Weekend retreat - is this right?

[LeMat]

Hi there,

---

first of all, I don’t post that often, so if this is not the correct place to put this, please just correct me.​

I have a problem with a friend of mine. For some time now, he has been trying to invite me to a weekend retreat or something alike he has attended and thinks it would be perfect for me, too, to help me grow in my faith. As time goes on, he’s been pushing harder and harder. I am a very devout Catholic and I know he is too, so why not go…

The thing is that although this seems to be a well-known thing, there is very little to find about it on the internet apart from the original website - and there you don’t really get much information except how important it is to attend.

It is called Marked Men for Christ and seems to be open to non-catholic people as well.

Has any one of you heard about this or knows something? I know, they seem to be very secretive about the “how” and I don’t need to know everything, it’s just that knowing absolutely nothing about something is, especially when it comes to such sensitive matters as ones faith.

If anyone could give me some advice, please let me know.

thanks,
LeMat

 

[Della]

I know nothing about Marked Men for Christ, but you may want to find out if you parish/diocese has a CHRP (Christ Renews His Parish) retreat for men (there are also ones for women). It’s Catholic directed for and by Catholics. Your friend might want to attend, as well.

 

[on_the_hill]

It’s not Catholic.

If you look at the website, there’s no mention of it being Catholic.

If you click on the link for the women’s group, Women Walk With Christ, you will find a “statement of faith.”

If you copy and paste the statement of faith into your Google search bar, you will see a number of links to Evangelical and non-denominational Christian churches.

It’s Christian, but it’s not Catholic.

 

[maryjk]

The Women’s Walk With Christ web site indicates that their retreat is secret. You aren’t suppose to talk about it.

It also indicates that it is “not associated with any particular Christian denomination. Women attend and staff the weekend from a variety of Christian faith communities.” So the retreat isn’t Catholic.

From the Marked Men website.

Marked Men For Christ seeks to help Christian men embrace more fully the gift of the Holy Spirit and the mark with which they were sealed at Baptism (2 Cor. 1:22). Working as a complement to others who proclaim the Gospel,** but without affiliation to any denomination or pretense of becoming one,** MMFC responds to the spiritual needs of men in contemporary society by sharing wisdom, exhorting holiness, and strengthening one another for mission in Jesus Christ.

Again, not Catholic.

Oh, and this:

We believe that the Scriptures faithfully record all that God wished to reveal for our salvation

They seem to be “Sola scriptura.”

 

[ElizMary]

I’m going to go ahead and plug the CRHP retreat too. My husband went and enjoyed it immensely. I think inter-parish retreats are great. I participated in Cursillo and group weekly with 3 other ladies in my parish. It’s wonderful to fellowship with your own parish! I have nothing against ecumenical worship, but if you’re looking to grow as a Catholic, I’d stick with Catholic-based retreats.

 

[anruari]

There are many many movements and organisations that run excellent theologically sound retreats and communities. If you are unsure of how to resist attacks on your Catholic faith by other Christian traditions it is best to seek out one of these and ask your friend to join you there.
I can testify from personal experience to how damaging and confusing it can be to have major parts of the Catholic faith undermined by people you trusted as faith leaders.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Do yourself a favor, go on a real Catholic Retreat and tell your friend that’s the retreat you plan on attending.

Jim

 

[Matthew239]

It is a real shame when people comment and spout off without knowing what they are talking about my friend. Marked Men for Christ was co-founded by a Roman Catholic Priest and is perfectly awesome for a Catholic man to attend. It is non-denominational as it is open to most all Christians(I only say most all because there are a very few radical and crazy sects out there). It is a failure of many Christian Churches (to include the Roman Catholic Church) to not cooperate more with the other Christian denominations in our community. We have far more in common with one another.

It can be dangerous to go around telling people they cannot interact with protestants or even Jews and muslims as if you would be shaken in your faith.

It is frustrating that so many people may have turned away from a MMFC retreat because they read the misinformed comments below. People shouldn’t give advice when they don’t know what they are talking about. I hope you get a chance to attend. It is a great program and has even been mentioned widely at my parish.

Hi there,

---

first of all, I don’t post that often, so if this is not the correct place to put this, please just correct me.​

I have a problem with a friend of mine. For some time now, he has been trying to invite me to a weekend retreat or something alike he has attended and thinks it would be perfect for me, too, to help me grow in my faith. As time goes on, he’s been pushing harder and harder. I am a very devout Catholic and I know he is too, so why not go…

The thing is that although this seems to be a well-known thing, there is very little to find about it on the internet apart from the original website - and there you don’t really get much information except how important it is to attend.

It is called Marked Men for Christ and seems to be open to non-catholic people as well.

Has any one of you heard about this or knows something? I know, they seem to be very secretive about the “how” and I don’t need to know everything, it’s just that knowing absolutely nothing about something is, especially when it comes to such sensitive matters as ones faith.

If anyone could give me some advice, please let me know.

thanks,
LeMat

 

[Matthew239]

Please see above Jim. MMFC was started by a Roman Catholic Priest and is only non-denominational as they encourage most all Christian men of faith to attend. Please only give advice if you know for sure what you are talking about.

Do yourself a favor, go on a real Catholic Retreat and tell your friend that’s the retreat you plan on attending.

Jim

 

[Matthew239]

MMFC was started by a Catholic Priest. Please do research before advising someone away from something good. Thanks.

