those are other people’s terms and not ours. We both became more proactive, instead of being reactive. It is not easy, but her new goal is to get off medication. I pray for you, and if i am on the prayer wall only for you, I pray for tou, jym, that you will be sent people who can show you you are special as you are and will help you get out of your tomb. May this year be your turning point. I will pray for you everyday, jym, even if I do not know you.

You are special. we all are. It’s okay to slowly see it. No one is perfect. We complement each other. Your strength could be my weakness and vice-vers. We need each other to live in this world. We need you, and hopefully, you need us also 🙂

Thank you for the peace and solace, Lord. “Peace be with you!” will be more than a greeting to me. It is now both an invitation and assurance.

Just what I needed Lord, You are telling me that :
I AM SPECIAL ! You give me self worth, You make me feel deserving, You assure me & most of All : You got my Back and
YOU LOVE ME ❤️️Thank you very much!!!

Thank you Lord, for always making me feel and reminding that I am special. Despite of my weaknesses, you encourage me to be strong. And when I have enough courage to face life challenges, I know you are always beside me, reassuring me of unsurmountable strength and wisdom coming from you. For all you did and keep doing, you are also special.

You refresh my soul everyday. So I look with expectant eyes for You. Every day in every way and in every one. There I will find You whom I seek and I will delight in your surprises that for you speak. Ever new of your love for me.

O Lord, I am indeed afraid…afraid to fail…to be ridiculed. Please give me the grace to overcome this fear…to be strong…to do what is right & serve others.
Amen

Thank You for Your suffering to give me a life of comfort. I embrace it with my whole heart. I welcome all blessings. I am ready to accept them as You guide me to be a good steward. I am forever grateful and I love You very much Lord.

I’m would say I acknowledge that I need you now—like I always have—but have always been to blinded. Thank You for bridging the distance, for giving me strength and hope to remove the thorns and roll the stones, for accepting me in my feebleness and infection, for allowing yourself to be “infected” in order to be one with us and save us. Thanks for being near now and always. With Your grace and love, my my faith be strong enough to proclaim that I am not scared/I do not doubt for You are with me.

Loving and merciful God, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus, to experience humanity. Thank you Jesus for committing yourself to the mission our God the Father gave you. Lord Jesus, may I not put your precious Blood in vain. You’ve won the battle for us without reservation. May you journey with us as we fight our own battles. May your peace and healing be our standard. My we always ask you to stand near us, to roll the stone for us as we live our life to its fullness for others. Amen.

Father God, thank you for your love and sacrifice. Thank you for your forgiveness and unconditional love. Thank you for always reaching out to us. Help us overcome the tombs, sins, misconceptions in our lives and help us focus on you and what is important. Help us to be the best we can as a tribute to you. Let every accomplishment lead to kindness and goodness that helps others see you and know you. Let is trust in you all the days of our lives. Amen.

Lord, i pray that i will not stay complacent and too comfortable that i might forget others n become indifferent. I pray to feel Your love burning in me everyday, so I am reminded to share it with others even when is challenging. I ask for your grace everyday that we will choose Your Truth n Love everyday. I ask for your loving forgiveness and to act on the many second chances You give us to make this world a better place for everyone. Amen.

Thank you, Lord, that I am special to you, worth dying for, worth rising for, worth waiting for me. I pray that I see you and find you in all things. Salamat po! I love you.

Stay with me Lord, I need you more than ever! Help me to be strong in Faith and increase my love for You each day! Help me feel your presence in my life grow more and more day by day! Thank you for your self emptying, over-flowing love and that you have never given up on me.❤?☝️?️

” We on the verge..of getting every single day that we deserve”. Thank you Lord that I can look forward to that day, for I know that even if I often doubt, You will not let any distance, thorn, stone, or infection keep me from fulfilling your plans for me, if I just believe.

Lord, give me the grace to recognize You and the many miracles that happen in my daily life. Thank you for keeping me by Your side always. I promise to remain by Your side. No matter what.

Thank you thank you thank you Father God for Your love. Please remind me always, please forgive me whenever I am weak lost hope. Have mercy on me, help me always Lord, I need you.

Help me, Lord, to have the courage to hope, to be comforted by its peace, resting peacefully and securely in your love.

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