Holy Spirit Retreat
Greetings blog readers, it's been awhile for me (Pete). Last week I had a pretty rough cold/fever that kept me resting a good amount (& blowing my nose) :-/
The retreat was held in the glass room. Here's a view, thanks to Miguel, from the veranda off the room:
Well the retreat day went wonderfully. But how was the Holy Spirit present? Well each of the 30 or so young adults who came brought Him in some way through their unique experiences and backgrounds. But, even more, several things assured me of His Presence:
- "You can tell the weather, but can you tell the signs of the times." Well, thankfully, in classic fashion, the weather prophets were wrong about Saturday- at least at the Friary ;) It was supposed to be mid to upper 80s out. In a room with no air conditioning and the cameras and lights for the video production, this was going to be a problem. We prayed about this. It ended up being 78 with a real nice breeze. Thank you Jesus.
- "Well Dave you don't need to give your talk..." This was my remark after hearing my wife give an awesome testimony to begin the day about God's saving presence in her life. Dave agreed... but felt like we might still give talk for video purposes :)
- "What is the Church's greatest need?" Dave concluded the first talk quoting from Pope Paul VI who responded to this rhetorical question, saying "the Holy Spirit!" Not more programs or this or that spirituality or whatever, but the divine fiery gift Jesus promised His people! Dave's talk as well as Fr. Arnold talk answered this question in spades and were truly anointed and imparted grace and truth to all of us retreatants.
- "We carry this treasure in earthen vessels..." This statement of St. Paul's describing the paradox of how the Lord Jesus uses weak, imperfect people like us to accomplish great things, was certainly a theme for me- due to my cold. Erik, who led the worship, also didn't feel spiritually that great about everything- but we were both pleasantly shocked by the amazing ways in which God moved people during prayer time and worship, to encounter His love, shed tears, and share together. It was very very cool :)
I'll leave you with a picture of the "photographer," Miguel, and Vincenzo enjoying lunch break at the retreat:
Labels: Discovering Christ, Holy Spirit, retreats
posted by Pete Ascosi @ 10:53 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Hahaha, I dont know why by when I first looked at that bird feeder, I couldn't figure out what it was... I thought it was a spaceship photo shopped into the picture. LOL
BTW... thanks for the compliment on my testimony. I love bragging about the amazing things that the Lord has done in my life. It was DEFINITELY the Holy Spirit and all of the wonderful prayers.
-ALLY Ascosi
"He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me."
Even though I’m a group leader, I approached this day much like the participants of the course—I had never been to a Discovering Christ retreat and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. From listening to Pete, Dave, and all those involved with it last year, I knew it would be a great day but I was still interested to see how it would unfold and how the Lord would reveal Himself.
After a day of listening, discussing, singing, and praying at the retreat, what is my perspective? It turned out to be an incredible day.
The attendance was impressive, and each of the young adults who came brought with them their own distinct experiences and backgrounds with faith. God’s presence permeated every aspect of the retreat, from the talks and discussions to the personal testimonies and witnesses. Such a blessing and what an amazing feeling to know He was with us the whole time!
Witnessing the breakthrough of God’s love is an incredibly powerful experience. Each of us at the retreat saw this happen throughout the day, especially near the end during the hour of worship. Given the chance to talk and listen to God, the prayerful atmosphere truly allowed participants to open up to the Lord. Moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, some of the young adults were given the courage to speak about their own journeys to Christ. What incredible examples for us all, bravely sharing such remarkable and moving stories!
This Holy Spirit retreat was truly a blessing for so many of us who attended. It affirmed even more that, as said by the song “How He Loves Us” performed by Kim Walker,
"Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves."
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