Life-Giving Wounds
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Life-Giving Wounds On-Line Retreat Starts Oct. 2, 2024
- seven weeks of inspiring live talks by fellow adult children of divorce
- encouraging small group sessions with peers
- guided journaling between sessions
- beautiful hard-copy retreat materials
- music, art, prayer, and more!
Indianapolis Chapter Update:
Thank you to all who attended our first ever Life-Giving Wounds retreat, May 3-5, 2024. We are especially grateful to the National Life-Giving Wounds traveling team for coming to Indianapolis to serve as presenters, small group leaders, and emcee. Right now, we are forming our own local team of leaders who will continue this ministry in our Archdiocese. They are being trained during the summer of 2024 and will begin planning our calendar in the fall. Our next events will be a local support group followed by our second retreat. More information will be added to this page as it becomes available.
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Life-Giving Wounds Retreat, May 2024
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Life-Giving Wounds Retreat
May 3-5, 2024
Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House
5353 E 56th St
Indianapolis IN 46226
Cost:
$275 per person
$185 discounted admission for College Students (18-25 yrs. old)
$185 discounted admission for consecrated religious
Questions? Contact Gabriela Ross in the Office of Marraige and Family Life at [email protected] or (317) 592-4007.
Help us to promote the retreat!- Retreat Flyer (Printable PDF) or (PNG Image)
- Bulletin / Newsletter Announcement
- Graphics (Horizontal) and (Square)
If you know someone who is an adult child of divorce or separation, consider personally inviting them to check out the retreat page and consider signing up. It may just be the opportunity for healing that they didn't know they needed. -
Who should attend this retreat?
The Life-Giving Wounds retreat is for men and women (18+) whose parents are divorced or separated. This includes people whose parents divorced, separated, received a declaration of nullity (annulment), dissolved a cohabitation, or were never married and are no longer together. While these situations have important differences, the retreat content speaks to the common wound of losing the love of your parents together. The two situations not addressed by the retreat are the loss of a parent through death or being placed for adoption. If you feel like you don’t fit the above groups, but think you would still benefit from the retreat, then contact Life-giving Wounds and they can help you discern whether it is the right fit for you and your circumstances.
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What is included in the retreat?
- Presentations by trained retreat leaders. Presentations cover a broad range of topics, including how one’s parents’ divorce or separation affects one’s identity and relationship with God; its impact on trust, dating, and marriage; ways to navigate anger and anxiety; true Christian forgiveness; appropriate boundaries with family members; redemptive suffering; gratitude and joy; and more. (The Life-Giving Wounds Retreat Guide walks participants through the retreat, with talk pointers, handouts, and space for notes.)
- Guided small group discussions with peers. Many retreatants identify this time as their favorite part of the retreat; it can be very healing to discover that others are facing similar challenges and really “get it.” The small groups allow an opportunity to “unpack” the material in the presentations. However, we know that not everyone is comfortable sharing in a small-group setting, and that people process information differently. Thus, participating in a small group is optional, and retreatants can opt instead for personal prayer or journaling time.
- Guided journaling. Everyone has a story and it is important to write it out because by doing so participants grieve, grow in clarity, and untangle the different emotions, effects, and moments in their lives related to the pain of their parents’ divorce or separation. We therefore encourage journaling and prompt participants with specific questions so that they receive insight and healing through this process. Many participants tell us how helpful it is to have one unified story by the end of the retreat, a story that sheds light on who they are and where they need to grow. Many also tell us that they would have never done this on their own, and that the journaling prompts are very motivating and helpful for their healing. (We have our own Life-Giving Wounds Journal, too!)
- Prayer and sacraments. As a Catholic retreat, our weekend includes sacramental moments (Eucharist and Confession) and prayerful devotions like Eucharistic adoration, scriptural meditation, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Moments of prayer are presented with care and reverence on the retreat, with the strong conviction that our faith is the greatest source of healing. At the same time, all ACODs are welcome to attend regardless of their religious background or current connection to their faith. It’s always an option to spend time in personal prayer or journaling if individuals do not want to participate in a certain religious activity.
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FAQ's
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Yes, this ministry is for adults of various backgrounds, regardless of when their parents divorced or separated. We regularly have a mix of people whose parents divorced or separated when they were very young children, to whose parents just recently divorced or separated, and everything in between. All groups are usually represented and we seek to speak to the common wounds of all groups.
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The Life-Giving Wounds retreat is for men and women (18+) whose parents are divorced or separated. This includes people whose parents divorced, separated, received a declaration of nullity (annulment), dissolved a cohabitation, or were never married and are no longer together. While these situations have important differences, the retreat content speaks to the common wound of losing the love of your parents together. The two situations not addressed by the retreat are the loss of a parent through death or being placed for adoption. If you feel like you don’t fit the above groups, but think you would still benefit from the retreat, then contact Life-giving Wounds and they can help you discern whether it is the right fit for you and your circumstances.
