You are Loved

‘You are Loved‘, the three day CFCI Singles Retreat, organized by the Couples for Christ India (CFCI) Bangalore, was held from 31 October to 2 November 2014, at Snehadaan, Bangalore.

Gerard Fernandez, CFCI Couple from Bangalore welcomed the singles to the weekend retreat, inviting them to open their hearts and minds and leave everything aside during this three day retreat. Kelvin Castelino and Vilita D’cunha organized icebreakers for the participants. These games got everyone to come together and get to know each other.

Day two of the retreat began with praise and worship followed by the first teaching given by V S A Gerard. In his teaching, he spoke about the abundant and bountiful love of the Father. He also shared instances from his life where God’s love was manifested. The participants then got into groups where they shared instances of God’s love in their lives.

The second teaching was given by Vinita Selvan, who spoke about the price paid by Jesus on the cross for our sins. She emphasized on the great love of the Father who allowed his only son to die for us on the cross. Following this, the participants shared in their groups, the relationship they shared with Jesus and the practical implications of the plan of salvation in their life.

Post lunch, the participants were given a time of rest. During the same time, the movie ‘Letters to God‘ was played, for those who wished to spend their time watching a movie.

The second half of the day began with praise and worship, followed by the third teaching on Sin. Given by Biron D’Souza, a CFCI Single from Chennai, this teaching enabled the participants identify the areas of sin in their life. He used specific examples including personal life instances in sharing how important it is to identify sin in our life and how we need to start working on avoiding it out of our lives. The participants were then led into a time of adoration in the chapel. Following this, the groups met together to share the areas of sin in their life that they would like to work on.

Post dinner, the participants met together to pray the rosary. Lavisha Saldanha, CFCI Single from Bangalore, led the rosary. The participants walked together in the campus of Snehadaan as they prayed the rosary. This was followed by entertainment in terms of games and competitions conducted by Biron D’Souza and Andreas Vas. The games were a hit and all the participants actively involved themselves and enjoyed the games.

Day three of the retreat began with praise and worship, followed by the next teaching given by Petula Dias, CFCI Single from Bangalore, on ‘Repentance and Faith‘. She spoke about why and how we need to repent and how repentance and faith were two sides of the same coin. She shared examples from her life where God had helped her take out certain areas of sin in her life. This teaching was followed by a time of sharing in their respective groups, where the participants shared areas of sin that they found difficult to deal with. The group heads then met each participant on a ‘One to One’ basis to enable them to open up their lives and to help them identify sin in their lives.

The participants were then encouraged to confess their sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This was followed by Mass celebrated by Fr Charles who encouraged the Youth and the Singles to attract and bring more people to God.

The weekend retreat ended with Praise Fest and the participants sharing their experience of the three days of retreat.