July retreatants experience several “firsts” at Manresa
| Some of the 25 men from SCB who went on retreat at Manresa in July. First row (L-R): Dale St. Pierre, Greg Morrill, Tony Ferrara, Dave Roussel. Second Row: Nick Sardegna, Deacon Harry Schexnayder, Shawn Luce. Third Row, R.J. Laurent, Ronald Dawson, Jr., Wade Waguespack, Fourth row: Ricky St. Pierre, Irwin Waguespack, Mackie Waguespack, Ralph Richoux, Charlie Smith. Back row: Guy Hokanson, Kevin Ericksen, Henry Friloux, David Diaz. | |||
DINING ROOM, LODGING CHANGES ABOUND
25 men from St. Charles Borromeo parish recently attended a retreat at Manresa House of Retreats in Convent, Louisiana. The three-day silent retreat, which began on July 15, followed the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, who founded the Jesuits. There are several spiritual aspects of each retreat that make it unique for each man in attendance. Every year, the Holy Spirit has something different to say from one man to the next. And every year, each man returns to St. Charles parish with a new resolve. More on that later. Not that they mattered to the spiritual substance of the retreat, but there were also a number of external aspects of their 2004 Manresa retreat that the men noticed in July. Most noticably, since St. Mary’s Hall is being renovated, most of the men were housed in modular, temporary housing. (See articles on pages 4 - 5.) Having such a large construction project take place during retreat was itself a first for Manresa. During the silent retreat on Friday, it was quite unique to see and hear heavy equipment lifting workers and supplies chug, whir, and buzz its way up and down the crumbling walls of St. Mary’s Hall, with one worker occasionally shouting directions to the next.
| Retreat master - Father Nick Schiro, S.J., mingles with retreatants in the Manresa dining room on Sunday, following the end of silence. | |||
Another thing that changes at Manresa from one retreat to the next is the retreat master. This year’s retreat was led by Father Nick Schiro, who currently teaches religion at Jesuit High School in New Orleans. Due to his expertise and experience teaching students about prayer, many retreatants returned home with many new insights and techniques for becoming more prayerful. More on that later also. Next, it’s a common joke - and it is a joke, mind you - that many men go to Manresa just for the delicious food. For the first time in recent memory, there were changes in the dining room menu. The welcoming dinner on Thursday night, traditionally spaghetti night, was anchored by the most succulent, delicious pork roast you can imagine. Retreatants of Italian persuasion were relieved on Saturday night to learn that their precious pasta had just been postponed, not cancelled from the schedule. During meals, classical music traditionally relaxes diners and muffles the harsh sound of forks and knives clinking and scraping across plates. This year, some observant diners noticed that the music also included selections from the soundtrack of the recent movie, “The Passion of the Christ”. So both internally and externally, this year’s July retreat was a unique experience for each man.