“To the Heart of Hope”, the fourth annual prayer and hiking retreat in the beautiful Tatra Mountains in Poland, took place on July 14 – 20, 2025. As always, the group, which this year consisted of Sister Alicja rscj, Agnieszka, Ania, Bożena, Zuzia P. and Zuzia L., were warmly welcomed by the community of the Sisters of Sacré Coeur in Zakopane.
This year, the retreat program was inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical ‘Dilexit nos’ on the Heart of Jesus. Excerpts from the encyclical were accompanied by the Word of God and selected prayers from the documents of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Through these inspirations, we tried to allow God to lead us to the heart of hope, that is, to its sources. Each day had its own theme, which accompanied us in prayer and reflection during our walks and in sharing our experience of God each day:
Day 1: God’s Tenderness – invited to walk with a God of Love, Trust and Hope.
Day 2: Relationships – being together and creating together.
Day 3: Mercy – God’s compassionate Heart.
Day 4: Desires as a source of hope – looking deep into our hearts and towards the future.
Day 5: Mary – inspiration to live in hope.
One of the participants, Bożena, said this about the experience:
What was this time for me? A journey with extraordinary women who are looking in the same direction. I realise that I am not walking alone. That even though we only see each other once every few years, we are still walking together. Shoulder to shoulder.
Together we long, we search, we wander and we find.
Together we struggle and cry, we fight.
Together we laugh, we rejoice in small victories, we dream and we learn about God’s dreams.
Together we fall and we get up.
This journey was proof to me that He IS. Closer than I can imagine. And He will be there when I return to the greyness and it seems to me again that He is not there. And then He will give me the strength to accept His LIFE. To see it in myself, in the people He gives me, and in the world.
Alicja Banach rscj
Province of Poland
Section |International News
Province |Poland
Tags |retreat
