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’.
Valentine's Day is just a few days away. It's a special day to celebrate love and share it with others. Named after the many myths surrounding St. Valentine, the common theme is one of love and devotion. Many now refer to the day as a "Hallmark Holiday" yet why not use it as an excuse to share your appreciation for loved ones? Here are a few quotes, poems and a prayer that you may want to share with someone. Love…
Retreat presenter, Fr. Michael Schleupner, offers today's post and he continues his series on 'Spiritual Wellness'. Let's take a few quiet moments to read his thoughts about the importance of how we care for others and that relationship with our own spiritual wellness. Spiritual Wellness - 6 Look Beyond Yourself Dear Friends, We can say that we are to look beyond ourselves because that is what God has told us to do. We can say that we are to be…
The guests of our retreats are not the only ones who are blessed by the care and wisdom of our presenters. Working with these presenters, the staff of our Center often receive unexpected blessings from these spiritual guides too. Sr. Ann Belmonte is always so intentional about her gratitude for being able to guide our of directed retreats. She left a beautiful scroll with this blessing on it for a few of our staff members after her Winter Directed Retreat.…
Fr. Michael Schleupner offers another post in his spiritual wellness series today. Seeing ourselves just as we are can be tough, but he urges us to value the importance for our journey to spiritual wellness. Let's take a few moments to prayerfully consider his insights. Spiritual Wellness - 5 See Yourself as You Are Dear Friends, An essential ingredient of spiritual wellness is that we see ourselves as we really are. I am thinking about two dimensions of this. First,…
Wednesday, February 1st, was the Feast Day of Saint Brigid of Kildare. She is the patroness saint of Ireland and of poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. Traditionally, it is a day of weaving Brigid's crosses to honor her. Learn more about St. Brigid by clicking here. We can learn so much from the her example! Please pray with us. Brigid You were a woman of peace. You brought harmony where there was conflict. You brought light…
This month, we celebrate Black History Month. Let's take a moment to prayerfully reflect on how we can shine a light on the many contributions of those who were pushed to the shadows in the past. May God teach all of us to see the humanity in everyone and advocate for justice. Prayer for Black History Month Spirit of Abundance, God of Grace, Mother of Hope, We pause now to remember those stories that are all around us, But so…
Fr. Michael Schleupner, frequent retreat presenter at our Center, offers the 4th reflection in his series about Spiritual Wellness. It provides insight into how we communicate with God about all of our feelings, which leads to healing. How do you make time for the "inner life"? Spiritual Wellness - 4 Live An Inner Life Dear Friends, Few, if any of us need to be reminded to live an “outer life.” Most of the time, we are outer-focused – interacting with…
Winter in all of Our Lives There is a winter in all of our lives, a chill and darkness that makes us yearn for days that have gone or put our hope in days yet to be. Father God, you created seasons for a purpose. Spring is full of expectation buds breaking frosts abating and an awakening of creation before the first days of summer. Now the sun gives warmth and comfort to our lives reviving aching joints bringing colour,…
Fr. Michael Schleupner continues his series on spiritual wellness today and focuses on prayer. Do you have a favorite method of prayer? If so, please comment and share. Are you seeking a new way to pray? There are several suggestions below. Spiritual Wellness - 3 Make Time to Pray Dear Friends, Maybe it sounds obvious or even trite, but it is important to state this. Spiritual wellness must include some time to pray. For the overwhelming majority of us, this…
We continue Fr. Michael Schleupner's series on spiritual wellness today with gratitude for his willingness to share with our blog audience! We hope that this reflection reinforces the knowledge that YOU are a child of God and provides inspiration for spiritual wellness today. Spiritual Wellness - 2 See Yourself As Beloved Dear Friends, Last week I began this series on Spiritual Wellness with the importance of staying centered on Christ. That, I believe, must come first - there is no…
