John Paul II Renewal Center Presentations and Retreats
We were reminded of Saint John Paul’s reflection on the twentieth century, which began with the hope of unlimited progress, but ended as the bloodiest century known to history. Modern man had placed his hopes for a messiah in his own genius- in science, technology, and medicine. Whenever man losses sight of the “great mystery” and sets his sights on this world, he always meets disappointment, even despair. “The world is not capable of making man happy. It is not capable of saving him from evil, in all types and forms–illness, epidemics, cataclysms, catastrophes, and the like. This world, with its riches and its wants, needs to be saved, to be redeemed.” (Crossing the Threshold of Hope)
It seems that we should all have caught on to this cosmic story by now. Good versus evil, light versus darkness, love versus lust…and seek the better way that has been revealed to us. Yet somehow we miss the larger story and we get caught up in a much smaller one of our own making. The result is always the same, a broken heart. But in the midst of our brokenness, and we are all broken in one way of another, along comes some very “Good News”! The Path to healing which leads to love and happiness can be found! But first you must know how to read the language of the heart. There is a reason for your deep ache and your thirst for more. “Thirsty hearts are those whose longings have been awakened by the touch of God within them”. A.W. Tozer
Here are three of our new presentations…Pathways to the heart and the “Good News” presented through the beautiful lens of Pope John Paul’s ‘Theology of the Body’.
1. “Love is”…
A two to five session series for Teens, which can be adapted for Parents and Catechists, seeks to answer the desire for meaning that all teens have.
“Who am I?”
“What is my purpose in life?”
“How can I find true happiness here on earth?”
“How can I find love that really satisfies me?”
This series will delve into teen questions on marriage, love, chastity, dating and relationships.
2. “The Art of Living: The Path to Happiness”
Happiness is one of the hottest topics in contempory culture. As Fr. Robert Spitzer explains “the current fixation on happiness seems to lie in the contrary phenomenon-unhappiness. Despite the fact that we have tremendous access to every imaginable form of entertainment, we experience a pervading sense of insecurity, emptiness, and malaise amid sporadic peak experiences.”
In this series presented over one to three sessions we explore God’s proven plan and path for Happiness through the lens of Saint John Paul ll’s Theology of the Body. As Aristotle noted 2,400 years ago “happiness is the one thing we can choose for its own sake—everything else is chosen for the sake of happiness.”
3. “The Sacred Romance”
“You have ravished my heart my sister my bride, you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes” (song 4:9)
St. Augustine said, “to fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek Him the greatest adventure; to find Him the greatest achievement.”
God loves romance. He created it. Sunsets, flowers, music, a kiss- all His idea. God is a lover who calls you into eternal love. He pursues you to the ends of the earth seeking an intimacy that seems to be too good to be true. But that is exactly the Church’s astounding claim and proposal to the world.
Join us as we look through a new lens and begin to see the world in 3D. A lens that enables us to see that our deepest “desires” and longings are given to us by “design” to be the rocket fuel that propels us to our “destiny.”
4. “Of Love and Marriage: God Has a Plan and Your Happiness Depends on It”
“What was that plan again?”
“Did I miss something? Surely there must be more?”
“Is it even possible to live out your wedding vows in a culture of throwaway marriages – where everything is seen as temporary, even love?”
You can find the answers you long for by putting on the “3D” glasses that Saint John Paul II blessed us with. Glasses that enable us to see that our deepest ‘desires’ have been put there by ‘design’ to lead us to our ‘destiny’.
Join us as we explore God’s beautiful ‘design’ for love and marriage that is very different from what our world would lead us to believe and has the power to transform our marriages into what we (and God) hoped they would be.
Come experience a deeper understanding of God’s plan for Love, Marriage, and the family and develop a renewed vigor in your marital love, while growing in your intimacy with God.
Appropriate for single of married, age 17 or older.
