January 21, 2009

Families ring in the new year at St. Malo

It wasn’t your usual new year’s celebration. Twenty-five families headed up Highway 7 to Allenspark, Colo., to celebrate the sixth annual Family New Year’s Retreat at St. Malo Retreat Center Dec. 31-Jan. 2.

Instead of tossing streamers, drinking too many alcoholic beverages and kissing the person located closest you, at the stroke of midnight 125 people, including 95 children, gathered for a family prayer around the oversized fireplace at St. Malo.

Activities for the retreat included daily Mass in St. Catherine’s Chapel, a family rosary, a talent show for children, a midnight hike for teens and adults, ice skating on the pond, and sledding down the base of Mount Meeker with Petrus, the Bernese mountain dog.

During the three-day retreat, two talks were given to the parents by Father Daniel Cardo, St. Malo chaplain, and Jose Ambrozic, director of the center. Meanwhile, the children were separated by age for discussion groups. During one of the discussion groups, 22 children, ranging in age from 3 to 7, marched in a straight line to the indoor chapel and spent 15 minutes in silence learning how to talk and listen to Jesus.

By the end of the retreat, families from North Carolina, Nebraska and Colorado, some of whom hadn’t met before, had developed friendships.  Many said they were excited at the prospect of reuniting at next year’s retreat.

St. Malo Retreat Center welcomes individual, family and group retreats and religious conferences. To learn more, visit online at saintmalo.org or call 303-747-0201.