K
Kurisu35712
Guest
My parish has a pretty active ACTS community and hosts several ACTS retreats throughout the year, and I just got back from the last one yesterday. I read through a lot of posts on here the day before I left to try to get an idea of what I was getting myself into, and almost psyched myself out of going. I’m not really big on retreats in general and definitely tend more towards introspection and somewhat self-contained spirituality. But the younger priest in the parish was leading it, who I really admire, and I figured it would be a good experience to reorient my priorities before I start at my new job next week, as well as a good way to refresh my spirituality after being home bored out of my mind for 4 months after graduation.
As much as this will infuriate at least a few people, I’m not going to talk about what all we did, what was said, or anything regarding details, as I now understand how it would detract from the experience of anyone else who hasn’t been on one and was thinking about it, or might go at some point. I will say that I had my doubts prior that I’d get anything substantial from it, and slightly worried that it would be too contemporary for my style. I found it theologically sound and based very strongly in Catholic tradition and thought, with no weird contemporary leanings. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like going to our parish’s youth group events because I think the music is too “Christian pop.” I genuinely enjoyed the retreat and made a lot of new friends in many age groups in the parish as a result of going, even though I was one of the youngest people there.
For a lot of people, the retreat is a very emotional experience, but I would not agree that ACTS is based in emotionalism, as some people who haven’t been have speculated. Not calling anyone out, it’s just a theme I’ve picked up on. A few older threads suggested that it’s a similar effect to the whole “fainted because of the Holy Spirit” Pentecostal thing, but I can honestly say that it was nothing like that, and that if it were, I would have been uncomfortable the entire weekend. I don’t enjoy non-denominational services because it reminds me of that kind of thing, with people getting too into it for my taste.
By contrast, I really enjoyed the entire weekend, and the retreat provided the jump start I was looking for to get back into a more regular prayer life, break some bad habits, and to be more consistent with saying the Rosary. I also want to get more involved at church, and this is coming from someone who’s always been pretty lazy with service hours and getting involved in parish ministries, both to give back and also just to become closer with the parish community as a whole. I wouldn’t go so far as to describe the retreat as life-changing for me, but I like to think I was already in a pretty good place before going. A lot of the people who went with me *did *have such a powerful experience, on the other hand, and getting to see that first hand was very inspirational.
To conclude, I had a great time. I get that retreats aren’t for everyone, and certainly aren’t required, but it was definitely a good experience for me and if someone keeps bugging you to go on one, at least consider it. It definitely brought me closer to God, and I didn’t feel necessarily distant to begin with.
As much as this will infuriate at least a few people, I’m not going to talk about what all we did, what was said, or anything regarding details, as I now understand how it would detract from the experience of anyone else who hasn’t been on one and was thinking about it, or might go at some point. I will say that I had my doubts prior that I’d get anything substantial from it, and slightly worried that it would be too contemporary for my style. I found it theologically sound and based very strongly in Catholic tradition and thought, with no weird contemporary leanings. And this is coming from someone who doesn’t like going to our parish’s youth group events because I think the music is too “Christian pop.” I genuinely enjoyed the retreat and made a lot of new friends in many age groups in the parish as a result of going, even though I was one of the youngest people there.
For a lot of people, the retreat is a very emotional experience, but I would not agree that ACTS is based in emotionalism, as some people who haven’t been have speculated. Not calling anyone out, it’s just a theme I’ve picked up on. A few older threads suggested that it’s a similar effect to the whole “fainted because of the Holy Spirit” Pentecostal thing, but I can honestly say that it was nothing like that, and that if it were, I would have been uncomfortable the entire weekend. I don’t enjoy non-denominational services because it reminds me of that kind of thing, with people getting too into it for my taste.
By contrast, I really enjoyed the entire weekend, and the retreat provided the jump start I was looking for to get back into a more regular prayer life, break some bad habits, and to be more consistent with saying the Rosary. I also want to get more involved at church, and this is coming from someone who’s always been pretty lazy with service hours and getting involved in parish ministries, both to give back and also just to become closer with the parish community as a whole. I wouldn’t go so far as to describe the retreat as life-changing for me, but I like to think I was already in a pretty good place before going. A lot of the people who went with me *did *have such a powerful experience, on the other hand, and getting to see that first hand was very inspirational.
To conclude, I had a great time. I get that retreats aren’t for everyone, and certainly aren’t required, but it was definitely a good experience for me and if someone keeps bugging you to go on one, at least consider it. It definitely brought me closer to God, and I didn’t feel necessarily distant to begin with.