FERRIDAY — St. Patrick Church is hosting an ACTS retreat for men on Jan. 9-12 at Maryhill Renewal Center in Pineville, Louisiana.

“It’s a men’s ACTS retreat,” said Lance Theriot, who is directing the retreat. “It is a Catholic retreat but you don’t have to be Catholic to go on the retreat.”

ACTS is an acronym for Adoration, Community, Theology and Service, and different Catholic parishes host ACTS retreats throughout the year, said Theriot, who is a member of St. Joseph’s Parish in Marksville, Louisiana.

“This is our (St. Joseph’s) first mission retreat that we are doing and we are missioning St. Patrick Church, which is father John Pardue’s church in Ferriday,” Theriot said.

The retreat starts in the evening Thursday, Jan. 9, and ends at the 10 a.m. Sunday morning return Mass at St. Patrick church, Theriot said, adding he does not like to discuss specifics of the retreat because “everybody experiences different spiritual aspects while they are doing it.”

“I can tell you it is a lot of community gathering and there are different things that go on,” Theriot said. “We don’t say exactly what we do because we want people to go and experience it themselves.”

Theriot said participants would each have their own bedrooms and bathrooms.

“There is one big cafeteria where everybody goes and eats,” Theriot said. “There are three hot meals a day, coffee, cold drinks, water. There is everything that is needed or that they could want. The only thing the participants have to bring is their own shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, towels, washcloths and clothing. That is it. Everything else is provided.”

The cost of the retreat is $175 per person.

“People who should consider going are people who think they should go because they need it,” Theriot said. “If you actually need it, you deserve to go.”

Theriot said his first retreat was in 2015 and he has been participating ever since.

“I’m directing this one and there is a huge sense of peace over there at Maryhill and you can go and just sit down and listen to different people talk and there might be something that’s bothering you, something that you’re looking for,” Theriot said. “You might, through prayer and the peace of the Lord over there, be able to find that within you somewhere or just enjoy and just meet others.”

Theriot said his first experience helped him get to know his fellow church members.

“When I first went there were 10 other guys that I would see in church all the time and after the retreat we felt like we knew each other,” Theriot said. “It is just a good fellowship. There are a million different advantages to it. All the way around it is just a great experience.”

Anyone interested in attending can contact Theriot at 318-359-4923 or Pardue at 318-757-3834.