Amigos de Jesus Retreat

In many ways the very fact that there was an Amigos de Jesus retreat this summer was a small miracle. I had mentioned the possibility to the group early in the summer, but as anyone who works with youth knows - its hard to get a definite and committed response. Despite the obstacles, I felt that the group needed a powerful retreat experience to help bring them together as a community; so, I began looking for a retreat location in early June. Nothing was available. Every possible retreat venue had been booked months in advance. As June drew to a close, I had no retreat location and no solid group committed to going on the retreat. To make matters worse, I was due to visit my family in early July and I knew that if I didn't find a place before then, I would never find one in time.

Then I turned to Our Lady. “Mother,” I said, “I think that you want this retreat to happen. If you do, if God wants this, then please help us find a place.” Within two days, I received an email back from a couple who had a large cabin in Florissant, Colorado. Their cabin was one of the few that could accommodate a group of our size; it was within our price range; and, it was available! I booked it immediately. Now, I needed to convince the youth to sign on.

For the next few weeks, I mentioned the retreat at every Friday session. I brought pictures and a description of the place. I tried to convince the youth what a great experience it could be. At the end of four weeks, I had about three “goings,” eight “not goings,” and about twenty variations of “maybe, probably, I don't know, we'll see, etc.” Again, I turned to Our Lady. “Blessed Mother, you found us a place. Now I need you to convince the youth to go. I place each one of them in your hands. Mother, please help them.”

The retreat was scheduled for August 13-15. By August 8, I had about ten people who has signed on for the retreat. Others had meet with conflicts or were backing out for other reasons. I began to pray for each of the youth by name. “Mother, I really think ______ is supposed to go on this retreat. I give them to your heart. Remove any obstacles if it is God's will.” By the time August 12 arrived, there were 21 youth signed up to go on the retreat. I was amazed!

Our Lady's presence and intercession permeated the whole of the retreat, from the planning sessions to the activities themselves. When I couldn't find transportation for 25 people (youth and adults) to a remote cabin, she came through just in time. I felt her guiding presence during the course of the retreat, opening hearts to her Son and giving the right words to the retreat leaders.

The retreat really began in earnest on August 13. The youth gathered together at the parish center at 11:00 am, bags in hand. I am still amazed that all of the youth brought less luggage than I did! (except for Antonio's massive valise). After loading the vans, we were ready to depart by 11:45 am. The only problem - I had lost the keys to the blue van! After a frantic 20 minute search the keys were located on the floor of the gray van where I had left them. We were now ready to depart. First, however, we needed to ask for God's blessing.

The youth gathered together in the back pews of a darkened Annunciation Church. I explained to the youth the purpose of a retreat as a time away from the usual busyness and commotion of our daily lives. I also told them about how much Our Lady had interceded to make this retreat happen and how I believed she would continue to be present throughout the retreat. At this point, Alejandra and I began handing out the gift boxes. “Inside each box,” I told the youth, “is a very special gift. It is different for each person. You need to be extremely careful with them because they took an incredible amount of time and care to put together and are irreplaceable.” They were told that they could not open the boxes until they were given permission. After kneeling and asking God's blessing, we departed for Dome Rock Cabin at around 1:00 pm.

We had assigned two tasks for the youth to complete during the two hour drive to the cabin. First, they were to pray the sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary together as a group, each youth taking a turn leading a decade, and praying for a particular individual from the youth group. Second, they were to find out seven things about every other member in their van that they did not already know. What amazing things were learned! For instance, we found out that Kimberly would rather be eaten by sharks than burned alive. We also learned that Anahy would like to jump out of a plane before she dies (with a parachute of course). We learned that Leslie would rather marry a man 7 feet, 6 inches tall than a man 3 feet tall. Of course, there were many more such thought provoking self-revelations!

By 3:15 pm we had arrived at the Dome Rock Cabin (despite losing and then finding Francisco and Jose along the way). The cabin was set in the middle of a beautiful forest of Pine Trees, surrounded by green rolling hills, massive red boulders protruding from the earth, and the occasional blue lake. The youth were barely out of their vans when Alejandra had them involved in their first activity. It focused on learning to really listen when a person speaks and on the individuality of each youth. Meanwhile, Jose, Francisco, and I loaded the cargo into the cabin.

