Okay, I really am a little on the outside here. I attended the first Sursum Corda event, and I was blessed again by being able to attend the second summer Sursum Corda camp. But I am not one of those who are blessed enough to have the Institute of Christ the King in my area, although I am very thankful for the priests and parishes in my area who offer the Traditional Latin Mass. I really feel that there is a need everywhere to have some way for young adults to get together, like Sursum Corda offers us. I know many of you have done different events in your parishes, so I am curious. What is Sursum Corda? What does it mean? What do you do? Naturally, I have my own ideas of what I would like it to be, but I realize that I can’t change what it is...unless perhaps there isn’t a concrete definition of what it is yet? Please share!
God Bless,
Rachel
Sursum Corda in St. Louis is really composed of three different things which gives us the opportunity to grow spiritually: The opportunity for Spiritual Direction (through talks/conferences/discussions with a Canon of the Institute- always a blessing), The opportunity to have special time with Our Lord (through Mass/Benediction/prayer), and the opportunity to share and grow in our faith with good, catholic friends. We do a lot of fun things. We've gone ice skating, toured beautiful churches, had a game night, and just had the opportunity to talk with each other.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely different in different areas and with different Canons. Several of us have joined Chicago's Sursum Corda retreats, which have had a slightly different air to them (Canon Talarico likes to have LOTS of discussions :D). They have also been very "public" with their group; ex. they pray the Rosary in front of the local abortion clinic.
To me, Sursum Corda is a breath of fresh air. It is the only place where I can truly relax with other people. I don't have to worry about offensive subjects or tiptoeing around religious topics. With my fellow Sursum Corda friends, I can actually have conversations which support me in my faith and help me understand things I need to work on. Canon Hellmann's talk about friendship this year really hit the core of what Sursum Corda is all about. Catholic friendship is so vital to lift each other up on the path to sainthood.
P.S. Freckles still = Nikki Benjamin, :D. I've got to figure out how to change that.
Thanks, Nikki! And don't worry about the "Freckles" - It's safer online, anyhow. That's why I'm always "Rae."
DeleteI wish I lived closer to you! I'll be starting from scratch here. On our way home from Milwaukee, we were trying to come up with a symbol for Sursum Corda. I think it was Jill who suggested the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts entwined on top, with a third heart representing our hearts connected to the bottom of the two. I thought later of adding a five petaled rose to symbolize friendship, prayer, Spiritual Direction/Catechesis, Service, and Evangelization. Does that sound like Sursum Corda?
I agree that Sursum Corda really is a place to relax and be yourself - whether that is silly or serious, and usually a lot of both. It's so easy, I think, to forget who you really are, because we are so often surrounded by people who don't understand and don't agree with what is really important. We still have to associate with those people, and we really do want to bring them to the truth, but when you don't have the support and the backup and the knowledge that you aren't alone among men after all, it becomes so much harder.
That symbol would be so cool (at least, my imagination thinks it would be)! I love that idea and I think it represents Sursum Corda very well! I don't want to start making the image messy, but what if you also took the Institute's shield and put it in the middle of the heart? I know a lot of people that come aren't actually affiliated with the Institute, but the Institute's spirituality is also a big part of Sursum Corda (at least for us STL folks). I'm not 100% sure it would work with the petals (which I really like as well), so feel free to disregard it.
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