Women’s retreat, ‘Contemplating Christ’ with Fr. Kilcawley Aug. 14-16
WAVERLY (SNR) - Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House in Waverly announces the publication of a new fall schedule of retreats, with the flyer included in this issue and available at www.goodcounselretreat.org.
The Retreat House continues to provide a place of sanctuary for prayer, and moreover is video recording the retreats for live-stream or on-demand recordings so those who want to participate at home can also experience the retreat.
Father Sean Kilcawley opens the new schedule with a women’s retreat, “Contemplating the face of Christ” Aug. 14-16.
At the end of his pontificate, St. John Paul II wrote a tryptic of encyclicals in which he proposed a pastoral plan for the third millennium. He wrote about contemplating the face of Christ in Novo Millennio Ineuente, contemplating that face with Mary in the Rosary in Rosario Virginis Mariae, and finally the profound contemplation of Christ’s face in the Eucharist in Ecclesia de Eucharistia.
The three encyclical letters also touch on the image presented in St. John Bosco’s famous dream of the two pillars. In that dream, the pope leads the Church like a ship at sea, that is firmly anchored to two great columns of salvation: the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary, protecting it from all attacks and harm. These are to be pillars in the spiritual life, just as they are for the Church.
St. John Paul II expressly stated that the Church did not need programs, it needed the face of Jesus.
“As we have been living these past months in a time of social distancing, masks, and various forms of division, isolation, and distraction, that plan for the third millennium is all the more pertinent to our concrete situation,” Father Kilcawley said.
“This retreat will be a time away to reorient our gaze toward the face of Christ,” Father Kicalwley continued, “as we reflect on the spirituality laid out by a saint who knew His face and revealed it so beautifully in his own interactions with people, the Church, and the world.”
Weekend retreats begin with a Rosary and Mass at 8 p.m. on Friday, and end with Mass and noon lunch on Sunday. Retreats include a private room and bath, meals, meditations and direction, Mass and confessions, devotions and adoration. Private retreats and catering are also available.
Upcoming in-person and online retreats for men and women will be held Aug. 28-30, an Unbound retreat with Matt Simmons and Father Gary Coulter; Sept. 4-7, 3 or 4-Day Directed Spiritual Exercises Ignatian Retreat; and Sept. 10-13, Work of the Holy Angels.
The suggested donation for a weekend retreat is $170, but no one is turned away for an inability to pay. Free-will offerings for online retreats support Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House.
Find out more and register at goodcounselretreat.org, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 402-786-2705.
