Self-guided Retreat - Week 1

Ash Wednesday

For Individuals

Welcome to MAI’s Lenten Retreat.  This retreat provides a program for individuals to work on their spiritual lives through an integral 5 Point Program of Spiritual Formation.

Materials Required: Great Mystery Book, Great Mystery Couples Guide - please see the introduction post for links to purchase these.

Point 1: 

This point will work on your understanding of the spiritual life. For the week of Ash Wednesday read from the Couples Guide: Four Aspects of Formation pp. 9-10 and Point 1 – Self-mastery Building, p. 11.

Point 2: 

This point will work on self-mastery by overcoming vices and other attachments. For the week of Ash Wednesday, based upon the Couples Guide discussion you previously read, identify, and document the specific bad habits/vices in each of the three categories of habits which need changing.

Point 3: 

This point will help you to understand more deeply the Catholic faith from the perspective of living relationships well.  Here you will take our self-guided, free course Made for Communion which can be found here: https://learn.mainstitute.org/made-for-communion. For the week of Ash Wednesday, complete Session 1.

Point 4: 

This is a nightly examen, which is intended to help you to understand yourself and guide you to the improvements necessary for improving your relationship with God and with others. For Ash Wednesday Week, read point 9, p. 12 in the Great Mystery Couples Guide and determine which approach you will take.  Develop your plan for accomplishing these five points and arrange it such that you can nightly assess and document how you are doing on each of the five points in the program.

Point 5: 

This is program of discipleship, which helps us to build our love of God Whom we don’t see through works of love for our brethren whom we do see.  For the week of Ash Wednesday, determine the discipleship project that you will work on. See the Great Mystery Couples Guide, p. 12 for some ideas about projects.

For Couples

Welcome to MAI’s Lenten Retreat.  This retreat provides a program for couples to work on their relationship (including either their courtship or marriage) through an integral 5 Point Program of Spiritual Formation.

Materials Required: Great Mystery Book, Great Mystery Couples Guide - please see the introduction post for links to purchase these.

Point 1: 

This point will work on your understanding of the spiritual life. Read the assigned pages in the book and do the assigned pages in the Couples Guide for each week.  For the week of Ash Wednesday read from the Couples Guide: Four Aspects of Formation pp. 9-10 and Point 1 – Self-mastery Building, p. 11.  Discuss your joint plan.

Point 2: 

This point will work on self-mastery by overcoming vices and other attachments. For the week of Ash Wednesday, based upon the Couples Guide discussion you previously read, identify, and document the specific bad habits/vices in each of the three categories of habits which need changing.  This can be done individually or together.  You need not share with each other everything you are working on, but you should mutually encourage one another throughout Lent.

Point 3: 

This point will help you to understand more deeply the Catholic faith from the perspective of living relationships well.  Here you will take our self-guided, free course Made for Communion which can be found here: https://learn.mainstitute.org/made-for-communion. For the week of Ash Wednesday, complete Session 1 and discuss it after completing the session.

Point 4: 

This is a nightly examen, which is intended to help you to understand yourself and guide you to the improvements necessary for improving your relationship with God and with others. For Ash Wednesday Week, read point 9, p. 12 in the Great Mystery Couples Guide and determine which approach you will take.  Develop your plan for accomplishing these five points and arrange it such that you can nightly assess and document how you are doing on each of the five points in the program.

Point 5: 

This is program of discipleship, which helps us to build our love of God Whom we don’t see through works of love for our brethren whom we do see.  For the week of Ash Wednesday, determine the discipleship project that you will work on. See the Great Mystery Couples Guide, p. 12 for some ideas about projects. These activities should be done together if possible.  If schedules or other constraints keep them from being done together, they should be done in spiritual solidarity with on another by knowing what each other is doing and when they are doing it and saying a prayer of support for the other at the time they begin their discipleship project.