Spiritual Gifts and Practical Gifts - Retreats for the young at Savio House

In the final week of Advent, we hear from Programme Leader Jonny Dearden about the work done at the Salesian Youth Retreat Centre.

Savio House is a retreat centre in the countryside near Macclesfield. Our work here is to deliver a programme with school groups and to help them learn a bit more about themselves and their connections with each other and with God.

Throughout the year, we will welcome and work with about 40 school groups with each group having up to 50 young people.

Our retreats challenge the Young People to look deep inside themselves so that they can share their unique experiences with each other. We get the young people to think and reflect on what might be valuable to them, and what might not be as important. We also get them to think of some journeys, that people less fortunate than ourselves have followed.

Don Bosco believed that Young People should work with Young People, so we also have a team of young volunteers that commit a year of their lives to working for Savio House. This year, we have been gifted with 8 volunteers, who have come from all over the UK and Hungary. They commit to living in the community and helping to deliver the retreat programme to the Young People

Occasionally, our work takes us out of Savio House. We recently ran a retreat with St Mary's Chesterfield and their entire year 12. Read more about this here

Savio House is financially supported by the GBR Salesian Province but rising costs mean we need your support to maintain and develop the mission of Savio House.

Please pray for the work of Savio House, for the dedicated team delivering retreats, and for the young people and teachers who attend them. If you or anyone you know may be interested in giving a year of service to the young at Savio House, visit our website to find out how to become a retreat team volunteer.

If you feel able to make a donation to support their work, you can do this online through our JustGiving page, or contact us if you are interested in making regular donations to help this vital work thrive.

Thank you.

Jonny

Scripture

Luke 1:39-44

Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country of Judah. She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. Now as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'

Prayer

May the Virgin Mary help us to open the doors of our hearts to Christ, Redeemer of man and of history; may she teach us to be humble, because God looks upon the lowly; may she enable us to grow in understanding the value of prayer, of inner silence, of listening to God's Word; may she spur us to seek God's will deeply and sincerely, even when this upsets our plans; may she encourage us while we wait for the Lord, sharing our time and energies with those in need.

Mother of God, Virgin of expectation, grant that the God-who-comes will find us ready to receive the abundance of his mercy.

May Mary Most Holy, 'Woman of the Eucharist' and Virgin of Advent, prepare us all to joyfully welcome Christ's coming and to celebrate worthily his sacramental presence in the mystery of the Eucharist.

St John Paul II

(Taken from addresses he gave in 1999 and 2004)

Aleteia