We begin with the sign of the cross, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Examine your conscience. (Take a few minutes. In silence, remember and feel sorry for your sins, and think of ways you will amend your life.)

Pray the Act of Contrition.

We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). Agape love comes from God, and it is unconditional and perfect. God summed up His commandments; to love Him completely and to love one another. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).

Agape is defined in 1 Corinthians (13:4-7) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

God gives us various gifts through the Holy Spirit. However, if our love for God and others does not supersede our giftedness, we become nothing. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast] but do not have love, I gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).

In this Holy Week, as we approach Good Friday, meditate on the great love God has for us, that He gave His life for us. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

To receive abundance of graces during this retreat, you can choose to do any of the following daily:

Attend the Holy Mass daily.

Pray the Rosary.

Pray the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.

Pray and meditate on the Way of the Cross.

Pray at least 15 minutes in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

Read the bible and mediate on scripture for at least 15 minutes.

Pray the Litany of Humility.

Invite others to join this retreat, as a family or as a group.

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