I’m going to go ahead and plug the CRHP retreat too. My husband went and enjoyed it immensely. I think inter-parish retreats are great. I participated in Cursillo and group weekly with 3 other ladies in my parish. It’s wonderful to fellowship with your own parish! I have nothing against ecumenical worship, but if you’re looking to grow as a Catholic, I’d stick with Catholic-based retreats.

 

[Matthew239]

Ugh, please do something more than a quick internet search. You are so wrong. MMFC was co-founded by a Roman Catholic Priest, but reaches out to men in all Christian communities. Just because something is not labeled Roman Catholic doesn’t mean it conflicts in any way with Catholic teaching. I really hope your post hasn’t turned too many men away from this great program. Please ask your own parish Priest about MMFC. The first place I heard about it was in my my Catholic Parish.

Again, don’t trust a short internet search to give major advice to others. Sometimes it ends up being wrong.

The Women’s Walk With Christ web site indicates that their retreat is secret. You aren’t suppose to talk about it.

It also indicates that it is “not associated with any particular Christian denomination. Women attend and staff the weekend from a variety of Christian faith communities.” So the retreat isn’t Catholic.

From the Marked Men website.

Again, not Catholic.

Oh, and this:

They seem to be “Sola scriptura.”

 

[Matthew239]

MMFC was started by a Roman Catholic Priest and is fine for Catholic men to attend. It also reaches out to all Christian men. A retreat need not be labeled “Catholic ONLY” to be very worthwhile.

I know nothing about Marked Men for Christ, but you may want to find out if you parish/diocese has a CHRP (Christ Renews His Parish) retreat for men (there are also ones for women). It’s Catholic directed for and by Catholics. Your friend might want to attend, as well.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Please see above Jim. MMFC was started by a Roman Catholic Priest and is only non-denominational as they encourage most all Christian men of faith to attend. Please only give advice if you know for sure what you are talking about.

But its not a “Catholic Retreat,” and although it may be a wonderful week-end, there probably isn’t confession or a Mass being offered.

A Catholic benefits spiritually attending a Catholic Retreat, because the Sacraments are offered, but also, the spiritual teachings by the retreat house which are centered on Catholic Spirituality.

Personally, I advise retreat at a monastery of a Catholic religious order like Trappists or Benedictines.

Jim

 

[Matthew239]

You are only correct in saying it is not for Catholics alone. MMFC was founded by a Catholic Priest, but reaches out to all Christian men. Please try not to advise people if you don’t know what you are talking about. I first heard about MMFC in MY CATHOLIC PARISH and my PARISH PRIEST works as a staff member giving some of the retreats. This is a great program and not something to be shrugged off because someone didn’t research it beyond a Google search.

It’s not Catholic.

If you look at the website, there’s no mention of it being Catholic.

If you click on the link for the women’s group, Women Walk With Christ, you will find a “statement of faith.”

If you copy and paste the statement of faith into your Google search bar, you will see a number of links to Evangelical and non-denominational Christian churches.

It’s Christian, but it’s not Catholic.

 

[maryjk]

Ugh, please do something more than a quick internet search. You are so wrong. MMFC was co-founded by a Roman Catholic Priest, but reaches out to men in all Christian communities. Just because something is not labeled Roman Catholic doesn’t mean it conflicts in any way with Catholic teaching. I really hope your post hasn’t turned too many men away from this great program. Please ask your own parish Priest about MMFC. The first place I heard about it was in my my Catholic Parish.

Again, don’t trust a short internet search to give major advice to others. Sometimes it ends up being wrong.

You just confirmed that it isn’t a Catholic retreat. If it isn’t Catholic, then it isn’t Catholic. That is pretty straightforward.

If someone is looking for a Catholic retreat, they won’t find what they want at this weekend retreat.

By attending the weekend, the attendant would have to find a Mass to attend that started after the retreat. Or miss Mass for the weekend. I can’t imagine that anyone would be willing to miss Mass for a retreat. My last retreat, I attended Mass every single day. In addition, Confession was also available. But of course, my retreat was a Catholic retreat.

 

[Drew1978]

I attended this retreat. It is not theologically sound. It is based upon the mankind project. They simply took new age techniques and marketed it with scripture. Steve Spicer co-founded the group with a priest. Steve has a degree in marketing. I will speak about what they did if you would like to know. I was sworn to secrecy but I believe that people deserve the truth and that the hermeneutically applied scripture has many fallacies.

 

[Legend]

sworn to secrecy?
That is enough to keep me away from it! Aren’t groups like the Mason’s frowned upon for this very thing?
Yes, some people may be saying that it benefits them…but better safe than sorry.

 

[Casilda]

It is a real shame when people comment and spout off without knowing what they are talking about my friend. Marked Men for Christ was co-founded by a Roman Catholic Priest and is perfectly awesome for a Catholic man to attend. It is non-denominational as it is open to most all Christians(I only say most all because there are a very few radical and crazy sects out there). It is a failure of many Christian Churches (to include the Roman Catholic Church) to not cooperate more with the other Christian denominations in our community. We have far more in common with one another.

It can be dangerous to go around telling people they cannot interact with protestants or even Jews and muslims as if you would be shaken in your faith.

It is frustrating that so many people may have turned away from a MMFC retreat because they read the misinformed comments below. People shouldn’t give advice when they don’t know what they are talking about. I hope you get a chance to attend. It is a great program and has even been mentioned widely at my parish.

We are suppose be discerning. We Catholics have to interact with all people in our EVERYDAY lives so when it comes to a RETREAT-it means just that. We want to be fully immersed in our spirituality, in our Mass, etc. You should not admonish Catholic faithful for wanting a Catholic retreat.