Homeless Recovery Day of Reflection

White House Jesuit Retreat is working alongside St. Patrick’s Center to host our first ever Day of Reflection for homeless men in recovery on next week. About 12 men who are homeless and currently in recovery programs will be brought to the White House Jesuit Retreat campus in South St. Louis County for a full day of lectures, meditation and counseling.

The goal of the event is to help further these men in their recovery process. All of the lectures will be presented by exp...erienced recovery retreat leaders and will focus on the 4th and 5th steps taught in Alcoholics Anonymous. Participants will have time to discuss the day’s teachings with a staff of Jesuit priests and volunteers.

The day will conclude with lunch and a prayer service for all participants before the group is transported back to St. Patrick’s Center.

This event will take place next week. We ask that you keep those participating in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you!

Weekend Reflections for 2/27/15

Transfiguration

"Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white ..." Mk 9:2-3 

Jesus takes his favored three up a mountain to share with them who he truly is, to gift them with a glance of destiny, his and theirs and ours. They see Jesus as he will be after his resurrection, as he will appear to them in the upper room with his greeting of Peace. They never really understood his predictions that he will suffer and die and they will forget this blessed moment when it happens. 

St. Paul also experienced the risen Lord Jesus and he understood and rejoiced. He assures us that God is for us and nothing can keep us from his love. The banner of the Risen Lord reads: Love is Stronger than Death!  As we live these days of Lent, God keeps reminding us that we are his Beloved and we, too, will be transfigured.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE ON RETREAT THIS WEEK AS WELL AS OUR DECEASED RETREATANTS.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITY  

Do you have pictures that you've taken at White House?  Share them on Twitter using the hashtag #whretreat

UPCOMING RETREATS WITH OPENINGS:

Men- 3/12, 3/19

Women- 3/23, 5/4

Co-Ed 2-day retreats- 6/5, 9/4

Weekend Reflections for 2/20/15

LENT

Readings from the 1st Sunday of Lent  

After God destroyed all living creatures with devastating flood waters, God made a covenant with Noah and his descendants.  God promised Noah never again to destroy creation.  The rainbow in the sky was a sign of God's covenant or promise to protect the human family.

In the second reading from St. Peter's letter, Jesus' suffering, death and resurrection to glory is the final and perfect covenant which will endure forever.  In the sacrament of baptism, we are joined to Jesus' death and resurrection, God's covenant with us.  In baptism we receive sanctifying grace by which we share in God's life.

The gospel today tells us how to live our covenant with God in this life.  We are to repent and believe in the gospel.  Lent is a time to repent of our sinfulness and failings of the past and to strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ for the future.  Jesus strengthens us to overcome our sinful past and opens the door to his Father's Kingdom.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE ON RETREAT THIS WEEK AS WELL AS OUR DECEASED RETREATANTS.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITY 

Do you have pictures that you've taken at White House?  Share them on Twitter using the hashtag #whretreat

UPCOMING RETREATS WITH OPENINGS:

Men- 3/12, 3/19

Women- 3/23, 5/4

Co-Ed 2-day retreats- 6/5, 9/4

Weekend Reflections for 2/13/15

LOVE

God is Love.  God/Love is infinite and unlimited.  But we live in an imperfect, limited and finite world which God created.  Our goal is to reach God and be united with him who is love.

How do we grow in love in this created, imperfect world?  We believe that God created every human person because he loves them.  How do we show God our love?  We show God our gratitude and love by obeying Jesus' two commandments: 1) to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength and 2) to love your neighbor as yourselves.  To give money to a very poor person, to visit a sick or lonely person, to carry heavy packages for an elderly person are actions expressing love.  We will never love perfectly in this life, but this is the opportunity Jesus gives us.

In heaven we will experience God's infinite love which he will share with us and we will love every human person and every person will love us.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE ON RETREAT THIS WEEK AS WELL AS OUR DECEASED RETREATANTS.

PLEASE PRAY FOR PEACE IN OUR COMMUNITY 

We are officially launching our Women's Ambassadors Program next month!  These women will serve as volunteer ambassadors for White House and help recruit others to attend retreats.  An informational meeting will be held next month for those interested.  If you are interested in joining this exciting new ministry, please let us know so that we may send you the appropriate information.  Email joep@whretreat.org. 

