Harry at the 2007 CFP retreat

[Andruschak]

Details of the Confraternity of Penitents 2007 retreat can be found at this link…

penitents.org/retreat2007.htm

Note that after the first paragraph, there is a link to the photos section. To see what I look like, click on that link and note thumbnails 6 and 11. Click on those.

I am the guy on the right in #6, dressed in a blue Post Office shirt. I have no idea why I was looking so grim when the picture was taken. Honest, I was not thinking of “g—n p-st-l”.

#11 was taken outdoors, with me squinting from the bright sunlight.

 

[puzzleannie]

whoa, great, another postal worker saved from destruction (I am from Royal Oak MI, by the way and BIL works in that station, and was present but not hurt on that day).

do you mind if I ask, you have been so generous about sharing about this elsewhere, have you found that your participation in this group, and esp. the retreat, have helped your RCIA experience “gel” as it were, and would you recommend new Catholics either find a secular association or third order, or make a retreat, or both?

 

[Andruschak]

whoa, great, another postal worker saved from destruction (I am from Royal Oak MI, by the way and BIL works in that station, and was present but not hurt on that day).

do you mind if I ask, you have been so generous about sharing about this elsewhere, have you found that your participation in this group, and esp. the retreat, have helped your RCIA experience “gel” as it were, and would you recommend new Catholics either find a secular association or third order, or make a retreat, or both?

If they have the inclination for it, I would suggest both. BUT…

Both CFP, BSP, and Third Orders are not for everyone, for many reasons. In any case, most will have multi-year postulancy and novitiate requirements, to make sure you understand what you are letting yourself in for. But, yes, one can try them, especially if there is a Third Order group near to where you live.:yup:

Retreats are nice if you have the time, funds, and temperment. And of course a retreat center near to where you live. My opinion is that everyone would benifit from a one week retreat once a year, to catch their spiritual breath, so to speak.

I don’t know if all this has made my RCIA experiences “gel”, simply because I learned very little in RCIA that I did not already know. I HAVE been around the block a few times

 

[jmm08]

Andruschak, nice to see photos of you. And I’m glad you had a good time. I agree with you that it would be great for people to get out sometimes and go to a retreat at some Roman Catholic retreat place.

Last Wed I started to get sick as a dog. And Thursday & Friday saw me too sick to get up to go to the doctors. On Saturday morning I felt just about good enough to get out (but I knew I needed to see a doctor). So I went and took myself to the hospital emergency room.

On Friday I felt almost like I could eat something. Since I was a child, if I am very sick I like to have a lamb chop. Mom used to cook a lamb chop for me. I suppose she was trying to get me to eat once and asked me if I could have anything what would I eat.

I asked my wife, Janet, to cook me a lamb chop for lunch. And inwardly (without telling her) I was thinking of some small white potatoes and mixed vegetables on the side. And that the mixed vegetables might be some green beans with perhaps a few asparagus tops, a small broccoli, some carrot and etc. When it came time for lunch – the plate before me had exactly the food I had imagined – with one thing extra – some pieces of chopped red bell pepper were part of the mixed vegetables (which is also OK by me). Exactly two asparagus tops – that can’t be an accident. I was touched because only God or Mary would have known what I was thinking – and Mary must have worked it out and worked with my wife. I had to double-check the church calendar and sure enough it was not any special date connected with the Rosary. (Generally I expect and often receive a present from Mary on days connected with the Rosary.) It is really nice to have “Mom” taking special care of me while I am sick – making me feel so loved.

So on Friday night, still being very thankful for my nice little lunch, I made a prayer request that I never made before. I asked that all the angels who had ever helped me might be gathered together to loudly sing praises to God. I figure this must be quite a number of angels. And I had the CD of Pope John Paul II praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary (and a few other prayers and songs) on repeat quietly the whole night. Along with singing praises loudly, I also wanted the angels to pray with Pope John Paul II and the others on the CD.

I now suppose at least part of my blessing was to build me up for the spiritual needs of somebody special the next morning (Saturday). While laying in the emergency room bed, an elderly woman was brought in to the next bed on the other side of the curtain. She had had a stroke years before and this morning she had another whopper. There were no good symptoms, only her failure to understand or know anything. So I pulled out my Rosary and quietly prayed the Joyful Mysteries – for the very ill and maybe dying person in the next bed. She was in no pain because her brain was not sufficiently functioning to recognize or process pain signals from nerves. I suppose that those angels who sang praises the night before knew what the Friday Night praise session was all about and that they were also present that morning to gracefully care for the elderly woman.

I’ll be getting better – thanks to the big white “horse” pills the doctor gave me to take twice a day for the rest of September. Please pray for the elderly woman and her family.

Thanks,

jmm08