St. Mary of West Haven initiates men's retreat

WEST HAVEN — "Don’t let go of the rope!" is the mantra resulting from the first Men’s Retreat of Saint Mary Parish in West Haven.

The three-day retreat, led by St. Mary pastor Father Gustavo Vidal, was hosted at a secluded location near Bloomington, Idaho. This serene venue, away from cell phone service and other worldly distractions, was the setting for 24 men to come face to face with themselves.

The "rope" mantra emanated from one of the 10 block-building chapters of "Be A Man," by Fr. Larry Richards, which was used in the retreat, the first such experience for most of the St. Mary parishioners. Armed with uncertainty, trepidation, and anxiety, the men began as a group of individuals, each focused on himself and full of the world. By the end of the retreat, they had grown into a union of brothers, having discovered their "demons" were not unique to themselves but are a common plague for all men. The power of the Holy Spirit chipped away at the self-protecting armor built up by years of living in a fallen, broken world.

God reshaped their understanding of true love and wisdom. As Fr. Richards stresses, "a relationship with Christ reveals the meaning of a man’s life and his identity as a man," not the counterfeit, deviant, and superficial model the world demands of men.

It wasn’t all just study, study, study. The variety of fun-filled games included volleyball, horseshoes and Frisbee-golf.

One of the inspirational moments during the retreat was the 7:30 a.m. Mass celebrated high up a hill at the family-built grotto containing a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Fatima. But don’t ask the participants to reveal the details of the retreat, for they took a vow of confidentiality – a necessary ingredient of an intentional retreat of this type.

Only under such a trust can men speak the truth of themselves knowing they will not be judged by their brothers, and it won’t be used against them by the debilitating damage of the sin of gossip outside the confines of the retreat ground rules.

Plans for a second annual retreat from the St. Mary Parish have already begun. Although a different book will be used, the goals and framework of the retreat will remain the same. 

Article courtesy of St. Mary Parish