“All nations shall stream toward it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Let us climb the Lord’s mountain… that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may walk in His

Fr.Augustine Vallooran

paths… come let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isaiah 2:2-5)

 

A year ago, His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith blessed and dedicated a plot of land in Katana, Negombo for the raising of the Divine Retreat Centre - Colombo. On this occasion, the Cardinal called out to the faithful, “God has called us to be firm disciples of Jesus. To open up the doors and windows of the human heart to the Lord is the purpose of the Divine Retreat Centre in Colombo.” We are a blessed generation to be able to see the fulfillment of this great vision of the shepherd of the Church of Sri Lanka. 

 

The seed of the Divine Retreat Centre mission was sown only four years ago. His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, made a public appeal to the Vincentian Fathers of India to establish a Divine Retreat Centre in Colombo for the spiritual renewal of the Church. This was announced at the Auditorium of St. Joseph’s College, Maradana on 25 November 2017, during a Bible Convention. I was leading that convention and accepted the invitation on behalf of the Vincentian Fathers. That solemn moment was greeted by a generous standing ovation by the joyful congregation of around 9000 participants at the convention.

 

 

Meanwhile a group of likeminded and evangelization oriented persons have come together at the initiative of Mr. Vasantha Jayasurya. These are persons who have made retreats at Divine Retreat Centre - Muringoor and have a strong conviction to dedicate their energies work for the service of the Church, ushering in the kingdom of God in this country. They put up a mission house at the venue of the Retreat Centre in Katana by July 2021. They continue to work tirelessly to realize the dream of the Cardinal through intercession and participation in all the preparations of the retreat centre. As I write I can see the Lord “doing a new thing” on this bare ground. The construction of the preaching hall has been completed. The dining hall-cum-kitchen and the toilet complex are nearing completion. We have a long way to go. The residential facility, administration block, auditorium and a chapel for intercessory prayer are being planned. There is a joy in the heart as we can with St Paul declare, “I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it” (Phil 1:6). 

 

The Lord has ushered us to the threshold of this mission as the Divine Retreat Centre is going to be blessed by His Eminence on 17 December 2021 with the Holy Mass at 11 am. The preaching and the retreat ministry in the Centre will be inaugurated by Very Rev. Fr. Paul Puthuva, the Provincial Superior of the Marymatha Province of the Vincentian Congregation.

The Divine Retreat Centre is situated in Pathangigodella, by the side of the Arogya Devamatha Church in the parish of Halpe, Katana. On the Easter of 2021, while laying the foundation stone of the Retreat Centre, His Eminence had said, “I have seen the Divine Retreat Centre works with the Church in building up a personal spirituality. My prayer is that they would help our people to develop such a spirituality.” Spiritual Renewal indeed is the professed mission of the Vincentian Fathers. St. Vincent De Paul, our Founder, established the religious community of the Vincentian Fathers for the purpose of spiritual renewal of the people of God and of the clergy, and this required both a commitment to vigorous preaching of the Word and service to the poor and marginalized. The Congregation has been working for over a century in India. We have 45 retreat centres in different countries around the world. The first retreat centre is the Divine Retreat Centre in Muringoor in Kerala, India, where over these decades, we have  received hundreds of Sri Lankans every year to participate in the week-long retreats. 

 

 

At this retreat centre, we also care for 3000 sick and marginalized people in the charitable homes within our campus. This includes 450 mentally challenged persons, over a 100 HIV affected and abandoned people, destitute women and children, the elderly and terminally ill cancer patients. Though they were rejected by their families, they have come to be precious to us because they are the least of the brethren of Jesus.

 

The ministry of Divine Retreat Centre has constantly been reaching out beyond borders. For years, priests from the Centre have been doing mission outreaches to Sri Lanka and have conducted parish retreats, Bible Conventions and retreats for Priests and Religious.

As we inaugurate the ministry of the Divine Retreat Centre Colombo at the invitation and with the blessings of His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, God has placed in our hearts the mission to dedicate ourselves for the service of the Church in this country.

The first series of retreats that will follow the blessing and inauguration of the Divine Retreat Centre are as follows:

 

 

 

For participation in the retreats, one would need to do a prior registration by mailing us [email protected] or contacting us on our phone numbers: +94761063232 and  0312241717. If you are inspired to intercede for this mission of the Divine Retreat Centre with the Rosary and Holy Mass everyday at 7 am on our YouTube channel  https://youtube.com/c/DRCColombo.

We invite you to rejoice with us at the marvellous generosity of God in drawing us to seek Him and serve Him, that the world may indeed find the light of God’s glory shining in our midst.