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 Pope Francis' Prayer for Peace. As we approach the two month mark of the war in Ukraine, our hearts continue to ache as we watch the images of devastation and loss each day on the news. Will you join us in prayer? Lord God of peace, hear our prayer! We have tried so many times and over so many years to resolve our conflicts by our own powers and by the force of our arms. How many…
Reaching the one million mark for COVID deaths in the US is not a milestone that anyone wanted to reach. If this news is still weighing heavily on your heart, please take a few quiet moments to light a candle and to pray with us. We hope that it brings comfort for any personal losses that you're enduring. May the Father of mercies and God of all consolation, pursue you with untiring love, comfort you in your loss and…
Today's post comes from Fr. Michael Schleupner, friend of and frequent presenter/spiritual director for the Center. Fr. Michael shared this homily last week and we're grateful to be able to share it with you now. Do you follow Jesus by practicing simplicity and grace? Share with us. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my…
Today's inspiration comes from famous poets who eloquently express our gratitude for spring. We hope that you have a beautiful view of spring today as you read these poems. Say a prayer of thanks for the sun, the rain, the flowers, the breeze, the light. Share about it with us in the comments. For Flowers That Bloom For flowers that bloom about our feet; For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet; For song of bird, and hum of bee; For…
Have you ever been so tired or overwhelmed that it's difficult to come up with the words that you want to pray, yet you are seeking more than sitting in silent meditation? Today, we offer this morning prayer video as a resource for times like this. Pray with us... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG_unqKaDrw
Happy Mother's Day to all those moms and mother figures who care for so many. We hope that you are being honored in big and small ways, celebrating what you've done for others. For those who have lost their moms, you may be honoring them by making a favorite recipe or planting a favorite flower that she cherished. For those who can connect with these special ladies, maybe you're gathering for lunch or spending time on the phone. Maybe you…
Kevin Cassidy, the Director of the Retreat & Conference Center, shared this reflection in our weekly planning meeting last week. Our staff takes the mission of bringing 'healing hospitality' to heart, so this really resonated with us. We hope that you find this same sense of welcome during your visits to the Center too! Let mutual love continue, and do not forget to offer hospitality to strangers, for by doing this some have entertained angels without knowing it. ~Hebrews 13:1-2…
Tomorrow is our National Day of Prayer, a tradition that began officially in 1952. It is a day when the president is required to sign a proclamation that encourages all Americans to pray. May your prayers today be strengthened, knowing that so many are recognizing this movement and also kneeling, bowing their heads or lifting their hands to heaven as we pray for peace and also offer prayers of gratitude. If you live locally, we encourage you to stop by…
Happy Easter See the land, her Easter keeping, Rises as her Maker rose. Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping, Burst at last from winter snows. Earth with heaven above rejoices; Fields and gardens hail the spring; Shaughs and woodlands ring with voices, While the wild birds build and sing. You, to whom your Maker granted Powers to those sweet birds unknown, Use the craft by God implanted; Use the reason not your own. Here, while heaven and earth rejoices, Each…
As we prepare for tonight's concert with Carrie Newcomer, let's take a few quiet moments to contemplate the encouragement from a popular song, "You Can Do This Hard Thing". We hope that if you're facing struggles today, it will give you the nudge, the encouragement, the faith that you can get through it. We hope that this prayer will also remind you that "you can do all things..." Limited tickets are still available for the 7pm concert. Please call 410-442-3120…
