Review

            The Youth Office of the Diocese sponsored a rather intensive course in the Catholic faith called ‘John Paul II Retreat’ designed by Fr. William Slattery for young people ages 15 to 25 and modeled on similar events Father had previously given in other dioceses following World Youth Day in Toronto in 2002. The four-day retreat saw four to five intellectually most stimulating talks each day in addition to video and movie presentations, all of which were packed with information, facts and figures about our faith and relayed in a compelling way the divine beauty and power of the Catholic Church, her origin, history and mission. Prayer, meditation and Holy Mass were part of each day as much as ample time for socializing, sports and wholesome fun. One of the things rarely found these days, yet so essential especially for spiritual growth was absolute silence, which was observed beginning after nightly meditation until after breakfast the next morning. Silence was also observed during meal times while table readings focused the attention of the young participants on the thinking of some Christian classics such as C.S. Lewis and Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Here is what one participant had to say about the retreat:

           “Early this January, I had the privilege of attending the ‘Changing Canada for Christ’ JPII Retreat at Mount St. Joseph's in Peterborough. With a group of over 25 youth from across the Diocese and beyond, I learned and discussed various issues we as young Catholics face in today’s society. We discussed topics such as euthanasia, abortion, the crusades and the culture of death. Throughout the duration of our 4-day retreat Fr. William Slattery fired us up with his contagious passion for the faith and helped us all to develop arguments needed to defend it. We began and ended each day with meditation and prayer in the chapel and were honored with the presence of Bishop De Angelis for our closing Mass on Sunday. When we weren't busy praying or discussing our faith, we enjoyed spending time with each other, singing, playing our guitars and having snowball fights. The JPII retreat was an awesome experience that helped bring me a deeper understanding of my faith as well many new friends who are going to help me change Canada for Christ!” (Pat Carruthers)  

Welcome • Newsletter • All Events • Youth Events • Get Involved • Ask Fr. Norbert • Message Board Catechism 101 •Links • Message from the Bishop • Off Da Press • UR Faith Contact • Veyo Home • Vocation Home • Evangelization Home • Youth Home • Site map

© Copyright 2004-2008 VEYO Peterborough · All Rights Reserved Original Site designed by: Jerry Tavares Maintained by: WDI Graphics