The last weekend of October, I was fortunate enough to attend the Carmelite Institute of North America’s first annual Young Adult Retreat at Holy Hill in Wisconsin. We were privileged to have Fr. Michael-Joseph Paris, O.C.D. and Fr. Filiberto Oregel Álvarez, O.Carm., as well as Brother Vladimir, O.C.D., leading and accompanying us. During the retreat, Fr. Michael-Joseph gave four conferences on St. John of the Cross with Fr. Filiberto and Br. Vladimir leading group discussions. In addition, we were afforded opportunities for quiet reflection, spiritual direction/conversation, Adoration, participating in the Liturgy of the Hours, and socializing. We ended Saturday evening with a bonfire and S’mores, and ended the retreat with Mass at the Basilica.

Our Carmelite charism has three parts: Community, Service, and Prayer. The retreat was a beautiful example of our calling to be in communion with others. Personally, this was my first non-silent retreat – and I loved it. It was a reminder that God wants us to be in community with others because Heaven itself is a community with God and our fellows. We cannot survive in the desert or climb the mountain alone, and we cannot achieve holiness in isolation. While – as St. John of the Cross says – God’s first language is silence, God speaks to us in the silence so we can share his Words with others. In fact, my favorite part of the retreat was getting to know everyone who attended, learning about their lives, their reasons for attending, what draws them to Carmel. I appreciated everyone’s perspectives and am grateful I had the opportunity to meet them all.

The weekend was full of laughter and new spiritual realizations for myself. The Carmelite vocation and who all called to it are gifts. I feel like one of the luckiest people to have been chosen to belong with the wonderful people who volunteered their time that weekend to make it happen. God creates a bond between us so that we truly are the Brothers and Sisters of Mary and each other. Like family, we may not like all of us all of the time, but deep down we love each other. It was wonderful having both the Ancient and Discalced Observances represented at the retreat, and to have all of us talking and joking together. It was really a heart-warming experience.

Lourdes Crabtree, Executive Director of the Carmelite Institute of North America, indicated that there will be more Young Adult retreats to follow. For anyone, Carmelite or not (I was the only Carmelite of the 16 young adults who participated), I highly recommend attending next time. Keep us young adults in your prayers.