Parish Men's retreat
October 8 - 10 2010
The Men of Sacred Heart had the opportunity to step out of their usual routine and enjoy a weekend retreat at Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in West Hartford. Several took advantage of the opportunity, and an enjoyable, relaxing and spiritually refreshing weekend was enjoyed. Here are some of the places and people we saw.
A beautiful fall weekend begins at Sacred Heart, as the men of the parish gather to travel to the Retreat Center. Looks like a good beginning.
In spite of what you may remember about the retreats of your youth, one of the principal activities of the weekend is eating. From the dinner served when you enter on Friday night to Sunday brunch, food is plentiful and good.
The doors to the chapel invite all to come aside and rest for a while. Just inside is the Baptismal font, and then the chapel itself. The chapel was refurbished a couple of years ago, and is the centerpiece of all prayer and liturgy for the weekend.
The chapel is set up monastic style, with the seats facing into the center. A new pipe organ adds to the community prayer.
At the opposite end of the chapel, a magnificent mosiac fills the wall.
One of the popular activities is always the outside recitation of the rosary. We were lucky this weekend to have beautiful weather which allowed us full enjoyment of the grounds.
The grounds have several trails winding through the wooded land, offering peace and quiet and a chance to reflect on the weekend.
Don and Ernie from Sacred Heart take a moment in their free time to catch up on each other.
There is a recently completed labyrinth which gives the user a chance to think about their lives as the path brings them ever closer to the center, here a stone circle representing the Divine.
What else? You can be a busy or as quiet as your would like. There are presentations by the staff, workshops presented by people from inside and outside the retreat house. Uplifting liturgy, magnificent music, opportunity for reconcilliation. Most importantly, a chance to look back over your life, and reconnect with God and your neighbor. All in all, a wonderful experience.