Good morning, I'm Linda Luna and I have been a member of Most Holy Trinity for about 16 years.  I have two beautiful daughters, Corey who is the Director of Youth Ministry here at Most Holy Trinity, and Connor who is a student at Saginaw Valley.  I grew up in a catholic household, however, other than going to church on Sunday and saying grace during dinner, we did not practice our faith at home.  I went to a catholic school from 1st to 12th grade, but in looking back, did not learn a lot about my faith.  I never learned how to pray the rosary, never learned about novenas, chaplets or adoration.  Since I grew up without a strong faith life, I didn't feel guilty when I missed church, only prayed when I wanted something and wasn't looking for God in my life.   I identified myself as catholic but was not practicing my faith whatsoever.

As my girls grew up, I went to church so that the girls could go to Sunday school during mass, I never went for myself to worship the Lord.  When the girls were in high school, I took them to Religion classes,  supported them when they went to youth group and did what I could to gather money together when they wanted to go to retreats or Steubenville.  I wanted them to learn and grow in the catholic faith but was not willing to do this for myself.  It wasn't until I went through some health issues and issues in my personal life that I realized how much I needed God in my life.  I started going to Church regularly, paying attention to the mass and the homilies, taught myself the rosary, and started reading the bible.

When the first adult retreat came around, I thought about it, but in the back of my mind, was not really intending to go.  I was always envious when the girls came back from retreats and told me their experiences and wished I could have an experience like that. But when the opportunity presented itself  in the form of the adult retreat, fear set in.  I am a shy person especially around people I don't know and this was very outside my comfort zone.  Both my girls encouraged me to go.  I would get texts that would end with, “oh and you should go on the retreat”.  Or I would talk to Corey on the phone and she would say “hey mom, you should go on the retreat”.   The more I thought about it, the more I knew that I wanted to go and grow in my faith, and needed to put my fears aside.  

The retreat was a wonderful experience!   The speakers were great and very relatable.  I was worried the first time we got into small groups but my fears were quickly diminished.  It was a very relaxed setting and if you didn't want to talk or share, you could just listen and take in the experience.  Adoration was a new experience for me.  To be honest, I really wasn't sure what to do or what to expect because of my lack of experience with it, but still really enjoyed it.

I have gone on all 3 retreats and will be going on the retreat in September.  I have grown so much in my faith and in my prayer life and these retreats have definitely been a factor in my growth.  I see God in so many areas of my life now and in looking back, see where He was working in my life when at the time I didn't see it.  On the 2nd retreat, I went way out of my comfort zone and gave my own witness which was terrifying but felt great afterwards. I now look forward to Adoration and this special time to talk to and praise God.   The retreat is a nice time to get away to a beautiful setting and gives me a chance to focus on the growth in my faith in a relaxed and fun environment.  The staff at MHT are awesome, the music is beautiful, and the testimonies from fellow parishioners are relatable and inspirational.  It's nice to get to know people that are part of our parish and that I see at church every week but never knew before.   

I encourage anyone thinking about going on the retreat to set aside any fears and take a leap of faith. The adult retreat is September 15-17 at the St Francis DeSales Center in Brooklyn, MI. Sign up on the parish website or by contacting the parish office.