Emmaus program celebrates 30 years of service to diocese
by Dave Jolivet, editor The Anchor
Continued from home page...
On October 10, the Emmaus community will gather at St. John Neumann Church in East Freetown to celebrate Mass, reminisce about the past 30 years, and look forward to a bright future traveling the road to Emmaus with many more fellow Christians. Father Richard R. Gendreau, pastor of St. Louis de France Parish, Swansea, an Emmaus veteran, will be the principal celebrant at the Mass that will begin at 6 p.m.
"For those of us who have lived an Emmaus weekend, it has been Church for us in the broader sense of Church," said Paula Lauzon, a member of the Emmaus Galilee Planning Committee. "It's not just the pew Church, it's the people Church. I want this program to be around for a long time. Christ lives on through this program for so many people. Many of us wouldn't be the people we are today if it wasn't for the Emmaus program."
Hayden told The Anchor that the retreat weekend back in 1974 was designed to "fill the gap between ECHO and Cursillo retreat experiences." ECHO weekends are retreats geared towards teenagers and Cursillo feeds the adult Catholic community.
"Back then, there were times when seemingly the world had no hope and young adults needed to cry out to God for help," said Chris Creighton, one of four current Emmaus weekend directors. "That first weekend and subsequent ones provided that hope. There are a lot of similarities today.
"With church closings, mergers, the sex abuse scandals, war, terror and a materialistic society, the Emmaus environment is as needed today." Creighton, who directs one weekend per year for three years, told The Anchor the Emmaus experience allows candidates to actually meet and feel God in the people around them, "not just the God they were taught and told about."
"It is a life changing experience for many," she added, referencing Luke's Gospel, "were not our hearts burning within us while he was speaking to us on the road?"
Father Gendreau, who was on team for Emmaus #2, said, "Through the years, Emmaus has been able to reach an age group that sometimes falls through the cracks, allowing them to rekindle an awareness of their faith."
What truly makes the Emmaus experience so powerful is the human element intertwined with the spiritual. Each Emmaus team is made up of a spiritual director, ideally a priest, a lay director and co director and a dozen or so laypersons, most of whom will present a talk on a number of topics, each building on the other.
Having served on an Emmaus team for at least a half-dozen times, I have seen how greatly personal witnesses can impact the candidates on a weekend. The retreat candidates witness team people on a level equal to themselves. They see others having made the same mistakes, having the same doubts and experiencing the same pains and joys as they have. Then they see how God plays a part in all of that.
The spiritual director celebrates Mass each day of the weekend and provides thoughtful and personal insights to the goodness of God. "It is so very important that there is at least one priest on the weekend," said Hayden. "The candidates need to see and be in the company of religious. It helps break down the walls between the clergy and the laity. They get to see the clergy fulfilling a commitment of love to the Lord, and not just a priest doing a job."
In the early days of the Emmaus program, there would be two or three priests on a weekend as well as nuns and brothers at times. "Today, it's so difficult for the clergy to commit to a weekend," said Hayden. "With declining numbers and increasing responsibilities, priests have a tough time being available. The laity has picked up some of the slack over the years, but a weekend wouldn't be a weekend without at least one priest."
The success of the Emmaus program over the past 30 years is evident by the folks who have experienced a weekend and then return to help others encounter Christ in a similar way.
"Lifetime friendships emerge from Emmaus weekends," said Hayden. "And as time passes, the circle of friends increases." Many of the future Emmaus teams are comprised of men and women who had earlier been a candidate.
The Emmaus community gathers once a month at a Galilee, for Mass and socializing at Cathedral Camp. "People float in and out of the community all of the time," said Creighton. "And no matter how long they've been away, they're always warmly welcomed when they return."
"It's Christ in the world that keeps Emmaus alive," said Hayden. "People share that Christ with others and they take him to other places like the home, school and work place."
Father Gendreau told The Anchor that one of the attributes that's kept Emmaus alive for three decades is that, "the program has changed with the times, and needs to continue to do so."
"Like the Church that's ever old and ever new, Emmaus, while maintaining the fundamentals of the faith, adapts to the times."
Father Scott A. Ciosek, a parochial vicar at St. Michael Parish, Fall River, experienced his first Emmaus weekend this past June. "The program is an incredible tool of evangelization for the diocese," he told The Anchor. "It's amazing to see people's lives being transformed, pouring their whole heart out to Christ. It reaches an age group of Catholics who can sometimes feel forgotten by the Church and it welcomes them back, providing a deeper awareness of who God is in their lives."
"For 30 years Emmaus has ridden the test of time, and I can see it continuing with the grace of God," said Hayden. "With all that is wrong in society today, we can come out stronger with programs like Emmaus.
Creighton says she can see Emmaus lasting for another 30 years. "I'm hoping that someone who is baptized today will be able to receive what I received on my Emmaus weekend.
All are invited to attend the 30 th anniversary celebration at St. John Neumann Church, 147 Middleboro Road, East Freetown, beginning at 6 p.m.
For more information about the Emmaus Retreat Program, or for applications for the up coming weekend, contact Barbara Hayden at 508-336-9158.