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’.
Today we share this beautiful prayer as many are beginning a new school year. Let's pray that students and teachers will feel the arms of Jesus around them during this time of transition. Let us pray that they will be able to let any anxiety go, sensing the peace that only the Spirit can offer. A Prayer for Our Students I pray for: Strength - that God gives them the strength to do what they need to do each day.…
Fr. Michael Schleupner, a favorite retreat presenter and spiritual director at our Center, offered the follow as a homily last Sunday. Let's see what we can learn from his insight about small talk and humility. On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the…
We recently discovered this relaxing 10 minute video meditation. It offers beautiful images, Scripture and prayers and it a lovely way to set aside a moment of centering and quiet peace during the day. Will you take 10 minutes to welcome the peace of Jesus today? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtcg7bKEVew
Today is the Feast of St. Augustine of Hippo. "Augustine is recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church and the patron of the Augustinians. His memorial is celebrated on 28 August, the day of his death. Augustine is the patron saint of brewers, printers, theologians, and a number of cities and dioceses" (Catholic.org). There are so many examples to take from…
In honor of the birthday of Mother Teresa (Aug. 26, 1910), we share some of her inspiring quotes for peace and close with a beautiful prayer that she wrote. We're so grateful for these words she left for us to learn from. May we be able to remember the love of Jesus with all we encounter. "The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is…
Rev. Stephen Wade served as a spiritual director on our August Directed Retreat last week. He often offers insightful resources to his directees as they are unpacking their spiritual journey. Today, he shares one of these powerful resources with us. Comment and let us know if it spoke to you. Authentic faith is more than an echo of a tradition. It is a creative situation, an event. For God is not always silent, and man is not always blind. In…
As the sun rises, Lord, Let your light shine on me. Destroy the darkness about me, Scatter the darkness before me, Disperse the darkness behind me, Dispel the darkness within me. Let your light shine on me. As the sun rises, Lord, Let your light shine on me. The warmth of your Presence, The brightness of your love, The radiance of your joy, The shining of your hope. Let your light shine on me. As the sun rises, Lord, Let…
During this last silent retreat of the summer, we share a reflection from Fr. Ron Rolheiser about the power of stillness. May you find stillness today as the summer begins to wind down. A Prayer for Stillness – Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI Be still and know that I am God. Scripture assures us that if we are still we will come to know God, but arriving at stillness is easier said than done. As Blaise Pascal once stated, “All the…
Today's post is another insightful homily by Fr. Michael Schleupner, based on lessons from Scripture and Mother Teresa. Fr. Michael returns to the Center today to serve as a spiritual director on our August Directed Retreat and we're thrilled to have him! Please hold our spiritual directors and guests in prayer as they journey through their own faith and trust this week. May this reading and post enrich your trust in God too. Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization…
How do you show that you care by listening? Share with us. Just Listen I suspect that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention. And especially if it is given from the heart. When people are talking, there is no need to do anything but receive them. Just take them in. Listen to what they are saying. Care…
