2012 SHHE’s Mother's Retreat

Notes from guest speaker Fr. Will, taken and shared by Aryn Sylvester.

What a wonderful retreat!

Thanks be to God that Dionne and Kim stepped up to plan this event because the Holy Spirit definitely moved many of us!

Here are my notes for the Retreat for the mom's who attended with little ones and couldn't take notes.   

For those who didn't go on the retreat these notes are greatly lacking.  Fr. Will had so many wonderful examples and life experiences I did not capture.  What a gift he is to our Diocese and he is only 30!!!  What you might enjoy are the book recommendations he gave.

7 Steps to Avoid Sin

1) Prayer – don’t wait for the last moment, pray now

* Pray in the morning specifically for grace to overcome particularly difficult temptation.

* Thank God even when we fall, to help us not fall again.

2) Use Your Brain – remove temptations that cloud our brain. There are a hierchy of good. We need to identify and order them and follow what is the greatest.

Aristotle said mans end is happiness. He just didn’t go further and say you find happiness from the creator of happiness.

Freedom is – The freedom to choose what is good.

3) Avoid the near occasion of sin

* Sin never comes out of nowhere

* Identify where sin starts

* Find the line of no return and fight like no other to never cross it.

4) Have a back up plan when you are tempted.

5) Be prepared to make sacrifices.

* Can’t avoid sin without giving up something

* Choosing one thing means you are giving up something.

6) Go to Confession

* 2 graces of Confession: Forgiveness & the grace to do better.

* 5 minutes each day

“Examen Prayer” Fr. Timothy Galaglar

5 minutes 1. Give Gratitude to God “Thank you God for …”

2. Before you walk through day, invite God

3. Go through day & examine it

4. Ask for forgiveness

5. Think about tomorrow. Ask God for help in those situations

6. Close with prayer

*We need to evaluate the gravity of sin.

Hosea & prostitute: Do we prostitute ourselves?

Mortal sin *Grave *Did I know? *Free choice

*Confession regrafts us back to Christ, 1x a month.

*Our guard is down in these situations. Deal with these issues before moving forward. Did I do it because….

H ungry

A ngry

L ondy

T ired

* What is the core issue? Example We don’t need sex – We need intimacy

7) Offering yourself in the Mass

* Redeeming us adds nothing to God – selfless gift

* We are to PRAY the Mass! – We enter into it

* Is the Mass about what I get or give?

* We worship God because it is owed to Him. If we fail to give to God what he is owed it is far greater then failing to give man what he is owed. -St. Thomas

* We should go to Mass w/ the full intent to GIVE

* We should lay ourselves out on the Altar. What do I need to lay on the altar this Sunday? A fight w/ sister or husband?

This is how we integrate Jesus into every part of our

life!

Sugested reading: “Fundamentals of the Faith” by Peter Kreft

“Man or Rabbit” C.S Lewis