This past weekend, we had an ladies ACTS retreat here in our parish in Spanish. We had about 45 ladies attending it. I could tell that the retreat had a profound affect on many of them. If you are familiar with Cursillo, the ACTS retreat had a very similar format, with faith sharing and different sacraments and devotionals. Many of the ladies that attended the ACTS retreat have not had an opportunity to go on a retreat before; with many of them with families and small children to take care of, it was certainly something that had to be well coordinated. Prayer and discernment are the foundation of our Catholic faith. We should not make a big decision in our lives without prayer and discernment. And it is always helpful to have someone trained in spiritual direction and discernment to help us in the discernment process. In fact, most of you know that we Catholic priests have to attend an annual spiritual retreat each year as dictated by Canon law. What is interesting is that I asked the other Protestant minister who attend our Tupelo ministerial association meetings, and none of them had that same requirement. I bring this up because even Jesus prayed and discerned before he chose his apostles from the many disciples that gathered around him through his ministry. All of us, whether we are lay or ordained, would greatly benefit from an annual retreat or spiritual exercise that will help us discern God’s will on our journey of faith. As in many aspects of our faith, Jesus is a model for us in his words and his actions. May God always be close to our thoughts and our hearts.
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