Who Do You Follow?: Inspirational Moments

Last week, I posted about the retreat that I recently went on and focused heavily on two aspects of the retreat. Since there is so much more that I want to say about it, I decided to do a follow-up post focusing on the many moments during the retreat that amazed me and really got me thinking. For the purposes of privacy, I will not be using names.

1. A young retreatant's energy throughout the retreat. This child was the youngest one on the retreat and is in the 8th grade. In general, he is a complete ball of energy. From the beginning, I kept my eye on him to see how he would do. He wasn't in my small group so whatever I reference, I saw during large group activities. His incredible energy leaked into every single activity we did on the retreat. He also had some things to say that I would not expect to hear coming out of an adult's mouth, much less an 8th grader's mouth. He remained upbeat and always found a way to make things a little more fun and exciting. I think he is one of the rare gems of young boys that are excited to be at church events.

2. Leader talks. We had three talks throughout the course of the retreat and while all them were wonderful, the first two really stuck with me. They were given by a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, respectively. Our first speaker talked about how she is constantly questioning things about the Catholic faith, not because she doubts but because she wants to find out more about these things so she can be stronger in her faith. I am almost 23 years old and I don't remember ever asking questions about the Catholic faith. Our second speaker talked about how he uses his faith to remain strong for his two younger siblings (aged 10 and 12) since his family is going through a tough time. He is the one they look to for comfort and seeing him be strong makes them feel okay. He also referenced Jeremiah 29:11, which says " 'For I know what I have planned for you,' says the Lord. 'I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you. I have plans to give you a future filled with hope." These two young kids have made me look at my faith life and re-evaluate it, in a sense. I look for ways I can find hope in what God has planned for me and what I can do better to deepen my relationship with both God and the Catholic faith.

 3. Prayer pals and rosary. At the beginning of the retreat, we got prayer pals and a rosary. Throughout the course of the weekend, we completed one rosary and each time we said a decade of the rosary, we offered it for our prayer pals. It was comforting to know that someone was praying solely for my intentions and that I was doing the same for someone else. It has been over a week since the retreat ended, and I am still praying for my prayer pal whenever the opportunity arises.

4. Status updates. Since the theme was social media based, we incorporated social media into the retreat however we could. One way we did this was by having six large sheets of butcher paper labeled with the day and time of day (ex: Saturday afternoon) and encouraging everyone, leaders included, to write a status update. The status updates on Saturday morning had to do more with how someone was physically feeling. As the retreat progressed, the status updates began to get more retreat-centered. By the end, the status updates were centered around the retreat and how the retreat made them feel. Everyone said that the retreatants have a transformation during the short time they are on retreat, but to have visual proof of that transformation was pretty awesome.

5. Wall posts/Messages. Another way we incorporated social media was by creating paper Facebook profiles, having strips of paper that looked like a Wall post box, and a bag with our names on them. The Facebook profiles and bags were taped onto the walls and throughout the retreat everyone was able to write affirmations/prayers/words of encouragement to whomever they pleased and put the Wall post strips in the bags. Every time I read my wall posts, I can't help but feel incredibly loved. Here are some of my favorites:

• "I've had a great time with you this weekend and I'm going to miss you." 
• "I've been praying for you all weekend. I am so glad you came this weekend."
• "You contribute great ideas and stories to our group. I am so thankful."
• "Your willpower and mental toughness supersedes anyone I know. It feels like you're a guardian angel watching over everyone."
• " You are such an inspiration to me. Love you!"

6. My personal transformation. Truth be told, I was a little apprehensive about going on this retreat. I had petty reasons why I didn't think I could go, but ended up deciding to go about 4 days before the retreat. I knew who most of the leaders were, but I wasn't close with most of them. I honestly felt a little bit like an outsider. I could not believe the change that I felt in myself within less than 48 hours. It was absolutely incredible. As we stood together after adoration singing Hold Us Together, I felt like I was back at Four:7 (for those of you who don't know, Four:7 is a Catholic praise and worship group at Notre Dame that I regularly attended). I felt I was back in my element and something that had been missing in my life for the past almost-year was there again. I'm so glad I decided to go because the most important thing that I got out of the retreat was my church family and I couldn't ask for anything better.