Rev Retreat gives teens and young adults an opportunity to learn about different vocations.
“Awesome!” “So much fun!” “The workshops were the best!”
Those were among the comments that teenagers and young adults shared after attending the annual REV Retreat, held Saturday, March 29, at St. Joseph Church in Brewer.
“I am very grateful this is being offered,” wrote one attendee.
“I am leaving changed, truly,” shared another.
The retreat was intended to help teenagers and young adults discern the vocation to which God is calling them, whether it is the priesthood, religious life, married life, or single life.
“The REV Retreat is really meant as an opportunity to get a sneak peek as to what the different vocations may look like,” said Deacon Luis Sanclemente, one of the organizers of the retreat. “At one point or another, we’ve all asked ourselves: I wonder what it would be like to be a sister, monk, priest, or married. The REV Retreat’s goal is to begin answering that question and to bring in those who are actually living out those vocations so that the participants can meet them, ask them questions, and get a real, live example of what it truly is like to live that vocation. We always pray that the Holy Spirit sparks these interactions to the full fire of a desire of a vocation. And, of course, it happens every year. God is good.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Bishop James Ruggieri, and workshop presenters included Sister Mary Amata and Sister Amata Christi from the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia; Sister Gabriela and Mother Christina from the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady, Mother of the Church; Sister Francesca Silver and Sister Christiana Hamman from the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist; Brother Vladimir Guadalupe, Brother Joseph Teresa, and Brother Alec of the Sacred Heart from the Discalced Carmelite Friars; Father Aloysius from the Benedictines of St. Anselm Abbey; Father Brad Morin, director of the diocese’s office of vocations; and married couple Jamie and Katie Derosier.
Despite snow falling in the morning, attendance at the retreat nearly doubled from last year, with 73 attendees coming from as far away as Manchester, New Hampshire, to be there. Based on the comments left after the retreat, it was a big success.
“Thank you to everyone who spoke at this event. You touch young adult lives more than you could know,” wrote one attendee.
“I could see how happy and full of spirit each religious person I spoke to was,’ said another.
Melissa Wanat, faith formation coordinator at Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Dexter and St. Agnes Parish in Pittsfield, said she could see the difference the retreat made for her group.
“When we dropped them off, they were so quiet. When we picked them up, they were so loud and on fire,” she said. “They could not stop talking about the talks and the Mass and the meals and the importance of interaction with other Catholics. They were so excited and so anxious to attend the next retreat.”
The retreat was sponsored by St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Bangor and the Diocese of Portland's Office of Vocations.
