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’.
This week's blog post is written by Sr. Sara Dwyer, a regular retreat presenter at the Center. She will be leading a week-long retreat in August and this post is a little snapshot of what the week will hold. You can learn more about the retreat and Sr. Sara by clicking HERE. Whispers of Grace I chose “Whispers of Grace” as the title for a weeklong retreat because that’s how I generally experience grace in my life. Grace is the…
A few weeks ago, Mary DeTurris Poust led a weekend retreat and our Center. It was a really refreshing and delightful weekend. It was a group of amazing women...an a special guest! Below is a reflection of her extra loud visit here and the deep lessons realized through the noise! To read more of Mary's work (and view the Mary Oliver poem she references), visit her webpage and the original blog post by clicking here. When I first saw…
We are going into our archives for today's Mother's Day blog. From 2023... Today, we celebrate all of the mothers in our lives...those who birthed us and those who guide us as mother figures. We hope that our readers who take on these roles are thanked and loved today! For those missing a special mom, may you feel the peace of Jesus as you relive cherished memories today. To Mother You painted no Madonnas On chapel walls in Rome, But…
Today's blog is brought to us by Brent Anderson, a new (to us) retreat presenter. Brent will be leading From Conflict to Connection: Contemplative Practices that Heal Families & Organizations June 14 to 16 at our Center. His blog is a brief sample of what our guests can expect to gain from his weekend retreat. You can register for the retreat by clicking HERE. **Additionally, please note that as of May 1, our blog will be posted once a week on…
We've mentioned before the wonderful book published by Nature Sacred, Bench Talk: Wisdoms Inspired by Nature, the wonderful collection of reflections from sacred spaces across the country. Nature Sacred installed our labyrinth in 1999 and has lovingly built over 100 green spaces to encourage people to find peace, tranquility, and well-being in the midst of busy lives. Each sacred space has a blank notebook, where visitors can leave their reflections and thoughts. Last year, Nature Sacred created a book sharing some…
Robert and Lori Fontana have been in Christian Marriage Ministry since the early 1990s. Robert contributed today's blog post about the importance of intentionally working on marriages to help them thrive! Marriage Can Be a Foretaste of Heaven…or Hell The Scriptures are clear: Heaven begins this side of heaven. Paul writes, “So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor 5:17) John writes, “See what love the…
In celebration and honor of Earth Day, join us in a prayer from Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si': All-powerful God, you are present in the whole universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one. O God of the poor, help us…
The Sisters of Bon Secours have many ministries. One of which is the Justice, Peace and Integrity for Creation Ministry, or JPIC. Below is a note from our Director of JPIC, USA, Simone Blanchard about a special month-long scavenger hunt: The JPIC USA Team invites you to celebrate creation with us this spring. Starting on Earth Day and concluding at the end of Laudato Si' week in May, we will slow down to enjoy nature, showing reverent curiosity for the non-human…
Today's blog is from Andrea Springer, one of our regular retreat presenters and blog contributors. Andrea is leading our Embracing Balance retreat Friday, May 3 through Sunday, May 5. If this blog resonates with you then you will love the retreat! Life is a Teeter Totter The image of a teeter totter keeps coming to mind. Fond childhood memories of the up and down, the freedom of the rise and the landing with feet touching the ground. And then, there is…
Today we present thoughts on listening and mindfulness from Jenifer Kirin, a certified life coach who is also a Bon Secours co-worker. This structured post begins with a poem about listening, followed by a discussion, and lastly, information on how to take action by engaging in an event related to the topic. POEM On Listening There is a power in the listening, in getting past the thoughts we want to speak: to share our similar experience, to express compassion and…
