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Saturday, January 11, 2014

Welcoming the Guest to Retreat

Greetings,

The Peace Center at our monastery seeks to: "Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to say, "I came as a guest, and you received Me". And to all let due honor be shown, especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims (Rule of Benedict 53: 1-2).

As the Liturgical season of Lent approaches, the sisters of our Peace Center are reaching out through Scripture studies, theology institutes, and Holy Week retreats.

The sisters are offering two series of Lenten Scripture studies for all those seeking prepare for Christ's Paschal Mystery at Easter.  Study of the Prophet Isaiah will take place on Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 PM beginning on February 26 and continuing throughout the Lenten season.  Study of the Passion and Resurrection Narratives will take place on Wednesday mornings from 10:15 to 11:45 AM beginning on March 5 and continuing throughout the Lenten season.

Our spring Theology Institute will be held on Saturday, March 15th beginning at 9 AM.  Father Leslie Hoppe, OFM  will be speaking about "Religion and Modernity: The Fundamentalist Response".   He will address how the terms "fundamentalism" and "fundamentalist" were first coined to describe conservative American Protestants who rejected the tenets of early 20th century liberal Protestant theology.  The presentation will begin with a description of the basic beliefs of Protestant fundamentalism before describing the fundamentalist impulse in Roman Catholicism and other world religions such as Judaism and Islam.

The Benedictine Peace Center will also be preparing for Holy Easter with one of our Catholic mystics.  Guests are welcome to join us for "Reflections with Julian of Norwich: A Lenten Retreat" on Saturday March 29th.

The final welcome to guests is a Holy Week Retreat over Triduum for women who are discerning a religious vocation.  The retreat begins the afternoon of Holy Thursday and continues through Easter Sunday afternoon and includes celebrating Liturgy of the Hours and Eucharistic liturgies with the monastic community, sacred silence, and reflection on sacred symbols of Triduum and God's call.

We welcome you as a guest in our retreat center...come to pray, to listen, and continue to deepen your faith in Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Epiphany

Greetings,

All around the monastery, the wise men continue to seek the Christ Child.


Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth,
and think darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will rise upon you
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you; your sons and shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
 Isaiah 60: 1-6

Blessings,