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’.
During our staff planning meeting this week, Rainey Taylor, Sales Manager, shared this beautiful reflection from Joyce Rupp's "Anchors for the Soul". As our July Directed Retreat finishes up tomorrow, we hope that this has been a special week of Sabbath Time for the guests. Maybe this reflection will inspire your quiet time at home, work or outdoors too? Sabbath Time The only sounds breaking the immense quiet are crickets humming and the first yawns of robins and cardinals. My…
Today's post is a repeat from 2020, but we wanted to re-share this relaxing music video that showcases beautiful images of God's creation. You'll notice that the images repeat after the first sequence. What can you notice within the same image when viewing it a second or third time? Taking a few moments to relax and connect with nature, even via technology, can provide a calming effect that lasts throughout our day. Be still. “Who covers the heaven with clouds,…
Grace The torrential rains drenching our earth Pelting from the shrouded sky Enfolding our days in sorrowful grays We could weep, but for the flourish of life revealed Grace The fierce winds gusting our earth Churning wide from the swirling air Shaking our days in fearful frays We could tremble, but for the sweep of fresh air imbued Grace The fiery sun bearing down on our earth Blasting hot light from its blazing sphere Scorching our days with merciless rays…
Today, we continue on the Good Samaritan theme from Sunday, sharing Fr. Michael Schleupner's homily. Let's read about a modern day example that can inspire each of us to do our part in the world. NODA Last December, the Washington Post Magazine carried an article that I find very inspiring: One night several years ago, nurse Sandra Clarke was making her rounds at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Eugene, Oregon. An elderly, frail patient made a request. His organs were…
Today's Gospel lesson comes from Luke 10:25-37, the familiar lesson of the Good Samaritan. What can you draw from the modern poem that we're sharing, based on this passage from Scripture? Where have you seen injustice? How are you helping those in need? How does the poem paint a picture of Jesus as the Good Samaritan for you? Share with us! We'd love to learn more from you. The Good Samaritan How kind the good Samaritan To him who fell…
As we look forward to welcoming our 8-Day Ignatian Directed Retreat guests on Saturday, we thought it would be nice to share some of the gifts from St. Ignatius with you over the next few blogs. We found this beautiful video to accompany The Daily Examen Prayer. Let's unwind and focus on words that St. Ignatius shared so long ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVItxNMrNnw
Today's post is a homily that Fr. Michael Schleupner shared on Sunday and we think it's a perfect fit for our blog today. We're also looking forward to welcoming Fr. Michael back to the Center in a few weeks for our July Directed Retreat, where he will be personally leading a small group of retreat guests on their spiritual journey. Let's reflect on his insights from Scripture that can be applied in three steps within on our own journeys. A…
Living Life as a Spiritual Pilgrimage by Linda Mastro and Amy Kulesa “If we truly want to know the secret of soulful travel, we need to believe that there is something sacred waiting to be discovered in virtually every journey.” ~ Phil Cousineau in The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred A pilgrimage - whether to a sacred site on the other side of the world or into your heart - invites you to an experience…
Summer is upon us and the grounds around the Retreat & Conference Center are bursting with color! We are so grateful for the beautiful creation God has given us during this season of longer days. Will you take a few quiet moments to pray this summer prayer with us? Breath of Summer Creator God who breathed this world into being, who is discernible within the harmony of nature, the perfection of a butterfly's wing, the grandeur of a mountain…
We are thrilled to welcome back spiritual author Paula D'Arcy, who has been leading a writing retreat at our Center this week. During this sold-out retreat, Paula is guiding our guests in writing, refining a tool to deepen their spirituality. So, today we reflect on a some of her words and invite you to continue this meditation by visiting the monthly reflection page on her website too. "How you approach something determines what you will see." "Truth has to fall…
