by Greg Mies
One of many surprising blessings of my function as director of Savior Pastoral and Retreat Heart (SPARC) is that individuals usually greet me locally to share their experiences of being right here.
Typically, it’s a retreat that deepened their prayer life. Typically, it’s a quiet day of reflection that introduced peace throughout a troublesome season. Typically, it’s merely the reminiscence of laughter and fellowship with their religion group.
Every story jogs my memory that SPARC is greater than a constructing — it’s a place the place God strikes in individuals’s lives.
Just lately, we have been blessed to host the Catholic Non secular Mentorship program for a retreat that stuffed our campus. Each area was alive with prayer and dialog.
The chapel echoed with voices lifted within the Eucharist and moments of quiet adoration. Assembly rooms grew to become locations of formation, mentoring and heartfelt sharing. Our eating corridor grew to become greater than a spot for meals, it grew to become a spot of communion, the place friendships have been shaped and religion was strengthened over dialog and laughter.
What struck me most was not simply the fullness of our property, however the fullness of the Spirit that appeared to move by each nook. Watching individuals collect in small circles for prayer or pause in stillness earlier than the tabernacle jogged my memory of how deeply the church longs for areas of encounter. Retreats like this are an attractive reminder that after we make room for God — each bodily and spiritually — he by no means disappoints.
At SPARC, we see our mission as considered one of hospitality within the Spirit: to supply sacred area the place the trustworthy can step away from every day life and be renewed in Christ. We’re humbled every time a bunch entrusts us with their retreat, and grateful to witness the quiet however highly effective work of grace unfolding within the lives of those that come for a private encounter with Christ.
Retreats are an invite: to step apart, to decelerate and to create space for God. And when communities collect in that spirit, the fruits multiply — not just for these current, however for the parishes and households they return to.
As I replicate on the Catholic Non secular Mentorship retreat, I discover myself giving thanks for all who search the Lord on this method. Their witness encourages us all to keep in mind that God wishes to fulfill us after we make room for him.
My prayer is that SPARC will proceed to be such a spot: the place people and teams can relaxation, be renewed and return to their lives with hearts on hearth for the Gospel.
