Written by Christopher Storm, campus minister and DRE, Holy Trinity Parish and School, Beaverton, OR, [email protected]
Many Catholic school educators and pastoral ministers are called upon to lead retreat experiences for the communities they serve. Few, however, have access to substantive training in the skills it takes to lead retreats well and effectively. They are often thrown to the wolves (or the 8th graders) with a mighty faith but little or no guidance. This is a problem! The ancient practice of spiritual retreats is as old as the Church itself, and those who lead them should have a clear vision of their purpose (and their power).
A decade ago, I was invited to lead a retreat for an 8th grade class at the end of their school year. The thirty-or-so students were soon to be scattered among half a dozen different public and Catholic high schools. When I asked the teacher what her goal for the retreat was, she said, “I just want them to get to know each other and bond as a group.” It took me aback; hadn’t they bonded over the course of the year (and their many prior years) together? Was it really time to strengthen their bond, or would the retreat better be spent exploring the constancy of God during times of personal and community transition?
Another common response to the same question is, “We want students to know God better” or “to feel God’s love.” These are noble goals, yes—but doesn’t all our parish and school activity seek that end? What can a retreat experience provide that the routines of community life do not? Narrowing the focus of a retreat can improve every part of the retreat, from planning to pedagogy to post-event reflection.
Like all good pastoral predicaments, we need look no further than the life of Christ. Even he, the Incarnate God, made time for himself to step away and refresh (Matthew 14:23). Why? This was more than just divine self-care. Jesus demonstrated the spiritual practices he desired his disciples to emulate, and so in his retreats we can find purpose for our own.
- Jesus retreated before and after service to others. It’s not a coincidence that he spent forty days fasting and praying before launching his public ministry (Luke 4:1-2); he did so when his popularity and the demands of the public encroached on his prayer life (John 6:15, 11:54).
- Jesus retreated to ground himself in prayer. Like all Catholic school educators (he was the first and greatest of us!) Jesus sometimes had more tasks in the day than time to accomplish them (Matthew 8:16). He intentionally carved out time for prayer to keep his Father at the center of his business (Mark 9:2).
- Jesus retreated during times of trial. Jesus made retreat in anticipation of and amidst times of anxiety (Matthew 4:12, Luke 22:39-41), conflict (John 11:54) and grief (Matthew 14:13).
- Jesus provided retreats for others. Notice that Jesus took time away just before commissioning the twelve (Luke 6:12), and to debrief their experience together (Luke 9:10).
It should be noted that Jesus did not retreat so he could pray. He withdrew from his daily tasks so he could return to his work prayerfully. His prayer and public lives were not compartmentalized. Rather, it was necessary (even for the Son of God!) to carve out time for uninterrupted prayer and reflection. In just this way he could face the onslaught of public ministry gracefully, faithfully, divinely. The best Christian retreats will accomplish the same thing for its participants: prayerfully equip them to face the demands of their lives with grace, faith and a confidence in the Spirit’s participation in their lives and work.
We can draw four points from Jesus’ modeling that help us narrow the focus of any retreat we plan.
- Vocation. What form of Christian service are the participants called to? Are they well established in that service or only beginning to discern the form it may take? How will this retreat support and challenge them in it?
- Prayer. What is the community’s prayer life? Are there opportunities for both traditional (scripted) and spontaneous (unscripted) prayer? Are there supports for both communal and individual expressions? For both public and private?
- Trials. What challenges are the community facing, or have recently faced? How will the retreat presentation both invite and reveal the Spirit’s presence in them—as well as in the private, personal struggles that participants may be facing?
- Community. Christ made time for private prayer and for prayer with his disciples. How does the retreat build up a sense of community among its participants? How does it call them to participation in parish life and liturgy?
The shared experience of prayer absolutely brings people closer to God and to one another. A well-planned retreat can do all this and more. Christ’s people are called to conform their lives to his, and thus to make Christ manifest in the world through us (CCC 2558). This is the aspiration of retreat ministry: we provide an opportunity for the faithful to conform their spiritual practices to his, to dive more deeply into Christlike prayer and to open ourselves to the transformative power of Christ’s living Spirit.
That’s a ministry worth doing—and it’s worth doing well!
