A retreat at Holy Name Cathedral on the Feast of Pentecost?
That sounds good to me!
The young adult community reached out to me to help take photos during the retreat—how could I say no?
Is it just me, or do these things always seem to come at the perfect time?
In the past few weeks, I’ve experienced beauty, goodness, and truth like never before—some of the best moments of my life—but it followed some rough times (the enemy never wants us to be happy).
He started whispering those familiar lies again. But don’t we all fall for them, over and over?
This time, I decided to break the cycle—to stop chasing distractions and face the reality of my past, my wounds, and his lies. That decision brought deep healing.
This retreat couldn’t have come at a better moment.
As Saint Thérèse said, we are choosing whether we go to Heaven or to hell. I say we are choosing to be happy or miserable. Of course, nothing is easy. But when we begin to grow in the knowledge and love of God, we start to build the trust that allows us to accept His will—and that is the true recipe for happiness.
No matter what happens to us or what others do, if we trust in God, He will guide us, because He knows what is best for us.
The “Road to Emmaus Revival” retreat took place at Holy Name Cathedral on the Feast of Pentecost.
With speakers like Fr. John Kartje and Katie McGrady, I knew I would hear what I needed—that God would speak through them and give me graces to grow in holiness. I wasn’t wrong.
Let me share a few highlights:
Fr. John
On the road to Emmaus, the apostles were discouraged and afraid—and so am I sometimes.
But we must remember: the Holy Spirit leads us—and He leads us to the Cross. The Cross is the only path to Heaven.
I loved Fr. John’s analogy of the ship:
There are two ways to teach someone how to build a ship.
One is to give them instructions.
The better way? Inspire them to love the sea.
In the same way, we must show others who God is—by showing them how we love Him. Then, they too will fall in love with Him, and from that love, they’ll “build the ship” of their lives.
If we have hope, it means we don’t need to have it all figured out.
We trust that God will reveal the path—we only need to grow in the knowledge and love of Him.
Other powerful thoughts from Fr. John:
- The boat is the Church. The Cross is the sail. The Devil wants us to believe we don’t need the Cross. The Holy Spirit is the wind.
- Don’t just look at the Host—look through it, and consecrate the world to God.
Katie McGrady
Katie shared beautiful, personal stories—about her family, her travels—but what struck me most was how she encounters God in every moment and in every place.
She’s constantly growing in the knowledge and love of Him.
Here’s what I took from her talk:
I need to be present.
To live in the current moment.
To allow myself to be hopeful.
No matter the circumstances, I should shift my focus away from myself—and instead focus on God’s creation, the people around me, and the beauty of my surroundings.
God can be found in every moment—both good and difficult.
But don’t we all try to control and analyze everything, instead of simply trusting God?
I know I do.
What is hidden behind it?
“I want to be God.”
My pride—and the enemy—tempt me to believe that I have to figure it all out on my own. To do everything perfectly. To please myself and others.
But I don’t need to do that. I can trust God. He will take care of it.
I loved when Katie said she imagines the Lord looking at us and saying, “Watch this.”
He’s showing up, giving us exactly what we need. He has so much more in store for us than we could ever imagine—if only we would trust Him.
But we often try so hard to control every detail of our lives, that we leave no space for the Lord to surprise us!
Let it go.
Trust.
Be hopeful.
Take it easy.
Life is a beautiful adventure—be joyful!
And remember: the only thing we need to do is keep our eyes on God.
Katie shared with us these beautiful prayers to the Holy Spirit, I thought you may use it.
Prayer to Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit
Replace the tension within us with a holy relaxation.
Replace the turbulence within us with a sacred calm.
Replace the anxiety within us with a quiet confidence.
Replace the fear within us with a strong faith.
Replace the bitterness within us with the sweetness of grace.
Replace the darkness within us with a gentle light.
Replace the coldness within us with a loving warmth.
Replace the night within us with your light.
Replace the winter within us with your spring.
Straighten our crookedness.
Fill our emptiness.
Dull the edge of our pride.
Sharpen the edge of our humility.
Light the fires of our love.
Quench the flames of our lust.
Let us see ourselves as you see us
That we may see You.
Amen.
The talks were followed by Holy Mass and adoration—the essence of our faith led by Bishop Lombardo.
We nourished ourselves with the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ and spent time with Him in silence.
This is something we should do regularly: spend time in meditation and contemplation.
But that’s a subject for another article.
Please keep me in your prayers; I’m praying for you!
