Turin (Italy). From 3 to 6 July 2025, in Turin, about 30 people participated in the Spiritual Exercises organized by the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA) on the theme, “Our Father, the prayer of prayers“, led by Fr. Gabriel Cruz, Salesian of Don Bosco, ADMA World Spiritual Animator, with the presence of Sister Lucrecia Uribe, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, World Spiritual Animator.
In introducing the experience, Fr. Gabriel stressed that the Spiritual Exercises are for Christians a great gift of the Lord, to regenerate oneself spiritually and advance on the journey of conversion.
He then indicated some dispositions: open your heart to Jesus with immense humility; listen in depth, as prayer is a conversation with God, during which to put the bases for improvement; be sincere before yourself and God, asking what the Lord wants in this moment of your life; give quality to the spaces of silence, to recognize that God is Love, God is Father and you are His children; have the courage to apply in life what God communicates during these days, by making a concrete personal commitment.
With this premise, the catecheses began to reflect on the meaning of each verse of the Our Father, the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples as an answer to their request, “Master, teach us to pray”.
“The prayer of the Our Father is never individual but ecclesial, – stressed the preacher – at any time of the 24 hours there are men and women who in some part of the world pray for each other so that every single day may represent a new beginning.”
The group lived with joy all the moments that marked the day: Lauds, catechesis, Adoration, prayer of the Rosary, personal desert, formative moments, sharing of reflections, Holy Mass, and the Salesian Good Night.
The breaks and meals were instead an opportunity for fraternity and sharing of life experiences and habits of those who are natives or living in other parts of the world.
At the end of each day, there was the thought of the Goodnight, one of which was held by Sister Lucrecia. She took inspiration from a story of the anthropologist Margaret Mead, and concluded by observing, “in a world that constantly urges us to compete, to run, to save ourselves, this story reminds us of something essential: being civilized means helping. The anthropologist showed us that the real beginning of civilization was when we stopped looking out only for ourselves and started taking care of others.”
In the concluding Eucharistic Celebration, the group presented at the altar the concrete commitment to be realized on an individual level, as fruit of the journey made together, with the powerful help of Mary.
