I have been attending a men’s weekend retreat at the Malvern Retreat House every fall for the past quarter of a century. It is like a little piece of heaven set aside for all of us to enjoy. They host a men’s retreat each weekend but there are also retreats for women, high school students, couples, and various other groups. I was invited to attend one of these retreats approximately thirty years ago, but I politely declined the offer about a half dozen times. One of my good church friends at the time was very polite and patient with trying to get me t0 attend a retreat. Well, after so many tries, it worked.
Fast forward to today. I currently lead a group of men from my church to attend a men’s Malvern Retreat the third weekend in October each year. I have invited many men. Some have accepted my invitation, but many have given sundry reasons why they will not be able to attend each year. This is okay. Today, I tried something different with inviting men from my church to attend a Malvern Retreat. This weekend was Malvern Retreat Invitation Weekend at St. John the Evangelist in Morrisville, PA. Before each of the four weekend Masses, I handed out a business card that contains all the information about this retreat, I spoke for two minutes at the pulpit at the end of each Mass, and I spent time at an information table in the church vestibule after each Mass talking about and answering questions concerning this retreat. Only time will tell when it comes to any man who decides to attend this retreat. If at least one person says “yes” to attending the retreat, it will have been well worth the work that I put into this weekend to make it a success. If no one from each of these Masses attends the retreat, then maybe I planted enough seeds where some of these men will attend after this retreat takes place.
If you are interested in learning about the Malvern Retreat that some of us attend each October, you can check it out here: Malvern Retreat.