Retreat is Not Defeat!

In the military, “retreat” is one of those words that cause distress. Retreat is almost synonymous with failure—and defeat-- not so in the realm of Christianity. In fact, a more accurate understanding of “retreat” would be to retire or pull back for the night, a common practice in days of old when armies would sound or “beat” retreat to end the day’s fighting, return to camp, rest, and regroup for the next day’s battle. So, as you can see, a retreat is NOT defeat. Retreating allows one to regroup, find the center, gather all of the armor necessary for success, and rejoin the battle. Only, we are talking about a spiritual battle, one that is being fought even as you read.

It is time to RETREAT!! Pull back—regroup—recover who you are and who you are meant to be. Put God first, and everything else will fall into place. Take some time to retreat from the world and reclaim your soul. Put on the whole Armor of God to protect you from the fiery darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6). Each post will enlighten the reader to dig deeper into the Catholic Christian Spiritual (Holy) Toolbox to reignite the flame that burns in your soul.

What Happened as I was Writing...  

When I started writing, I had all intentions of writing a book that would appeal to ALL Christians—across denominations and churches. As I grew in my faith, I felt the Holy Spirit driving me in a direction that was more specific—Young Adult Catholic Christians.  As I sat and wrote each chapter, I tried to choose words that would not rile my Christians friends who are in partial communion with the Catholic Church.  The Holy Spirit would not let me do it. The words did not ring true.  So, I wrote from my heart and my head the words that I felt I was called to write. 

WHY NOW?

In 1998, I was on a retreat team at Fort Drum, New York—Troops Encounter Christ. I was excited that I was asked to give two of the talks during the retreat. When we started rehearsing with the team, I found that I, or rather the Holy Spirit, had something to say through me about every single topic. Whether it was a scripture passage or a song for reflection, I had this deep longing to share my fervent affection for my Lord. Many years later, I found myself still stalled in my efforts to bring to fruition this dream. No longer. Pope Francis has ignited the flame necessary to press on with his publication Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel.

So, here I go. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and I must share the Good News that Jesus Saves! The Catholic Church provides the spiritual (holy) toolbox to strengthen Catholic Christians. Why is it that we spend years in school to exercise our intellectual muscles, years in the gym exercising our physical muscles, but in comparison, a drop in the bucket of our time on earth is spent exercising our spiritual muscles? We work our intellect to be able to call on information when we need it—we seek mental agility. We work out to create muscle memory so that when we get in the big game, our muscles will perform on demand. There is no game bigger than the one that will determine where we spend eternity. Come with me as I unpack the spiritual toolbox that we need to find the Truth.

“On the lips of the catechist, the first proclamation must ring out over and over: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you…. nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wisdom-filled than that initial proclamation. ”

—Evangelii Gaudium

A MANTRA GIVEN TO ME BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHILE I WAS STUCK IN TRAFFIC ON THE NEW JERSEY GARDEN STATE PARKWAY:

Seek Truth.

In Seeking Truth,

Seek Wisdom.

In Seeking Wisdom,

Seek Knowledge.

In Seeking Knowledge,

Seek Discipline.

In Seeking Discipline,

Seek Humility.

In Seeking Humility,

Find Truth.

Let’s find The TRUTH together!

Pacem Tuam, Dr. Tammy