Life as Christ: Catholic Social Teaching Retreat
“For Christians, the words of Jesus have an even deeper meaning. They compel us to recognize Christ himself in each of our abandoned or excluded brothers and sisters. Faith has untold power to inspire and sustain our respect for others, for believers come to know that God loves every man and woman with infinite love and “thereby confers infinite dignity” upon all humanity. We likewise believe that Christ shed his blood for each of us and that no one is beyond the scope of his universal love” (Fratelli Tutti 85).
LIFE AS CHRIST is a one-day retreat that will help you trust in God’s goodness and love for you personally and, in light of that, explain the four pillars of Church’s social teaching: Dignity of the Human Person, Common Good, Subsidiarity, Solidarity.
The heart of this retreat, and the heart of Catholic Social Teaching, rests on that revelation that God created humanity in his image and likeness. Because human beings are made in the image of God, we have infinite dignity (Dignity of the Human Person). We are made in the image and likeness of a Triune Community of Love (Common Good); have been given freedom (Subsidiarity); and because God is our Father and Creator we are all brothers and sisters (Solidarity).
Original sin causes us to be tempted to use other people as means to an end (Dignity of the Human Person), to turn in on ourselves in an individualistic way (Common Good), and to possess and control others (Subsidiarity). Further, the first sin, and all sin, are not just personal faults. Because we are all interconnected and interdependent on each other, sin begets more sin, it pollutes the human family, and creates structures of sin. God empowers His people and tasks us with undoing the structures of sin and building structures of justice (Solidarity).
These teachings are all connected and challenge every ideology and political party and invite us to have an “alternative way of thinking” (Fratelli Tutti 127).
LIFE AS CHRIST is for anyone who aches for a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ and who desires to walk “a way of life marked by the flavor of the Gospel” (Fratelli Tutti 1).
LIFE AS CHRIST is a quiet, powerful day-long retreat. It lasts 7-8 hours and is divided into five sessions. The first session proclaims God’s goodness and desire for each one of us personally. The rest of the sessions dive into the four pillars of Catholic Social Teaching. In addition to the talks, the retreat includes time for personal prayer, group discussion, and Eucharistic Adoration.
If you would like to bring this retreat to your parish, school, or community, please email us: practicalkerygmaschool@gmail.com