This January, we hosted our first open sign-up men’s retreat. Similar to the Women’s retreat that we hosted in the fall (which we JUST realized we forgot to make a blog post about – so look for a belated post coming soon!), the day consisted of Mass, talks alternated by prayer and optional faith-sharing small groups, a hearty breakfast and lunch, a panel on prayer, and an hour of Eucharistic Adoration and Confessions. Around 60 men joined us for the day, hailing from the city and the suburbs, and spanning from 18 to 80 years old, give or take a year. The theme was “Praying like Champions”, and featured our distinguished, home-grown speakers Bishop Bob, Br. Matt, and Sr. Alicia.
In a way complementary to the Women’s retreat, where various male volunteers and seminarians came in to help cook, clean, and provide the music for the women, it was the great delight of the Sisters and some female volunteers to take great care of these men! Many of us shared appreciative delight at the contrast of the food provided at the two retreats: the men’s lunch consisted primarily of mounds of meat and carbs, whereas the women’s lunch featured a sampling of sandwiches, salads, ancient grains, and vegetables. One ought to eat well to pray well, and that we did!
We received much positive feedback, and look forward to hosting more similar retreats in the future!