Witness Wednesday #81 (Heart to Heart Retreat)

Before I begin my witness today, I first want to apologize for being a day late. With Monday not only being a holiday but also the last day of the retreat, I have been one day off this whole week. I totally forgot that yesterday was Wednesday, and yet I didn’t want to skip Witness Wednesday this week, so I am doing it a day late. My witness today will be about the retreat I just did this past weekend. God was in every stage of it, and so I want to give Him all the glory.

Last spring, I felt as though God put on my heart to host a retreat this year. I felt like He said in the summer, but I was a few months late. I researched many places to have the retreat, and many of the places people recommended had closed down. The ones that were still open were pretty expensive. There was the place in CT where the MCCW held the retreat I spoke at last April. However, that was booked until next summer, and I really felt like I was called to host one this year.

I was talking with a friend of mine at an Encounter event, and he gave me the names of a few more places to try. I am not sure if the place I found was from him or from a Google search, but I am so glad I found it. I wound up calling the Holy Cross Retreat House in July. The director said they had just started opening up the house for outside retreats as they usually just did Matt Talbot recovery retreats and Cursillo retreats there. We were actually the first outside group to come through the doors, so it was even more special. They were embarking on a new adventure having new groups come in, and I was embarking on a new adventure of hosting retreats, and we got to begin together.

The Holy Cross Retreat House was definitely a gift for the Lord. It could not have been a more perfect place for hosting my first retreat. The director, Nancy, was so easy to work with and so helpful. The retreat house bedrooms had all been repainted with new beds and mattresses. We were all able to stay in the same hallway, which was right next to the chapel and the meeting room. However, no room in the house is far from the chapel. I loved that it was a relatively small house, and yet it could house over 70 people.

The retreat house also just hired a new chef named Kerry, and she was also a gift from the Lord. She was truly amazing! Her food was the most incredible food I have ever had on retreat, and it was all homemade and made with organic ingredients. Another personal touch that made this retreat house perfect is that the food is all served family style. They have 2 to 4 volunteers that come in each meal and help serve the meal. They bring the serving dishes out to the table, and then we pass them around like we are at a family meal. They come around with coffee and tea. It was such an amazing experience. You may feel I am exaggerating, but the ladies who attended the retreat went on and on about the food. They asked the chef for all her recipes, that is how amazing the food was.

I had 12 people sign up for the retreat, which was great! That, again, was a gift from the Lord, as up until a week before, I only had 6 signed up. Then in that last week, I had 6 more people sign up. On the day of, we had two people who were unable to attend. One was in the ER with COVID, and the other one’s mom was sick, and she needed to take care of her mom. Check-in went well, and everyone was there by 3:15 or so. We started out with introductions, and everyone got to know each other pretty well just through introductions. I feel as though everyone bonded pretty quickly on this retreat. I am unsure if that is because of the small number of ladies in attendance or why it happened so quickly, but it was great. We had our first talk, we did some sharing, and then we headed to dinner. Right after dinner, we headed out to the chapel next door, where the Peyton Center was holding a candlelight rosary procession. Unfortunately, it was raining, and it was moved indoors, but it was still great. We walked around the chapel with a lot of other people saying the rosary and holding our candles. Whoever was taking photos for the Peyton Center got a great photo of me and my sister Liz and the retreat house director sent it to me. After that, we got back to the house, and we did a second talk and had more time for sharing before everyone headed to be.

The next day we started out with breakfast and then went to the chapel for praise and worship before mass at 10. After mass, we had another talk before lunch. After lunch, we had another talk, and then we had personal prayer time. Nancy, one of the ladies attending the retreat, led those who wanted to attend in a rosary. It turned out there were 5 of them, and so they each led a decade of the rosary and gave their own reflection on the mystery when it was their decade. I was not there, but I heard it was truly beautiful. Everyone did a great job with their reflections.

After the free time, we had adoration in the chapel for those who wanted to attend, and at the same time, we had confession for those who wanted to attend. We had someone attend confession who hadn’t been in 20 years. It was a beautiful thing to see! After confession and adoration, we had another talk and more time for sharing. Then we went to dinner. Yes, we did a lot of eating on this retreat! After dinner, we had another talk, and we ended the night with the Father’s Blessings. This is when we ask the Father to give us His heart for the person, or we ask the Father to tell us what He would like to say to the person, and then we pray those blessings over the person. There were five of us from the Encounter Ministries class at the retreat, so each person had at least 3 people speak blessings over them. It was a beautiful end to the evening.

The next morning we started with breakfast and then had praise and worship in the chapel. Some people left during praise and worship. After praise and worship, we gathered together to talk about how we could take what we learned from the retreat and bring it back into our everyday lives. We talked about how the retreat was going to change how we lived each day. We also took a few minutes to give feedback on the retreat. What worked well and what didn’t? Then everyone gave each other hugs, and we left the retreat center. It was a great retreat, and I couldn’t have asked for a better group of ladies or a better retreat house for my time hosting a retreat all by myself. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the retreat, and I hope you will join us the next time. I asked the ladies what they would tell someone who was thinking about coming, and so I will end with a few of their comments.

It was an easy retreat where all were made to feel welcomed, accepted, and loved. I feel all left loving themselves more, God more, and each other more. Mission accomplished and seeds sown.

I would tell them that it is a time to focus on prayer and to rest one’s soul as well as a time to engage in discussions about our wonderful God, that there is no pressure to do anything, and that they will not regret the decision to come.

Come, Come, Come! You will be so glad you did - and so glad you found such a wonderful place to hold this retreat, Catherine. I would gladly return. You did an awesome job!