Father Hisham Zoghbi led a day of Christmas retreat at the center, with Ignatian meditation, sharing circles, confessions and the Divine Liturgy, on opening the doors of our hearts to the Lord.
"Christmas… an encounter that changes my life"
Under the patronage of His Excellency Bishop Elie Bechara Haddad, Archbishop of the diocese, Metanoia Listening Center organized a Christmas retreat on Sunday 14 December, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, at the center. The retreat was led by Father Hisham Zoghbi, parish priest of Btmeh and Maasser El-Chouf.
After welcoming the participants and the opening prayer, Father Hisham introduced the first theme, "God enters our home": how do we prepare to welcome the Child into our manger, into our heart? Are we ready to open the door of the manger? The first part included a symbolic activity, "The key to the manger," designed to help participants name an inner door that needs to be opened to God this Christmas. Each person received a piece of paper shaped like a key and wrote on it, in one word, what they need to open to God today; the keys were then collected and placed before the manger.
The second part was a time of personal meditation. After Father Hisham explained the Ignatian method of meditation and gave the meditation text, the participants spread out inside and outside the center, each choosing their own place, and meditated for half an hour. The meditation points helped them go deeper within themselves and recognize the doors they need to open to the Lord.
After a break, the participants divided into six sharing circles aimed at connecting the meditation, the first theme, the symbolic activity and each person's life today. Each group worked on three questions:
1. What touched me today?
2. Where is the "manger" in my life today?
3. What is the practical step?
After the sharing circles, everyone gathered for lunch.
In the afternoon, Father Hisham introduced the second theme of the retreat: "From the manger to our mission today." He stressed that Christmas is not something we live only in its season, but something that stays with us and opens a mission for us after the encounter with the Child. The manger is the beginning of the journey with Jesus – let Him enter my manger. He emphasized that the manger teaches us simplicity, hope, courage and generosity; from the manger to the world, every true encounter with God must open onto the world through our witness, our personal relationship with God lived with sincerity and joy, a deep faith, and bringing peace to others because we carry the light of Christ. Father Hisham concluded that each person must discover their own mission today according to the gifts God has given them.
The day included confessions, and the retreat ended with the Divine Liturgy.
Merry Christmas.
