Media Release
Mangaluru, Jul 14: St Aloysius Pre-University College considers spiritual formation and character building as foundational to the holistic development of students. To achieve these objectives, the annual retreat for Catholic students was held on the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ in the Loyola Hall.
In his address, the principal, Fr Clifford Sequeira, asked the students to reflect on how ‘idols’ in the form of material things, relationships and power compete with our relationship with God. "We believe that these idols may give us joy but get disheartened when they donot fulfill our desires," he said, asserting that "It is only god who can truly fulfill the true desires of our hearts."
The Jesus Youth Karnataka Music Ministry under the leadership of Dominic & Team led the praise and worship with action song and games. Fr Anisio Mota, director of Don Bosco, delivered an inspiring message on god as a companion who accompanies and loves us.
On the occasion Fr Ashwin Cardoza, director of ICYM and Fr Sujay Daniel spoke on ‘Personality of Jesus – Befriending Jesus, to know and love Jesus’. Immanuel Joseph, executive member of Archdiocesan of Youth Commission and active member of Jesus Youth delivered a session on ‘Living Life to the fullest in Christ’. In his engaging talk, Joseph shared insights on how young people can embrace their faith with passion and purpose, anchoring their identity in Christ.
The retreat aimed at exploring the depths of human consciousness and examining its effects on our lives. The Examination of Consciousness was led by Fr Leston Lobo, director of Loyola Pre-Novitiate and Br Rudolph, assistant director of Loyola Pre-Novitiate.
Dr Gladwin Fernandes proposed the vote of thanks. Blanet Paul and Diana Dias, Sharitha D’Silva and Sheldon Andrade compered the Annual Retreat for the I and II PU students respectively.
Through this retreat, the campus ministry led by Fr Anthony Derrick offered students a meaningful opportunity to withdraw from their daily routines and engage with the word of god from a renewed and enlightened perspective, fostering spiritual reflection and personal growth.