An Encounter with the Eucharist

In mid-November, the Baltimore Frassati Fellowship held a weekend retreat for young adults centered on the Eucharist. The goal of the event was to provide people with an opportunity to deepen their love of Christ through learning more about the Eucharist and spending time in adoration. Recently, an attendee of the retreat, Amanda Edwards, wrote the following reflection on her experience: The goal of Baltimore Frassati Fellowship’s retreat, SENT 2013, was to allow the retreat-goers to fall in love with Christ through the Eucharist. Going to adoration may be something that seems intimidating, confusing, or boring to those who may have never experienced it before. As young adults, we might have the intellectual understanding of what the Eucharist is, but we may need to grow the heart-type acceptance of its glorious importance. At SENT, the goal was to allow people the opportunity to grow in this way. Through intellectual talks from Fr. James Brent, O.P. that brought theology to the young-adult level, community building through small groups, an opportunity for all-night exposition (the blessed sacrament was also perpetually present in a small chapel that was open throughout the retreat), opportunity for confession, and quiet prayer time, we tried to give everyone an opportunity to both start to develop strong Christ-centered friendships and spend time in reflection with the Lord. The theme of “SENT” centered on providing the tools needed to bring this love of Christ back to their home parishes and daily lives. The retreat brought together 54 young adults from various states and parishes. There were retreat-goers from many different backgrounds. We had single and married people. We had retreat-veterans and first time retreat attendees. There were students, teachers, ex-soldiers, nurses, engineers, physicians, and people from a variety of other professions. The feedback from the retreat has been positive on the whole. Everyone who responded to a survey given after the retreat said they would recommend it to a friend. Some expressed a new-found determination to attend daily Mass, others said they had a radical improvement on how they view their relationship with God. I consider that a success! For more information about the Baltimore Frassati Fellowship, or for information about participating in their events, see their website. To learn about Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati and the Frassati Fellowship, or to find a fellowship near you run by the friars of the Province of St. Joseph, see here.