Have you ever longed for some time for yourself, to connect with your faith, but also with yourself, to get to know yourself better and listen to God’s voice? That longing becomes reality at Time Off, a retreat lasting just over two weeks where girls ages 17-27 gather at the Schoenstatt Retreat Center in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
The purpose of this time is to pause for a moment and reconnect with yourself, a time to silence the noise of our busy lives and make space for our formation and self-education. The girls who participated arrived with great enthusiasm to learn more about Schoenstatt and its history and about the personal mission that God has given them.
Sister Gabriela María from Puerto Rico and Sister Nancy from Mexico were in charge of this retreat, and Ellie Venegas from Mexico helped the sisters with topics and activities. And since it was a retreat in Spanish, girls came from Mexico, Texas, and even Chicago.
The retreat began on Tuesday, July 15, with a time of adoration to welcome the participants. Activities included volunteer work with the Sisters of Mary, holy Mass celebrations, a visit to Lake Michigan, visits to the various Schoenstatt Shrines in the area, formation topics, picnics, and much more.
The main highlight was that through the daily topics the girls received, eight of them felt personally called by the Blessed Mother to seal their covenant of love at the end of the retreat.
Through the topics, they learned about Schoenstatt’s spirituality, its mission, and the pedagogy of the father and founder. This made them feel very special and personally loved by our dear Blessed Mother, and they wanted to respond to this love by preparing to seal their covenant. To this end, Sister M. Nancy guided them and provided them with formation. Thus, on July 27, they went to the International Shrine to make this exchange of hearts.
This time was very beautiful for all the participants. It was an opportunity for them to listen to their hearts, answer questions, and spend time with girls who also long to live a life according to the wishes of God and the Blessed Mother.
After two weeks of fun, reflection, learning, and laughter, the participants returned home with hearts full of joy. Now, they seek to bring what they experienced at this retreat to their homes and communities to tell them about Mary’s love and Schoenstatt’s mission for the Church. We thank the Sisters of Mary for welcoming us into their home and giving us this time of heaven and peace with Jesus and Mary.