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 7/31/20

July 30, 2020  /  Joe Parisi

August is Get ready for Kindergarten month. As summer comes to a close, millions of children usually begin kindergarten.  Adequately preparing for high-quality early education is imperative, not only to ensure that children smoothly transition into kindergarten, but also so that they themselves and society continue growing up so as to reap life’s long-term benefits.

How are we called to such transitions in this age at any age? The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, which we are again offering at White House on a reduced capacity basis, can be very helpful in processing the many transitions of life (and death!) by recalling us to what should be first and foremost in our Christian lives.

Though this might have to be stated in other ways for pre-schoolers, St. Ignatius’s First Principle and Foundation [23][1] is a first grade exam in the school of the heart, recalling us to our roots, and helping us get ready for whatever is coming our way next until our final graduation:

“The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit. All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.  As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.  In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening his life in me.”

-Fr. Ted Arroyo, SJ

[1] https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/offices/ministry/pdf/First%20Principle%20and%20Foundation%20-March%202015%20%282%29.pdf