Living Hope Retreats Blog

Christ has no body on earth but yours

No hands but yours.  No feet but yours.

Yours are the feet with which He goes

About doing good

And yours are the hands He

is to bless people now

-Theresa of Avila

What a wonderful opportunity to share faith with 63 teens from our former Diocese in Ogdensburg.

The group of teens was awesome!!  We talked about the walls, the obstacles in our society which attempt to lessen the simple fact that we are made in the image and likeness of our God, Abba!

As confirmation candidates, we talked about how to overcome those walls, no matter how difficult and seemingly impossible.  For as the Gospel of Luke says, “Nothing is impossible with God.”  (Luke 1:37)

Thanks for an awesome day.

Hands and Feet

This time last week, we were coming off a stretch of many retreats.  The last in the stretch was St. Edward the Confessor in Clifton Park.  It was the 3rd in a series of retreats for their very large Confirmation program.  Fran came and helped us out.  She is AWESOME! 

It was really great to be able to share with them some new ways of prayer, like a labyrinth borrowed from Alice H.  It was also the first time we used a guided meditation that the Holy Spirit would not leaveme alone until I wrote.  It was really cool and in the end, the participant’s favorite part of the day.

This past week we have been looking at the upcoming retreats in Hudson/Stuyvesant Falls and this coming weekend in Plattsburgh.  We are excited at the directions the Spirit seems to be taking things. 

Now, partially rested and renewed, we jump into this coming week. 

A friend emailed me this quote and I am finding it a guide post for me right now:

“In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is a continual prayer.”  -Wesley

I was praying this morning about a retreat we have this Saturday at St. Edward’s in Clifton Park.  St. Ed’s is a HUGE parish, and this is the third retreat on the same topic we are offering for them this year, enabling all 125 confirmandi to attend, but have manageable group sizes.

At the same time, I read an email I sent to a friend.  I meant to say “I am praying for you” and what I typed was “I am prayer for you.”  She wrote back, “You *are* prayer for me, thank you.”  So while praying about these kids in Clifton Park, and what the Spirit wants them to have the opportunity to experience, I am reflecting on ‘being prayer’ and how, as a Eucharistic community, we are called to *be* prayer for each other.

Prayer defined is “communicating with God,”  what if we took St. Francis’ desire to make his life a prayer one step further, that all we are becomes prayer, that all we are becomes talking to and listening to God?  How does that change the way I live?  Interact?  love?  disagree?  How does that cause conversion?  What language am I using as I pray?  And how do I encourage others on their journey, on their *being* prayer?

Much to reflect on, with the added dimension that this will probably change the plan for the retreat.  Ah well.  The Spirit doesn’t work on my time table… never has….  which is good, as mine is not perfect, but God’s is.

I admit it, Chris and I really look forward to looking at evaluations.  We like to see if what we thought ‘worked’ did.  We like to see if our ‘read’ of the group is fairly accurate.  There are times we say “no surprises there” and there are times someone drops something unexpected on us. 

We didn’t do evaluations with the 6-8 grades at Blessed Sacrament.  It seemed too much like ’school’ and not retreat to us.  These young people needed work on team building and self-esteem.  ”School” stuff from us just didn’t seem appropriate- almost like they would be graded on their experience.  So today, when we got a package in the mail from them, we were taken aback.

In the package were 70ish thank you letters.  Although all followed the same basic formula “thank you for… I liked…. I will use…..” each one was personal and reflective and a gift.  Each one is a blessing.

Here are some excerpts:

“People tell me all the time to think before I act, but the way you explained it and acted it out made it make way more sense.  I really liked the way you were teaching us by using things we could relate to.”

“I thought the retreat was cool.  I just wanted to say thanks.”

“I learned from pulse that if you react too soon, you can’t take it back. Just like at home.”

“I know we are different but we are one Body.  That is my favorite part.”

“You helped me see that I can have an impact.”

“The wall showed me that I can overcome anything life throws at me.”

“This experience with you guys was great.  It really brought us together.”

We were invited to return to Immaculate Heart of Mary in Watervliet yesterday to once again share faith with their Confirmandi.  Last year, they were a really fun group.  This year, they were a really AWESOME group. 

At the beginning of the retreat, we asked the teens on a scale of 1 to 10, how open were they to having a positive experience on the retreat.  They ALL indicated they were feeling positive.  Now we know on paper that makes sense, but to have a group of 25 teens who are open to the Spirit on retreat, even a mandated retreat, is such a HUGE difference.  We were able to truly dig in and share with each other.  They told us about struggling with prejudice and prayer and we told them about God and Love and their importance.  They even put up with Chris’ pumpkin parachute

We really want to give them a big THANK YOU, for many reasons.  What an amazing community to keep sharing such awesome teens with us, what awesome teens to be open and honest about the journey.

So with gratitude, we sit.

Peace-

Beth and Chris

That was the theme for our most recent retreat yesterday.  We had the fortunate opportunity to work with 55, extremely active and positive junior high students from Blessed Sacrament School in Albany. 

The retreat focused on treating others the same, without partiality or prejudice.  We are all made in the image and likeness of God, who loves us all equally.  As we strive to live that out in our daily lives, we suggested positive concrete and constructive ways to deal with bullying, rumors; helping to foster friendships and a cohesive environment at school.

A wonderfully exciting experience.

Peace,

Chris and Beth

We were fortunate to facilitate a retreat for the Seton Parish Nursing staff.  Working in the medical profession, I realize what a profound impact you can have on another person’s life, sometimes at the cost of our own physical, mental, psychological and spiritual health though. 

It was wonderful to share faith with such a dedicated and faith-filled group of medical professionals.  I found the wisdom of their sharing, reflective of the deep spiritual life they nourish in an attempt to help those in need.