The retreat was structured around five sessions with varying activities geared toward community and commitment. In addition, two major activities were planned, one for Saturday morning and the other for Saturday night. During the opening session, I spoke on the importance of being open to God and providing the space to listen to him during the weekend. As an exercise, I asked all of the youth consider their lives, past, present, and future. Where had they been? Where were they with God right now? Where did they see themselves going? I then asked them to do something unique, to write a letter to themselves from God. What did God think about you, about your life? An hour of silence was given to reflect and journal on this activity. The silence concluded with evening prayer at 6:30 pm.

Supper on Friday evening was a classic - 44 tasty, hot wieners, lemonade, and nine pounds of macaroni and cheese. It was heavenly. Except for the vegetarians who only eat two legged animals! By the way, what kind of an animal does a hot dog come from anyway? I'm not sure I want to know the answer.

Following dinner was an activity called “Gumshoe” in which the youth tries to guess the owners of the various shoes piled in the middle of the room. Of all the people present, none had the same shoes. The activity was geared toward teaching the uniqueness and individuality of each person. Every soul is created in God's image with a great dignity and a special uniqueness which is unrepeatable. Therefore, every person is a great gift from God. It was stressed that we too should appreciate the uniqueness of each person in the group and see them as gifts God has given to the group and to the world.

Alejandra spoke during the second session. Her talk focused on her own experience of coming to the youth group, and the joys, difficulties, and struggles which she encountered in persevering in the group. It was often difficult, Alejandra reminisced, because the group seemed to change a lot. She spoke of why the group was so important to her and helped her in the formation of her spiritual life. Following her talk, there was some very powerful and emotional sharing by members of the youth group. God's grace seemed already at work in a powerful way among the youth.

After a brief snack, it was time for bed. At least, that was the plan. Apparently, Iliana, Kim, Steffany, Esmeralda, and Massiel didn't get the memo. I woke up at 4:00 am to hear them chatting in the room below! The group was divided into two boys' rooms and two girls' rooms with a stern warning that there was to be no going-in-between. The youth leaders slept outside the rooms to make sure this prohibition was enforced.

It was with surprisingly little groaning that I awoke the group just after sunrise at 6:15 am. They had 45 minutes to shower, dress, and be downstairs ready to begin. The youth started the day with morning prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, the official prayer of the Church. Following was a breakfast of scrambled eggs, juice, and cereal. After clean-up, the youth gathered together in the family room on the main floor of the cabin for some awful news: their gifts had been stolen! A large sign taped to the wall read: “If the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.” Beneath the sign was an enveloped with instructions. The youth were instructed that they would find a series of signs (clues) which contained questions regarding the communion and community. If they answered these questions correctly, they would be given the correct directions to the next sign. If they answered them incorrectly, they would receive false directions which would led them astray. The only stipulation was that they had to make their decisions as a group.

The signs lead them outside and into the woods. In all, the activity took about two hours and led the youth deep into the heart of the woods, up steep hills, over high rocks, always seeking the gold boxes with the next sign. In the course of the pursuit, the youth learned a lot about community, teamwork, leadership, humility and the ways that different personalities contribute to forming a community. The final sign alerted the youth that their boxes had been returned to the cabin and would be right where they had let them the previous night. However, a new dilemma was upon them. As they stood reading the note, they were attacked by a pack of wild, demon-possessed, flesh-eating monkeys. Some of the part was badly “injured.” Certain youth could not use their legs, others arms, still others were blind or mute, and a few were even paralyzed. The goal was now for the group to find a way to get all the members back to the cabin. In order to do this, they would have to work together.

Following the “hike to the boxes,” there was a long discussion on the meaning and themes the youth saw at play in the activity. This was followed by lunch - ham and turkey sandwiches, fruit (Salvador dropped it!), and chips. After lunch, I gave the group a presentation on community and personal commitment, noting that many times we are actually involved in anti-communities which lead us away from God and into darkness. The goal was to be part of a healthy community which fostered personal growth, communion with God and one's peers, and led to the discovery of a unique vocation. God himself had given us this community - it was called the Church. During the talk, I reflected on my own experience of coming to God through the witness of a powerful faith community in Medjugorje. The love, care, and devotion which was present in the group had been a powerful sign of God's presence for me. I had wanted that same peace, joy, love, and healthy community. I ended the session by asking the youth to take a time of silence to reflect on their many different forms of commitment. What did they give their time to? What would they miss sleep for? What did they think about most? It is an important question, because as Jesus says, “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”

The youth then had a break to rest and prepare for the evening activities. However, Daniel, Leslie, Iliana, and Omar helped me to prepare dinner in the kitchen. It was an Italian recipe for pasta in red sauce with sausages, salad, and bread (or were they slabs of concrete?). The group ate the evening meal on the porch as the sun sank behind the distant green hills.

