Fr Marlon Rodrigues OCD
Our retreat in Colorado Springs was joy-filled and truly inspired by the conferences given by Fr. Marlon Rodrigues, OCD. He is the spiritual assistant to the Holy Spirit group in Denver. Originally from Goa, India, he is here from Tanzania taking the place of Fr. Shabbas who has returned to Tanzania.
The theme for his conferences was “The Beatitudes for Carmelites.” Two Beatitudes were discussed at each conference. I will just touch on a few of his words. He likened our Secular Carmelite group to the early hermits on Mt. Carmel. He said, “We are like the Carmel of old. We have our own separate hermitages (lives) and come together for community meetings.”
On poverty, he said that Christ is the wealth of the human heart. Christians have a serenity and joy from walking with Christ that the world cannot take away. To them, things mean nothing and God means everything.
We are to show the compassion of God, to show essential kindness to others. One “never” has the right to be detached from people. We must care about our fellow man. Christianity is “caring.”
Fr. Marlon, being a perfect example for us of humility and reverence in all things, told us that “Blessed is the man who is God-controlled.” We were inspired by his holiness and will never forget our time with him or the effect he and his words had on us.
