Psychospiritual growth workshop held for young priests of southern zone

On : 2022-07-24

As part of the ongoing formation of young priests, the Karnataka Jesuit Province held a ‘Psychospiritual Growth’ workshop for the young priests of Southern zone of JCSA at Prerana centre for Ignatian Spirituality, Bangalore. The resource person, Fr M C Abraham CSC, animated three batches of young priests from July 8 - 10, 12 -14 and 16 - 18. Around 90 priests from Karnataka, Madurai, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai and Kerala Jesuit provinces participated in the workshop.

The workshop dealt with the nuances and deeper reflections on human mind, response and coping mechanism towards reality, coupled with training on the discovery of immense spiritual resources which lay hidden in the inner recesses of our being. The resource person, an expert in the field of psychology, initiated an exploration into the patterns of psychological development, thereby nudging the participants to get into a process of growth and integration of human mind, heart and psyche. The course introduced to the participants the innovative ways of looking into the self to examine the level in which they were and to broaden the horizons of their mind towards a rich human-divine encounter. The interactions and interventions fostered deeper learning.

The green and serene settings at Prerana provided the right atmosphere for learning and reflection. The workshop was also an occasion for young priests of southern zone to meet their companions from neighbouring provinces. The Eucharist and adoration helped the participants to deepen the theoretical aspects learnt during the sessions. The course ended with an open-minded feedback and ‘fruit-gathering’ session.

- Praveen Martis SJ & Vinod AJ SJ