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 blog is the last in a series from Fr. Michael Schleupner about the Ignatian Examen. Fr. Michael offers his insights about the value of the last step in this incredible prayer practice and another post with concluding thoughts for the series. Fr. Michael will be with us at the Center all week, serving as a spiritual director during our August Directed Retreat. We are praying for blessings on these retreat guests as they set aside this special quiet time…
Sr. Bernie Claps, a Sister of Bon Secours who serves in ministry at the Retreat & Conference Center, recently shared that St. Patrick's Breastplate is one of her favorite prayers. We often only associate it with St. Patrick's Day in March, but it certainly is something that we should carry with us throughout the year. As Sr. Bernie says, "Jesus is always surrounding us with his love and care" and this is a wonderful reminder! May you have a moment…
Amy Kulesa, Director of the Sisters of Bon Secours Associates and frequent retreat presenter here at the Center, shared this beautiful poem with us. Never forget that there is only one you! Among the billions of people on this planet there is only one YOU. There is not another soul on earth who can make the unique contributions that you can. The most wonderful paradox is that the more I choose authenticity-- the truer I am to being myself-- the…
Fr. Michael Schleupner offers his next post in the series about the Ignatian Examen today. Please refer to previous blog posts to learn more and the preceding three steps. Let's spend a few quiet moments learning more about the 'action' phase of the Ignatian Examen. Ignatian Examen Step 4 – Being Contrite Dear Friends, This fourth step of the Examen follows from the third which was 'Looking Back'. In that step, we review the prior day or the day that…
Today's prayer comes from Sr. Bernie Claps, Manager of Spiritual Care and Mission at our Center and also the Sisters of Bon Secours Formation Director. She recently read this during her evening prayer time and she wanted to share it with our community too. May we remember the big things today. Thank you, Sr. Bernie! Keep me, oh God, from all pettiness; let us be large in thought, in word, in deed. Let us be done with fault-finding and leave…
Today's blog is a powerful song about hope, shared by Sr. Ji Choi, CBS. Sr. Ji offers several free mini-retreats throughout the month, including a weekly Bible Meditation on Fridays and a series of afternoon retreats about the Year of St. Joseph. We hope that this song will inspire you to continue hope, for with God all things are possible. "Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you." ~Psalm 33:22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd2ZERJ9n5I Click here to…
Today's reflection is the 3rd in Fr. Michael Schleupner's series about the Ignatian Examen. For previous posts, please click here to review all of our blogs. Let's take a few quiet moments to read through Fr. Mike's thoughts about this phase of the Examen. Ignatian Examen Step 3 – Looking Back Dear Friends, After Seeking Light and Giving Thanks, we move to Looking Back. In this third step of the Examen, we review the prior day or the day that…
Rainey Taylor, Sales Manager at the Retreat & Conference Center, shared this inspiring excerpt during our staff meeting this week. What will you do today? Today I will…. “Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be…
Our guests are often drawn to our retreat programs that explore different prayer methods. How wonderful to have so many ways to communicate with God and feel the Spirit around us! Mary DeTurris Poust presented a wonderful weekend retreat at our Center in June and now she is sharing the following blog with us about her new appreciation for the rosary. Confessions of a rosary convert by Mary DeTurris Poust on July 1, 2021 Rosary-challenged. That’s how I’ve described myself…
Fr. Michael continues his series on the Ignatian Examen today. Let's read about Examen's practice of gratitude. How can you incorporate this important task into your life? What are you thankful for today? Ignatian Examen Step 2 – Giving Thanks Dear Friends, After beginning the Examen by Seeking Light, we move to Giving Thanks. Ignatius saw gratitude as central to the spiritual life. He felt this so strongly that he said: “Ingratitude is the cause, beginning, and origin of all…