Following dinner, there was a large clean-up and some activities geared toward preparing the youth for the big activity that would soon take place. Alejandra and I spoke to the youth prior to the activity, instructing them on the basics of what was going to happen. The activity focused on the human experience of being lost through sin and estrangement from God. Sin divides us, within ourselves, from one another, and ultimately, from God. Additionally, it stressed the fact that we are alone in darkness and would have remained there forever had God not sent his Son to rescue us. It was only through this free gift of God's love that we have been redeemed. The good shepherd goes in search of the lost sheep. The youth were led individually to a group and told to “remain in me.” This group was symbolic of the Church. As the group sought to remain within the Church, the Body of Christ, they were tempted to go off in different directions or pulled away from the group, symbolizing the many temptations and illusions which often lead us to sin against God and one another and so break our communion.

Following this powerful activity, there was a long sharing session in which the youth reflected on the experience and tried to make parallels with their own lives. This was perhaps the most powerful session of the entire retreat and the level of sharing was very deep. All of the youth shared, some of them opening up for the very first time about their struggles and difficulties. The day ended with night prayer at 12:00 am followed by ice cream. All told, no one got to bed before 1:30 am.

The final day of the retreat began around 6:30 am (because Alejandra woke everyone a half hour early!). Following morning prayer and another breakfast of eggs and cereal, the youth went downstairs for their final session. I had planned on going a totally different direction with the talk, but was moved at the last moment to change to something completely different. Again, I saw the guiding hand of Our Lady in this inspiration. Some of the youth had experienced some powerful and emotional insights during the retreat. Now it seemed, Our Lady wanted them to know how much God loved them. I began by telling the youth about St. Peter. He had been the one who promised Jesus that he would never betray him, even if all the others fell. Yet in the most desperate hour, Peter had denied Jesus three times and, before he was able to apologize, Jesus was executed. Peter was living with the sorrow and guilt of that denial for three days. I then read the youth the passage from Scripture in which Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” I asked the youth to reflect on how Jesus treats Peter. He does not remind him of his sins. He does not chastise him. His only concern is that Peter open his heart again to the Lord's love. Jesus wanted Peter to be healed so that he could again receive love and love in return. This love was a total entrusting of Peter's person to God. It was the act of a child abandoning himself to the love of the Father. This was the love with which Jesus loves each one of us. It is the love with which he desires to be loved in return.

Following the reading, I read the famous passage from 1 Corinthians about the nature of divine love: “Love is patient, love is kind...” At this point, the youth began to reflect on the total retreat experience. It was, again, a powerful moment of sharing at a very deep level and a time to sum up what God had been doing in their lives during the course of the last couple days. It was clear to me by their sharing, that God had been working in their hearts in a powerful way during the retreat.

Then it was time for the dreaded chore: clean the cabin. The youth spent one hour scouring the cabin from top to bottom and packing up the van before we were ready to depart. After a group photo in front of the cabin, we hit the road. Travel time was just over two hours to get home.

The retreat ended with a special celebration of holy Mass at Annunciation Church at 2:00 pm. After a weekend of learning about community and the importance of union with God and one another, we were now going to receive the Lord God himself in holy Communion - the source of our union in love.

I felt the retreat was a great success. I saw a real growth in individuals, strengthening in relationships, steps toward conversion, powerful realizations, and an opening up by new members of the group. I hope that this will be an experience which will continue to bear fruit in the lives of everyone who participated. Thanks to all of the youth for taking the time to get to know God and one another on a deeper level. Thanks to Alejandra, Francisco, and Jose who helped in the planning and execution of the retreat. Thanks to Fr. Francisco, Deacon Jim, and the parish for their strong support.

God's peace!

Br. Joseph

p.s. I have lots of photos from the retreat. I will begin uploading them as soon as you post your reflections/reactions to the retreat here. Simply click "Post Comment."