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We recognize that many people have already found significant healing after their parents’ divorce or separation, have been successful in their lives, established strong relationships, and feel close to God in their faith. Nonetheless, many participants tell us that this ministry opened their eyes to things they never thought of, which they found life-changing and important. (You can read some testimonies here.) Also, the reality is that often we can push things out of our mind that are still affecting us.
Put another way, we may need time to “thaw out” from painful experiences, so it is good to talk with others in similar circumstances to see if there is anything we can benefit from. The Life-Giving Wounds retreat doesn’t focus on the past in order to get “stuck” in the past, but to better live in the present. Therefore, we believe that this ministry has something to offer all adult children of divorce, no matter the amount of healing they have already received.
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Yes, we welcome people of all faiths, and those who don’t belong to a faith; the shared commonality is a desire to find greater healing after one’s parents’ divorce or separation. All we ask is that participants realize that different Catholic Sacraments and spiritual practices will take place during a Life-Giving Wounds event, such as Mass, Eucharistic adoration, praying with Scripture, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, etc. For non-Catholics, we are happy to “walk through” the schedule in advance, in order to make sure they are completely comfortable with the Catholic environment. Participants are also able to opt for journaling or quiet reflection in lieu of a particular religious moment.
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No, the Life-Giving Wounds retreat is not professional therapy or psychological counseling led by a licensed counselor or psychologist. Instead, on our retreats, we provide trained, peer-based leaders who offer spiritual and practical guidance, advice, support, and community, grounded in virtue. Our ministry integrates sound psychological principles and complements professional therapy. We highly encourage professional therapy as an aid to ongoing healing, and we are proud to work closely with many psychologists and counselors who both advise us in our ministry and help out in other various capacities, such as offering presentations on retreats.
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We encourage people to attend the retreat or support group only if they feel emotionally capable of processing difficult situations and experiences from the past, as that is a key part of the retreat. We don’t want to put anyone into a position they are not ready for. We must allow healing to happen in God’s time, not our time. Also, if someone is seeing a counselor, psychologist, or spiritual director, then we highly recommend that they run this retreat by them in order to see if he or she thinks it is wise for them to attend at this time in their life. Remember, there will always be future opportunities.
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You can find a listing of local Catholic counselors at https://marriageandfamily.archindy.org/therapists. These professionals reside within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, but some offer virtual counseling as well, and hold licenses in the State of Indiana. Contact them directly for more information.
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Those seeking spiritual direction may send an email to [email protected]. These will be forwarded to a "Discernment Companion" who helps connect people to traind/formed Catholic spiritual directors, as a service of the Archdiocese of Indianpolis. The Discernment Companion will schedule a conversation to see if spiritual direciton is a good fit, gather the information needed to make a referral, and follow up with the names of a handful of possible spiritual directors within a week.
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Travel Info.
We welcome participants from outside the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, with the understanding that space is limited and preference may be given to participants within the Archdiocese of Indianapolis who will form our local chapter going forward.
For those flying into Indianapolis International Airport (IND), our retreat is a 30 min. drive from the airport. There are typically plenty of ride options (Taxi, Uber, Lyft, etc.)available from the airport.
If you are driving, free parking is available at Fatima Retreat House.
For those commuting from out of state, Indianapolis is a short day trip from the following cities:- Cincinnati, OH - 2 hrs.
- Columbus, OH - 3+ hrs.
- Steubenville, OH - 5 hrs.
- Louisville, KY - 2 hrs.
- Lexington, KY - 3 hrs.
- Bowling Green, KY - 3+ hrs.
- Nashville, TN - 4+ hrs.
- Chicago, IL - 3 hrs.
- Joliet, IL - 3 hrs.
- Peoria, IL - 3+ hrs.
- Springfield, IL - 3+ hrs.
- Lansing, MI - 3+ hrs.
- St. Louis, MO - 4 hrs.
Use our map below to plan your road trip! -
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About Life-Giving Wounds
Life-Giving Wounds offers unique opportunities for Catholic adults (18+) whose parents have divorced, separated, or left broken families, to reflect intentionally on the wounds caused by their family’s breakdown. They journey through their exprience acompanied by knowledgeable, compassionate leaders who are also predominatnly from families of divorced or separated parents. Together, they are led to an encounter with Christ who can transform their life-draining wounds into life-giving sources of faith, hope, love, and joy for themselves, their relationships, and the Church.
The Indianapolis Chapter of Life-Giving Wounds has a launch date of May 2024, beginning with a Life-Giving Wounds healing retreat in Indianapolis. Following the retreat, there will be opportunities for Support Groups and future retreats as the chapter leadership and participation grows.- To learn more about the national mission of Life-Giving Wounds and the resources they offer, visit https://www.lifegivingwounds.org/.
- You can also read this article about Life-Giving Wounds in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis newspaper, The Criterion.
- For information about the Indianapolis chapter of Life-Giving Wounds, contact Gabriela Ross in the Office of Marriage and Family Life at [email protected] or (317) 592-4007.
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