WAVERLY (SNR) All men and women interested in the pro-life movement are invited to a Jan. 15-17 Friday through Sunday retreat, the weekend of Nebraska’s Walk for Life, to discover how splendid God’s gift of human life truly is.
Father Thomas MacLean, who frequently celebrates the pro-life Mass Tuesdays at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Right to Life Center, will give the weekend retreat at Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat House, Waverly.
Participants in the retreat will attend the Walk for Life in Lincoln Saturday, Jan. 16. There is also lodging available for those attending the Walk for Life but unable to attend the entire retreat to still have a reflection and Mass available.
Father MacLean invites all to understand and appreciate more fully the mystery of God’s gift of human life.
“I plan to explore passages in Sacred Scripture and the Catechism that reveal God’s unique creation of man and his purpose for him, the dignity of the human person created in the image and likeness of God,” he said.
“Then through Scripture and three doctors of the Church, I will look at two reasons for the Incarnation: that we might know God’s love and to make us partakers of the divine nature,” Father MacLean continued.
“Lastly, because the gift of human life is sacred, the fifth commandment demands that there be respect for it,” he explained. “I will explore the respect for human life in the witness of sacred history, by its legitimate defense, and its violation through abortion.”
Besides the Bible and Catechism, for further reading Father MacLean recommends two books by Father Frank Pavone: “Pro-life Reflections for Every Day” (2009) and “Proclaiming the Message of Life” (2016).
Father MacLean actually found his call to the priesthood through the pro-life movement. By God’s grace in 1996, he was led to volunteer as a pro-life pregnancy counselor in Dallas, where he discovered his vocation. With the help of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus and a passion to abolish abortion, he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest for the Lincoln Diocese in 2002.
Father MacLean has served several parishes in Lincoln: St. Teresa, Blessed Sacrament, and St. Mary. He currently works in prison chaplain ministry, nursing and retirement home ministry, and as assistant diocesan pro-life director.
The Jan. 15-17 retreat, and all retreats at Good Counsel Retreat House, are being held in person with social distancing and safety measures, and also online for live-streaming from home.
Register at goodcounselretreat.com, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 402-786-2705.