UPCOMING RETREATS WITH OPENINGS:

Men- 2/19, 3/19, 4/20, 4/30, 5/14, 5/28

Women- 3/23, 5/4, 5/21, 7/23

Co-Ed 2-day retreats- 6/5, 9/4

Weekend Reflection for 1/30/15

Faith

Faith is one of the greatest gifts God has given you and me.  Without faith, we cannot be certain that God exists.  But with faith we know that God exists even though we cannot see, hear or touch him.  Spiritual faith in a God, who keeps us alive and active, is different from natural faith in people and things that support us in this life.  By faith we believe that there is one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We believe God became man who suffered, died and rose to life so that we could share eternal happiness with him.

We strengthen our faith when we pray the "Our Father" and mean it, or when we offer our pains, disappointments or sickness to our heavenly Father, or when we love and help the poor and needy as Jesus would do.

Jesus said: "Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven."  When we reach heaven, there will be no need of faith.  For then we will see and experience our loving God who will share Himself with us.

Weekend Reflection for 1/23/15

St Peter Chrysologus, a bishop and early Father of the Church, has a beautiful reflection on our redemption and the coming of Christ that St. John the Baptist heralded and St. Paul proclaimed:  "When God saw the world falling to ruin because of fear, God immediately acted to call it back to himself with love. He invited it by his grace, preserved it by his love, and embraced it with compassion." 

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand." And then he called those first disciples, "Come after me and you will bring in people instead of fish."  Now it is our turn to carry forward the work of the Spirit: to complete His work on earth--and to sanctify all of creation.

Weekend Reflections for 1/16/15

January 16, 2015 

The young prophet Samuel heard a voice calling him. At first he didn't recognize the voice--God's voice. His teacher, Eli, tells him to go back to sleep. The Lord keeps calling and finally Samuel recognizes that it is God calling. For Samuel as for each of us, God reaches out first and keeps coming to us. St. Paul brings us the truth about how close God is to us: "Whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him."

We "temples of the Holy Spirit" now have that voice--the very presence of God--within us. Now our journey is that of Peter and Andrew in the Gospel. On that journey, in this new year, we hope to learn even more deeply the answer to their question, "Lord, where are you staying?" What an adventure it can be to follow the invitation of Jesus: "Come and you will see!"
 

Weekend Reflections for 1/9/15

There are moments in our lives--perhaps a number of them--that are what we would call "defining" moments. They change and direct us, enlighten us, strengthen us, give meaning to our lives. For Jesus his baptism is one of these defining moments: he is now sent to be the carrier of God's presence and action in the world. The voice of the Father says, "You are my beloved with whom I am well pleased."

 There is a mystical truth that this feast brings to us: those words, addressed to Jesus,  are addressed to us! Though we might find it hard to grasp, God loves us exactly as God loves Jesus. ("As the Father has loved me, so I love you...And the Father and I are one...") Those words to Jesus were addressed to us at our baptism and at each moment in our lives thereafter. May this feast confirm us in grace and strength for this coming year.
 

Weekend Reflections for January 2, 2015

A favorite bumper sticker: "God loves everyone in the world...no exceptions!" At the deepest level here is this simple truth of Epiphany: Christ has come for ALL people.  The "tenderness" of Christmas, the warm feelings that we share at Christmas time are meant to console us and strengthen us so that we can embrace our Lord Jesus Christ as He is now. The picture of our Messiah is the picture of Christ humbly drawing all people--not to dominate but to bless.

As we begin the new year we, like the Magi, can let God reach out to us in mysterious ways (our "star") and draw us in-- so that we can offer our gifts and take home with us Love itself.
 

Weekend Reflections for 12/19/14

Christmas

"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High." (Lk 1:30-32)

Karl Rahner, S.J. was one of the most brilliant and holy theologians of the last century. (My opinion.) He wrote that if you want to experience what Christmas is really all about, you should go into a darkened room at night, sit quietly and comfortably, quiet your mind and go deeply within yourself, your own darkness.

You will become aware of your own longings, your deep desires to love and be loved, to know the truth and relish the beautiful, to be fully alive and to live forever. It's what it is to be human, to know our limits, our profound needs. Our God shares those longings and desires with us and so becomes one of us, a tiny, helpless infant. Now go and stare at the lights on your Christmas tree.
 

Weekend Reflections for 12/12/14

It is the Lord's Work

St. Paul writes: "Brothers and sisters: Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. ... May the God of peace make you perfectly holy ... and may you be preserved blameless for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will also accomplish it." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)

Paul encourages us to be grateful and prayerful. We are that when we are aware of God's generosity and blessings to us, when we take the time to simply remember how God has been active in our lives and in the lives of our families and loved ones. It hasn't been and is not always easy; there are always challenges, sometimes confusion and even pain. Yet the Lord never abandons us, never leaves us to face life alone. Paul reminds us that our holiness isn't our work but the Lord's. When we invite Him into our lives, we give Him permission to make us into the people He wants us to be. As we pray at the ordination of a deacon: May the Lord bring to completion the good work He has begun in you.

