Retreat for the clergy of the Melbourne Eparchy: “Disciples on the journey to Emmaus”
From June 2 to 6, the St. Clement’s Retreat and Conference Centre in Galong, New South Wales, hosted a spiritual renewal retreat for the clergy of the Melbourne Eparchy. For five days, priests and deacons from all over Australia had the opportunity to pray, socialise, and grow spiritually together.
This year’s spiritual teachings were led by Most Reverend Bishop Maksym Ryabukha, Exarch of Donetsk. The theme of the retreat was the Gospel story of the disciples on the journey to Emmaus.
In his homilies, Bishop Maksym drew attention to how the inner state of the disciples changes during this journey—how meeting the one who accompanies them on the way from Jerusalem to Emmaus gradually changes their outlook on life and, consequently, their life decisions.
“As they leave Jerusalem, the disciples are filled with fear, and they realise that their whole life has collapsed before their eyes. Nothing is certain, nothing is clear. All of their dreams have, in fact, turned out to be the futility of futility. But on the road, fleeing from Jerusalem to Emmaus, they meet a passerby, a stranger, who asks them questions and eventually begins to listen to them. After listening to their story, he begins to explain the Scriptures—what the Scriptures actually say about Jesus of Nazareth. Their journey ends late at night, and they do not want to let this stranger go. They are interested in being with him.”
This experience of the disciples, according to Bishop Maksym, becomes an example of a deep spiritual conversion that requires time, listening, and meeting with Christ.
“When they return home, they have dinner together, and this dinner takes them back to Holy Thursday, when they were together at the breaking of the bread. They realise and see now that this is Christ. In fact, the encounter with Christ put everything in its place. And this encounter began at the beginning of their journey from Jerusalem. But they needed time to realise that this was God, to realise that God was walking with them. And, in fact, from this meeting everything changes—radically and forever. In spiritual life, this is called ‘conversion.’ In fact, the disciples experience their conversion. Their eyes no longer look towardss Emmaus; now they look towardss Jerusalem. At first, as a city of great fear. But from now on, they see it as a city in which it is worth bearing witness to hope, bearing witness to the Risen Christ, and bearing witness to the fact that life has conquered death.”
The days of joint prayer and spiritual teachings were an opportunity for the clergy to focus on their personal spiritual life and to experience more deeply the presence of the Risen Christ in their own ministry.
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