St. Mark

Faculty Retreat

Marriage, Mary and the Wedding Feast of Cana

Changing Water……into Wine

Lord Jesus Christ, We thank you for having called us together here.

We offer you what we are about to undertake,everything we think, do and experience

    during these coming days in your honor.

We also offer you any fatigue of this day,from the various events of the past week,    because this - too - is our “daily bread.”

Grant that we may begin this retreat with a spirit of hope and anticipation

That you will feed our hearts and souls in the days ahead...

    in the name of the Father and of the Son    and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen

• Interactive• Challenging

Conferences will be….

• Coherent• Audible• Paced

Presentations should be….

PreambleReading the “Signs of the

Times”

“Faith impels us to read and discern the signs of

the times in the present history.”

Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI, 2012

“(The current times) should prove a stimulus to the Church: To increase its vitality, To take stock of itself, To give careful consideration to the signs of

the times,

Always and everywhere ‘proving all things and holding fast that which is good.’"

(Ecclesiam Suam, Encyclical by Paul VI “On The Church,” 1964 )

Preamble

Preamble

In other words, the Church asks:

Where were we? …….. Where are we? ……… Where are we going? .. What’s good? ……….. What’s not? ………….

(Past) (Present) (Future) (Keep or make

better) (Change or discard)

And….how do we discern this? (next slide)

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

An Interactive Exercise

As a Church, where do we see:

An increase in vitality? The Church taking stock of itself? The Church giving careful consideration

to the signs of the times? “Holding fast that which is good"

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

As a Church, where do we NOT see:

An increase in vitality? The Church taking stock of itself? The Church giving careful consideration to

the signs of the times? “Holding fast that which is good"

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

As a BELIEVER:

Where do you see an increase in vitality in you life?

How are your taking stock of yourself? Who helps you give careful consideration

to the signs of the times? What is good in your life to which you

are, and should be, “holding fast?”

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

As a believer, where does there need to be conversion/redemption: What areas of your life are lacking vitality? What areas of your life have not been examined?

(“Taking stock of yourself”) Whom do you still need to consult to give

“careful consideration to the signs of the times?”

What is NOT good in your life onto which you are still “holding fast?”

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

Questions:What is this that we’re doing?

Why is this important?

What saint is famous for this process?

Extra Credit:What religious order did he found?

What book did he write?What Pope is a member of this order?

What secular examples do we have of this process?

Reading the Signs of the Times,An Example

Kate, Andy (not their real names) and the

“New Year’s Eve Party”

As a husband / wife:

Where have I seen an increase in vitality in our marriage? What areas of our marriage are lacking vitality?

How are we taking stock of ourselves? Who helps us discern the “signs of the times” in

our marriage?

What areas of our life need to be examined?

What is good in our marriage to which we “hold fast?”

Reading the “Signs of the Times”

Further Reflections

Mary as the Model

Mary – “And Her One”

• Mary nurtured Son of God in her virginal womb...

• ..thus she could not desire a "more“ or an "again" or a "next“ in other children.

• “Until death do us part” means that I could not desire a "more“ or an "again" or a "next."

How did Joseph do it?

(Hold that thought..)

How do couples do this?

In other words, saying “No” and “Yes!”

• A constant impulse has come from the icon of Mary, the ‘ideal woman’,... But also [from] the courage of women martyrs who faced the cruelest torments with astounding fortitude, the witness of women exemplary for their radical commitment to the ascetic life. (John Paul II, “On the Dignity of Women”)

Michael Hyatt & Intentional Leadership

•His priorities:▫Company Holidays▫Church Holidays▫Industry Events▫Vacations▫Board Meetings▫Business Review Meetings▫Special Trips▫Time with Friends

Date night in South Philly

Faith in Action

Mary as the Model

Faith Applied in Action:

•Discern for yourself what the Lord is telling you during your retreat this year.

•Discuss this three times with at least one person over the course of the next year.

Faith Applied in Action:

•There are 18 Marian celebrations and feast days…

•Celebrate just one of these days that honor Mary this year.

Faith Applied in Action:

•Commit to saying the Rosary (or Divine Chaplet) daily during October, the month dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary.

Faith Applied in Action:

•Mary is mentioned close to 50 times in the New Testament. …

•Over the next year, chose and read just one Marian story or passage. Sit with and pray with this passage for one week from one Saturday to the next.

Mary as the Model

What you might experience:

What to do:

• Joy• Trepidation• Trust• Confusion• Wonder

• Treasuring Memories▫ “Pondering”

• Meditation▫ “Reflecting”

• Tasting ▫ The fruits

End Presentation…

The New Evangelizationand The Year of Faith

Gifts vs. Charisms

Gifts :Difference?

• Supernatural• Given by God TO

you…• Given by God FOR

you• For your

sanctification

Charisms :

• Natural• Given by God TO

you…• …for OTHERS!• For their

consolation

Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Gifts:

1. Wisdom (desire spiritual > temporal) …..2. Understanding (know truths beyond faith).. 3. Knowledge (circumstances) ……………….4. Counsel (right/wrong judgment) …………. 5. Fortitude (courage) ………………………………6. Piety (reverence)…………………………………...7. Fear of the Lord (wonder and awe)………..

Corresponding Virtues:

• Charity• Faith• Faith• Prudence• Courage• Justice• Hope

Charisms: Sacrificial & Consecrating

Penance/ConfessionObedienceMartyrdom

•Silence•Solitude•Prayer•Charity•Poverty

Charisms: Speaking

• Teaching• Exhorting/

Encouraging• Pastoring/

Shepherding• Apostleship• Evangelization

•Words of Knowledge

•Words of Wisdom

•Prophesy•Tongues•Interpretation

Charisms: Ministering

• Helping• Hospitality• Giving• Government/

Ruling• Showing Mercy

•Faith•Discernment

•Miracles•Healing•Exorcism

Calling and Faith

• Faith without charity bears no fruit…

• Charity without faith is mere sentiment at the mercy of doubt.

Church’s role in moral teaching

Relationship between faith and reason