WORDS FROM FATHER YOHANES: The Great Retreat

By Father Yohanes Akoit

The Advent season, in Catholic tradition, is also known as The

Great Retreat. To grasp this idea, imagine what happens during

a retreat in general. A participant steps away from ordinary

distractions and enters a time of prayer, meditation, and con-

templation. In those moments, they open their heart and invite

God into conversation. The central theme of this dialogue is

their own life: examining its direction, its struggles, and its

blessings.

Through this conversation with God, they evaluate their jour-

ney. They reflect on their discipleship and consider how their

witness has given life to the world. Looking back, they ask

how their actions, thoughts, and words have served as instru-

ments of God. When they recognize areas of failure, they sin-

cerely ask forgiveness. They make a resolution before God to

change and grow in the future. Returning home, they continue

their lives as disciples with renewed awareness. They desire to

live well, striving to turn away from past mistakes and orient

their lives toward purpose. Thus, the retreat becomes a pro-

found act of life evaluation: a re-examination of past behavior

and a rediscovery of how to give meaning to life.

In light of the explanation above, the Church understands the

season of Advent as the great retreat. Therefore, the Church

invites all of us to regard this time as an opportunity to partici-

pate in a spiritual retreat. The Church hopes that each person

will strive to enter into the atmosphere of a retreat: maintaining

inner peace, spending time before the Blessed Sacrament, and

reflecting on the journey of life already lived. In this way, eve-

ryone is encouraged to look back at the testimony of their life:

through words, deeds, and desires of the heart. If anything is

found that is not pleasing in the eyes of God, this retreat be-

comes an opportunity to renew oneself for the future.

In keeping with the atmosphere of retreat, the Church offers for

us the materials for reflection through the readings appointed in

the liturgy. We are invited to live this time of reflection over

four weeks. During the first two weeks (Weeks I-II), the reflec-

tion materials offered by the Church carries the theme of re-

pentance and purification. This theme is presented through

sacred readings that speak of the end times. The essence of

these readings is to awaken us to the truth that the Lord is com-

ing. He comes to remind us of accountability. Through them,

we are called to bear this in mind and prepare our lives accord-

ingly. In response, the Church invites us to reflect on our sins

and transgressions so that life may be renewed. After self-

examination, the Church invites us to continue the pilgrimage

of faith. In this journey, (Weeks III–IV), the reflection materi-

als offered by the Church carry the themes of Hope and Joy.

We are asked to prepare our personal lives and our communi-

ties as places for the birth of Christ. This preparation calls us to

readiness and joy. In doing so, we make room for Him coming

among us.

Based on the introduction above, we now prepare ourselves to

celebrate the First Sunday of Advent. We will encounter Jesus

in the gospel reading (Matthew 24: 37 - 44). In this passage,

He asks us to learn from the lesson of Noah: God placed No-

ah’s family in the ark and destroyed the wicked in the flood.  

With this reading, we are invited to examine our lives. We ask:

in what areas have I failed to stand before God as a new Noah

in my time, and what must I change so that He may allow me to

enter the ark of the covenant? These guiding questions lead to

our reflection on this First Sunday of Advent.

Father Yohanes Akoit is pastor of St. Julian and St. Anthony Catholic

churches in Kentucky.