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.’
By Gerri Leder The light poles were adorned with white Christmas lights when we drove through town after Thanksgiving dinner. How is it that, having barely put away the Thanksgiving china, we find ourselves barreling toward Christmas? What about Advent, when we Christians prepare our hearts for the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world? The word Advent derives from the Latin word, Adventus, which means coming. The season of Advent is often referred to as the space…
By Mary DeTurris Poust Writer and retreat presenter Mary DeTurris Poust invites us into the season of Advent with beautiful words from the introduction to her new book, Waiting in Joyful Hope: Daily Reflections for Advent and Christmas 2025-2026, published by Liturgical Press. She writes: “Standing on tiptoe” is how author Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB, describes our Advent time of waiting in her beautiful book Seasons of Your Heart. I’ve always loved that image. Can’t you just imagine yourself peering over the edge of…
As Thanksgiving arrives, we are invited to pause, breathe deeply, and recognize the countless ways God has been at work in our lives — quietly, tenderly, faithfully. While the holiday is often filled with family traditions, favorite dishes, and the warmth of reunion, it can also serve as an opportunity for deep spiritual reflection and a reminder to practice gratitude as a way of life. In the Psalms, we are encouraged again and again to “give thanks to the Lord for…
By Sharoon Jamil There’s something about stepping into a forest, a meadow, or a quiet lakeside that makes the soul remember what the mind has forgotten. The air seems heavier with meaning, and the noise of our lives—emails, deadlines, opinions—fades into the background like static we suddenly realize we don’t need. In those moments, we don’t just breathe differently; we exist differently. And perhaps that’s the point. In a time when constant motion is praised and stillness is treated like…
By Macrina Wiederkehr Slowly She celebrated the sacrament of Letting Go… First she surrendered her Green Then the Orange, yellow, and Red… Finally she let go of her Brown… Shedding her last leaf She stood empty and silent, stripped bare Leaning against the sky she began her vigil of trust… Shedding her last leaf She watched its journey to the ground… She stood in silence, Wearing the color of emptiness Her branches wondering: How do you give shade, with so…
By: Mary DeTurris Poust If you spend any serious amount of time with Scripture, you can’t help but take to heart that there are some absolutes when it comes to our call and responsibility as Christians. While there are many things that are not specifically addressed by Scripture, there are others that are undeniable and irrefutable: loving our neighbor, welcoming the “stranger” and caring for the poor. No matter how you slice it, there is no way to avoid these…
In a world fractured by violence, fear, and misunderstanding, the call to peace feels both urgent and sacred. The conflict in Gaza and Israel has once again exposed the deep wounds that lie between communities, faiths, and families — wounds that words often fail to heal. This gathering reminds us that dialogue is itself an act of peace. It is a form of prayer in motion — a way of saying, “We refuse to let hatred have the last word.”…
By Joanne Cahoon Hermit Day is coming up on October 29th, and Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center has made space for those who would like to gather to make space too, within our hearts/minds/calendars/lives – for quiet and for solitude. In the 21st century, when our day-to-day experience is full and noisy, often scattered and demanding, it is essential for those who would live a life of integrity and the wholeness and holiness that God invites to quite deliberately…
By Anne Kertz Kernion "To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall." ~Ann Patchett We have had some glorious autumn days here in western Pennsylvania. The sunny, chilly mornings have been a gift, as we've experienced "the end of summer intersecting perfectly with the start of fall." I'm deeply grateful for these days, but find myself torn, too. While…
A Call to Compassion and Justice In October, the Church dedicates a special focus to the sacredness of human life at every stage — from conception to natural death. But this call also extends to those whom society has marginalized or condemned, including those on death row. We believe that every person is worthy of dignity, mercy, and compassionate care. The death penalty, however, removes hope for transformation and denies the possibility of redemption. It is incompatible with a truly life-affirming…