Weekend Reflection for 12/5/14

John the Baptist

"John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And this is what he proclaimed: 'One mightier than I is coming after me.'" (Mk 1:4,7)

John can seem like a rather strange character to us. Certainly his wardrobe and diet were most unusual. I always think of him as a "pointer". When people came to him, he always pointed them to someone else, to Another, to Jesus. As people of faith, we share that vocation and role with John. We, too, are to be pointers.

During this Advent season we have many opportunities to quietly point to the true meaning of these days. There is so much more to these few short days than sales, colorful lights and new cookie recipes. We are invited to remember that Christ has come, is here now and will return to claim us as His own. And so, we point to His presence here and now and pray: Come, Lord Jesus

Weekend Reflections for 11/21/14

Just before that reception of Communion, the priest says a quiet prayer.  The last line of that prayer goes like this: "Keep me always faithful to your commandments and never let me be parted from you."

This line sums up my own life in the Spirit.  I want above all to be faithful to the Lord.  A husband and a wife have vowed to be faithful to each other for life.  They may not always be able to boast of strong feelings of love for their spouse, but they can and do profess fidelity to each other.  Love is what makes their faithfulness possible.

In a similar way, I cannot always claim to love God with all my heart and soul, as I did when I was a child, but I can desire with all my heart to be faithful to him.

Moreover, I can and do pray wholeheartedly that I may never be separated from my Lord and God.  I want to be able to say, with St. Paul, that there is nothing in life or in death that can separate me from the love of Christ.

PLEASE PRAY FOR THOSE ON RETREAT THIS WEEK AS WELL AS OUR DECEASED RETREATANTS

Be on the lookout for our 2014 appeal letter!  It should arrive in your mailbox within the next week. 

Weekend Reflections for 11/14/14

At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say: "Our Father..."

Why the word dare? As kids we used to dare others to do things that were daring, like jumping off a roof or drinking a nasty drink or eating a live goldfish. But what is so daring about saying "Our Father"?

A friend of mine once met Queen Elizabeth. Upon being introduced to her, he said: "I'm so pleased to meet you, Elizabeth." What could be more daring than that?" I'll tell you what: addressing God as Father! Do you want to get yourself zapped right out of existence?

The only saving grace to our addressing God as Father is precisely that: saving grace. After all, we were formed by divine teaching; Jesus himself told us to address God that way, the way Jesus Himself addresses God. I know it must sound very arrogant to a non-Christian to address God so boldly, but that is precisely what Jesus-and his Father, our Father-wants us to do.

Weekend Reflections for 11/7/14

Through Him, and with Him, and in Him, O God almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is Yours, forever and ever.

The above words, known as the Doxology are the conclusion to every Eucharistic Prayer.  They sum up what is taking place at Mass: we, the People of God, are giving God the Father all honor and glory.  The Mass is not a prayer to Jesus but rather to the Father.

We give all honor and glory to the Father by offering Him a gift: the gift of His Son, Jesus.  However, we offer the gift through, with, and in Jesus.  Each of these three prepositions- through, with and in is important; Each is saying something different. 

First, through Him: we make our gift, as we make every prayer, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  We do it by means of his life, death, and resurrection, even though we were not present at the time.  Second, with Him: now we are right beside Jesus; we are cooperating with Him in the making of our gift of Him to the Father; we are yoked to Him.  Third, in Him: we now move to much greater depth in our making of the gift; we are in Him.  The only metaphor I can think of that even approximates this closeness to Jesus is the closeness of the fetus in the womb of the mother; the infant in the womb, through a separate human being, shares the life-giving blood and oxygen of the mother.  We are in Christ, members of His Body in a union so intimate that we cannot make a gift of Him without, at the same time, making a gift of ourselves.

Making that gift of Jesus and of ourselves, we give all honor and glory to God the Father.

Weekend Reflections for 10/31/14

"For me life is Christ and death is gain.  If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.  And I do not know which I shall choose.  I am caught between the two.  I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better.  Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit." -Philippians 1:22-24 

Paul speaks as if he has a choice as to when he will depart this life, and the choice is a tough one for him.  If he had his druthers, he would really like to die and be with Jesus.  On the other hand, he knows that there is still a lot of apostolic work for him to do here on earth.   

