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’.
Tomorrow, July 15, is the feast day of Saint Bonaventure, known as the "Seraphic Doctor" of the Church. We leave these inspiring quotes by St. Bonaventure to inspire you today... "Meditation on Christ in His humanity is corporeal in deed, in fact, but spiritual in mind. . . . By adopting this habit, you will steady your mind, be trained to virtues, and receive strength of soul....Let meditation of Christ's life be your one and only aim, your rest,…
Today, we have selected words by Merton and Teilhard that provide analogies in nature for God's love. Take a few moments today to step out into your corner of the world and see, hear and touch Creation. Can you sense God's love too? Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered…
As we welcome our guests of the "Images of God in Teilhard & Merton" retreat today, we leave this beautiful piece by Thomas Merton. It's a bit longer than our usual posts, but so poignant and certainly not meant to be abbreviated. We pray that these 'strangers' on retreat come together as a community of love during their week together. Merton’s Epiphany at Fourth & Walnut In Louisville, at the corner of Fourth and Walnut, in the center of the…
We're continuing with our series on Teilhard and Merton today as we look forward to the "Images of God in Teilhard and Merton" retreat that begins on Sunday. (You can click here to learn more about the retreat.) Patience can be so difficult, especially when seeking important answers. May this prayer by Teilhard ease some of your anxiety today. Patient Trust by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally…
As we perpare for Sr. Kathleen Duffy's "Images of God in Teilhard and Merton" retreat that begins this Sunday (click here to learn more), we will be sharing words of wisdom from both mystics. Fr. James Martin has said that this is "a prayer anyone can pray" so we hope that you will appreciate it here. “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know…
As we celebrate the 4th of July on Tuesday, we hope that you will take a quiet moment away from backyard barbeques and fireworks to pray with us. Let us lift our gratitude for this beautiful country and also pray for God's guidance as we take responsibility and care for the land and the people who call America home, as well as those who seek refuge here. May God bless the United States of America. God, source of all freedom,…
The poem/prayer below was shared by the Sisters of Bon Secours Associates ministry (click here to learn more) this week. We hope that it reassures you that God is listening today. Amen. GOD HEARS! More Hope... God hears. God hears our fancy, formal, memorized prayers, fingers slipping over beads. God hears our bitter, angry prayers. Why, God??? How??? What am I supposed to do now, God??? God hears our tiny, whispered pleas. Every single word. Please. Help. Be near. Or…
Today's blog comes from author and retreat presenter, Mary DeTurris Poust. Mary will be with us this fall for her inspiring "Be Here Now: Discovering the Divine in the Everyday" retreat, September 29 - October 1 (click here). She's sharing a recent article with us about a whisper from God while kneeling in church recently. What perspective does this give you? Shoes tell a story. A love story. Mary DeTurris Poust If eyes are the windows to the soul, I…
Summer is officially here! Guests are enjoying their summer retreats and everyone is always welcome to walk the beautiful grounds. Enjoy the sunshine and give thanks! Giving Thanks for Summer Father, Creator of all, thank You for summer! Thank you for the warmth of the sun and the increased daylight. Thank You for the beauty I see all around me and for the opportunity to be outside and enjoy Your creation. Thank You for the increased time I have to…
We have had a severe drought in Maryland over the last month or so. The rain this week has been such a blessing! We're thankful for how it is nourishing our dry grass, flowers, shrubs and trees. Our pond is in need of replenishment from the rainfall too, so we're hopeful that it will make an impact this week. The animals are sheltering, but we know that they are also grateful for the water resources that they need. Let's take…
