THE BLOG OF THE BON SECOURS RETREAT & CONFERENCE CENTER
Retreat with Us
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’.
Debra Pettus, Program Coordinator of Marketing & Events at the Retreat & Conference Center, shared today's reflection in a recent staff meeting and we all enjoyed going around the table to share our three gratitude highlights! Debra can often be found spreading her contagious joy around the building, so it's no surprise that gratitude is key to her positivity! Gratitude is a small thing that can benefit you and others in a big way. Expressing gratitude is associated with…
Retreat presenter, Sharon Scibek will lead today's "From Age-ing to Sage-ing" retreat. She'll share resources and techniques to help participants embrace their journey and wisdom gained. What can you do today to embrace the aging process? We leave this wise quote by Henri Nouwen to guide your own journey with hope and expectancy. Waiting patiently in expectation does not necessarily get easier as we become older. On the contrary, as we grow in age we are tempted to settle…
Our 8-day Ignatian Directed Retreat guests arrived on Saturday and they are enjoying a week of quiet and daily spiritual direction, so we're sharing a few of our favorite quotes by St. Ignatius today. Please keep these retreat guests in your prayers as they seek to hear God's voice in the stillness this week. “Try to keep your soul always in peace and quiet, always ready for whatever our Lord may wish to work in you. It is certainly a…
Today's post comes from Jen Murphy, Manager of Marketing & Events at the Center. In addition to general marketing duties, Jen prepares the schedule of retreats that are open to the public and she invites you to browse through our current offerings here! Let's read about how Jen was inspired by this poem below. As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky and water bears them, as hawks rest upon air and air sustains them, so would I learn…
Retreat presenter Mickey Reed will be leading guests on a weekend Boundless Compassion retreat, beginning today at the Center. This retreat program, developed by Sr. Joyce Rupp, fosters a transformative way of life for participants! Please pray for our guests as they do this important work. Each of us can make a big difference in our world today when we show compassion! The Body of Compassion "I pray to be the face of compassion – that those who come within…
Today's blog comes from Sales Manager, Tara Mulder. She works with groups who are making reservations to use our facilities and enjoy delicious meals during their stay! Tara also cherishes time outside of work when she can use her artistic gifts to create beautiful pieces on canvas! Take a few moments to read her insights about how true rest can benefit her creativity. How do you truly relax and rest? The Productivity of Rest Most of the things we need…
We are thrilled to welcome back retreat presenter, Sr. Mary Ellen O'Dea, for a week-long women's retreat today! Her "Live Boldly - Seek Truth - Ask Questions" retreat will focus on Eve and Sheba and pull lessons for this gathering of women. We ask that you hold them all in prayer for this special week of spiritual insights. Strength comes from seeing: the eye that fiercely holds the mark so arrow surely follows. Do not be deterred! And when…
We recently received a request from a guest who hoped to have a pondside lodging room during her stay so that she could hear the frogs/toads in the evening. The "song" of these animals are soothing to her and she really enjoys this part of her retreat experience! Do you enjoy the sounds of nature in the summer? What soothes you? Earth mother teach me of my kin, Of Hawk and dove and flower, Of blinding sunlight, shady knoll,…
Although sunshine is something that immediately comes to mind when reflecting about the blessings of summer, rainshowers may also come to mind. Not only is rain crucial to summer crops and flowers, rivers and many other areas of creation, summer rainshowers can be soothing and meditative. So, today we share this analogy to call for the Spririt to connect with us. Take a few moments to pray with us and then sit with the short video. Listen to the rain…
Many of our guests return to the Center each summer for an annual silent retreat. We currently have 25 guests checking in today for a 7-Day Directed Retreat There are individuals who are dedicated to this practice of setting aside a week each year to disconnect from their daily norm and to reconnect to what lies under the surface, tuning into God's voice by 'listening with the ear of our hearts'. If you can't find the time to come out…
