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.

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Weekend Reflections for 3/5/21

March 04, 2021  /  Joe Parisi

In the former translation of the Roman Missal, the first preface for the Season of Lent referred to it as a “joyful season” when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery “with mind and heart renewed.” It is ultimately joyful, of course, because it reminds us that we belong to God. It is renewing because through our Lenten activities of prayer, fasting, sacrifice and service, we boldly ask God to “give us strength to purify our hearts, to control our desires, and so to serve” and love God and others with greater freedom. As Christians, both as individuals and as families/communities who profess, we need to periodically take stock of our attitudes and our practices both as individuals and as who profess to follow Jesus in carrying his cross. Do we find within those attitudes and practices any which in any way impede our ability to live out the two great commandments of love of God and love of others?

Lent is a great time for humbly and honestly taking a look at the relationships in our lives, be they relationships with other people or with material things, including entertainment, time, work, electronic devices, food and alcohol. Echoing the perspective of St. Ignatius, we need to ask ourselves, to what extent do these “other things on the face of the earth” aid us in our goal of developing as loving persons who want to draw closer to Christ on his mission?

Let me suggest two areas for examination, one very broad and the other more focused. First, the broad one: whether rich or poor, in the United States we live in the midst of a culture of consumerism which continues to expand relentlessly and seemingly without limit. Can we doubt that an unbridled inclination to have and collect “nice things” – and the “latest” in things – can easily render us blind and deaf to the needs of our brothers and sisters? In a world with so many needy people, how can we who embrace the Gospel justify acquiring simply for ourselves so much that is unnecessary?

Secondly... we live in a world notorious for its bombardment of sensual and sexual images – massive amounts as near as the television and computer. Can we honestly doubt the need for some contemporary expression of self-discipline that acknowledges in a realistic fashion that what we see (watch) and what we hear (listen to) can undermine our sense of what it truly means to be a human being, and can easily dilute and pollute both our desire and our ability to see Christ in others?

As we continue our Lenten journey, let us pray for the graces of insight and freedom, renewing our commitment to pray for each other, and confident that God wants to give us everything that we truly need if we only ask.

Fr. Frank Reale, S.J.