I cannot honestly claim to have the same predicament as Paul.  Given a choice, I would likely opt for sticking around here on earth for a while, not because my remaining would be of such great value to others, but, in all honesty, because I am enjoying myself here.  I would likely argue that I still have many retreats to direct, homilies to preach, sinners to absolve.  The truth is: I look forward to consuming more Ted Drewes concretes, enjoying family, and taking walks with a friend.  

And when my time to depart does come, I just hope it doesn't hurt too much.  In that, at least, I am like Jesus, who would rather have had the cup of suffering pass him by.  Hopefully, I can be like Jesus in saying to the Father: "Thy will be done".

Weekend Reflections for 10/24/14

Our Father

 By Fr. Gene Renard, S.J.
God is our Creator.  God created us with the help of our mother and father and gave us life and our soul.  But God is more than our Creator.  God is truly Our Father.  He is the Father to every person who has ever lived, is alive or will live in the future.  God is our Father because he helps and supports us in this life with many gifts.  When we say: "Our Father," we join ourselves with those who pray to our heavenly Father.

We cannot see Our Heavenly Father with our human eyes.  But by faith we know he loves us always and is around us and inside us even if we are not aware of his presence.  We are surrounded with God's love always.  From his home in heaven, Our Father loves us, watches over us and inspires us as we need.  But he gives us freedom to make our own choices.

We pray: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,"  Our Heavenly Father wants us to reflect his goodness and forgiveness by loving and forgiving our neighbor.  We struggle to reflect the Father's love and forgiveness on those who hurt us and cause us to sin.  With God's grace we can love and forgive. 

Weekend Reflections for 10/17/14

Reaching our true goal

 
The planets, the earth and rocks are inanimate and they hardly change.  But nature is alive and constantly changing.  Trees and bushes grow and develop throughout their lives.  We see the spring and summer flowers come and go.  Cows, horses, dogs, cats and insects propagate the world and they will be around for centuries to come.  The human race also grows and develops.  Husbands and wives beget children who take over the next generation.  Human life is always renewing itself.

Growth and development are necessary for a spiritual life.  We are nourished in our spiritual life by the sacraments, the scriptures and prayer.  We grow spiritually by helping our neighbor and serving the needs of others with love.  We live our faith by loving others as Jesus loves us.

In the gospel Jesus tells us to "repay to Ceasar what belongs to Ceasar and to God what belongs to God."  If someone follows only materialistic goals throughout life, that person will never reach the true goal of life.  We care for our physical life in this world and we attend to our spiritual growth by loving, serving and helping God and our neighbors. 

Weekend Reflections for 10/10/14

What are our dreams?

by Fr. Richard Hadel, S.J. 

Can you imagine what the world will be like in the year 2500?  That is only 486 years away.  Will all the cities and towns be packed full with no open space available?  Will every open space and field be used to raise enough food and cattle to feed everyone?  Is it conceivable that some people will be living on another planet?  Who knows?

Fortunately we do not have to solve these problems.  God may decide to end creation before year 2500.  The Sunday readings challenge us to think about life after death.

In the Gospel parable, Jesus pictures heaven like a wedding celebration, where everyone will be united with Jesus, with God and each other.  Some people will refuse the invitation and turn down Jesus' invitation.  All you have to do is accept the invitation.  You don't have to be holy or a saint to be invited.  All that is required is the desire to love God, have faith in God and trust him.  If you love others and serve others, you will be most welcome.  Even after failures and struggles to be good, God loves and invites you to come.

It is hard to imagine what heaven will be.  But we know that there will be no pain, suffering or sickness in heaven.  God will share with us himself, his peace, wisdom and love.

Weekend Reflections for 10/3/14

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

- Matthew 5:16

This time of year is always particularly busy around White House.  Most weeks we are having back-to-back retreats...with groups arriving on Mondays and again on Thursdays.  Some weeks we will see as many as 170 people come through our doors for their annual three day retreat.  

It's hectic at times, but always in a good way.  It's nice to take a step back and just think about how all of these people got here.  How did they find us?  Someone had to tell them about White House.  Very often, they were personally invited by a friend, family member or fellow parishioner.

I'd like to take a moment this week to express our gratitude to the men and women who volunteer their time and serve in our Captain's Ministry.  

These folks have lives of their own to take care of,  but still manage to donate a great deal of their time and energy to White House.  They are the reason most people find out about White House!  We could not do it without them.  Whenever you see a flyer for White House on a bulletin board outside church, or a mention about an upcoming retreat in the parish bulletin, know that one of our wonderful volunteers has been hard at work.

We are in the final stretch of another very successful year.  We just want everyone to know how much we appreciate the help in sharing this wonderful gift that is White House Retreat.

God bless you all.