Wow! Can’t believe I caught up to this thread and what I found.
I’m on my way to a prayer meeting tonight with my fellow “cultists” where we all drink the purple KoolAid.
Many of you have it all wrong. If it’s not for you, let it go. If you don’t know and want to learn about it, give it a weekend (I’m not on commission) and then make up your own mind.
The ACTS experience has been a great step in my faith journey. I’m sure there are other ministries just as good but this is what I found as a result of some "prodding’ by a “brother” who wouldn’t give up on me. Yeah, he annoyed me for 4 years! He’s become a good friend because he had the faith in me and knew I could become something I wasn’t up until them.
I’m not that analytical so, I can’t really tell you if it’s emotional or spiritual but… any way that God wants to get into my thick skull is fine by me. And if some of you want to call it a crutch, be my guest. It’s nothing compared to what my atheist, agnostic and “Catholic” friends have already told me.
I’ve read about the bad singing of “stolen” songs, the “secrets” from spouses, the “pressure to sign up more” and the “quota”.
Again, I’m a simple guy, cradle Catholic, that wasn’t too into his faith. I’ve become a better husband, father, neighbor and friend as a result of a great group of spiritual guys who gave up their spare time to save a wretch like me. The group I’ve come to know are former Sunday morning couch potatoes who watched their wives and kids pack it all up and head off to Mass and CCD while the “day of rest” husband watched from his football game or computer screen. Now sinner and saints come together every month or so, outside of Mass, and at least try to be better Catholics. Some were ashamed to admit that they had to go out a buy a Bible for the 1st time (guilty)! Not all of us succeed but we are still trying 2 years after our retreat. And, you know, I’ve seen quite a few of them across the pews on more Sundays and Holy Days than just the mandatory “family man” Christmas and Easter events.
I have prayed more in the 2 years since my 1st ACTS retreat than I probably have my whole life. I pray for strangers, ACTS brothers and sisters in need and even those who won’t let me pray for them.
I pray for the "YBIC"s and the "YSIC"s of the clique because they are not afraid to reach out and ask for help. We found out through ACTS that a parishioner was going through hard times and was too proud to ask for financial help. Now a bunch of us “drop by” with meals to help him out. I would have never known this if it wasn’t for the ACTS community and its efforts in small community within the parish. Our pastor has not been on an ACTS retreat but figures that something must be right about it. Many parish ministries that went begging year after year for volunteer help have seen an uptick thanks to these people that have had their smoldering faith sparked into a fire – the fire of the Holy Spirit!
At times, I realize that many of my pew mates are probably going through difficult times and I also pray for them. I don’t exclude them but I can’t force them to even ask a simple request such as" pray for me". We’re Catholics, you know, not into that “touchy feely” emotional thing. Yeah, ACTS people hug each other. That’s still a little hard for me but it’s getting easier. It has a funny way of disarming one another. We sing too. Some of us aren’t that bad and others are down right terrible but imagine that, a Catholic man singing! Isn’t it praying twice? And to think I used to let the choir “perform”! ACTS people may start out on bad renditions of Amy Grant because this may be the only “hymn” they remember from that weekend. It’s the job of a good parish music director to seek out those same men (and women) and get them singing in Latin! It works, I’ve seen it! Open a new door to them.
My wife went through the same disconnect experiences I’ve read many times in this thread after I shared what I could with her in those “vague” terms. After the post-retreat settled in, my wife saw me trying and was happy to witness a spark she had never seen. She opened herself to try it. She told me that Sunday she returned that she was grateful I never told told her all I went through that weekend. She has never shared what happened in hers and I let it go. She’s not keeping secrets, she’s respecting her sisters’ requests. Many married neighbors and friends have hidden much more serious issues from one another and I’ve seen many marriages dissolve when those items come to light. The confidentiality of ACTS may give that person the courage to address other marital issues and maybe heal a marriage (maybe not).
I, in my opinion, cannot fathom why this “secrecy” of the inner workings of an ACTS retreat can even be put anywhere on that plain.
While my enhanced journey (thanks to ACTS) has resulted in being on a team, I haven’t been “pulled in”. I’ve skipped retreats and turned down offers to be on another team. No one I know is keeping score. They welcome the help when it comes and let others get a shot on the team experience.
The retreats are not for all. Some retreatants put up with it, others fight it, some left it mid-retreat but a few were opened up by it (for the 1st time in their lives).
Please don’t criticize those that have found the face of Jesus in others after attending a weekend retreat. It worked for them and the world is a little better because of it
Gotta go! The vat of KoolAid is calling all of us YBICs!
Be not afraid.
. Thanks!