Adobe Stock
CV NEWS FEED // Courage International, a Catholic apostolate that ministers to those who experience same-sex attraction, will hold a weekend retreat in Southern California from November 15-17.
As CatholicVote previously reported, “Courage International was founded in 1980 to provide a community and resources for persons who struggle with same-sex attraction and want to live chaste lives according to Catholic Church teaching.”
According to the timeline featured on Courage’s website, in 1981, the members decided on the five goals of the apostolate: chastity, prayer and dedication, fellowship, support, and good example. Later that year, the apostolate was named Courage.
The upcoming retreat is for members of Courage as well as for members of EnCourage. The latter supports families and loved ones of those “who identify as LGBTQ,” according to Courage’s website.
A press release from Courage states that the retreat is an opportunity “to spend time in prayer and fellowship with Courage and EnCourage brothers and sisters as we nourish our minds, bodies, and souls with daily Mass, confessions, Holy Hours, the Liturgy of the Hours, and inspirational talks.”
Courage’s Associate Director Fr. Colin Blatchford, who will be a chaplain at the retreat, told CatholicVote in an email statement that “the retreat provides a place and time for them to enjoy solidarity with each other as they discern God’s will in their life and grow in holiness.”
He wrote that people usually report that the most powerful experience of the retreat is the realization that they are not alone. For these attendees, he wrote, “knowing that the Church has made a place for them and that they have brothers and sisters in the Lord who carry a similar burden, grants them the courage and fortitude to continue to respond to the call of the Lord to live lives of holiness.”
