The Passionists of Holy Cross Province

The Love that Compels

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2016-2017 Retreat Theme and Schedule

Mater Dolorosa 2016-17 Retreat Schedule

The Crucified One is No Stranger

MDRC Theme

The crucified one is no stranger.  This is a bold, even daring statement.  The crucified one is Jesus on the cross.  But the crucified one is still present and living among us.

The theme of our retreat is “The Crucified One is No Stranger.”  We will explore the question we all ask many times: Is God truly present in our lives?  Not just in the beautiful and graced moments, but even in the broken and dark places?

With the eyes of Christ, we can recognize his presence among us.  He is one like us.  And we need not look far to encounter the crucified one in others:  our family, friends or co-workers.  They may have been crucified by life’s circumstances, or worse, by us.  Closer still, the crucified one may be me.  Do I crucify myself by my inability to forgive myself, to forgive others, or to forgive life for being so unfair?

The Crucified One is No Stranger.  He is present among us.  And from the cross, his cross and ours, Christ calls us to hope.  He summons us to resurrection.  And most mysteriously, even as the crucified and risen Jesus invites us to recognize him in his wounds, we will come to recognize ourselves in new life.

The Kim Higgins Memorial Fund

Kim Higgins Fund

The family of Kim Higgins, who passed away Tuesday, June 28, has designated Mater Dolorosa as the recipient of memorial donations in Kim’s honor. Kim is the wife of Tim Higgins, brother of
Fr. Mike Higgins, C.P.

The Natural World: A Gift of God’s Mercy

Gillis ArticleThe natural world is often thought of as God’s first revelation to humankind – a gift of God’s mercy. Patty Gillis, executive director of Voices for Earth Justice and board member of St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center, Detroit, Mich., sees protecting and defending it as God’s first commandment.

“God’s first command was to Adam and Eve. They were to care for and protect creation. God said that long before the Ten Commandments.

“When you care for God’s creation you are participating in God’s mercy. I think mercy is another word for love or compassion. I really believe this world was created out of an expression of God’s love. When you get into the biology of things you see the complexity and the awesomeness of the web of life, which is really God’s personal love for every facet of the natural world, and we [humans] are part of that,” explains Patty.

Patty has experienced God’s mercy, through the natural world, in a profoundly healing way. Between 1996 and 1998, everything she cared about was stripped away.  She found herself in uncharted waters. Friends had recommended medication and therapy, but Patty turned instead to prayer and nature.

“I sold my home and moved into an apartment along the river by Belle Isle in Detroit. Belle Isle is a beautiful place. It was very healing for me. It’s hard to put into words, but I think that nature is very healing. It’s no surprise that all our retreat centers are in these beautiful, natural places.  Father Pat Brennan, C.P., [director of St. Paul of the Cross Retreat and Conference Center] is very concerned about the buildings and the land. I think he is right. I think that is part of the healing when people go on retreat. They are in nature, and they experience something bigger than themselves. That was it for me. It got me out of myself and my little problems. It focused me on a bigger vocation.  Caring for the Earth is now my vocation,” shares Patty.

Patty’s vocational call led her to co-founding Voices for Earth Justice, an interfaith advocacy and education organization, in 2002. In 2011, the organization acquired property in the Brightmoor neighborhood in Detroit, the same neighborhood where St. Paul of the Cross Passionist Retreat and Conference Center. Voices for Earth Justice opened Hope House, which now has an eco-lab for neighborhood youth to study nature. It also has a garden full of a wide variety of foliage that brings natural beauty to an economically depressed neighborhood.

“It’s our joy to be connected to this created world which is God’s gift to us. I think even if we weren’t having all these environmental problems, I would still think it would be very important to promote that connection because there are so many ways to learn about God in the natural world.”

Jean Vanier— In Weakness, Strength

jean-vanierSunday, May 1, 2016
Reflection 2-4pm
Mass 4pm

Jean Vanier is a philosopher, theologian, man of letters and humanitarian. He founded l’Arche in 1964, a small community of persons with developmental disabilities and their “assistants” inspired by the Beatitudes. Over the course of a little more than 50 years, l’Arche has grown into an international federation of communities spread over 35 countries. He continues to live as a member of the original l’Arche community inTrosly-Breuil, France. He has authored 30 books on religion, disability, normality, success and tolerance, and among many lifetime honors was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2015. Vanier’s work expands our understanding of human purpose and the good life through three core questions:

  • What does it mean to be fully human?
  • What does it mean to serve others well?
  • How can unity be fostered among diverse people?

His response to these questions has been practical and intellectual, lived and written. The transformational practice at the heart of his vision is to create supportive spaces for people to come together across differences.

dr-michael-downeyProgram presented by Dr. Michael Downey, Director, Theological and Spiritual Formation, Mater Dolorosa

Free will donation welcome.

Etty Hillesum— An Interrupted Life

etty-hillesumSunday, April 17, 2016
Reflection 2-4pm
Mass 4pm

Esther “Etty” Hillesum (1914-1943) was a Jewish woman whose letters and diaries, kept between 1941 and 1943, describe life in Amsterdam during the German occupation. In the darkest years of Nazi occupation and genocide, Etty Hillesum’s lucid intelligence, sympathy, and almost impossible gallantry were themselves a form of inner resistance and spiritual transformation. Often considered an adult counterpart to Anne Frank, Etty Hillesum’s writings testi-fy to the possibility of spiritual awakening and compassion in the face of the most devastating challenge to one’s humanity. She died at Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of twenty-nine.

dr-michael-downeyProgram presented by Dr. Michael Downey, Director, Theological and Spiritual Formation, Mater Dolorosa

Free will donation welcome.

Thomas Merton— A Contemplative in a World of Action

thomas-mertonSunday, April 3, 2016
Reflection 2-4pm
Mass 4pm

Thomas Merton (1915-1968) is arguably the most influential American Catholic spiritual writer of the twentieth century. He was a Trappist monk at Our Lady of Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. Merton is the author of more than seventy books that include poetry, personal journals, collections of letters, social criticism, and writings on peace, justice, and ecumenism. His writings include such classics as The Seven Storey Mountain, New Seeds of Contemplation, and Conjecture of a Guilty Bystander.

“Merton was above all a man of prayer, a thinker who challenged the certitudes of his time and opened new horizons for souls and for the Church. He was also a man of dialogue, a promoter of peace between peoples and religions.” Pope Francis

dr-michael-downeyProgram presented by Dr. Michael Downey, Director, Theological and Spiritual Formation, Mater Dolorosa

Free will donation welcome.

Marie

God revealed his mercy to me in a friend who has been in my life for a long time, but recently she has been there on a deeper level and gave me exactly what I needed – someone to listen.