Information on ACTS

  • Thread starter Thread starter JackMcCoy
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I think the nail was hit on the head by a previous poster.
If those putting on the retreat were to reveal what is going to happen at an ACTS retreat, many people would not sign up to participate.
The whole thing seems way to controlling to me.
We will take you there. We will take away your cell phone and other time pieces. We will tell you this, that, and the other thing. We will tell you when and where.
One rumor I heard from one ACTS retreat was that at one point, one of the ACTS facilitators washes the feet of retreatants. Now that sounds a bit weird, if true.
 
TULIPed said:
With all due respect, the one thing I really, really covet as a Protestant that you guys have and we don’t (as much) is the idea of vetting by “senior management”. Everything you guys do is approved, no? Am I wrong in supposing that the ACTS retreats have been fully vetted and approved by a Bishop somewhere? You know the general idea of the retreat is to get closer to Christ and your fellow believers. You know it’s been approved by “senior management”. Why not set foot in the great unknown?
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With all due respect, Bishops approve all kinds of things that may not suit the taste of a particular Catholic personally. Just look at the 1000 threads on this forum about not liking the hymns, not liking the architecture of a church, not liking the statements some particular bishop made about a certain issue.

Furthermore, Bishops approve many devotions, retreats and practices to allow people to get closer to God. They certainly don’t expect every Catholic to participate in every approved activity. There wouldn’t be time in a person’s life to do them all. The reason they approve all sorts of different things is that different things appeal to different people and the Church is a large, diverse church and wants to offer all kinds of different things that might meet the needs of different people and help lead people closer to God.

And what I’m seeing on this thread is the usual problem I have with these retreats or any Catholic group, including ones other than ACTS retreats and Cursillo.

Catholic Person A: Here’s this great new thing (here it’s ACTS retreat, but you could substitute in any number of other activities or practices). I did it and it really enhanced my spiritual life and brought me closer to Jesus. You should try it too!

Catholic Person B: (reads description, asks some questions, then says) Thanks, I think I’ll pass. I’m not keen on (gives reason why he is not keen on it). I think I’d prefer to do this other activity instead.

Catholic A: Well all I can say is it really helped me and 2 dozen other people I know got great benefits from it so you should at least step out of your comfort zone and give it a try.

In other words, there is an implied judgment you get when you say “No”:
  • you’re not a risk taker
  • you’re stuck in a “comfort zone”
  • you don’t want to be close to God
  • you’re weird because you don’t feel the same as the 2 dozen other people who liked the activity
  • you’re going to be left out because you’re not getting on this awesome new bandwagon
You could put any activity into this conversation, from saying the Rosary to doing Marian Consecration to doing ACTS or CCR or any number of other devotional activities.

Think about if you put creamed spinach into this conversation, like somebody mentioned above, and somebody is extolling the health benefits of creamed spinach. The conversation becomes ridiculous, especially if the person who doesn’t want to eat creamed spinach is eating 10 other vegetables as part of their regular diet and doesn’t really need to add an 11th.
 
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But you can turn a cell phone off. You do not have to have it confiscated from you. Unless there is a reason that a retreatant might need to turn the phone on to ask for a spouse or family member to come and get them from where the retreat is being held.
When people enter prison, they have cell phones and wristwatches, and other personal items taken away.
Let me ask you this – If I get there, find out it is not for me, can I leave? Or will I be pressured not to leave? I mean, without transport and without a cell phone, what can I do?
 
Of course you can leave.

Nobody is going to force anyone to do anything on an ACTS retreat.

I can’t speak for your Parish, but we always had people on standby for transportation to / from the retreat center for whatever reason. (Usually to deliver some forgotten item.)

Friends and family are given a way to contract the retreatant if they need to.

etc.

Chuck
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Think about if you put creamed spinach into this conversation, like somebody mentioned above, and somebody is extolling the health benefits of creamed spinach.
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How can anyone not like creamed spinach? Especially the kind they have at steakhouses with a bunch of garlic and cheesy goo in it.

But seriously - I do take your point. I think it’s kind of like when you hear a good song, or see a good movie and while you’re listening or watching, you think of a good friend, and you want really badly for them to experience it too. I’d like to think most of the time people’s motives are good when they highly recommend something. Like when they say, “Why don’t you come with me to Mass on Sunday.”
 
I agree that people probably have good motives in recommending spiritual growth activities to their friends. Some people get a little overly pushy though. I have to watch this with myself because I like to do Marian devotions so when someone else says they don’t want to do it, I have to make sure I don’t react like a creamed spinach advocate.

I’ve also seen a couple parishes where certain activities became the “in” thing and those who wanted to do something else, usually something more traditional, got kind of shoved aside as being old fashioned or just not on board with the Holy Spirit or whatever the new things was. One has to make sure that activities don’t end up just creating another clique in a parish and excluding people.
 
Chuck thanks for telling what you can.
I hate to sound like am ACTS beater. I know it probably is a good organization.
A friend from my parish invited me to go to the last ACTS retreat held last October. But I had a work conflict.
It is hard for me to take off both a Thursday and Friday of any week. I am sure there is reason for the need to have a long retreat, but it is inconvenient for those who have a full-time job.
The schedule problem, plus the money, I think it was about $200, and the lack of transparency thing just kind of sealed the deal for me.
My friend is a terrific Catholic, but he would not tell me anything, so I guess he is a loyal ACTS person. He was one of the people putting the event on.
From all the discussion here and from some of the stuff I have read elsewhere, I don’t think I would enjoy an ACTS retreat. I am an introvert and now one who likes to actively participate in group activities.
 
As for the foot washing, that is done during a CHRP retreat. I don’t know anything about ACTS retreats. A friend went on a CHRP retreat and loved it but she knows me very well and she told me I would have hated it and she was right.

As an introvert with anxiety issues there is NO WAY I will ever go on a retreat where I don’t know the schedule beforehand.

Frankly, just reading about these types of retreats is triggering for me. I tend to become defensive and angry when challenged to do things “out of my comfort zone” with groups of people because the implication is that there is something wrong with me because I’m not willing to “stretch” myself. Hmph!!

I do love silent retreats though, and go on a weeklong one annually.
 
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