Retreatants encounter Christ’s healing presence at Pacem in Terris

People from all over the country come to Pacem in Terris Hermitage Retreat Center in Isanti to find peace and quiet and be alone with God.

But in late August, the center hosted a “Healing the Whole Person” retreat for a group of 51 people — not the usual Pacem experience.

“People come to Pacem for a variety of reasons, but we know that many come to spend time with Christ for healing,” said Tim Drake, executive director. “So, when the organizers reached out to us about hosting a Healing the Whole Person retreat, it made great sense.”

August is a slower time for the popular locale, so they were able to accommodate the group for the three-day retreat.

“Even though it’s outside the norm for Pacem — people typically come to be alone with God — the group not only filled every space we have, but also welcomed many commuters each day,” Drake added.

Last year, Janice Wuebkers, who works as the business manager for St. Anthony, Holy Spirit and Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud, attended a Healing the Whole Person retreat at the NET Center in St. Paul that was put on by the John Paul II Healing Center, a Tallahassee, Florida-based ministry dedicated to spiritual and emotional healing.

She was so moved by the program that she put together a committee to help bring the retreat’s content to the Diocese of St. Cloud.

“It was unlike anything I have ever experienced before, and I knew the St. Cloud Diocese needed the healing that this retreat offers,” she said.

Parishioners from five ACCs have worked together on the committee, planning local retreats and preparing to host a future in-person event in the diocese with the John Paul II Healing Center, including the one held at Pacem in Terris in August.

“We submitted the request to the John Paul II Healing Center for an in-person event, and they gave us things to work on in the meantime,” Wuebkers added. “One of those things is to lay the groundwork of healing.”

The Pacem in Terris retreat was the group’s fourth, and the first one with an overnight option, making it possible for participants to concentrate on healing away from distractions.

“To retreat is to leave everyday life behind,” said Father Peter VanderWeyst, pastor of pastor of Isanti Area Catholic Community. “When a setting like Pacem is chosen, it naturally helps people leave the distractions of life behind. Sometimes we physically need to travel in order to prepare our minds and hearts for what God is about to do.”

To have the ability to stay and take in the material, prolonging the encounter with God and themselves was what organizers wanted for each person.

“Pacem gave us a way to do that,” said Kimberly Hansen, a member of St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish, who co-facilitated the retreat with Wuebkers.

“Our Lord asks to come into our most sacred spaces — the wounds, the fears and anxieties of our hearts and minds,” she said. “This encounter with Him is what is facilitated in these retreats and book studies. Love does heal.”

Among those attending was Lois Stelten, a member of the Together as One ACC in St. Cloud.

“We all carry wounds from our life experiences and desperately need healing for those wounds; the kind of healing only Jesus can give,” she said.

For Stelten, that need for healing became especially real after the death of her husband of 42 years.

“Losing Ken, losing a love so deep, changed everything for me,” she said.

Earlier this year, Stelten attended the Healing the Whole Person video series offered at Christ Church Newman Center. The material presented in the videos, featuring Bob Schuchts and Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Sister Miriam James Heidland from the John Paul II Center, deeply resonated with her.

“I was overwhelmed by the depth of information they shared,” Stelten said. “I was hungry for more. I desired healing.”

Wanting to continue that journey, she joined a weekly study group offered at Christ Church Newman Center in St. Cloud. The group used “Be Healed,” by Schuchts as the foundation for prayer, reflection and discussion.

Through the study group she learned about the retreat at Pacem in Terris using the same materials.

“I knew I needed to be there to take the information in even more deeply,” she said.

For Stelten, the highlight of the retreat for her was sharing with her small group.

“To know that I was seen, heard and understood was pure blessing,” she added. “Each person in our group had their own life story but each story was similar, in that we all desired to be healed from the untruths we believed about ourselves as a result of our life experiences.”

Based on the teachings of St. John Paul II, the Healing the Whole Person retreat seeks to help participants experience restoration and healing while deepening their relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Through the videos, small group conversations and the peaceful quiet of Pacem, the Holy Spirit revealed to me the unforgiveness I held toward Ken, myself and God.”

She described this new awareness as incredibly shocking, causing deep emotional pain and shame.

“I took this to the sacrament of reconciliation and I was able to forgive, release and receive the grace to see myself as a beloved, cherished daughter of God,” she said.

Healing retreats and other programming help us to take a deeper dive as we enter into the loving presence of God, reflect on our lives, acknowledge our brokenness and the hurts we have caused others, Father Vanderweyst said.

“We can do this as part of our everyday lives, but sometimes we need to set things aside and truly enter into a space where our hearts can be open so that God can do the deeper work of healing,” he said.

While the primary mission of Pacem in Terris is to provide a place of silence, prayer and solitude through its hermitage retreats, Drake said the staff remains open to opportunities for group retreats that complement that mission.

“We remain open to where the Holy Spirit is leading,” Drake said.

While some seasons are too busy to accommodate larger groups, he said future healing retreats are possible as long as they respect the ministry’s purpose and fit within its schedule.

“I am grateful to have had this experience in the peaceful quiet of Pacem in Terris and will look for future opportunities for continued growth and healing as well as encouraging others to do the same,” Stelten said.

“I discovered that I am never alone and that Jesus has been walking with me through every moment of my loss,” she added. “The hidden unforgiveness was blocking me from fully allowing myself to be loved. I now believe that God can take my deepest sorrow and use it to bring me even closer to Him.”

Healing the Whole Person retreats will be held in Bowlus Oct. 23, 24, and 25 and Alexandria Dec. 4, 5 and 6. Visit Healingstcloud.org for registration information and future retreat schedules.

For information about Pacem in Terris, visit Paceminterris.org.

Pictured above: Reatreatants pray during Mass, part of the Healing the Whole Person retreat at Pacem in Terris Hermitage Retreat Center in Isanti Aug. 27. (Dianne Towalski / The Central Minnesota Catholic)