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 another great reflection by Fr. Michael Schleupner. Let's read his thoughts, the first in a series about repentance, as we begin this sacred season of Lent. Repentance - 1 Dear Friends, A few days ago we observed Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the season for repentance. What is repentance? Often, we have been led to see this as focusing almost solely on myself, as doing a serious examination of conscience and seeking God’s forgiveness. The emphasis…
Today's post is a continuation of the series about the power of our words from Fr. Michael Schleupner. We are happy to have Fr. Mike back this summer for a week-long directed retreat where he will offer daily spiritual direction to his group and also offer daily Mass. You can click here to learn more. Let's take a few quiet moments this Valentine's Day to read these inspiring words about sharing our love through words. Words - 2 Dear Friends,…
As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, today's post is shared by a leader of the future. Amanda Gorman moved the nation when she read her poem below at the recent Presidential Inauguration. The spirit and words of this young African American poet inspired listeners and today we share the words with you to prayerfully sit with again. “The Hill We Climb” When day comes we ask ourselves Where can we find light in this never-ending shade? The loss…
Fr. Michael Schleupner, friend of the Center, is offering a series of posts about the power of words. Take a moment to read and think about the self-talk. Can you focus on the positive and find the joy today? Words - 1 Dear Friends, Last Sunday, my homily focused on the power of our words. Click here to read that post. Today I am sharing some additional comments on the same topic. Besides the words that we speak to or…
Today's reflection comes from Amy Kulesa, Director of the Sisters of Bon Secours Associates and frequent retreat presenter. Amy graciously facilitates the weekly Centering Prayer schedule for the Retreat & Conference Center too. These sessions are being held in a virtual format and you just have to email Amy for the link and instructions. Click here and scroll to the next session for more information. Now, let's take a quiet moment to reflect on this beautiful quote from Henri Nouwen…
Today's reflection is shared by Fr. Michael Schleupner. Fr. Mike offers weekly Mass for the Sisters of Bon Secours and also provides spiritual direction to our guests during some of our directed retreats. He will be with us for this summer's August retreat. You can learn more about it by clicking here. Let's take a few quiet moments to read this important message... The Power of Words Our words are important. In fact, they are powerful. We need to be…
Today's post is a reflection by retreat presenter, Andrea Springer. She shares wisdom about hope from the 2020 New Year's Eve retreat held at our Center. As we close this first month of the new year and continue to deal with the weight of the pandemic, let's revive our hope today. Hope: A Renewable Resource On New Year’s Eve a small group gathered on the threshold of 2020 and 2021 to both reflect back and look ahead. We talked about…
Today's post is a shared video from YouTube. This is a great way to begin your day! Take just 10 minutes to sit quietly and listen prayerfully. We hope you feel the peace and love of Jesus through this short meditation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R53ZF9jBjNA
On this momentous day for the United States, let us unite and offer these intentions and prayer for our new president, vice president and our country. For the nations of the world, to engage in a cooperative spirit toward lasting peace and justice for all, we pray to the Lord... For our nation, to continue to promote liberty and freedom, justice and peace for all, we pray to the Lord... For the people of the United States, to engage in…
Tomorrow, we celebrate the birthday of the great Martin Luther King, Jr. He would have been 92 tomorrow. Surely, Dr. King would be disheartened by the racial injustice that we've seen throughout the last year. Sadly, many of these sentiments from over sixty years ago still ring true today. How can we make a change and honor his great legacy? His wife, Corretta Scott King has offered this advice: "The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people…
