Retreat Description
Help your parishioners or retreatants discern God's will in their lives. Most Catholics feel at a loss as to how to listen to God's voice, how to interpret what He is saying to them, how to make the right choice when confronted with life's decisions. This weekend retreat or
three-evening parish mission, based on St. Ignatius of Loyola's teachings and prayer styles, offers invaluable tools for one's ongoing discernment throughout life. And if your parish or retreat center wishes, talks can include mention on of our present economy in order to help people navigate through and better understand America's current hardships. The retreat is engaging, inspiring, healing, humorous, practical, and applicable. It is interactive--forming community and fostering teenage and/or adult faith formation.
(location: Main church, chapel, or parish hall)
7-9pm: The American Book of Exodus (into the desert from a land of plenty); the call to trust and to holiness; placing Jesus Christ "front and center"; ways God speaks to us; ways to pray: guided Ignatian meditation.
Saturday (location: Main church, chapel or parish hall)
10am-12pm: St. Ignatius's story of conversion; personal testimony; key principles of spiritual discernment; writing your own spiritual timeline.
12pm-1pm: lunch break
1-2pm: The importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in
discernment; writing down your questions for God; the call to give and serve; your gifts and passions.
2-2:30pm: Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with chant and songs
and meditations from the words of Jesus to aid in the discernment process.
2:30-2:45pm: Break
2:45-4:00pm: God and the proper relationship to material possessions; coping with hard economic times - your options and resources; how to cope psychologically and spiritually.
4:00-4:30pm (Main church or chapel) Walking rosary or stations of
the cross, depending upon liturgical season. Petitioning God for your needs.
4:30-6:00pm: (Main church or chapel) Mass; preaching on the gifts of the Holy Spirit; a verbal recommitment to the Lord; and prayer over
each retreatant asking the Holy Spirit to aid him/her in his/her spiritual
discernment and decision-making.
Three-evening Parish Mission Format:
Fr. Jim Sullivan or Fr. James DiLuzio will preach at the Masses and Ms. Christine Watkins will invite parishioners to the mission.
Sunday Evening (Main church, chapel, or parish hall):
7-9pm: The American Book of Exodus (into the desert from a land of plenty); the call to trust and to holiness; placing Jesus Christ "front and center"; ways God speaks to us; ways to pray: guided Ignatian meditation.
Monday Evening:
7-9pm: St. Ignatius's story of conversion; personal testimony; key principles of spiritual discernment; the importance of the Sacrament of Reconciliation in discernment; writing down your own spiritual timeline and your questions for God. Optional exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during the period of writing.
Tuesday Evening:
7-9pm: God and the proper relationship to material possessions; coping with hard economic times; the call to give and serve; your gifts and passions; the gifts of the Holy Spirit; a verbal recommitment to the Lord; and prayer over each retreatant asking the Holy Spirit to aid him/her in his/her spiritual discernment and decision-making.
