These words express one of my recent experiences that I would like to share with you through this article.
In the context we are living in, we badly need “good news!” Good news that brings peace, hope and joy to our hearts. And we brought some good news on July 19th this year through a retreat on WhatsApp!!! It was something that not so long ago we would never have imagined.
We did everything through this simple means of communication: We invited people, we gave the talks and we were able to get to know each other. 280 people signed up for this very original meeting! And though we hadn’t planned it previously, we ended up with an international meeting with people from Colombia, Ecuador, the United States and Argentina participating!!
We chose to address a very relevant topic: How do we live by faith, in this challenging time?
As it was a retreat that took place on WhatsApp, it had its peculiarities: The talks only lasted three minutes, we posted songs and bible readings and we made video calls in small groups where we shared the fruit of our reflections. Everybody was able to participate by writing spontaneous prayers on our page as well.
It certainly bore fruit! At the end of the retreat people expressed what had most touched their hearts throughout the day by writing in our WhatsApp group for everybody to see. I’ve selected a few of the comments that people sent:
“What a beautiful day! Full of friends of God who we could embrace from far away”
“This virtual retreat helped me to renew my love for God”
“I realised that I mustn’t get tired of doing good”
“This meeting filled me with joy; I am not the same anymore!”
This experience has opened up a new and very enriching horizon for me and I’m left with an echo inside of me: Our world thirsts for God and through these means of communication we can help to quench it.
Gloria Gomez