Undivided Hearts: Encountering Christ and Community
BY KATE TINIO
One person came because of a chance encounter at a bar—a familiar face from college, a conversation that turned to faith, and an unexpected invitation. Another stumbled across the retreat online, searching for “Catholic events near me” after years away from Church spaces. Someone else had been to every Undivided since it began, faithfully returning year after year to pray, reflect, and be renewed.
They all ended up at Prairie Star Ranch on the same weekend in March. Some expectant, others hesitant, some not knowing what to expect at all—but each drawn by something deeper. Over the course of the retreat, their paths converged in silence, community, the sacraments, and a shared desire to live with undivided hearts.
When the Encounter Team first gathered to pray and plan, they were drawn to a familiar framework in St. John Paul II’s vision of formation, drawn from his apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis. It outlines four pillars that shape the human person: human, intellectual, spiritual, and apostolic. Like rungs on a ladder, each one builds on the last, helping us ascend not by striving harder, but by becoming more fully who we’re made to be.
Holiness, after all, doesn’t just happen. It grows slowly, like grace building upon nature, as Aquinas reminds us.
Each talk over the weekend echoed this pattern. Topics moved deliberately from the interior life of prayer, to the freedom of detachment, to the steady pursuit of virtue, to the mystery of suffering embraced with Christ, ending with a call to action through discernment. Each step laid a foundation for the next. Since its conception, this retreat has never been about simply capturing hearts for a weekend, but about helping them find the way on the long road ahead.
In our post-retreat survey, retreatants shared how impactful the weekend had been. One said that they appreciated the impact of the retreat: “It brought me back to the basics of my faith and was able to reground me in the ability to suffer well, discern decisions, and be detached from things in my life.” Another committed to a consistent holy hour throughout Lent and, hopefully, beyond.
Carrie Miller was one of those retreatants. “God found me at the Undivided retreat during a time when I was seeking deeper community and rest, both mentally and spiritually,” she shared. “I found both of those things, tenfold, throughout the weekend.” Her experience, like so many others, was marked not only by the richness of the talks, but by the people she encountered. “I formed so many new relationships and have been blessed to gain lasting friendships after the retreat—I’m excited to grow deeper in faith alongside this community.”
For Amy Reinhardt, it was a simple listing in a weekly email that stirred something within. “When I saw Undivided appear in The Loop, I felt called to sign up. It had been years since I attended an overnight Catholic retreat.” She came partly for the nostalgia of returning to Prairie Star Ranch, but found so much more. “During the weekend, I established new friendships while deepening my trust in God. The speakers were captivating, and each small group discussion was enlightening. I loved hearing how God spoke to the others.”
What struck Amy most, though, was the rhythm of the retreat itself—the way it allowed space for both joy and contemplation. “The best part about Undivided is that it balances lively camaraderie and peaceful reflection; both are genuine gifts.”
Because ultimately, it wasn’t just the talks that made the weekend meaningful. It was what happened in between—the conversations over meals, the quiet in the chapel, the feeling of being known. It was, as Carrie put it, “a chance to disconnect from the busyness of day-to-day life and allow God to find you in the deepest parts of your heart, alongside a community of like-minded young adults on a journey to grow in faith.”
Not one of those young adults left Prairie Star Ranch quite the same. Some went home with new friends, others with clarity. Some left still wrestling with God, but now with the tools—and the friends—to wrestle well. The work of holiness didn’t end with the final prayer or the last shared meal. If anything, it had only just begun.
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