White Fathers Algeria Anselme Tarpaga In the desert, I seek your face 20 - 27 March 2010 A walking retreat in the desert Come and see time pass in God's presence… How quickly time flies! Here we are already at the end of our second edition of the youth programme, 'In the desert, I seek your face!' The aim of this programme, as you well know, is to offer young people what our Church in the Sahara has and what others do not have, i.e., its vast extent of desert and natural silence which are very conducive to prayer or at least to solitude. This year once again, young people came to wrestle with God, but also with themselves. In the sharing, several times, I heard, 'Really, Father, the silence is a bit tough to bear!' There were even those who said, 'I slept like a log!' They not only experienced the grandeur of God through the immensity of the desert, but also the experience of human powerlessness in prayer, such as the disciples did in the garden… . . Many came away from this experience at peace, saying that previous to the Timimoun event, they had never taken advantage of the benefits of silence and solitude. Many said that it was good: good to be away from notebooks; good to pray, good to think deeply about life and decide what to do with it; good to walk among the dunes or ride a camel and feel what it is to live in the desert with its burning sun and sandstorms, like the ones we had when sleeping outside. . . Being in the desert did not prevent these young people for having the problems of the world in their thoughts and meditations; the meditation on the mission of Moses and the social attitudes of Jesus raised issues of social justice and rightful indignation in more than one individual, faced with certain realities that our continent experiences. However, in this, it is not enough to be moved, but especially to be aware, like Moses, of the call God is addressing to me; and then to commit myself resolutely like Christ in favour of mankind, and right to the end, just as he did! Besides, if the retreat in the desert is a Catholic initiative and experienced around Catholic values, it also unfolded with a very providential ecumenical dimension. There were young people from other Christian Churches, welcomed and respected as such. The youth together were very happy and united. We owe this to the prayer of Jesus: '...that they may be one...' Indeed, the group reflected this, not only beyond doctrinal differences, but also beyond national and linguistic boundaries. There were 15 nationalities: Portuguese-speaking, English-speaking and French-speaking. This applied to only thirty or so people! . I take this opportunity to thank all those who near or far contributed to the smooth running of this second session. I am thinking particularly of Fathers Norbert Mwishabongo at Ghardaïa and Jean Paul Kaboré at Blida, Sister Gosia at Oran, Brother Patient at Ouargla, and Emmanuel Auphan also at Ghardaïa. I am not forgetting the ever discreet and efficient involvement of the White Sisters at Timimoun. I express my gratitude to one and all. Finally, as you will see in the financial report, the retreat in the desert is costly! However, that it was possible is thanks to people who firmly believe it its intrinsic value. Moreover, I would like to thank in particularly the young people of the chaplaincy at Worth Abbey School and their chaplain Father Martin McGee, whom I know well and besides who represents the Church of Algeria in the English-speaking world. I also thank Father Remi Vande Walle and the Belgian lay group who helped us by his advocacy. I bear in mind also the sister Church which, through the OPM greatly assisted us. I extend a warm thanks to one and all. We hope that the retreat experienced by these young people will contribute to a radical change, not only in them, but also for all those men and women they will serve once their studies are completed. Photos and Text Anselme Tarpaga, PB, Ouargla Overview of the topics addressed during the session Sunday 20 March: Welcome and setting up Monday 21 1. Entering the silence: a pathway for Christian meditation and contemplation 2. Lectio Divina: a pathway for living the Word of God 3. Praying with the Psalms Tuesday 22 1. Moses in the desert: God's compassion and humanity's vocation (Exodus 3-4) 2. Moses in the desert: Justice and Peace perspective 3. Eli in the desert: 1Kings 19 4. Jesus in the desert: 1st part (Matthew 4 :1-11) Wednesday 23 1. Jesus in the desert: continuation and end 2. Cure of the man with the paralysed hand (Mark 3 :1-6) 3. Healing of the adulterous woman (Jean 8: 1-11) Thursday 24 1. The washing of the feet (John 13 : 1-20) 2. The Last Supper Matthew 26: 20-29 3. The Sacrament of Reconciliation Friday 25 1. The Passion: John 18-19, 1st part 2. The Passion: continuation and end Saturday 26: The Resurrection accounts: 1. Mary at the Tomb (John 20: 11-18) 2. The Appearances of Jesus 3. La vocation Sunday 27: End of the retreat and the journey See the retreat of last year Translated by Donald MacLeod