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December 2003
The 60 Minute Retreat?
Questions of Conversion
Part
3
With conversion at the heart of all we
do, is "class" the best word to use when describing our catechetical sessions? What
if we thought about them in terms of spiritual journeys, or
"retreats"?
How might we lead our sessions differently?
The Power of the Retreat
Retreats are extremely popular tools for pastoral
ministry. Just about every parish or school uses them to catechize and
evangelize, and with good reason; retreats get amazing results. Youth return
home from retreats with new enthusiasm for their faith; couples solidify
their commitment to marriage; people of all ages discover God at work in
their lives through a weekend, a day away, or an evening of reflection.
Retreats work.
Listing some of the elements we find in a
retreat will illustrate its appropriateness as model for catechetical
ministry in our parish or school.
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Witness - Retreats include people telling
their story of faith, and how their heart came to be changed or uplifted.
Peer-to-peer witness gets the most dramatic results.
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Faith Sharing - Throughout the retreat,
leaders build trust among participants, to free them to share their personal
feelings and thoughts in groups and one-on-one.
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Talks/"Input" - Participants hear about
elements of Church teaching and practice. In a retreat atmosphere, away from
the craziness of ordinary life, they are
often more open to new or challenging ideas.
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Private Prayer and Reflection - We are
grateful for time to slow down and reflect, or to enjoy God present to us in
the Scriptures or nature.
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Communal Prayer - Often retreatants take
turns preparing for liturgies. Teams carefully plan prayer
experiences around the theme of the retreat, or time time of day and season.
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Spiritual Companioning - Often
participants have "prayer partners". Team members also journey with retreatants
and look after their spiritual well-being throughout the event. Many
retreats offer individual spiritual direction.
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Community Building - Silly ice-breakers,
skits, sport activities, service projects, and meaningful group dynamics
often make a retreat memorable. The most effective activities are those that
reinforce the event theme.
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Shared Time/Meals - A retreat is filled
with numerous spontaneous conversations behind the scenes: at table,
during breaks, after hours. Shared experience builds relationships, and
heightens the emotional impact of the event.
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Home Connection - Family members and
close friends write letters, or come to the closing. This helps
participants bring their experience back to the "real world".
Programming for Conversion
Planners design retreats to make an impact.
They plan with the expectation that something remarkable will
happen to the participants. While conversion is the job of the
Holy Spirit, retreat teams do all they can to give the Spirit a hand. The
goal is not just to pass on information, but to change hearts and minds, to
make God's love real, to stir people to live their faith.
The 60 Minute Retreat
In his Confessions, St.
Augustine wrote, "Our hearts were made for Thee, O God, and they are
restless until they rest in Thee." Every time we gather with our
learners, we stir up their longing for God. If we
accomplish this purpose, will not the rest follow? Will our learners not
only gain knowledge of their faith, but hungrily pursue knowledge on their
own?
Concentrating upon the spiritual journey can help us
maximize the time we have. Instead of worrying about getting through the
material in the textbook, we focus upon setting hearts on fire. Of course,
knowledge of the faith still plays an vital role; without faith content, our
gatherings would be empty pep rallies. However, in the 60 minute retreat,
facts about faith take their place alongside the other important tasks of
catechesis:
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We draw closer to Jesus through prayer;
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We learn to live as Christians in the moral
choices we make each day;
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We learn to encounter Jesus in liturgy and
the sacraments;
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We put faith into action through service and
advocacy;
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We grow in love for each other as members
of the Body of Christ.
As we make space for conversion in the lives of
our learners, let us echo the words Jesus to his disciples: "Come away by
yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." (Mark 6:31)
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Questions for reflection:
1. How am I a partner with the
Holy Spirit in my learners' journey of ongoing conversion?
2. What is one thing I can do to bring a deeper sense of "retreat"
to my catechetical sessions?
Chris Weber
Director,
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland
301-447-3707
Copyright © 2003 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
Comments about this
article? Great ideas that you want to share? Send me your remarks via Email...
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Every time we gather with our
learners, we stir up their longing for God. If we accomplish this purpose,
will not the rest follow? |
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