One Day Offerings

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 IN PERSON AND ZOOM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

ZOOM ONLY

OFF TO A PRAYERFUL START - FOCUSING THE NEW YEAR

     Tuesday, January 3     7:00 – 8:00 PM

Start out 2023 with an evening zoom retreat to set the direction for the year. “Well begun is half done,” they say, and establishing a direction is essential for the journey. Where am I going in 2023? What is the desire of my heart, and God’s as we begin this year together? Led by S. Marcy. Donation: $15, includes materials.

CHOOSING SERENITY IN STRESS

     Monday, January 9     9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Is stress to be banished or befriended? Can I be serene and stressful simultaneously? Can I find a serene place within me which can embrace my stressful soul and let me live more peacefully?  Led by S. Marcy. Donation: $25, includes lunch; Zoom $20.

PERSONAL RETREAT DAYS

     Wednesday, Jan. 11 & Friday, Jan. 13      9:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Take a day away from the busyness of your life. Come to Francis House for silence, personal prayer and optional spiritual direction. The day begins and ends with a brief prayer together. Please bring a bag lunch. Come to as many as you can. Donation: $10; $40 with spiritual direction. 

MELT THE FROZEN, WARM THE CHILL

     Tuesday, January 17     9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Is your heart frozen with worry and your soul chilled by fear? This winter retreat day promises to help heal your worried heart and warm your chilly soul with the fire of God’s Divine Love. Led by S. Marcy. Donation: $25, includes lunch. Zoom: $20.

LOVERS OF THÉRÈSE

     Wednesday, January 18      9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

St. Thérèse of Lisieux is a masterful teacher of living ordinary life with extraordinary love. We will use The Little Way for Everyday by Francis Broome, CSP, to help us listen to St. Thérèse’s message. Led by S. Marcy. Donation: $35, includes lunch and book; Zoom: $20.

STOKING THE FLAME WITHIN

     Friday, January 20    9:30 AM – 12:00 PM

It’s clear, isn’t it, that Light matters?  The physical reality of short days and long nights teaches us the spiritual importance of tending our inner fire so it will never peter out. On this day, give yourself the time, space and quiet to be present to the fire of God’s love for you! Led by S. Marie. Donation: $20

NATIONAL RETREAT DAY

     Monday, January 30   9:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Believe it or not for the past six years today has been known as National Escape Day!  The challenge with escaping reality is, it doesn’t solve anything.  Retreating does!  Set aside this day and enter your reality with the companionship of your REAL God who is the solution for everything. Led by S. Marie.  Donation: $20  

 IN PERSON AND ZOOM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

GIVING VOICE TO GOD

     Friday, February 3       9:30 AM to Noon

We know our world presents us with a number of voices vying for our attention.  Only One Voice promises us Truth.  Today on the Feast of St. Blaise, set aside time for listening to God’s voice within you.  Then, with God’s blessings live the words of Jesus: “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:27). Led by S. Marie. Donation: $20

ZOOM ONLY

DISCERNMENT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE 

     2 Mondays      February 6 & 20      7:00 – 8:30 PM

These two evenings include the full teaching of Ignatian Discernment of Spirits. If you find yourself sliding down “the greasy pole” of desolation or negative thinking, this series will help you immensely. The Ignatian teaching on discernment is life changing as we practice awareness, understanding and right action regarding the various spirits that present themselves to us day by day and moment by moment. Led by S. Marie. Donation: $40

CLASSIC IGNATIAN MEDITATIONS

     Tuesday, February 7    9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

At the heart of the Spiritual Exercises are two classic meditations by St. Ignatius: The Principle and Foundation (The Purpose of My Life) and The Contemplation for Learning to Love Like God. I would love for you to experience them and their amazing power for consolation, clarity and peace. Give it a try! Led by S. Marcy. 

Donation: $25, includes lunch; Zoom: $20

PERSONAL RETREAT DAYS

     Wednesday, Feb. 8 & Friday, Feb. 17      9:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Take a day away from the busyness of your life. Come to Francis House for silence, personal prayer and optional spiritual direction. The day begins and ends with a brief prayer together. Please bring a bag lunch. Come to as many as you can. Donation: $10; $40 with spiritual direction.  

