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.’
Whether you're enjoying this Christmas with family and friends, at a church service, at work, alone baking, writing out cards or quietly meditating on scripture, we hope that it is a time of rich spiritual blessings. The staff of the Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center wishes you the joy of Christmas and the peace that can only come from knowing that our Savior is born! Joy of Discovery The joy of discovery that moment when hope and expectation were…
Today we share a beautiful video meditation by James Finley that was created a few years ago. He reminds us to make room for Jesus' arrival, so we've included the prayer below that you may want to use before or after watching the video too. So, let's take a few moments away from the hustle and bustle of the season to focus on what's most important, preparing for the birth of Jesus in our hearts. A Christmas Invitation Come, come,…
If you look for me at Christmas, You won't need a special star. I'm no longer just in Bethlehem, I'm right there where you are. You may not be aware of me Amid the celebrations. You'll have to look beyond the stores And all the decorations. But if you take a moment From your list of things to do And listen to your heart, you'll find I'm waiting there for you. You're the one I want to be with, You're…
On this third Sunday of Advent, we wish you joy in knowing the the birth of Jesus is near! ..See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you. ~Matt. 10:11 I lift my heart up to you, Lord, to thank you for the blessings you shower on me each day. You are the 'joy of my soul.' I know that in your great love, I am held and protected by you. I pray…
Here’s an Advent illustration for kids — and those of us who used to be kids and remember what it was like. Suppose you and your mom get separated in the grocery store, and you start to get scared and panic and don’t know which way to go, and you run to the end of an aisle, and just before you start to cry, you see a shadow on the floor at the end of the aisle that looks just…
Advent by Thomas Merton Charm with your stainlessness these winter nights, Skies, and be perfect! Fly vivider in the fiery dark, you quiet meteors, And disappear. You moon, be low to go down, This is your full! The four white roads make off in silence Towards the four parts of the starry universe. Time falls like manna at the corners of the wintry earth. We have become more humble than the rocks, More wakeful than the patient hills. Charm with…
On this 2nd Sunday of Advent, we reflect on peace. We hope and pray for the peace of Jesus to be around us and all around the world. Will you pray with us? Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. ~Matthew 3:3 Advent Prayer for Peace Jesus, Prince of Peace, banish from our souls whatever might endanger peace. Transform us into witnesses of truth, justice and love. Enlighten the minds of rulers that they may care for…
Today we are sharing a reflection from a previous Advent retreat with Sr. Bernie Claps. We hope that it inspires you as you prepare to receive blessings from the Spirit this Advent. (If you'd like to learn more about this year's Advent Day of Prayer on the 14th, please click here.) On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon…
On this first Sunday of Advent, we focus on hope and offer two prayers below as you begin this special season of expectation. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come. ~Matthew 24:44 Advent Prayer Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do and seek quiet spaces to hear…
Andrea Springer will be presenting, "Mary, Our Mellowness of Heart", beginning tonight with an evening prayer service for those who are staying overnight and a full day retreat tomorrow. As we are on the cusp of the Advent season, this time of reflection on Mary can provide powerful inspiration about her life and how it relates to us today. Elizabeth Johnson writes, “…this woman empowered by Holy Wisdom, challenges, consoles, and sparks hope in present-day…” In trial or difficulty I…
