Media Release

Bengaluru, Oct 18: Fr Franklin D’Souza, diocesan youth director of the diocese of Shimoga and Karnataka Regional spiritual director for Charismatic Renewal, led the 22nd Rampuram Family Annual Retreat at Camellian Pastoral Health Centre (CPHC), Carmelaram, Mullur, Bengaluru.

The retreat commenced on October 14, with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and concluded on October 18. The retreat was centred on the theme, “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15), inviting families to renew their commitment to Jesus Christ and build their homes on the foundation of God’s Word.

Bro Alwyn from Logos Retreat Centre, Bengaluru, animated the participants through praise and worship, creating an atmosphere of prayer, thanksgiving, and spiritual renewal.

Inspiring Families to Build Their Lives on Christ: During the retreat, Fr Franklin D’Souza delivered a series of talks based on the Word of God, focusing on the spiritual renewal of family life. He highlighted the following themes:

God’s Wonderful Plan for Our Family — Rediscovering God’s loving purpose for every family and trusting in His divine providence.

Jesus at the Centre of Our Family — Making Jesus the foundation of family relationships, decisions, and daily life.

The Word of God: Foundation of Our Family — Building strong Christian homes by listening to, meditating on, and living the Word of God.

Sin, Repentance and Conversion in the Family — Recognising the spiritual and relational sicknesses that weaken family unity and embracing personal conversion.

Healing and Forgiveness in Family Relationships — Overcoming resentment, pride, anger, and misunderstandings through forgiveness and reconciliation.

The Power of Prayer in Family Life — Encouraging family prayer, intercession, and a deeper personal relationship with God.

Renewal of the Family in the Holy Spirit — Opening family life to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

Building a Christ-Centred Family — Nurturing Christian values, mutual respect, love, and unity among family members.

Mary and Joseph: Models for Christian Families — Learning from the Holy Family the virtues of faith, obedience, sacrifice, and trust in God.

The talks encouraged families to move beyond merely practising religious traditions and to cultivate a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Participants were invited to examine their own lives, repent of their sins, seek reconciliation, and become instruments of peace and love within their homes.

The retreat emphasised that a Christ-centred family is not one without difficulties, but one that turns to God in times of suffering and remains united through prayer, forgiveness, and faith.

Daily Eucharist, Adoration and Healing Prayer: The Holy Eucharist was celebrated daily, providing the participants with opportunities for spiritual nourishment and deeper communion with Christ.

Eucharistic Adoration and healing prayer sessions, led by Fr Franklin D’Souza, were held daily. These prayer sessions offered families an opportunity to bring their personal struggles, family wounds, and intentions before the Lord, seeking His healing grace and renewal.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation was also made available to participants on October 16th.

A Call to Renew Family Life: The retreat served as a spiritual opportunity for the Rampuram families to deepen their faith, strengthen family bonds, and recommit themselves to Christian living. The central message was that lasting family renewal begins with personal conversion and a willingness to place Jesus at the heart of every relationship.

Inspired by the biblical motto, the families were encouraged to return to their homes with a renewed commitment to prayer, forgiveness, mutual understanding, and service to the Lord.

On behalf of the Rampuram family, Cherian Ramapuram and Jose Rampuram proposed the vote of thanks, expressing gratitude to Fr Franklin D’Souza, Bro Alwyn, the organisers, and all those who contributed to the successful conduct of the retreat.

The 22nd Rampuram Family Annual Retreat concluded on October 18, with a renewed call to every family to live out the words of Joshua 24:15: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”