Welcome to the Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center’s blog! This blog will extend our retreat ministry by bringing prayers and reflections into your home ‘retreat’. Many of our presenters and staff share their homilies, favorite prayers and reflections through this medium. We encourage you to comment, pass it along to friends or simply take a moment to pray with us. We hope that this will serve as a moment during your day when you can ‘retreat with us’.
The Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center staff will celebrate the upcoming holidays with a Tree Lighting Ceremony tomorrow, Monday, November 18 - a little earlier than usual this year. Here's a touching story behind the 2024 Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, as well as a Christmas tree prayer from Catholic News Agency. God of all creation, we praise you for this tree which brings beauty and memories and the promise of life to our home. May your blessing be…
Lori and Robert Fontana began directing Catholic Life Ministries in 1991 with the help of friends from around the country who wanted to see the gift of their ministry continue in the Church. Find below Lori's words on the importance of choosing to live with gratitude and trust each day. "We don’t think it’s gonna happen to us. Mostly, I think we try to not think of IT at all. Aging. Dying. But it’s happening to each one of us.…
"And the sun took a step back, the leaves lulled themselves to sleep and Autumn was awakened." ~ Raquel Franco As Autumn settles in, take six minutes to appreciate the gift of this new day.
Retreat presenter Gordon Creamer returns to Bon Secours on Friday, November 8 from 12:00-3:30pm for his popular Lunch & Dialogue program. Below Gordon shares some details about what to expect at this retreat, and he also invites us into a spirit of gratitude. True thanking is to enjoy God. Gratitude is a true understanding of who we really are. With reverence and awe we turn ourselves around toward the work God leads us to do, enjoying and thanking with…
We are just ahead of the holiday season. It brings so much joy and so much anticipation. It also brings a full calendar, additional tasks on your to do list, special outfits and shoes, and a lot of stress. So before it gets too busy, take some time to learn about mindfulness and stress reduction through connection with God. Dr. Heather Alexander will be here November 19 to lead her (very popular) Mindfulness Retreat! After exploring the retreat, we encourage…
This weekend, Celtic teacher and author, John Philip Newell, is leading a sold out retreat at our Center. He and his colleague, Cami Twilling, are journeying with 70+ retreatants as they reawaken their awareness of what is sacred and that all things are sacred. John Philip and Cami travel the world teaching their course based on Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, one of Dr. Newell's books. We are delighted and honored to have them here with us! Today's blog post is…
Today's post is a prayer by Henri Nouwen. Nouwen is a well known Catholic priest, professor, author, and more. He is often looked to for reassuring and compassionate words of wisdom. Now, let's take a few moments of quiet to pray together... “Listen, O Lord, to my prayers. Listen to my desire to be with you, to dwell in your house, and to let my whole being be filled with your presence. But none of this is possible without you.…
We are in the midst of the Season of Creation, a time of year that Christians focus on caring for our earth through action and prayer. This is a worldwide and ecumenical celebration of the beauty of our world and a reminder of the utmost and urgent need to care for and protect it. We join the millions across the globe in this initiative and journey to and we invite you to join us! Seth Appiah-Kubi, National Director, A Rocha…
This week's post is a day early. Today is International Peace Day and as a ministry of the Sisters of Bon Secours, honoring this day is important to us. International Day of Peace was established by unanimous United Nations support. It began in 1981, setting out to unite people of the world in a commitment to peace. Today, we stand in support of building a culture of peace globally. Please join us in reading a prayer from Pope Francis: Lord…
If you are in the midst of a grief journey, you know that any time of year can be difficult. Before we know it, the holidays will be upon us, making things even more challenging. We have two grief retreats planned before Christmas and we invite you to join us. Links to both retreats can be found below the poem below. The poem was written by Jenifer Kirin, life coach and Bon Secours co-worker, who shares her thoughts about loss…
