THE BLOG OF THE BON SECOURS RETREAT & CONFERENCE CENTER
Retreat with Us
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's post is a homily that Fr. Michael Schleupner recently shared. Fr. Mike was the presenter for our Friends Day of Prayer last week and our guests thoroughly enjoyed his presentation and day of reflection too. The focus of this post is a tough, but important lesson from the Gospel with a modern day analogy. Let's take a few moments to learn from scripture and Fr. Mike's wisdom. Gospel Reading: Mark 10:17-30 (shorter form Mark 10:17-27) A man with many…
Today's post is a prayer by Henri Nouwen. If you are drawn to the spiritual writings of Nouwen, you may want to learn more about our upcoming retreat presented by Wil Hernandez too. Click here to read about the "Henri Nouwen: Master of Soul Care" retreat that he will guide October 27-31. Now, let's take a few moments of quiet to pray together... “Listen, O Lord, to my prayers. Listen to my desire to be with you, to dwell in…
We are excited to have author Wil Hernandez back with us for a retreat at the end of this month. Wil has studied the work of the incredible spiritual writer Henri Nouwen for many years and will be providing rich insights into spirituality and spiritual accompaniment during his "Henri Nouwen: Master of Soul Care" retreat (click here to learn more). Nouwen still inspires the world of spiritual seekers with his wisdom in writing. We're including a few quotes today for…
As the season of autumn has begun, reminders to celebrate the harvest are often found around us. It's also important to take a moment to pray for those who are going without though. Let's be mindful of the little things we take for granted, give thanks, and let's give what we can, including heartfelt prayers, for those who are in need. "Let us remember that, as much has been given us; much will be expected from us, and that true…
Today's blog features a homily given by Fr. Michael Schleupner a few weeks ago, but it's a timeless lesson for us all about having an open mindset and being inclusive. Let's open our hearts as we read about a lesson from the Gospels and how it ties into our modern world today. Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48 Hopkins Buildings One day several years ago, I was leaving Johns Hopkins Hospital after visiting a person who had major cardiac surgery. Something at Hopkins really…
The phrase 'Fear not' and similar wording is mentioned over and over again in the Bible. Clearly this is a message that God wants to make sure that we hear! It's been very difficult not to have deep feelings of fear during the pandemic though, right? So, let's take time today to refresh our hearts and minds with the scripture below. Then, take a few moments of silence to unwind, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, relax your…
Book Recommendation: We are happy to have Sr. Chris Kollhoffer, IHM with us for a Lenten retreat next spring (click here to learn more). Sr. Chris is the author of Longing for the Endless Immensity and offered this excerpt for our blog today. If these themes and prayer practices interest you, we recommend purchasing the book to learn more and it will be available in our bookstore soon too. Longing for the Endless Immensity: Reflection and Prayer for Living a Life…
We are excited to host our annual Women's Wellness retreat this weekend and to be able to bring back popular featured speaker, Dr. Veidre Jackson. The theme of this year's retreat is "Peace in the Middle of the Pieces" and this theme in the midst of the pandemic is certainly timely! Please pray for the ladies who are attending this retreat. May they feel joy, relaxation and a sense of the peace in their lives that only Jesus can provide.…
Our faithful friend of the blog, Fr. Michael Schleupner, offered this homily a few weeks ago. It gives his personal reflection about his relationship with Jesus, providing a beautiful way to embrace our connection to Jesus too. Let's take a few quiet moments to prayerfully read and reflect on our own journeys with God. Who do you say that Jesus is? Mark 8:27-35 Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus teaches that those who would follow him must…
We are pleased to be bringing Sr. Chris Koellhoffer to our Center next spring for a Lenten retreat! She will present "The Lenten Summons to Green Our Lives" March 4-6 and you can click here to learn more. Sr. Chris is a gifted writer and today we're sharing a post from her blog, Mining the Now (click here to visit). It was written in July, but has an important lesson that we can carry throughout the seasons. Let's read about…