ONE LOVE

     Tuesday, February 14       9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

There is only ONE Heart which loves you in exactly the way you need to be loved. So, come away for a while and open yourself ever more deeply to the love of the God who created you, redeemed you and sustains you! Led by S. Marie. 

Donation: $25, includes lunch; Zoom: $20.

AN ORDINARY DAY

     Monday, February 20      9:30 AM – Noon

There’s a poem which begins, “Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure that you are….” Today is a very ordinary February day.  You have the power to transform it into an EXTRA-ordinary day by keeping company with God which is just what God is hoping you will do! Led by S. Marie. Donation: $20

EVENING ZOOM ONLY
USHERING IN THE LENTEN SEASON

     Tuesday, February 21     7:00 – 8:00 PM

Sometimes we hear ourselves say, “I really want/need a ‘good Lent’ this year.” This evening retreat will help you receive that grace in very practical ways as we explore and freely and creatively choose the ancient Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Led by S. Marcy.  Donation: $15

IN PERSON AND ZOOM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

PERSONAL RETREAT DAYS

     Wednesday, April 5 & Friday, April 28     9:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Take a day away from the busyness of your life. Come to Francis House for silence, personal prayer and optional spiritual direction. The day begins and ends with a brief prayer together. Please bring a bag lunch. Come to as many as you can. Donation: $10; $40 with spiritual direction.  

IN PERSON ONLY
NOTHING IS SO BEAUTIFUL AS SPRING 

     Sunday, April 16      1:00 – 4:00 PM

When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush…

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889), convert, Jesuit priest and creation mystic used the power of his senses to meet God in nature, and expressed his experience in poetry which is both challenging and consoling. Hopkins saw God working in him as quietly but unceasingly as God works in the growth of flowers and trees. After a brief introduction to the poet’s life and writings, we will delve more deeply into a few poems with time to experience God in the natural beauty that is Francis House. 

Led by S. Lisa Breslin, SSJ. Donation: $25

PRAYING WITH THE RESURRECTION NARRATIVES

      Tuesday, April 18 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

The Solemnity of Easter comes and goes so quickly, we hardly have a chance to savor its Mystery. We will take a few hours to drink deeply of the hopeful and consoling Presence of Jesus as He appeared to His Apostles and friends and as He continues to manifest His resurrected Presence in our own lives. This will be a wonderful morning of prayer and the true celebration of Resurrection. Led by S. Marcy. 

Donation: $25, includes lunch; Zoom $20.

NATIONAL EXERCISE DAY

     Tuesday, April 18 1:00 – 4:00 PM

St. Ignatius was brilliant with developing exercises!  Treat yourself to the time and space to practice his exercises of Ignatian contemplation, and Consciousness Examen.  Your spiritual muscles will get a workout and your heart will be graced. Led by S. Marie.  Donation: $20.

  IN PERSON AND ZOOM UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED  

PERSONAL RETREAT DAYS

     Wednesday, May 3 &  Friday, May 19

     Wednesday, May 31 

     Wednesday, June 14 & Friday, June 16

     9:30 AM – 2:30 PM

Take a day away from the busyness of your life. Come to Francis House for silence, personal prayer and optional spiritual direction. The day begins and ends with a brief prayer together. Please bring a bag lunch. Come to as many as you can. Donation: $10; $40 with spiritual direction.  

MARY AND OUR RISEN LORD

     Monday, May 8     1:00 – 4:00 PM

Joan Chittister, OSB, who describes Mary Magdalene as an icon for our century, writes, “Mary went to the tomb, even though it was clear that is where failure lay.”

We know Mary’s courage did not disappoint for, at the tomb, in place of failure, she not only finds her Lord, but her own self. Let’s invite Mary to companion us today, that we might,

uncover a grace which has been hiding in the darkness.

Led by Sister Marie. Donation: $20

ZOOM ONLY 

THOUGHTS MATTER

     Tuesday, May 9    7:00 – 8:00 PM 

“My thoughts make all the difference in my world.” Believe it or not, we can choose our thoughts. This freedom is essential to our spiritual well-being and emotional health. This evening retreat will help us learn to notice our thoughts as they arise and choose to accept them or replace them. With prayer and practice, we can choose our thoughts, receive a quieted peaceful mind available for conscious thinking at will. 

