By Rachel Amiri
“Were not our hearts burning within us when Christ spoke to us on the way!” – Luke 24:32
July 19, 2024 – Today’s young people know what it’s like to live their social lives online. But they often are left wanting more authentic, in-person relationships – including spiritual connection and community. At the same time, parishes and the apostolic preferences of the Society of Jesus express a desire to reach young adults.
“Young adults 21 to 39 are a greatly desired community that isn’t in contact with the Church that much,” says Fr. Juan Ruiz, SJ, vocation promoter for the Central and Southern Province.
During June, a month customarily dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Jesuits sought to accompany young adults by offering “Hearts on Fire” retreats. Father Joe Laramie, SJ, national director of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network USA, spearheaded the effort. Young Jesuits organized concurrent retreats reflecting on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Ignatian spirituality for young adults (ages 21-39) in Ohio, Miami, Tampa and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Father Ruiz was joined by Jesuit Scholastics Eric Lastres, Manuel Luna Vega and Ignatius Nguyen to lead the one-day retreats in the Jesuits USA Central and Southern Province. For the first time, a Spanish-language “Hearts on Fire” retreat was offered in Puerto Rico. Participants responded with enthusiasm and gratitude.
“When we did a retreat like this, a lot of them said, ‘Oh, this is amazing!’” said Fr. Ruiz. “Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.”
The retreats followed the dynamic of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and included opportunities for eucharistic adoration and Mass. Each retreat took on its own tenor, as Jesuits brought their own stories to personalize the talks. Participants also received a prayer manual.
Retreatants engaged with the idea that Jesus, in his Sacred Heart, continues to offer himself up for others – and calls us to do the same.
“God desires that our heart be like his Sacred Heart, which is a heart that has been wounded and can be wounded, but doesn’t close itself off to that,” said Fr. Ruiz. “I’ve got this wounded heart. It’s not that it’s fixed. It still bears the marks of the wounds.”
The talks resonated with young adults thirsting for God’s love. One participant said, “I realized during this retreat that my heart is much bigger, much stronger than I thought it was.”
Father Ruiz recounted the story shared by another attendee, who had arrived at the retreat cynical from broken relationships that had left her feeling betrayed. “She showed up to the retreat, and as soon as she encountered the idea of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and having a heart like his, she felt healed. She was willing and capable of falling in love and open to loving again, even though she had kind of consciously chosen not to before,” he said.
Many participants came to the retreats because of personal connection and found community through shared prayer and reflection. An essential component of every retreat was the opportunity for sharing.
“One thing this retreat tries to leverage is a great unmet desire among younger people for spaces of intimacy and encounter,” Fr. Ruiz said. “They had small groups twice during the retreat and then a large group sharing, which was also pretty honest. They would talk, pray and then have some space where they could share about what was going on, hear themselves out loud, listen to others, and then go back to it.”
Combining the retreat’s powerful theme with the community forged by small- and large-group sharing provided a template for success that retreat leaders hope to follow in the future at other locations in the province.
To learn more about Hearts on Fire retreats, visit www.popesprayerusa.net/hearts
