The Joyful Shepherd Retreat is a portable, repeatable program meant to be presented by a team that includes priests, deacons and lay people. Teams should follow the outlines below. As with the Cursillo, the Life in the Spirit Seminar and other well known programs, teams who have never heard of the retreat should theoretically be able to read the Introduction to the Outlines and the outlines themselves to learn enough to put on the retreat. In addition to reading the outlines for their specific talks, all team members should read the Introduction to the Outlines to see how the talks are meant to work together and understand the reasons behind the selection of topics and order of their presentation. Permission is granted to use any of this material for retreats or any other purpose.
But please allow us to make some caveats first:
- Although this material is fallible, teams should make changes to the topics and their order of presentation only with considerable caution. The topics and order of presentation were selected for specific pastoral reasons, which the Introduction and the outline commentaries explain. Those who wish to change a topic and/or its order of presentation should do so only after understanding the, not always obvious at first sight, pastoral reasons for them. If such reasons were obvious to all pastors at first sight, the Church wouldn’t be in need of pastoral reform.
- Changes a team wants to make may be improvements. But if a change, however, alters an original purpose for the inclusion of a topic or its order of presentation, a team should not use the name Joyful Shepherd Retreat.
- Team members who wish to make an addition or deletion to the outline of their talk should do so only after informing the rest of the team in time for them to comment. Outlines for later talks presuppose that specific topics have been covered earlier. Outlines for earlier talks presuppose that specific topics will be covered later. So a change in one talk can, unbeknownst to the speaker, require that other speakers have to make changes to their talks.
N.B.
Because of a decision made early in the writing, the outlines use the phrase “Christian spirituality” to designate the goal of pastoring. We now strongly recommend that you use “Christian discipleship” instead. Unfortunately, we do not now have the time to make that change throughout.
Introduction to the Outlines
This Introduction should be read by all team members before reading their outlines and preparing their talks. It contains important information applying to all the retreat’s talks and sessions.
Introduction to the Outlines, TBS
Session A, First Talk, Evening
This talk can be given by a priest, deacon or lay person.
Outline with Commentary: Session A–First Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session B, Second Talk, Morning
The retreat’s practical pastoral recommendations begin in this talk. All subsequent talks must be coordinated with this talk. It’s content is crucial for the priests to be ready for the subsequent talks. It must be given from a pastoral, not a theological, point of view. It should be given by a priest.
Outline with Commentary: Session B–Second Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session C, Third Talk, Afternoon
Outline with Commentary: Session C–Third Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session D, Relaxation Time, Evening
This period could be used for an uplifting video such as “How Great is Our God,” and/or for fellowship between the retreatants and the team.
Session E, Fourth Talk, Morning
Outline with Commentary: Session E–Fourth Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session F. Fifth Talk, Afternoon
This talk can be given by a lay person or deacon, but the speaker must coordinate with the priest who will lead Session G, the prayer for renewal of the sacrament of confirmation.
Outline with Commentary: Session F–Fifth Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session G, Praying for a Renewal of the Graces of Confirmation, Evening
No outline is supplied for this session. This talk should be given by a priest. That priest must know the outline and commentary for the Fifth Talk, and he must coordinate with the presenter of that talk. The priest leading the prayer should have made the Life in the Spirit Seminar. But this prayer, as well as the whole retreat, should not be specifically charismatic unless all the retreatants are charismatic. The only charisms that need be mentioned here or in the fifth talk are the ministerial gifts of Ephesians 4:11, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers.
The prayer leader in the following video is the late Fr. John Randall of the Diocese of Providence, RI.
Click here to view and/or download the Prayer for Renewal Confirmation.
Session H, Sixth Talk, Morning
Outline with Commentary: Session H–Sixth Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session I, Seventh Talk, Afternoon
Outline with Commentary: Session I–Seventh Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session J, Eighth Talk, Evening
No outline is supplied for the Eighth Talk. The talk is meant to consist of personal reflections by a deacon with many years of parish experience. The deacon is to give specific recommendations, based on his own experience, about how things could have been done better at his parishes. The topics can range from administrative matters like how to run, and prepare an agenda for, a meeting to spiritual matters like how to prepare parents for baptism. Although no outline is supplied, all the team members must know beforehand what recommendations the deacon will make.
The speaker in the following video is Deacon Robert Dzuris, now retired, from the Archdiocese of Boston, MA.
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Session K, Ninth Talk, Morning
Outline with Commentary: Session K–Ninth Talk
Video: Click here to view and/or download video of talk.
Addendum: All the Scripture and Magisterium Quotes Used in the Outlines
All Quotes Used in the Outlines
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