Young Adults Learn and Discern with Nuns, Friars, and Others at REV Retreat
Over 40 teens and young adults gathered at St. Joseph's Church in Brewer for the annual REV (Revitalization of the Eucharist and Vocations) Retreat on Saturday. The theme for this retreat was "Let it be Done to Me According to Your Word," in honor of our Blessed Mother's radical acceptance of God's plan. The REV Retreat provides an opportunity for young people to hear about religious life, priesthood, and married life directly from people living those vocations. The day began with a keynote talk from Bishop James Ruggieri, in which he reminded the attendees that a vocation is not a job to be chosen, but a mission received from God.
After the keynote, attendees split into small groups for talks and discussions with representatives of several religious communities, all of which were chosen to fit the Marian theme. The communities represented included the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady Mother of the Church, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, and the Oblates of the Virgin Mary. Brian and Diane Ahearn gave talks about married life and Fr. Erin Donlon spoke about the diocesan priesthood.
The attendees took advantage of the chance to ask deep questions about the speakers' daily lives, hobbies, joys, and struggles. Diane Ahearn noted that each group was asking "very good questions."
"I think everyone in the room will have their own takeaways, but the takeaway for me is just that I'm not inventing my mission, I'm receiving it," said Maddie Dichard of Bangor, "And also just the message to be patient, it's very needed for me right now. Overall, I think everybody is going to walk away with, like, the little seed of what they needed to hear."
Some attendees came with very specific questions, while others came to simply listen and learn. "I just came because I was interested in seeing what it was about. I didn't really have anything specific that I wanted to find out about, but I'm very glad I came." said Malachi Parker of Sorrento. "There's plenty of stuff to learn."
Though the retreat focused on learning and discussion, there was a persistent atmosphere of joy and laughter. Deacon Luis Sanclemente, who led the team planning the retreat, said they deliberately added more social time to this year's schedule. "That's one of the things they kept asking for in the feedback," said Deacon Sancelemente. "They want to reconnect, so we try to build some more time in for that."
The retreat was a great example of the interconnected nature of the Catholic Church. When asked how she got invited as a speaker, Sister Gabriela of the Sisters of Charity said, "It's really just a connection with one person to the other. Our community has known Bishop Ruggieri before he became bishop when he was in Rhode Island. And then through that, just through his office, they made contact with the vocation director for [the Diocese of Portland]. And then last year they invited us to come, and it was just a gift to be here. Then Deacon Luis invited us again to come this year, and it's just been nice to just form new relationships with a lot of people in the diocese and just connect with them and bring in the beauty of religious life to a diocese that we haven't been able to come visit."
Maddie Dichard summed it up by saying, "People came from Houlton, way up north, and then we have these religious coming from so far away. It's like the Lord planned these specific people to be together today. I'm really grateful for that."
