WHITE HOUSE JESUIT RETREAT

St. Louis, MO 63129

1-800-643-1003

Jesuit retreat center high on the bluffs of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, MO.  Since 1922, thousands of people from around the world make annual three-day silent, guided retreats here to relax, reconnect with God and strengthen their spirituality.  A true gem in the Midwest!  Call 314-416-6400 or 1-800-643-1003.  Email reservations@whretreat.org  7400 Christopher Rd.  St. Louis, MO 63129

Both men's and women's retreats are offered as well as recovery retreats.

Take Spirituality to the Next Level!

Weekend Reflections for 2/7/20

February 05, 2020  /  Joe Parisi

In Sunday’s gospel Jesus offers rich images of Christian discipleship, images of how we are to live our faith in our daily lives. We Christians are salt of the earth, we are light for this world. Following Jesus is not putting on a superficial exterior appearance, but entering into the essence of life in this world, giving it flavor, illuminating it with the light of faith.

As salt of the earth, we are challenged to transform our world from within, to bring Christian flavor to our daily lives and to our complex society.  In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds us that we face this challenge in weakness, not with lofty words or wisdom, but with God’s foolish wisdom for this world: the words “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”. This salty, Christian flavor goes much deeper than sugary icing on a cake. It is the flavor of Christ, Christ crucified. It enters deeply into our lives, into our world, to season it with the flavors of Christ’s kingdom: flavors of hospitality, true freedom and deep dedication to love, to justice and solidarity. We don’t bury these flavors where no one can taste them, we don’t hide them where no one can see. Our discipleship is not simply private piety for one hour on Sunday morning – we are to be a city on a hill, a light for the world.

May our regular experience of the Spiritual Exercises at White House Jesuit Retreat strengthen our saltiness and light up our lives and our world.  Living the Gospel is not just something secret in our hearts. It is to be visible to everyone. We are light for this world. We are a city on a hill, a lamp on a stand. We may shy away from this, thinking, how can I, little ole me in my darkness, be light for this huge world around me? But if we realize that the true salt, the true light, is Christ, and Christ crucified, and not little old us, we have little to fear.

-Fr. Ted Arroyo, SJ