PathToHoliness

It’s time for my annual retreat and I’m ready to go. I don’t know how many years I’ve been attending an annual retreat put on by the Wespine Study Center in St. Louis but it’s a lot. The Opus Dei center supplies a priest who gives a series of talks or meditations over three days. We have Mass and the priest is available for spiritual direction and confession. It’s also a silent retreat. No talking to the other guys. Just listening to the meditations and spending time in prayer and contemplation. I love it.

I call this my time to recharge the spiritual batteries that get a little worn down sometimes in the face of all the world throws at you. It’s good to just get away from it all and do some serious interior examination and make some new resolutions. This year is also special for me because Pope John Paul II will be beatified Sunday while I’m still on retreat. He passed away when I was on retreat and I personally met him years before that. You can bet I’ll be communicating with him in prayer!

I don’t know about you but this era of extreme political correctness is really wearing on me. One of my latest retreat notes said, “Satan hides behind politically correct words like diversity, pluralism, choice . . .” Isn’t that the truth? I’d add words like tolerance to the list. People who preach the mantra of tolerance seem to be the most intolerant people themselves. If you don’t agree with them they attack you and if that’s not intolerance I don’t know what is. How about this word to describe them: hypocritical.

Another word I’d add to the list is sustainability. I work in agricultural communications and this has to be one of the most overused and misunderstood words in our vocabulary, along with organic and natural. What does sustainability mean? Ask 10 people (including so called experts) and they’ll give you 10 different answers. It’s a hide behind word for people with a political agenda for the most part. Guess who’s hiding behind it? Answer is found above.

Sadly, these words are not bad in and of themselves but in how they’re being used in our mainstream media and by politicians, lobbyists and people who want to attack Christian values. So, what can be done about it? For starters let’s use these words in a context that’s defined by our religion and faith. Let’s not lash out in anger at those who are misusing them for their own ends but pray for them instead. Do you have any other suggestions? Feel free to comment.

I don’t know if you’re following me on Twitter or not but I’ve been trying to post daily meditation notes from my recent retreat. The photo is a screen shot from my account with this morning’s note.

I’m trying to stay more active here and on Twitter and hope you’ll join in and feel free to reply or comment.

My Twitter image is a photo of my St. Francis of Assisi statue under my deck.

Last week I was in Danville, KY for some project work and attended Mass at Saints Peter and Paul Church.

This is a pretty little church in downtown Danville.

This weekend I made my annual retreat which was held at the Sojourn Center in Dittmer, MO. The weather started out sunny and warm but changed to rain and snow. That didn’t dampen our enthusiasm.

The facility is a new one to us who have been making Wespine Study Center retreats for many years. It’s really set up nicely to conduct a retreat with a beautiful little pond and trail around it and through some adjoining woods.

The annual retreat is part of my plan of life and very important to my continued development of my interior life. It’s a time to “recharge the spiritual batteries” and I highly recommend it to everyone.

It’s that time of year to think about your annual retreat. Or your first ever retreat for that matter. With Lent starting this Wednesday perhaps it’s a good time to consider going on retreat to recharge your spiritual batteries. I’ve been attending retreats put on by the Wespine Study Center for over 10 years now and highly recommend them.

Wespine offers weekend retreats for working men seeking to further develop their relationship with God. The schedule includes daily Mass and Gospel reflections by a priest of Opus Dei, with Confession and spiritual direction available throughout the weekend.
Missouri Retreats

The retreats are held during the spring at Sojourn Retreat Center, in Dittmer, Missouri. (Click here for directions). The retreats run from 10:30 a.m. on Friday to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, on these weekends in the spring of 2009:

* March 6-8
* March 27-29
* April 17-19

You can download a registration form with this link.

Every year I go on retreat about this time. It’s lead by the women’s Opus Dei center in St. Louis. I’ve been going for a number of years now and I love them. They’re silent, reflective and much needed. I especially enjoy it when it comes so close to Holy Week. So I will be on retreat starting this evening until Sunday afternoon. Please pray for me! I will be praying for all of my readers!

This looks pretty interesting – the National Catholic Singles Conference. From its website:

The National Catholic Singles Conference (NCSC) was created to give single Catholics the opportunity to meet other like-minded singles and learn more about and share their Faith. Talks by dynamic speakers, time for prayer, and various social opportunities create an intense and inspiring weekend! In 2007 we had over 900 people at our two locations, Chicago and San Diego, combined. Don’t miss out in 2008! Join us in Chicago and San Diego for great speakers, food and fun!

The conference in Chicago is this April 25-27 at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort and the one in San Diego is TBA. The weekend includes workshops involving: How Do I Know What God Wants Me to Do With My Life?, Why Are We Still Single (or Single Again)?, The Real Deal About Men; TBA (to the women), The Biology of the Theology of the Body and Building Strong Ministries. Also available will be the Mass, Praise and Worship, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, confessions and prayer teams, rosary walks and even dance lessons along with a dance on Saturday night.

Believe it or not, I’m actually considering attending. Since I left Ave Maria University and the little Catholic bubble that exists there, I think I might enjoy spending a few days with some like minded people my own age.

You can register here

I still haven’t found my “voice” for this website yet but it’ll come in time.

Today the mid-Missouri Cooperator’s Circle met at my house. It’s always great to not only have a spiritual talk but get together with guys you don’t see very often otherwise.

I found out that the Wespine Study Center Retreats for Men are scheduled for 2006. The dates are:

March 3 – 5
March 31 – April 2
April 21 – 23

You can find out more details by calling the center in Kirkwood, MO at 314-821-1608. I highly recommend an annual retreat like these as part of your plan of life.