Returning Catholics FAQs: Gone Retreating

On Mondays, I answer questions frequently asked by those considering a return to the Catholic Church. How do I know this stuff? I was away for more than 30 years myself, and am the co-author of When They Come Home: Ways to Welcome Returning Catholics , a book for pastors and parish leaders interested in this ministry.

It’s my first Christmas back, and the parish bulletin has information about an “Advent retreat,” but it’s just a couple of hours each week between now and Christmas. How can that...