TCU’s Catholic ministry is planning a three-day retreat in Dallas to help some students learn more about their Christian faith.
Rev. James A. Wilcox, Catholic chaplain at TCU, said the Horned Frog Awakening retreat is a turning point in many people’s lives.
The Awakening, which will take place Oct. 14-16, provides people with an opportunity to deepen their spiritual beliefs, Wilcox said.
“[Awakening] is based on the retreat that’s done throughout the country on college campuses,” Wilcox said. “It is an awakening to your faith. People come to college with a good faith that a lot of times is bound in their parents and grandparents, so Awakening does what all college students should do and helps to make their faith their own.”
Students who participate in Awakening are then able to be a staff member for future Awakening retreats anywhere in the country.
Though the semi-annual weekend, filled with “uplifting days, high energy and great prayer,” is a Catholic retreat, students of any denomination are welcome.
“Anybody can go on the retreat,” Wilcox said. “Non-Catholics have gone on the retreat. People will experience things like Mass and Eucharistic adoration. If you’re not Catholic that may be a bit different to you, but I think even for people who are not Catholic who have gone on the retreat, it’s been great.”
For many students, it’s these opportunities that make the Horned Frog Awakening unique and special.
“It’s this level of connectivity between not only TCU students that have embarked on Awakening together but also the Catholic church as a whole that puts Awakening in its own league,” said Lindsey Elliot, a junior mechanical engineering and mathematics double major.
Composed of Catholic elements such as prayers, adoration and opportunities for the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, the Awakening helps students understand that Catholicism is universal, according to the Catholic ministry’s website.
“To be Catholic here in Fort Worth is exactly like being Catholic in Kenya or in Italy,” Wilcox said. “So it’s kind of cool.”
For more information please contact [email protected] or [email protected], or register for the retreat on the Catholic ministry’s website.
There is a fee of $40 per person. Carpools will be available.
