Dear beloved sisters and brothers in Christ,

We are launching our new parish retreat, “Life in the Eucharist.” Father George Dunne has held it many times at St. Stephen’s in Winter Springs and other parishes. He is leading Nativity’s first parish retreat. His team will give several talks and testimonies on the Eucharist. Their coordinator Colleen Aboud said, “It brought me to a much more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.” She added, “It brought the Eucharist from my head to my heart.”

Participating in the parish retreat, Nativity parishioners reflect on the talks in small group conversation. We take part in Mass and confession and prayer. We grow in friendship with fellow parishioners. Most importantly, through the parish retreat, we deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ. 

Nativity’s inaugural Life in the Eucharist parish retreat is Saturday, December 3 in the Nativity Parish Center. While individual retreats might take place in a special retreat center, our parish retreat takes place on the parish grounds. Our own parish is a holy place. It begins at 8 a.m. in the morning and ends with the 5 p.m. Saturday vigil Mass in the church. 

The retreat is free. There is no charge. It is for adults aged 21 and older. Sign up Sunday, November 27 after Mass or call 407-322-3961 or jelder@nativity.org by Monday.

The real grace of Life in the Eucharist is the optional follow-up. The retreat team invites participants to become the next retreat team. Retreat participants who answer the call meet weekly to get to know each other’s faith story better, learn more about the Eucharist, and prepare their own talks and testimonies for the next retreat for Nativity on Saturday, April 15, 2023.

For those who want the spirit of the parish retreat to transform their daily life, the follow-up is for them. The follow-up puts the “plus” into “LITE Plus.” It is a truism that we do not really get something until we give it. We learn so much more when we teach it. Time and again I have seen retreat team members go through profound conversions. They form enduring friendships. Often the retreat team continues to meet long after the retreat. One team from 2008 still meets monthly!

The follow-up is optional. Making the Life in the Eucharist parish retreat is all that many do. Due to schedules or family obligations or health, many participants pass on joining the retreat team. Sometimes they join a future retreat team when their circumstances change. 

I’ve seen parishes flourish through their parish retreat. In my twenty-nine years as a parish priest, an ongoing parish retreat changes lives and renews the parish. May the Spirit lead and guide Nativity in his ways of life and joy.

In Christ,

Father David