Led by S. Marcy. Donation: $10

PRACTICE PATIENCE

     Wednesday, May 10      9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

With the demands of everyday life, our many responsibilities and tendency to be overwhelmed by stress, we can find ourselves short on patience. If you would like to become a more patient person, (or if others would like you to be J) please come and enjoy this morning retreat. Led by S. Marcy. Donation: $25, includes lunch; Zoom $20.

LETTING ART SPEAK – TO JESUS THROUGH MARY IN JOYS AND SORROWS

     Monday, May 15      9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Mary knows about Motherhood. And so do we – even if we’ve never birthed a child. Everyone is a mother, had a mother or has provided motherly care to someone to whom we didn’t give birth – or all of the above. Let’s recall Mary’s role of Motherhood and see what we can learn from it. We have never met her, but know her through Scripture, through the tradition of the Church, in our prayer and through art. During this retreat day, we’ll approach Mary through all of these and ponder what her life has to say to us today.  Led by JoLynn Krempecki. Donation: $25, includes lunch; Zoom $20. 

UNCEASING PRAYER:  THE WAY OF THE PILGRIM

     Thursday, May 18      9:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Life is above all, a pilgrimage! Most of us find ourselves praying on the run, pleading for help as we move about from one urgent task to the next. During this retreat we will follow the advice of the pilgrim in the classic The Way of the Pilgrim whose mastery of the Jesus Prayer fulfilled his desire for unceasing prayer. I am hoping that this retreat experience will quench our thirst for prayer and help each of us on our lifelong pilgrimage to peace, healing and union with God. Led by  S. Marcy. Donation: $30, includes lunch.  Zoom $25.

THE GIFT OF ASCENDING

     Thursday, May 18 1:00 -4:00 PM

“Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.”

On the day of the Ascension, angels advised the Apostles to not spend their time looking to the heavens to find Jesus! Do we need a similar reminder? Come, join our exploration, as we seek to find the presence of Jesus in Scripture, in nature, in silence, in life's events and in our own hearts. 

Led by Sister Marie Donation: $20

ZOOM ONLY

Mary, Teach Us to Pray

Tuesday, May 23rd    7:00 to 8:00 PM

No matter how hard it is for us to imagine that Jesus needed to learn how to pray, 

we know it is true! Might we all agree, her spirituality served him well!

Do you ever feel you might need a prayer refresher? Let’s go to her together asking her to share with us the lessons she shared with her Divine Son.

Led by Sister Marie  Donation: $15

Gifted By The Spirit

Friday, May 26   9:30 AM - Noon

Christmas has been over for quite some time, but still there are gifts to be opened! 

As we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, prepare yourself to receive a gift which will fit you perfectly! Will it be: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Reverence, Wonder and Awe? Come and See!

 Led by Sister Marie.  Donation: $20

ANNUAL CLEANING PARTY

     Tuesday, May 30

     9 AM to Noon   or 1:00 – 3:00 PM

Please come and help us clean Francis House. Bring your favorite cleaning supplies. Please choose a shift that is convenient for you and call 609-877-0509 with your choice. Actually, it’s fun! Thanks so much. Breakfast & lunch provided.  

Magnify God’s Love

Zoom Only

Wednesday, May 31 7:00 to 8:00 PM

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Visitation and Mary has a powerful spiritual lesson to teach us. This young girl has a precarious road ahead of her. Amid her ordeal, she doesn’t complain. She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t panic. She simply allows her soul to proclaim the greatness of her Lord. No one of us has a perfect life, but tonight, let us join with one another in prayer and together proclaim the greatness of our Lord.

Led By Sister Marie.  Donation: $10.

SACRED HEART OF JESUS

     Monday, June 12      9:30 AM – Noon

“Devotion to the Most Sacred Heart is the extraordinary remedy for the extraordinary needs of our time.” Does this sound like a recent statement?  Actually, it is almost 100 years old. Pope Pius told us this in 1928–it is still true. Come and be strengthened by this truth as we focus our love on the love of the Sacred Heart. Led by S. Marie. Donation: $20

IN-PERSON ONLY

GOD’S EVER-PRESENT LOVE IN MOTION

     Wednesday, June 14  9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

We all yearn to be aware of the presence of God in our daily lives, no matter where we are or what we are doing. God invites you to come as you are. We will experience His ever-present love through Centering Prayer, music, and movement. Come feel your heartbeat and let the Spirit move you! Led by Bernadette Citarella. Donation: $25 includes lunch.