The Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Philippines (CIS), in partnership with the Philippine Jesuit Prison Service (PJPS), recently concluded its Retreat in Daily Life (RDL) programme, catering to 42 Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) from the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW). PJPS, a socio-pastoral apostolate of the Philippine Jesuits, provides services and programmes for the holistic development of PDLs.
Over the course of nine Saturdays, retreat guides from CIS visited CIW to provide individual spiritual direction to the PDL participants. Each week, the retreatants were furnished with prayer materials, mostly focusing on the 1st Week of the Spiritual Exercises.
The RDL commenced in January with a prayer workshop and culminated in March with a group spiritual conversation. The concluding event featured presentations from both CIW and CIS, followed by a Mass celebrated by PJPS acting Director, Fr Carlo Lacang SJ.
The retreat proved to be a profoundly enriching experience for both the retreatants and the retreat guides. The retreat guides found great consolation in accompanying the PDLs on their spiritual journey. The conclusion of the retreat was marked by overwhelming gratitude to God for such a transformative experience.
For the PDLs, the retreat was an unexpected grace amidst their constrained circumstances. It was a rare opportunity, one they said they had never imagined would happen. Their pain was palpable each time they shared their feeling of being treated as “salot ng lipunan” (outcasts of society). A frequently asked question from them was, “Why were we chosen to have this retreat?” Their question seemed to stem from a sense of wonder about why the CIS staff had chosen to spend their Saturday mornings accompanying them on the retreat. But beyond this sense of wonder, there was also an overwhelming feeling of appreciation and gratitude that they were being valued and loved for who they are despite their past actions.
It was moving to hear their stories as they progressed in the retreat—how real their experience of God’s love was, how they were transformed, and how they were able to somehow reclaim their true worth and dignity because of this love. As one retreatant shared during the spiritual conversation: “I am different now, 180 degrees turned. No petty fights, no envy, only acceptance of others. I think I am even evangelizing my own brother! No longer do I feel like an outcast. I am not the last, the least, or the lost anymore.”
Similarly, for the retreat guides, the opportunity to journey alongside the PDLs was a profound privilege, from which they received far more than they gave. One retreat guide described her experience in CIW as “grace-filled to witness the presence of God so active in each retreatant, beyond words can express.” Another had these touching words to share after reflecting on her CIW experience: “If God could not bring my retreatant to the quiet mountain of Baguio, God brought the serene mountain to her. For me, that’s the miracle of the mustard seed… that with her little mustard seed of faith, the mountain moved from there to here. Nothing, nothing is impossible with you, my God.”
Maria Riza Carasig has been a longtime associate of the Center for Ignatian Spirituality Philippines, involved in retreat-giving, spiritual direction, SD supervision, and serving as a resource person. She is currently the Director for Programs and Retreats.