Come After Me

A personal sharing featuring the Petros Community

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” These words spoken by our Lord in Matthew’s gospel are as relevant now as they were 2,000 years ago. This past April, retreatants on the Petros annual retreat were among the most recent to be challenged by these words and called to respond. The theme of the retreat, “Come After Me”, led by Chris Costa and Mary-Joe Stephan, took a deep dive into what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ, the cost and reward of discipleship, and how to live out discipleship in our daily lives. Though this may seem like a daunting task for one weekend, the reality is that the Petros community and outreach has been preparing for this moment since September. The Petros outreach is fueled by two recurring gatherings, First Friday Adoration and Foundation Night, the latter being the main source of formation for the outreach. This year’s Foundation Night theme was the “Life in the Spirit” where each month our outreach would hear a teaching from a different Life in the Spirit seminar.

During our First Foundation Night of the year, one of the Petros community members called each person to commit to this series and watch the Holy Spirit change their life; and many men and women answered that call. Each Foundation Night was filled with roughly 70 men and women eagerly learning about the Christian message of salvation and the new life offered in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The pinnacle of this series came during the Baptism of the Spirit where roughly the same number of men and women gathered on a Sunday afternoon in February to receive the outpouring of the Spirit and the good gifts He wants to give them. This “New Pentecost” in our community continued throughout the following months with those not in attendance that Sunday asking to be prayed over after Foundation Nights, at share groups, and whenever they had the opportunity. The Spirit was reawakened and it was now time to respond together on retreat as a community filled with the Spirit.

"As our Easter season comes to a close, the “Great Commission” of Christ rings louder than ever in the Petros community"

What made this retreat so special compared to previous Petros retreats is that this was a culmination of a journey which started in September. Unlike retreats where people come out of the woodwork hopping from retreat to retreat getting their spiritual fill, the 75 men and women on this year’s Petros retreat almost entirely consisted of those who attended the monthly Foundation Night, this was truly a fruit of commitment. As our Easter season comes to a close, the “Great Commission” of Christ rings louder than ever in the Petros community “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”. Our journey did not end in April but began an awakening of new disciples in the church longing to grow in number. “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful and kindle in them the fire of Your love. Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.” - Daniel Chedid, Petros Community Member

This article is the continuation of a new bulletin series which will seek to highlight the many ministries and communities around the world which we are blessed to call friends.

If you are interested in learning more about the vibrant Petros community visit their page at stpeternewbrunswick.org/young-adults Some photos from the Petros Retreat this past April