Retreatants comment on "weekend with God"
| This picture of Manresa was taken prior to construction of Loyola Hall. It includes a bird's-eye view of St. Mary's Hall (center), the library (center left), the chapel (right), and the dining hall (rear). The Manresa grounds cover a much larger area than shown, stretching over a mile from the majestic river, across River Road, past the beautiful buildings and the manicured landscape, and into deep verdant woods at the rear of the property. | |||
Several retreatants recently offered impressions of their retreat experience at Manresa.
Deacon Mike Stohlman - who has certainly been on other retreats, but had never before been to a Manresa retreat - said that he appreciated the short duration of the talks, and the fact you weren't tired but were ready to go off after each talk and think about what was said. He also said that he enjoyed the personal approach of the talks by retreat master Father Paul Schott. Mike went on to share an engaging story of how inspiration came in unexpected forms and unexpected places during the retreat. It just so happens that one day, somewhere near the beginning of a walk to the rear of the property, he strolled past an unexpected single-seat wooden swing, hanging from the branches of a moss-draped oak tree. The curious thing about this incident was that as he continued his leisurely but lengthy walk through rows and rows of oaks, past the woods and along the stream, he kept thinking and thinking about that swing, and couldn't get it out of his mind. So naturally, on the way back to the retreat house he stopped to rest on the comfortable swing and it was there that he wound up reflecting - as he looked up at the aged branch above - on our trust in God. Ralph St. Ament commented that Loyola Hall - the new building where the lectures were presented - was great. Nick Sardegna, who by all accounts was not the biggest guy there, agreed but added, with a measure of humor, that he sat right behind the guy who actually was the biggest guy there. Understandably, he suggested the chairs could be staggered differently for a better line of sight. Chris Waguespack, Altar Server of the Year in 2000, joined three other family members on his first retreat. He began his comments with very polite thanks to the group for inviting him and for paying his expenses for the retreat. He maturely commented that among many other things, he discovered that there are so many ways to talk with God. When asked about the appropriateness of a person his age making a retreat at Manresa, he said that although he was probably the youngest of the 100+ retreatants there, he was able to comprehend and appreciate everything that was said in the talks. He candidly commented that he was expecting it to be torture, since he had never been away from TV, radio, telephone and conversation that long ever before in his life. However, he said that he soon found out that you don't even miss those things, because you're so busy talking with God you don't even realize you're not talking to the other men. Kerney Mongrue, who was making his first retreat at Manresa, said that he was most impressed with the inspiration of the retreat and the peace which it offered. Dale St. Pierre, who called the retreat house to check for a last-minute vacancy just hours before the the retreat began, particularly enjoyed the spiritual direction and the talks. Many men nodded in agreement as he said that it's amazing how fast the priests get to know who you are - sometimes even better than you know yourself - in the short period of time you have to consult with them. 