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Upcoming ACTS Retreats
Stay tuned for upcoming dates
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About ACTS
"They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of bread and to prayers. Awe came upon everyone and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common: they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals in exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And, every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:42-47Adoration, Community, Theology, Service (ACTS)
Trinitarian and Christ-centric in scope and spirit. It consciously emphasizes the mystery of God and the plan of salvation, leading to the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. The center of the message is Christ, true God and true man, and His saving work carried out in His incarnation, life, death and resurrection.
If you have questions, contact actscoreteam@ctrcc.com.
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The ACTS Retreat
The ACTS retreat’s goals are to allow an opportunity for men and women, on separate retreats, to focus on their faith and its application during their daily lives. Also, it helps to build purpose in their prayer life, to increase their presence at the liturgy and to cultivate friendship among members of the church community.
Your Invitation
You are invited to spend a spirit-filled ACTS retreat weekend with your fellow parishioners to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ, renew yourself spiritually, give new meaning to your prayer life, and build lasting friendships with members of your parish and faith community.
What Can I Expect?
ACTS retreats are intended to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to bring those who attend into closer relationship with Jesus. ACTS is a lay ministry conducted by our parish using methods developed by ACTS Missions.
Who Should Attend?
Any adult Christian who seeks to deepen his or her faith in Christ is invited to participate. Retreat religious devotions include Mass, the recitation of the Rosary and the opportunity to participate in other Catholic services. This retreat can provide an extended opportunity to focus on our faith and relationship with God without the interruptions of daily living.
Cost
Retreat cost is set annually and is approximately $225 per person. You will be asked for a non-refundable deposit when you submit your registration form. The balance is due on or before registration. Please note that financial difficulties should not prevent anyone from attending the retreat. If you are unable to pay all or part of the fee, financial assistance is available.Click here to register for financial assistance.
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ACTS retreats have enriched the lives of hundreds of thousands of people; men and women, teens and retires, rich and poor, Catholic and non-Catholic, in the United States as well as other countries. It has reinvigorated the spiritual lives of individuals, of families, of entire parishes. The way this wonderful program came to be is a beautiful blend of the Holy Spirit and those who listen to His words.
No history of ACTS would be complete without the help of, and some familiarity with, the Cursillo retreat. Cursillo began in Spain in the years between WWI and WWII, in response to what many in the church saw as the increasing secularization of many Catholics in Spain at the time. It was intended to be a short course (the Spanish for short course is "cursillo") on the Catholic faith, and soon became widely popular for its profound effect on people's spirituality. By the mid 1980's, it had spread to many places in the world, including Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Selma, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio. It was here that three men who were heavily involved in Cursillo planned the first ACTS retreat.
Ed Courtney, Joe Hayes and Marty Sablik were instructors and coordinators with Cursillo, with years of Cursillo experience and a mutual friendship. They thought that several aspects of Cursillo could be improved in order to make the retreat more relevant to the needs of the parish, expecially after the changes brought about by the Second Vatican Council. From the beginning, they all felt that it was important for the retreat to be open to everyone, not just to Catholics, and not just to those who were sponsored by someone. Ed, acting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, met Joe and Marty at a coffee shop to build a new retreat called ACTS. This seemed logical to Ed since the Acts of the Apostles described what the apostles did, and are we not the apostles of today? Since the three main points in Cursillo were Piety, Study, and Action, Ed felt it absolutely necessary to bring them into ACTS. Once again under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Ed used a dictionary to help him correlate the letters A, C, T, and S into the themes of Adoration, Community, Theology, and Service. Joe Hayes, with the help of the Holy Spirit, was instrumental in securing the approval of both their pastor, Fr. Patrick Cronin, and that of Archbishop Flores. Another friend and parishioner, Wallace Vaughn, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to read Acts 2:42-47, the passage that became the biblical inspiration for the weekend.
After that first retreat in 1987, ACTS spread parish to parish in the San Antonio Archdiocese, and by 1997 there were perhaps 15 parishes with an ACTS program in place. In that year, ACTS Missions was formed as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization for the purpose of spreading and maintaining the ACTS retreat wherever the Holy Spirit prompted it. ACTS Missions was started by Larry Lopez and Tony Deosdade, two men who had such a profound experience on their retreat that they were inspired to make sure everyone in the world should have the opportunity to receive it as well. From its headquarters at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas, this small organization now leverages thousands of volunteers every year to bring the retreat to even more thousands of people, allowing them to experience the love of God through their fellow Christians. Today, ACTS is in at least 22 states in the U.S., 8 states in Mexico, as well as Canada, Honduras, South Africa and England. Interest is growing literally around the world.
People have credited ACTS with saving their lives, saving their marriages, convincing them to be ordained as priests or deacons, or leading them to the religious life, simply by opening their eyes and their hearts to God's word. Pastors have praised its positive effects on their parishes, leading to highly invigorated parish life. Bishops and other church leaders have called it the most important movement in the Catholic Church today; all this from a handful of faith-filled people with the courage and perseverance to be led by the Holy Spirit.
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